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Kirkwood has a new Chief Administrative Officer. Last night, Darren Lamb —Chief Administrator for Washington, MO— was chosen as Kirkwood's next top manager. He was, by all accounts, the best of the finalists, and I wish him nothing but the best. I hope Lamb's experience helping to develop the land around Downtown Washington's Amtrak station, which I spoke glowingly of back in this 2024 article, offers a useful model for how Kirkwood can leverage its single greatest asset. Godspeed, Darren.
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In other news, I didn't get any questions for the mailbag, so I guess I must be communicating very clearly and convincingly!
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Finally, a big congratulations to the new Council Members who were sworn in last night; excited to get to work!
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- Kirkwood for Everyone with a few cool updates:
- First, they're partnering with Braver Angels —a national non-profit that tries to help folks on different sides of political issues find common ground— to bring YIMBYS and housing skeptics together to hash it out. If you know anyone who is against allowing more housing options in Kirkwood —because they're worried about water runoff, loss of trees, or just think The James is ugly; anything!— please encourage them to fill out this form. I'm really hopeful that this will help everyone have healthier debates and potentially give housing advocates and housing skeptics alike a route forward.
- K4E also launched a very cool new product on their website that allows you to enter your address and see if your lot meets the minimum size requirements to build an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). Check it out and then check out the recording of K4E's ADU info session for more details on the process!
- The state legislature is finally taking some real substantive steps on the housing affordability front this year:
- The Missouri Senate Committee on Local Government has passed HB 2384, the single stair provision that's already been passed by the house, bringing the bill another step closer to the Governor's desk. It would be so amazing for Kirkwood if this thing makes it to the finish line this year. Everyone wants smaller, more affordable, more environmentally friendly, more livable apartments, but we're stuck with buildings like The James until we pass this. Call your state senators! Democrats should be supporting this thing and be pushing to add an elevator reform amendment:
- Kirkwood or Glendale: Sen.Tracy McCreery: 573-751-9762 / contact form
- Warson Woods or Rock Hill: Sen. Karla May: 573-751-3599 / contact form
- Webster or Oakland: Sen. Doug Beck: 573-751-0220 / contact form
- Back in the House, HB 2291, which establishes a 30-day shot clock for municipalities to approve or deny permits is also steadily advancing. Kirkwood is usually pretty good about addressing permits in a timely manner, but this is still good legislation and I'm disappointed to see Kirkwood Rep. Mark Boyko voted against it in committee. You should call or email him: 573-751-4069 / Mark.Boyko@house.mo.gov
- A few highlights from last week's Webster-Kirkwood Times:
- On pg. 1, a nice recap of the latest Council news, including reporting that the old public works site is to be sold to Double Eagle for $8 million. I'm still very disappointed the project / the new zoning district the city stood up for it does not include a retail component seeing as how sales taxes are the biggest source of funding for the city budget.
- In the Mailbag on pg. 6, Mark Gorris is dead right that the "purchase power adjustment" of an extra 3.5 cents on every kWh used should be lumped in with the base rate "Energy Charge" and it's very misleading to break it out like this, but that's politics for you. No one is going to want to take the hit of another "rate hike" headline even though you're not actually increasing rates, you're just moving numbers around.
- On pg. 11, the Eye on Kirkwood section, another encouragement to join a board or committee. You really should fill out the application! It's a great service to the community and you can have a real impact. P&Z, the Board of Adjustment, ARB, Landmarks, these entities have real power!
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That's all for this week! Have a great weekend, everyone!
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