Darkening of Driving Range Lights May Impact Future Grant Funding

The Municipal Park Grant Commission of St. Louis County has sent University City a letter asking it to reconsider decision to keep driving range lights turned off at night.

The St. Louis County commission that helped fund the driving range lights at the Ruth Park Golf Course in University City has written a letter to City Manager Lehman Walker asking him to reconsider his decision to permanently keep the lights off at night at the range. In the letter written June 3, Tim Fischesser, the executive director of the St. Louis County Municipal League writes: "It has has come to the attention of the Park Grant Commission that lights at the Ruth Park Driving Range, built with grant funding, have recently been left unused." The lights were reportedly disabled in January after some residents near the range complained they were too bright. In May, Walker made the decision to permanently shut off the lights. The action …

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On The Mind of The Mayor

A Time to Reflect

This is an excerpt from Mayor Shelley Welsch's personal website. To hear more about what the mayor has in store for U City go to http://www.ucitymo.com.

Hi, What is it about anniversaries? Why do certain days make you stop and think about days of the past? Is this an ingrained human trait, born of millennia of our forefathers and mothers building their lives around the changing of the seasons and the moon? Or a more recent response to the “Hallmark” approach to life, where someone is always trying to convince us to buy something even if they have to come up with a reason why we need it? Or is it a human coping mechanism, a way we’ve developed to organize our brains so we have the concentration and energy needed to continue to focus on the here- and-now so we can get something done? Think about the past, decide what worked and didn’t work, and then file it away? I’m not sure. What I am sure…

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City Council Considers Domestic Partnerships, Budget Transfers

Mayor Welsh, Councilmember Terry Crow collaborate on bill to extend domestic partnerships to residents of University City

Mayor Shelley Welsch and Councilmember Terry Crow introduced a bill to permit domestic partnerships in University City at Monday’s council meeting. The domestic partnership ordinance would be the first of its kind in St. Louis County. The City of St. Louis has a similar domestic partnership ordinance that was passed by the Board of Alderman in 2005. At the meeting, Mayor Welsch said that she and Crow had been writing an ordinance to permit domestic partnerships in U City separately and combined forces to write bill 9114, which was given its first reading at the meeting. “Mr. Crow and I met last week, and both discovered we were working on this bill, so we talked about it, and the bill introduced tonight is a combination of the two bills,” …

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Frustrated Residents Ask City Council For Status on Wilson Avenue Buyout

Two longtime University City residents asked the City Council for an update on the Wilson Avenue Buyout, which was delayed as the City pursued a new grant.

A frustrated Nazaree and Willie Burns asked the City Council Monday night for a status update on the Wilson Avenue Flood buyout. "Today is the 28th, this is the deadline that you all promised us," said Nazaree Burns. "You asked for one month."  The home of the longtime University City resident's is slated to be bought under the buyout program. In  late January, just days before homeowners were set to begin talks with the City about acquiring their homes, they learned the buyout time-line would be pushed back a month or more. The development stemmed from a nearly one million dollar supplemental disaster grant the city had applied for through the Missouri Department of Economic Development. At a community meeting on January 27th, City …

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Holston Black Jr.

10:13 am on Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Thanks Myra for your explanation of the problem, Maggie's link to the West End Word was also very illuminating. I am sure the second ward councilmembers are fighting for their constituents as well as Mr. Price however as an African American, seventy years old I cannot understand how we have to wait and understand after promises have been made to make us whole within a certain amount of time. Is …   more ›

Council Member Terry Crow Shares With Constituents Concerns Over Council Environment

Council member Crow has e-mailed his constituents expressing his concerns over the budget, the mayor and a reprimand of a fellow council member.

Council member Terry Crow has sent an email to his constituents in the First Ward expressing his concerns over "recent events" in U City and urging them to turn out for tonight's City Council meeting. "Those with the power are dismantling our community infrastructure, demoralizing city employees, and creating a great deal of ill will," he wrote in the email. Crow took issue with a  resolution to reprimand Council member Byron Price. "For the first time in my tenure on the council the mayor is asking the council to reprimand an elected official," he wrote. In the letter of reprimand, University City Mayor Shelley Welsch alleges Council member Price defamed the city manager, spoke in a bullying fashion to an employee and a member of council…

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University City Considers Partnering With Habitat for Humanity St. Louis

Habitat for Humanity St. Louis passes initial hurdle to building several homes in the City.

The University City City Council has agreed to consider establishing a partnership with Habitat for Humanity St. Louis for the development of five City-owned vacant lots in the northeast section of U City. The motion received unanimous approval after it was amended to add that the partnership be based on an understanding that the new homes will be designed to blend into the neighborhood. The wording was reworked after Councilman Byron Price voiced concerned about the structures and blending. Kimberly McKinney, CEO of Habitat for St. Louis said they had not started the design work so could not provide a specific example on what the University City houses would look like. But she assured the council that their architects work with the …

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Possible Delay in Wilson Avenue Buyout

A possible delay for Wilson Avenue residents who had hoped to start talks with the City next week about buying their property.

It was a contentious City Council meeting on Monday night. Councilman Byron Price was furious over a new development that could mean a one month delay or more for residents involved in the Wilson Avenue flood buyout program. City Manager Lehman Walker said a nearly one million dollar grant the City applied for would mean delaying next week's planned talks with Wilson Avenue property owners about acquiring their land. On January, 7th the City applied to the Missouri Department of Economic Development requesting $987,000 from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Assistance Program. The 26 property owners were set to begin talks with the City February First. However, Walker said he learned Friday that if the City is …

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