The Frenchtown Museum is an asset to our city. I have written before as to how it shows the way things used to be in St. Charles. It is a miniature history lesson in one place. However, its survival is in doubt. Over the past 2 years, the City has financed the payment of the mortgage and costs of some repairs. The volunteers are having a difficult time obtaining enough donations to finance the operation plus the mortgage.
Maybe it’s time for the sale of the building to the city with consideration given for the amounts that the city has already paid. I’m no attorney, but it would seem that to protect this asset the city could purchase the property and lease it back to the group headed by Mr. and Mrs. Boshears for what the City would loose in real estate taxes. The lease could be yearly with automatic renewals so long as the museum is maintained. Admission could remain free, with the hopes that visitors would drop a donation in the kitty on the way out. The city would gain a nice Frenchtown property and the group maintaining the museum could use donations they receive for overhead and stop worrying about meeting the mortgage or making repairs.
Of course, the present mortgagee may not want to sell, but the City should not be paying a mortgage on a property we don’t own. I admire what the Boshears and the other volunteers have done to preserve our history, but there is a real possibility that they could come away with a prime piece of real estate on which the City has paid much and received nada. It’s only fair that we should be getting something more than we are for our tax dollars. A city purchase would virtually guarantee the survival of this Frenchtown asset.
Although some on the council would say the City doesn’t have the funds to make this purchase, there seems to be money aplenty to put sculptures all over town. There are plenty of funds to build a future coliseum (or should I say collision-iseum) in the form of the unnecessary roundabout at Third and Tecumseh. I’ve even heard rumors of another give-away to Lindenwood University in the form of a City built tunnel under First Capitol at West Clay. Have faith readers. No one in our city’s government could be stupid enough to go along with that. Or could they?
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
ttt
(This column was written several weeks before publication)
I have just finished reading the intellectual desert known as the editorial column of the St. Peters Advertiser (A.K.A. the St. Charles Journal) referring to our city’s fireworks ordinance as a “joke”. Whoever this “Editor” is that wrote that column, he or she fails to address the real problem. Here it is, faithful readers:
Our fireworks laws are no more of a “joke” than our speed limit laws are. What is the real “joke”, you ask? The real joke is the resident who is so wrapped up in his own self-gratification that he has absolutely no respect for his neighbors. Like the speeder on our streets, the ones that put our property in danger and ruin our night’s sleep are the ones who think laws only apply when it is convenient to their purpose.
This source of constant comedy, the Journal’s “Editor” assails our council for passing an ordinance restricting discharge of fireworks. In the next issue he or she will probably assail the council for restricting speed in school zones. Since some morons don’t obey our laws, the Journal editor blames the council. The Editor can’t seem to gather up enough guts to address the real culprits, the violators of our laws. That certainly wouldn’t be conducive to his duty to getting our mayor’s message out that all ills in St. Charles are born of anyone who doesn’t bow to the throne of the Queen of the Center of the Universe.
As I stated in my last column, the Journal has pretty much always been out of step with the citizens of St. Charles. One can only assume that the Editor considers all laws a “joke” if some jerks don’t abide by them. Since there is murder being committed in our society, this editor must think our laws forbidding murder are a “joke”. Cars are stolen; therefore car-jacking laws must be a “joke”. Some people drive drunk. Are our drunk driving laws a “joke”?
The column fails to note that absent this ordinance there would be no restrictions on how late these morons could violate your peaceful sleep. St. Peters has completely banned fireworks, but that hasn’t stopped the use of them in their city. St. Louis County is the same story.
Our ordinance gives the real celebrants of Independence Day the opportunity to celebrate. The people shooting fireworks at 1 or 2 a.m. are celebrating only their own self-centeredness.
No, our fireworks ordinance isn’t a joke. Neither are our speed laws. There are just too many self-centered morons who violate them.
The “joke” is the Journal editorial.
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
P.S. (Question) The mayor’s pit bull Mikey has missed a lot of meetings. Did he break free from her leash?
