The West Pine Laclede Neighborhood Association will meet on Tuesday, March 14 at 7 pm at Northwest Coffee, 4251 Laclede (at Boyle). All are welcome!
The minutes from our January meeting and copied below and will be presented for approval at the upcoming meeting. Please note that to save on paper and ink, only a minimal number of hard copies will be printed for review and approval, so you are encouraged to read the minutes on line prior to coming.
We have a full agenda for our March meeting.
Jim Whyte, head of the Central West End Neighborhood Security Initiative, will be discussing the recent spate of alley garage and carriage house break-ins, as well as offering suggestions on how to deter such crimes in the future.
Sadie Weiss and Tracy Hykes will speak about their campaigns for election to the School Board.
And Pam Ross will talk about her own effort to win re-election as a trustee of the St. Louis Community College governing board.
We look forward to seeing you at this important meeting!
FYI:
Cortex Street Closure: March 13th to March 24th
Ameren is scheduled to install conduit in the Clayton/Sarah intersection. During this portion of the job, shutting down the intersection will be required. The expected time for the intersection to be shut down is less than 2 weeks.
After the intersection portion is complete, Ameren will continue to install conduit on Clayton going West of Sarah all the way up to BJC commons. They shouldn’t need to close that entire section of road, but it will require at least 1 lane to be shut down. Ameren will have street signs up and use Flaggers as needed.
If you have specific questions, please direct them to myself or Joe Martin.
Joe Martin Ameren, Supervisor Electric Operations, Underground District C 314-393-5577
Colleen Autry (She, Her)| Vice President of District Operations
Cortex Innovation Community
West Pine Laclede Neighborhood Association
MINUTES
10 January 2023
7:05 President Harold Karabell began the meeting, with introductions.
We welcomed a new neighbor, Eric Wagner (West Pine), who has returned to St. Louis after several years away.
Alderwoman Tina Phil gave a 17th Ward report (in blue text.)
The Ward meetings are going back into session with full board meeting in January. She related bills that have recently passed:
– Guaranteed Basic Income: A few hundred families in the City will receive $500/month. This is a pilot program. If we see that it works, we will continue this. This program has shown that the program helps people get back on their feet financially. Alderwoman Phil related the need for analysis/evaluation system in this program.
– Charter Commission Review. A Commission will update our City Charter for the first time in several decades. Citizens are invited to apply to be part of the Commission.
– The Alderwoman is looking at County Commissions to learn about accountability in this area, e.g., TIFF Commission accountability.
Development: The City Armory has opened as an entertainment site. Stadium. City Foundry. “These are positive developments in growing our economy and to increase our tax base.”
Ward Meeting at Claim Academy – 2nd Wednesday of the month. 6:30 – 7:45 PM. There will be a discussion about helping people who are unhoused.
There will be a rally on Saturday, January 14th, for MLK at City Foundry 10:00 AM with theme “Where Do We Go from Here? ” inspired by the words of Dr. King.
There is a need to regulate AirBnb presence in the City. These are not controlled as rental property. City has no record of tenant turnover. Landlords are not responsible for inspecting utilities.
There is a Harm Reduction Initiative to curtail illegal/lethal drug use and addiction. This was prompted by the tragic deaths at Parkview one year ago. Alderwoman Tina is currently mapping the areas where use is high. WPL neighbor Brad Jones is helping with this initiative.
Meeting notes:
Harold announced that the February WPLNA meeting will be an open FORUM for Alderman candidates, to be held on Wednesday, February 15th. Please note change of weekday from our normally held day.
Treasurer’s Report
Terry Werner reported Association balances:
-
- Time Deposit: $ 4461.23
- Checking: $ 382.04
- Savings: $ 2069.80
Beautification Committee
Sharon Olwig related that we are waiting for the sidewalk to be filled and cleaned up before we can complete landscaping on the West Pine cul-de-sac. We have ordered 40 hostas and ferns spring planting, which will complete the landscaping at the cul-de-sac. We have some funding for tuckpointing of the statuary. More on this to follow.
Lorraine Simpson thanked the Olwigs for the new benches, signage, doggie bags, and gravel at the cul-de-sac park. The Olwigs were instrumental in raking leaves in this area, which is prone to leaf clogging. Lorraine related concerns about the replacement of rusted out dumpsters and announced that we are #17 on the list of replacement for new dumpsters.
Garbage cans filled with dog excrement bags are not being picked up consistently.
Yussef Scoggin will check on dates to monitor pick up. These cans are picked up by City employees. Neighbors are reminded to call Citizen Service Bureau to remind City of pick-up.
We all expressed big thanks to Lorraine for the Neighborhood holiday decorations.
Yussef will speak to the City Improvement District to inquire about additional lights and supplemental materials to decorate the neighborhood for the holidays.
Ron Coleman related the following: There are 50 determined locations where trees will be planted in our Ward. Lights 4300 and 4400 Laclede will be replaced.
There will be no trash pick-up on MLK Day. Refuse and Streets no longer need service requests. Everything will be picked up in the alley once a week.
Water main at 4100 Laclede, north and south side, breaks were called in. These are in City Queue for repair.
Lorraine asked what can the City do to trim tree canopy so that the Neighborhood Association does not have to pay for this. Tree cutting is included in RFP (?)
Water main at 4100 Laclede, north and south side, breaks were called in. These are in City Queue for repair.
The meeting adjourned at 8:10 PM.
Minutes submitted by Secretary Catherine Swanstrom.
Thanks as always to Northwest Coffee for hosting our meeting space.