24th Ward Meeting at St. James the Greater, January 24th, 2012

Officers from the 6 neighborhoods in the 24th Ward met with Alderman Scott Olgivie to discuss issues that are common to the entire ward.  During these meetings, the big issues would be addressed and it was agreed that 2 meetings a year would be a good goal for now.

Forest Park Hospital is for sale.  The property is a very large one and is of interest to a few developers at this time. No names for now, until plans are further along.

The Wellington Bridge construction will begin this spring and will be a 12-14 month project.  It will include a bike path which is the extension of the Grant Trail.

The Skinker-Clayton intersection will undergo construction of multiple crosswalks to improve pedestrian safety in the area. The city will try to obtain an 80 % matching grant for this project and will take several years to complete.  The Cheshire restaurant property will probably contain 2-3 eating establishments, but this plan is still pending.  The street between the Cheshire and the BP station will be narrowed and their will be additional parking created.

Do the members of the 6 neighborhoods want to create volunteer teams for neighborhood projects? Some local problem areas were mentioned as good projects to get our ward members together and improve some areas.  The Southwest Santa Fe railroad bridge and Hampton/Manchester areas have collected trash and a Saturday cleanup day in the spring would spruce up the areas and be a good opportunity for a productive and fun joint project. If anyone has some other problem ares to tackle, let Scott know. He can be contacted at his facebook site or email.

There are 106 parks in the city of St. Louis and there is a 30 year bond that is funding the park projects, most of the money to be spent in the 1st 5 years, and the rest for maintenance.  We need to have 20 year plans for our parks and develop park planning committees in our neighborhood associations. 

Questions were asked about new businesses in the area.  The neighborhood association presidents could be notified about new business applications by the city License office.

Recycling issues were discussed.  Forest Park Community College should have a recycling collection day in association with Earth Day.  Procomputers on Manchester will recycle old computers.

And, The Highpoint Theater is celebrating its 90th Anniversary this year.  Does anyone want to talk about the possibility of planning  a special movie event for our 6 neighborhoods, celebrating this independent, neighborhood theater and our city neighborhoods?

Respectfully,

Janelle Carron, corresponding secretary for the Franz Park Neighborhood Association.