St. Louis Board of Aldermen: New Board Bills Week 3 of 2019-2020 Session

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen will meet at 10am today, their  3rd meeting of the 2019-2020 session

Today’s agenda (Version 4) includes all the new bills from last week plus some more. Bills 2-26 are repeated, but 1, 27-34 are new. Of course version 5 or later of this week’s agenda may change. Version 4, pulled at 3:45pm yesterday, is labeled Week 2 instead of Week 3.

• B.B.#1 – Pres. Reed/Vollmer – Budget for Fiscal Year 2020; containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#2 – Coatar – An ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission pertaining to the Zoning Code, Title 26; amending Chapter 26.08 of the Revised Code by adding a cross-reference in the definition section for marijuana related uses; adding a new Chapter to the Zoning Code, Title 26, pertaining to the regulation of medical marijuana facilities and including sections on the purpose, definitions, use regulations and site requirements for Medical Marijuana Facilities; and containing a severability and an emergency clause.
• B.B.#3 – Davis – An ordinance recommended and approved by the
  Board of Estimate and Apportionment authorizing and directing the Director of Airports and the Comptroller, to enter into and execute the Land Lease Agreement between the City and the United States of America, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, granting to Lessee, certain rights and privileges in connection with the occupancy and use of the Premises; containing a severability and an emergency clause.
• B.B.#4 – P. Boyd – An ordinance establishing a four-way stop site at the intersection of Garesche and Goodfellow regulating all traffic traveling north-westbound and south-eastbound on Garesche at Goodfellow and regulating all traffic traveling north-eastbound and south-westbound on Goodfellow at Garesche, and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#5 – Bosley – An ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission to change the zoning of property as indicated on the District Map in City Block 1179, from “B” Two Family Dwelling District to the “F” Neighborhood Commercial District, at 1500-04 Salisbury; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#6 – Moore – An ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission, to change the zoning of property as indicated on the District Map in City Block 1880, from“C” Multiple Family Dwelling District to the “H” AreaCommercial District, at 3614 & 3616 Cote Brilliante; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#7 – Muhammad – An ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission, to change the zoning of property as indicated on the District Map in City Block 3399, from “F” Neighborhood Commercial District to the “B” Two FamilyDistrict, at 1913 & 1925 E. College; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#8 – NUMBER NOT USED THIS SESSION
• B.B.#9 – Arnowitz – An ordinance authorizing and directing the Director of the Department of Health to enter into and execute an Agreement with St. Louis University and St. Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice as part of a Missouri Foundation for Health grant to fund an Academic Health Department, upon approval of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, and to expend funds by entering into contracts or otherwise for the grant purposes and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#10 – Clark-Hubbard – An ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission, to change the zoning of property as indicated on the District Map and in City Block 4549, from “B” Two Family Dwelling District and “E” Multiple-Dwelling District to the “G”Local Commercial and Office District, at 5505, 5535-55 & 5559-79 Delmar and 713-27 & 731 Belt, and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#11 – Muhammad – An ordinance submitting to the qualified voters of the City a proposed amendment to the Charter of the City of St. Louis to maintain the Board of Aldermen as a body of twenty-eight Aldermen representing twenty-eight wards and preventing its reduction beginning December 31, 2021 to a body of fourteen Aldermen representing fourteen wards as called for under Article I, Section 3 of the City Charter; proving for an election to be held for voting on the proposed amendment and the manner for the voting; and for the publication, certification, deposit, and recording of this ordinance; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#12 – Vaccaro – An ordinance repealing Section One of Ordinance No. 68605, and codified as 2.08.430 in the City Revised Code of Ordinances, which pertains to election rules and procedures relating to the payment of taxes by candidates for elective Office in the City, and replacing said section of Ordinance 68605 with a new Section One requiring all candidates for elective public in the City to have paid in full at the time of their filing those taxes and bills for services set forth herein and to provide evidence thereof in a sworn affidavit at said time.
