ONLY IN ST. CHARLES
Only in St. Charles can people be fooled into believing that recalling two elected officials is a good thing. Those who have decided to think the worst and jump on board really need to understand whom you are jumping on board with and the reasons why they are working to get this board changed.
Tom Hughes. Hughes has made his fortune in real estate development and knows his way around a City Hall. He really likes a City Hall that allows him access that others don’t receive. Just a note on this, Hughes has hired a former St. Charles City engineer to work for him. HMMMM, makes one wonder how and why things like that happen.
Second, you have Kevin Kast, the previous head of St. Josephs Health Center. Kast has his eye on occupying the Mayor’s office. I guess unemployment doesn’t fit his lifestyle very well. Kast was a wheeler-dealer with City Hall. He even got the city to close off a road so he could increase the size of the hospital. Kast understands what it means to have influence in City Hall. He has also donated $5000 to help recall the two Councilpersons.
Linda Meyer is the wife of the former St. Charles Police Association President and St. Charles Police officer. By the way it is our understanding her husband was one of the 73 police officers who signed the letter claiming they were stressed out because Councilman Bob Hoepfner was writing about them in this newspaper and talking about them on the Council floor. Meyer is critical of the way the council treats employees. I guess in the real world all employees are handled with kid gloves as not to hurt anyone’s feelings. Meyer is being paid for bookkeeping for the Citizens Empowerment Committee and was paid to collect recall signatures. It is also rumored she intends to run for Council woman Dottie Greer’s seat if she is successful in getting Greer recalled.
You see this really isn’t about what these two council members did wrong. It is about what the plans are for the future and where your tax dollars are going to be deposited. Believe me it isn’t going to be in your streets or sewers. It will probably be in the pockets of developers.
Case in point is the multi-million dollar proposal for a canal, boat marina; high rise condos that will be located along the river from highway 70 to the Family Arena. Developer Mike Schellenscheutter wants to build condos, offices, and a boat and recreation area on the Missouri River. The contention here is the reason the Missouri isn’t used more for recreation is there are not enough places to get fuel or something to eat. So this undertaking is going to involve you tax dollars. There will be a need for TIF’s to get this project off the ground. There are many on the Council who are tired of giving tax dollars to millionaire developers at the expense of the average citizen’s streets. Maybe Mr. Schellenscheutter missed the part in the Lewis and Clark journals that the Missouri River was treacherous and most of us who have lived in Missouri know they were right. That probably isn’t going to stop him from trying to develop the area because it won’t be his money at risk, it will be yours and your neighbors. Your tax dollars may be going to fund a project on a river that has 30-foot swings in depth in a matter of days. This is just one of many government funded projects that are on hold until after the recalls.
So when you look at these recalls look at the underlying reasons. In the Godfather there is a classic line, “Our true enemy has yet to show his face.” This is the case of the recalls. The true enemy is funding these recalls in an effort to get your cash for their use.
They must be crazy!
Note to the Convention Center, Mayor and those who want a new hotel built at the Convention Center. You must be crazy!!!!!! They are complaining that the Embassy Suites Hotel operated by John Q. Hammons of Springfield, Missouri is charging too high a rate for convention attendees. They believe they could book more conventions if there was a hotel there charging cheaper rates. Don’t they realize there are numerous hotels within the area that fall in the price range proposed by Councilman Rory Riddler.
To say that this convention center is a success is somewhat of a white lie. The fact is this convention center is not drawing the number of room nights proposed by the CH Johnson study. That being said why another hotel? Simply because there are some conventioneers that won't pay the Embassy Suites price? If they are so concerned about the cost of a room, do we really think they are spending the thousands of dollars when they get here?
This isn't about being successful it is about building the wrong type hotel next to the convention center. Back when this was being discussed, Councilman John Gieseke, who is in the hotel business, warned that the Embassy Suites hotels rates would not support the marketing efforts of a small to mid-sized convention center. He told the oversight committee the Embassy Suites prices would be too high for the small convention center. Guess what? It appears he was right but instead of admitting it they try to convince us of their success. This is just bad planning. Lucky for us though the solution is already in place. The names are Fairfield Inn, Comfort Suites and Ramada Inn. These hotels already exist and will be more than happy to take the prices that Riddler quoted. There isn't a need to create more lower priced hotels in the area. Here is a simple solution. Build a path from the Fairfield to the convention center. It is just across the parking lot.
City Wins Against Client Serv.
The Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the City and AGAINST Client Services in an
opinion handed down Tuesday. CSI can ask for a rehearing in the Court of Appeals and transfer to the Supreme Court. This will delay the case again from anywhere from 90 days to 1 year. CSI filed suit against the City when the City refused to sell them the City owned property along the Little Hills Expressway. CSI had negotiated with the City for the property to build facilities but then decided to build the new facilities on Harry S. Truman Blvd across the street from their current headquarters. They did not sign the contract so the City rescinded the offer of sale. CSI then decided they wanted to develop the property and filed suit when the City refused to accept their offer for the property.
