Tuesday, April 2, 2013
It had to pass in both St. Louis City and St. Louis County in order to impose the sales tax increase to fund improvements around the Gateway Arch, local parks and regional trails.
Voters in St. Louis County and St. Louis City said yes to a 3/16ths of one-cent sales tax increase designed to fund about $31 million a year in improvements to the Gateway Arch grounds, the regional Great Rivers Greenway trails and greenways, and for city and county parks. The measure had to pass in both the county and the city in order to be implemented. In the city, with 100 percent of the vote counted, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the proposition won with 67 percent of the vote. With 100 percent of the votes counted in the county, the proposition passed easily with a 53 percent to 47 percent margin. The money would go toward: Correction: An earlier version of this article used the incorrect proposition name in the headline…
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The final of two public meetings will be held at Civic Center East on Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. Residents have an opportunity to provide feedback on what they want added, changed or enhanced at Musick Park.
The Hazelwood Parks and Recreation Division still needs additional public input about some renovations to Musick Park. The department is inviting all residents, especially those living in Ward 6, to attend final of two Musick Park Master Plan meetings, scheduled on Thursday, Dec. 13. This event will be held at Civic Center East, 8969 Dunn Road, starting at 7:30 p.m. “Hazelwood residents have a unique opportunity to provide their feedback on what they want added, changed or enhanced at Musick Park to make it a more enjoyable experience,” said Doug Littlefield, Hazelwood Parks and Recreation Division superintendent in a statement. “This master plan is being funded through a planning grant Hazelwood acquired through the Municipal Park Grant …
Thursday, August 16, 2012
A committee of parks supporters studied the St. Louis County Parks system and endorsed a tax increase proposal. The measure must pass through the county council, where Councilman Steve Stenger said there is not a funding problem with the parks.
A sales tax increase that might be on the ballot in April would free St. Louis County parks from further cuts or closures. That’s according to a committee of parks supporters who filed an interim report with county officials in July. The Green Ribbon Committee, which is comprised of former and current parks directors, city officials and trail agencies, was tasked with analyzing the county parks system after a tumultuous year of layoffs and threats to close parks. Councilman Steve Stenger, who represents South County, said the committee was a “rubber stamp operation” for County Executive Charlie Dooley to get a tax increase passed in St. Louis County. Stenger has been a vocal opponent of Dooley, and has hinted at running for county …
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Councilman Steve Stenger disagrees with the allocation for St. Louis County Parks as County Executive Charlie Dooley’s budget office reduces funding for the department.
The St. Louis County Parks Department is still $500,000 in the red despite laying off 20 employees and increasing revenue by $193,780. Those numbers were presented to the St. Louis County Council Tuesday in a plan meant to make the parks department more efficient. Acting Parks Director Tom Ott created a business plan that outlined a strategy to keep parks providing the basic services while reducing costs. The plan comes seven months after County Executive Charlie Dooley proposed closing 23 parks and laying off more than 100 employees because of a budget crisis. Early budget projections showed a $10 million deficit, according to the county executive. *At the end of the year, the county received unexpected revenues, leaving the parks open. …
Monday, July 23, 2012
The Parks Department will present a business plan to the St. Louis County Council after being the center of the 2012 budget discussion.
St. Louis County officials will hear a business plan for the Parks Department seven months after County Executive Charlie Dooley first threatened to close 23 county parks and lay off more than 170 employees, citing a budget crisis. The meeting will take place Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. in the St. Louis County Council conference room at 41 South Central Avenue in Clayton. Members of the county council—led by then-chairman Steve Stenger (D-Affton)—vehemently opposed Dooley’s initial 2012 budget proposal and questioned his office’s claim of a $10 million deficit. Parks activists also protested the closures, leading to several petitions and a rally outside county headquarters in Clayton. After forming a special budget committee, the council and …
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Employees say they were told their jobs were safe.
At age 43, Michele Whalen is looking for another job after almost three months of uncertainty. Whalen was one of 20 St. Louis County Parks employees who received lay-off notices Tuesday. An additional six employees were laid off in other departments. “They saved the parks, but they didn’t save our jobs,” she said. “At least now we know what was up, from Oct. 31 to Tuesday, we couldn’t do anything, we couldn’t plan anything. "How would you like living your life like that?” Whalen has worked in the parks maintenance department at Jefferson Barracks Park for the last year and was a seasonal employee for three years before that. The 26 layoffs come after a heated debate about the 2012 county budget. On Oct. 31, Dooley submitted a budget to the…
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Twenty-six county employees in the parks and public works departments to be laid off.
In a move that saves St. Louis County about $4 million, County Executive Charlie Dooley announced he was laying off 26 full-time employees. Six employees come from the public works department, while the parks department will see 20 lay-offs. Dooley also plans to terminate four part-time positions in the parks department, one full-time job in the revenue department and 25 funded, but unfilled positions, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday. Dooley said the county would lay off employees after he and the County Council reached a compromise on the 2012 budget. He originally proposed shutting down 23 St. Louis County Parks, laying off 173 employees and eliminating snowplowing in unincorporated areas when less than 2 inches …
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Open until New Year’s Day, Hazelwood residents can enjoy an entire mile of holiday magic.
Now in its 26th year, the Winter Wonderland in Tilles Park boasts more than one million twinkling lights, making it a magnet for families from around metro St. Louis. “It’s a family tradition,” said Justin Hirsch, Special Events Coordinator for St. Louis County Parks. Whether this is your first year to visit the Winter Wonderland or your 26th, you will find holiday scenes new and old. “The display changes every year,” said Hirsch. New and traditional sights New this year is a series of Christmas trees with lights that are synchronized to music. Also new are portions of the lighted tunnel and a snowflake effect that hangs over the roadway. Some of the previous years designs are in different locations this year. Look for the frog jumping …
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
After a tumultuous two-month period that included threats of park shutdowns, protests and the possible closing of a West County satellite office, council members sign off on a $357 million budget.
The St. Louis County Council has approved a $357 million budget that spares county parks and averts the shutdown of a satellite office in West County. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the budget plan will include cuts in staff through layoffs and through allowing vacant positions to remain unfilled — including 10 positions in the county police department. The Post says those positions do not include patrol officers. The cuts could involve as many as 50 employees. “That won’t be decided until January, where we’re at with those positions,” councilman Mike O’Mara, D-Florissant, told KMOX. The biggest hit is likely to come from the parks department; while no parks will be closed, the department budget is down from $26 million to $22.6 …
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
County Executive Charlie Dooley said all St. Louis County Parks will remain open.
Less than five minutes into Tuesday’s St. Louis County Council meeting, County Executive Charlie Dooley made the announcement that all 23 St. Louis County Parks slated for closure in 2012 will stay open. “The things that we’ve compromised on is that we’re going to leave all of our parks systems open… we will keep the West County satellite office open as well, and we will keep the plowing in unincorporated St. Louis County,” he said. The county executive emphasized a team effort in not only adjusting the 2012 budget, but also looking ahead for long-term solutions to what he originally predicted to be a $26 million budget deficit. “There may be lingering issues in the future about how large a deficit was or wasn’t, or if it exists. Those don…
John Dough
6:54 am on Thursday, April 4, 2013
As part of the General revenue fund prop P will get raided....Remember the casino vote?...for schools??? . more ›