• B.B.#13 – Davis – An Ordinance recommended by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment authorizing and directing (i) the issuance by The City of St. Louis, of its Airport Revenue Bonds, St. Louis Lambert International Airport, in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed Thirty Five Million Dollars ($35,000,000) (as further defined herein, the “Series 2019 Project Bonds”) in one or more series as part of the $3,500,000,000 of bonds approved by the voters of the City in 1991 and 2003, to finance the cost of the purchasing, extension, improvement or enlargement of the airport, reimbursement for certain prior airport capital expenditures, the funding of capitalized interest, if any; and (ii) the issuance by the City of its Airport Revenue Refunding Bonds, St. Louis Lambert International Airport, in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed One Hundred Million Dollars($100,000,000) (as further defined herein, the “Series 2019 Refunding Bonds”; and containing a severability and an emergency clause.
• B.B.#14 – Davis – Pursuant to Ordinance 68937, an ordinance authorizing the honorary street name of Fr. Biondi S.J. Way, which shall begin at the intersection of Lindell and Grand and run south on Grand to the intersection of Grand and the eastbound entrance ramp to Highway 44
• B.B.#15 – Coatar – An ordinance promoting the use of energy efficient heating through the connection to the Downtown Steam Distribution system; promoting the continual use of the Downtown Steam Distribution System for any development project occurring Downtown St. Louis seeking Municipal Financial Incentives; prohibiting the Clean Energy Development Board from approving financing for any project that would result in a commercial building disconnecting from or no longer using the Downtown Steam Distribution System for heat; a portion of the net profits be remitted to the SWMDC and containing a severability clause.
• B.B.#16 – Coatar – An ordinance amending Ord. No. 50258, which ordinance relates in part to the vacation of Russell from DeKalbto Second Street (the “Russell Vacation”) with conditions,authorizing the termination of the fire lane on the Russell Vacation in order that Soulard Second Street, L.L.C. or its successors and assigns may build a project on certain land (the“Subject Property”) located at 161-181 Trudeau.
• B.B.#17 – Roddy – An ordinance submitting to the qualified voters residing in the Central West End Southeast Special Business District, as established in Ord. No. 63780, approved May 31, 1996, amended in Ordinance No. 64550, approved January 15, 1999 and amended in Ordinance No. 68236, approved January 16, 2009, a proposal to extend the levy of a tax on the real property located in said district for an additional ten years and increasing the amount of such tax to an amount not to exceed $0.85 per $100 assessed valuation; submitting said proposal to the voters of said district as a Special Election on August 6, 2019; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#18 – Roddy An ordinance approving the petition to establish the Newstead West Community Improvement District, establishing the Newstead West Community Improvement District.
• B.B.#19 – Spencer/Ingrassia/Guenther/Green/Navarro/Arnowitz/Rice –An ordinance requiring a City-wide vote to approve any proposal aimed at or having the effect of privatizing the St. Louis Lambert International Airport by the City’s renting, leasing ortransferring its control of the Airport, either in whole or in part, pursuant to the Federal Aviation Administration Airport Privatization Pilot Program and the Modernization and Reform Act of 2012; and containing a severability clause and emergency clause.
• B.B.#20 – Roddy – An ordinance repealing paragraph (f) of Section Two of Ord. 63780, approved on May 31, 1996, as amended in Ordinance 64550, approved January 15, 1999, and Ordinance 68236 approved January 16, 2009 and in lieu thereof a new paragraph (f) is enacted extending the period of time during which the Central West End Southeast Special Business District shall be permitted to collect a tax within the boundaries of the district and increasing the amount of such tax to an amount not to exceed $0.85 per $100.00 of the assessed valuation of all real property within such district and to amend and restate the use for which the additional revenue produced by such tax may be put to include cleaning, landscaping and maintenance, security and public safety, purchase and installation of public infrastructure, public transportation, administration, and contingency fund for such categories; and containing effectiveness and emergency clauses.
• B.B.#21 – Cohn/Clark-Hubbard – An ordinance approved and recommended by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment approving and authorizing the execution and delivery of an Operating Lease Agreement of the property known as the West End Community Center; between the City of St. Louis as lessor, and Demetrious Johnson Charitable Foundation, Inc., as lessee; with an emergency provision.
• B.B.#22 – Howard – An ordinance pertaining to parking within the “5347 Nottingham Parking District; “establishing the locationand restrictions for curb parking in the restricted parking zone within the “5647 Nottingham Parking District;” authorizing the placement of Permit Parking Only signs within the District; and prohibiting the parking, within the District, of any vehicle which does not display the authorized permit; containing definitions, a penalty clause and an emergency clause.
• B.B.#23 – Middlebrook – An ordinance approving a Redevelopment for 1920 North Broadway.
