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Apologies for the delay in sending out last week's newsletter and Kirkwood Electric story. I had some issues with my email distribution platform, but I think I have them all sorted now. One quick note that I'll be back in town next week for Thanksgiving, so if any of you would like to grab a coffee or a beer, please do not hesitate to reach out!
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- A few big items of note on tonight's City Council meeting agenda:
- Big Vote on 60 New Homes: First up is the vote on the Pitman Place apartments. We expect this to pass, and I commend the Council on working with the developer to get a better project here and, in doing so, for making a change to the zoning code that will make a small but meaningful step toward improved affordability in Kirkwood
- Ballooning Costs of Public Works Move: The news keeps getting worse on the economics of moving the public works facility. After buying the new site off of Leffingwell for $12.5 million without an appraisal back in 2023, the cost of renovating that facility into a functional space is now ballooning as well. Buried on page 202 of the agenda pdf is a memo that states that where the estimated cost for renovating the building was originally $4 million, it has now climbed to $7,850,745 if you don't move the emergency dispatch facility and $9,550,109 if you do. That means the city now estimates that they will have sunk more than $22 million into the project by the time it's all said and done. Hope the Council had that in mind when deciding to go with Double Eagle's proposal to try and recoup some of that investment, because adding zero new sales tax-generating commercial space is not the approach I would've gone with.
- RIP Recycling: Oh, and another thing, the new public works facility's costs have increased so much that the city is no longer planning to replace the recycling center at the new site. Instead, a small cardboard-only facility is recommended.
- Inter-Gov Partnership: We're renewing our Fire and EMS partnership contracts with Glendale. In exchange for helping administer their departments, they'll pay us just north of $250k a year
- The Webster Kirkwood Times last week:
- On pg. 1, another look at the Council's recent electric rate hikes. I wish the paper was treating this as less of a mystery, but that's also how the Council seems to be framing it. As I said last week though, the numbers tell us what really happened.
- On pg. 4, an update on the Community Center renovations and the semi-alarming news that the Council is intent on voting on the new stormwater ordinance by late December, despite warnings from numerous industry professionals that this will contribute to significantly higher home maintenance costs in Kirkwood. I'll be keeping an eye out for updated legislation text that addresses the concerns raised regarding maximum lot coverage and reducing the minimum size of improvements that trigger water runoff review.
- On pg. 7, some updates on various city construction projects
- Here's a follow-up from New Channel 4 on the state Attorney General's investigation of Kirkwood's misuse of Opioid settlement money. The story says the City Council did not approve of the purchase of the truck. That's not true. Part 'h' of the May 16th Council meeting's consent agenda clearly lists: Resolution 79-2024, accepting the bid of Joe Machens Ford in the amount of $60,167 (pursuant to State of Missouri Cooperative Contract) for the purchase of a 2024 Ford F-350 for the Fire Department and authorizing and directing the Director of Procurement to issue a Purchase Order
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That's it for this week! Don't forget to register for the Turkey Trot if you haven't done so already, the price increases after Sunday! Have a great weekend, everyone!
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