• B.B.#24 – Vollmer – An ordinance to provide for the borrowing of funds in anticipation of the collection of tax payments levied by the City For deposit in its General Revenue Fund for the calendar year ending December 31, 2019 and remaining uncollected and other revenues remaining to be collected and deposited in the General Revenue Fund for fiscal year ending June 30, 2020; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#25 – Guenther – An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for 3230 Oregon.
• B.B.#26 – Guenther – An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for 2911-2915 Ohio.
• B.B.#27 – Vaccaro – An ordinance requiring the Board of Election Commissioners to post on its website the qualifications and requirements that must be met by an individual in order to file Declaration of Candidacy for elected office in the City and the procedure for filing a Declaration of Candidacy which are codified in Chapter 2.08 of the City of St. Louis Revised Code of Ordinances; and to update said posting within three days following the effective date of any City of St. Louis ordinance or Missouri state stature which change or modify said requirements, rules and procedures.
• B.B.#28 – Davis – An Ordinance recommended and approved by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment authorizing and directing the Director of Airports and the to enter into and execute onbehalf of the City the “Assignment and Assumption of Interest inDual Customs Agreement and Consent of The City of St. Louis” agreement (“Assignment Agreement”) whereby the City consents to the assignment by Bi-National Gateway Terminal, LLC to Brownsville International Air Cargo, Inc., all of Assignor’s right, title and interest in the Dual Customs Agreement AL-353, between the City and Assignor, dated January 9, 2015; said Assignment Agreement was approved by the Airport Commission and is attached hereto as ATTACHMENT “1”;containing a severability clause; and containing an emergency clause.B.B.#29 – Davis – An ordinance recommended by the Airport Commission and the Board of Estimate and Apportionment authorizing the Director of Airports to approve and execute on behalf of the Citythe “Consent to Change In Ownership and Control Structure ofBi-National Gateway Terminal LLC” substantially in the form as set out in ATTACHMENT “1” to this Ordinance, which is attached hereto and incorporated herein, whereby the City consents to the change in ownership of Bi-National Gateway Terminal, LLC(“Bi-National”), the lessee, under that certain Second Restatedand Amended Lease Agreement AL-094, dated February 14, 2019 and authorized by City Ordinance No. 70909 approved February 11, 2019, between the City and Bi-National (“Lease Agreement”), as such consent by the City is required in accordance with Section 1001 entitled “Assignment” of theLease Agreement; providing that the provisions set forth in this Ordinance will be applicable exclusively to the document approved or authorized by this Ordinance; and containing a severability clause and an emergency clause.
• B.B.#30 – NUMBER NOT USED THIS SESSION
• B.B.#31 – Roddy – An Ordinance recommended by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment authorizing and directing the issuance and delivery of not to exceed in aggregate $17,259,000 plus issuance costs principal amount of tax increment revenue notes (Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4 City Foundry Saint Louis RPA2 Redevelopment Project) Series 20__- A/B, of The City of St. Louis; prescribing the form and details of such notes and the covenants and agreements made by the City to facilitate and protect the payment thereof; and containing a severability clause.
• B.B.#32 – J. Boyd – An Ordinance authorizing the establishment of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council through an intergovernmental cooperative agreement by and between the City, the Sheriff, the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit Court, the Circuit Attorney, the Missouri State Public Defender and the Director of the Missouri Department of Corrections; authorizing the Mayor to enter into the intergovernmental cooperative agreement with the respective parties and; containing a severability clause.
• B.B.#33 – P. Boyd – An ordinance directing the Director of Streets to make such changes in the present traffic pattern controlling traffic on Thrush in the 5200 block of Thrush between Theodore and Thekla so that as reconfigured the traffic pattern developed and in place as a result of the changes directed by this ordinance are as follows, namely: Thrush – 5200 block – traffic to flow one-way northeast between Theodore and Thekla.
• B.B.#34 – Howard – An ordinance submitting to the qualified voters of the City of St. Louis, a proposal to revise Section 2 of Article VIII of the City of St. Louis Charter which requires City employees to reside within the boundaries of the City of St. Louis and thus allow said employees, except for City Agency and Department Directors appointed by the Mayor, to reside outside of the boundaries of the City, and; providing for an election to be held for voting on the proposed revision and the manner of voting thereat and; for the publication, certification, deposit, and recording of this ordinance; and containing an emergency clause.

The meeting begins at 10am, past meetings and a live broadcast can be watched online here. See list of all board bills for the 2019-2020 session — the new bills listed above may not be online right away.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Board of Aldermen: New Board Bills Week 2 of 2019-2020 Session

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen will meet at 10am today, their 2nd meeting of the 2019-2020 session. Their first was Tuesday 4/16/19 when new members (newly elected & reelected) were sworn into office.

As the first session meeting with the introduction of new legislation, today’s agenda includes 24 new bills:

• B.B.#2 – Coatar – An Ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission pertaining to the Zoning Code, Title 26; amending Chapter 26.08 of the Revised Code by adding a cross-reference in the definition section for marijuana related uses; adding a new Chapter to the Zoning Code, Title 26, pertaining to the regulation of medical marijuana facilities and including sections on the purpose, definitions, use regulations and site requirements for Medical Marijuana Facilities, to be codified as Chapter 26.70 of the Revised Code; and containing a severability and an emergency clause.
• B.B.#3 – Davis – An Ordinance recommended and approved by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment authorizing and directing the Director of Airports and the Comptroller, owner and operator of St. Louis Lambert International Airport to enter into and execute the Land Lease Agreement between the City and the United States of America, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, granting to Lessee, subject to and in accordance with the terms, covenants, and conditions of the Agreement, certain rights and privileges in connection with the occupancy and use of the Premises, which is defined and more fully described in Section 1 of the Agreement that was approved by the Airport Commission and is attached hereto as ATTACHMENT “1” and made a part hereof, and its terms are more fully described in Section One of this Ordinance; containing a severability; and an emergency clause.
• B.B.#4 – P. Boyd – An Ordinance establishing a four-way stop site at the intersection of Garesche and Goodfellow regulating all traffic traveling north-westbound and south-eastbound on Garesche at Goodfellow and regulating all traffic traveling north- eastbound and south-westbound on Goodfellow at Garesche, and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#5 – Bosley – An Ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission on April 3, 2019, to change the zoning of property as indicated on the District Map and in City Block 1179, from “B” Two-Family Dwelling District to the “F” Neighborhood Commercial District, at 1500-04 Salisbury; and containing an emergency clause
• B.B.#6 – Moore – An Ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission, to change the zoning of property as indicated on the District Map and in City Block 1880, from “C” Multiple- Family Dwelling District to the “H” Area Commercial District, at 3614 & 3616 Cote Brilliante; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#7 – Muhammad – An Ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission, to change the zoning of property as indicated on the District Map and in City Block 3399, from “F” Neighborhood Commercial District to the “B” Two-Family Dwelling District, at 1913 & 1925 E. College; and containing an emergency clause
• B.B.#8 – NUMBER NOT USED THIS SESSION
• B.B.#9 – Arnowitz – An ordinance authorizing and directing the Director of the City Department of Health (DOH) to enter into and execute an Agreement with St. Louis University (SLU) and St. Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice (SLCPHSJ) as part of a Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) grant to fund an Academic Health Department (AHD), upon approval of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, and to expend funds by entering into contracts or otherwise for the grant purposes and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#10 – Clark-Hubbard – An Ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission on February 6, 2019, to change the zoning of property as indicated on the District Map and in City Block 4549, from “B” Two-Family Dwelling District and “E” Multiple-Dwelling District to the “G” Local Commercial and Office District, at 5505, 5535-55 & 5559-79 Delmar Blvd. and 713-27 &731 Belt Ave., so as to include the described parcels of land in City Block 4549; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#11 – Muhammad – An ordinance submitting to the qualified voters of the City of St. Louis a proposed amendment to the Charter of the City of St. Louis to maintain the Board of Aldermen as body of twenty-eight Aldermen representing twenty-eight wards, and preventing its reduction beginning December 31, 2021, to a body of fourteen Aldermen representing fourteen wards as called for under Article I, Section 3 of the City Charter; providing for an election to be held for voting on the proposed amendment and the manner for the voting; and for the publication, certification, deposit, and recording of this ordinance; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#12 – Vaccaro – An ordinance repealing Section One of Ordinance No. 68605, approved March 16, 2010, and codified as 2.08.430 in the City Revised Code of Ordinances, which pertains to election rules and procedures relating to the payment of taxes by candidates for elective office in the City, and replacing said section of Ordinance No. 68605 with a new Section One requiring all candidates for elective public office in the City to have paid in full at the time of their filing the those taxes and bills for services set forth herein and to provide evidence thereof in a sworn affidavit at said time.
• B.B.#13 – Davis – An Ordinance recommended by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment of The City authorizing and directing (i) the issuance by The City, of its Airport Revenue Bonds, (ii) St. Louis Lambert International Airport, in an aggregateAGENDA NO. 2 APRIL 26, 2019 8
  principal amount not to exceed Thirty Five Million Dollars ($35,000,000) in one or more series as part of the $3,500,000,000 of bonds approved by the voters of the City in 1991 and 2003; and containing a severability and an emergency Clause.
• B.B.#14 – Davis – Pursuant to Ordinance 68937, an ordinance authorizing the honorary street name Fr. Biondi S. J. Way, which shall begin at the intersection of Lindell and Grand and run south on Grand to the intersection of Grand and the eastbound entrance ramp to Highway 44.
• B.B.#15 – Coatar – An ordinance promoting the use of energy efficient heating through the connection to the Downtown Steam Distribution system; promoting the continual use of the Downtown Steam Distribution System for any development project occurring in Downtown St. Louis seeking Municipal
  Financial Incentives; prohibiting the Clean Energy Development Board from approving financing for any project that would result in a commercial building disconnecting from or no longer using the Downtown Steam Distribution System for heat; a portion of the net profits be remitted to the SWMDC and containing a severability clause.
• B.B.#16 – Coatar – An Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 50258, which ordinance relates in part to the vacation of Russell from DeKalb to Second Street (the “Russell Vacation”) with conditions, authorizing the termination of the fire lane on the Russell Vacation in order that Soulard Second Street, L.L.C. or its successors and assigns (the “Developer”) may build a project on certain land (the “Subject Property”) located at 161-181 Trudeau.
• B.B.#17 – Roddy – An ordinance submitting to the qualified voters residing in the Central West End Southeast Special Business District, as established in Ordinance No. 63780, approved May 31, 1996, amended in Ordinance No. 64550, approved January 15, 1999, and amended in Ordinance No. 68236, approved January 16, 2009, a proposal to extend the levy of a tax on the real property located in said district for an additional ten years and increasing the amount of such tax to an amount not to exceed $0.85 per $100 assessed valuation; submitting said proposal to the voters of said district at a Special Election on August 6, 2019; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#18 – Roddy – An ordinance approving the petition to establish the Newstead West Community Improvement District, establishing the Newstead West Community Improvement District.
• B.B.#19 – Spencer – An Ordinance requiring a City-wide vote to approve any proposal aimed at or having the effect of privatizing the St. Louis Lambert International Airport by the City’s renting, leasing or transferring its control of the Airport, either in whole or in part, pursuant to the Federal Aviation Administration Airport Privatization Pilot Program (49 U.S.C. §47134; Section 149) and the Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-95); and containing a severability clause and emergency clause.
• B.B.#20 – Roddy – An ordinance repealing paragraph (f) of Section Two of Ordinance 63780, approved on May 31, 1996, as amended in Ordinance 64550, approved January 15, 1999, and Ordinance 68236 approved January 16, 2009 and in lieu thereof a new paragraph (f) is enacted extending the period of time during which the Central West End Southeast Special Business District shall be permitted to collect a tax within the boundaries of the district and increasing the amount of such tax to an amount not to exceed $0.85 per $100.00 of assessed valuation of all real property within such district and to amend and restate the use for which the additional revenue produced by such tax may be put to include cleaning, landscaping and maintenance, security and public safety, purchase and installation of public infrastructure, public transportation, administration, and contingency fund for such categories; and containing effectiveness and emergency clauses.
• B.B.#21 – Cohn/Clark-Hubbard – An ordinance approved and recommended by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment approving and authorizing the execution and delivery of an Operating Lease Agreement of the property known as the West End Community Center between the City of St. Louis, as lessor, and Demetrious Johnson Charitable Foundation, Inc., as lessee; with an emergency provision.
• B.B.#22 – Howard – An ordinance pertaining to parking within the “5347 Nottingham Parking District;” establishing the location and restrictions for curb parking in the restricted parking zone within the “5647 Nottingham Parking District;” authorizing the placement of Permit Parking Only signs within the District; and prohibiting the parking, within the District, of any vehicle which does not display the authorized permit; containing definitions, a penalty clause and an emergency clause.
• B.B.#23 – Middlebrook – An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for 1920 North Broadway.
• B.B.#24 – Vollmer – An ordinance to provide for the borrowing of funds in anticipation of the collection of tax payments levied by the City for deposit in its General Revenue Fund for the calendar year ending December 31, 2019 and remaining uncollected and other revenues remaining to be collected and deposited in the General Revenue Fund for fiscal year ending June 30, 2020; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#25 – Guenther – An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for 3230 Oregon.
• B.B.#26 – Guenther – An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for 2911-2915 Ohio.

The meeting begins at 10am, past meetings and a live broadcast can be watched online here. See list of all board bills for the 2019-2020 session — the new bills listed above may not be online right away.

— Steve Patterson

Readers: Keep Workhouse Open; Patterson: Shut It Down

In the recent non-scientific Sunday Poll more than half the respondents thought St. Louis’ workhouse should remain open.

Here are the results:

Q: Agree or disagree: The St. Louis Workhouse should remain open.

• Strongly agree: 6 [25%]
• Agree: 4 [16.67%]
• Somewhat agree: 4 [16.67%]
• Neither agree or disagree: 0 [0%]
• Somewhat disagree: 3 [12.5%]
• Disagree: 1 [4.17%]
• Strongly disagree: 6 [25%]
• Unsure/No Answer: 0 [0%]

Others, including myself, strongly disagree.

In a letter to the Close the Workhouse campaign, city Comptroller Darlene Green added her voice to those who want the decrepit jail built in 1966 to close its doors forever.
“Closing MSI is the right thing to do,” Green wrote. “It is within reach and can be completed in a matter of months, not years, with focus from the administration.” (Post-Dispatch)

From last month:

When Mary Fox took over the public defender’s office in St. Louis in 2007 there were about 2,000 defendants incarcerated who hadn’t been convicted of the alleged crimes that put them behind bars. Then, as now, the bulk of the people in jail in the city were there on pretrial release, most of them poor people, many black, who could not afford the bail set by a judge.
That number, still too high, is down to about 800, Fox said Thursday night at an event held by a coalition of activist groups known as Close the Workhouse. (Post-Dispatch)

Here’s more on the Close the Workhouse campaign:

The Close the Workhouse campaign aims to attack mass incarceration, without legitimizing or justifying the continued caging of people as punishment. We call for the closure of the Medium Security Institute, better known in St. Louis as the Workhouse, an end to wealth based pretrial detention, and the reinvestment of the money used to cage poor people and Black people into rebuilding the most impacted neighborhoods in this region.

The Workhouse is part and parcel of a racist and predatory system of mass incarceration that grew directly out of slavery and Jim Crow and works to perpetuate this shameful legacy in America. The story of the Workhouse illustrates this oppressive history.

The campaign is a collaboration of the individuals subjected to incarceration at the Workhouse and lawyers and activists engaged on the issue. The campaign’s three primary organizational partners work in collaboration everyday in St. Louis to get people free: Action St. Louis, ArchCity Defenders, and Bail Project St. Louis.

The Campaign emerges directly from the outcry that was the Ferguson Uprising. It is grounded in a commitment to end an ongoing war against Black people that has been waged against generations of families in St. Louis. Our aim is not to reform but rather dismantle a racist system that has destroyed lives and to abolish the practice of criminalizing the poor. We not only seek to close the workhouse but also to use the money currently spent to cage Black people to rebuild the most impacted communities. We embrace this task in order to vindicate the victims of the Workhouse and to secure future generations’ ability to thrive.

Please join us in this fight to permanently limit the City of St. Louis’s ability to cage poor people and Black people in this region. Help us share the report and plan throughout impacted communities in St. Louis. With your support, “this is a fight we can win, it is a fight we have to win”.

The St. Louis Workhouse is part of the problem in St. Louis, it’s not a solution.

— Steve Patterson

Readers Opposed To Missouri National Guard Patroling St. Louis’ Worst Neighborhoods

Following a recent daytime shooting Ald. Brandon Bosley started a long-overdue conversation about taking back neighborhoods from criminal elements.

The boldness of the crime, on a sunny spring day as sports fans flocked downtown, just three miles south, led the neighborhood’s alderman to call for deployment of the Missouri National Guard before the summer hits and crime spikes.

“I’m done waiting,” said Alderman Brandon Bosley of the 3rd Ward. “Before it gets too bad, we need to do something measurable. Extra hands. Extra guns. Guns bigger than the ones on the street.”

Bosley said he and the city Board of Aldermen’s black caucus had been talking for weeks about petitioning Gov. Mike Parson. He said he hoped to persuade the board to pass a resolution calling on Parson to send troops to the worst city neighborhoods. (Post-Dispatch)

The conversation took place on Twitter after Post-Dispatch writer David Hunn sent out the following tweet about the story:

I read through some of the replies, many good points made. In general I don’t like the idea of military forces being brought in. On the other hand, though I do live in North St. Louis, I’m not in a neighborhood that’s experiencing the violence that a few areas are. I get it, Bosley and residents want something done. Now!

Maybe the Missouri National Guard is the answer, maybe not. I’ve said before a lot of our problems are long-term, requiring long-term solutions. Correcting inequalities would help, but that will take many years once started. Understandably, Bosley wants action before it gets hot out.

I wish I had the answer.

Here are the results of the recent non-scientific Sunday Poll:

Q: Should Gov. Parsons send the Missouri National Guard to help patrol the worst neighborhoods in the City of St. Louis?

• Definitely not!: 11 [33.33%]\
• No: 7 [21.21%]
• Hmm, don’t think so: 3 [9.09%]
• Neither yes or no: 1 [3.03%]
• Hmm, I suppose: 4 [12.12%]
• Yes: 5 [15.15%]
• Definitely yes!: 2 [6.06%]
• Unsure/No Answer: 0 [0%]

A clear majority oppose the idea of the National Guard.

A Doug Unplugged segment on the subject, not online at this time, missed the point entirely. KMOV’s DougVaughn liked the idea, saying the National Guard should be outside Cardinals games, etc. Bosley isn’t arguing for military to make suburbanites who venture downtown for a game to feel safe, he’s trying to help the people in his ward feel safe in their neighborhoods

— Steve Patterson

Board of Aldermen End 2018-19 Session Today, Begin 2019-20 Session Tomorrow

When the St. Louis Board of Aldermen are in session they typically meet at 10am on Friday mornings. Their last meeting was February 1st, breaking for Spring elections.

This week they’ll meet today & tomorrow, but not Friday. Today is the last day of the 2018-2019 session, known as Sine Die. Tomorrow is the first meeting of the 2019-2020 session.

Today’s agenda includes wrapping up legislation from the 2019-2019 session, final consent to many bills. Also on the agenda is a long list of courtesy  resolutions, political thank yous.

One is worth noting.

Res.#296 – Ingrassia – The Board of Aldermen wishes our colleague Scott Ogilvie much success in his future endeavors.

Scott Ogilvie decided not to seek a 3rd term, today is his last day as an Alderman. Terry Kennedy’s last day as an alderman is today, he also didn’t seek another term. Kennedy will become the Board’s new Clerk. Their replacements, and others re-elected, will be sworn into office tomorrow.

Friday morning meetings resume next week on the 26th or May 3rd, per today’s & tomorrow’s agendas, respectively.

— Steve Patterson