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Happy Valentine's Day eve! Incase you missed it, the Council passed a modified version of the sidewalk infill requirement rollback last week. You can read all about it here, but basically instead of scrapping the requirement altogether, they gave the Director of Public Services sole discretion to waive them when he saw fit. I don't love the subjective application of the law —everyone should play by the same rules and have certainty in terms of what will be required of them— but apparently the Council disagreed as the revised amendment passed unanimously. Mayor Gibbons emphasized that this council was very dedicated to walkability and pedestrian safety and Council Member Jaksetic stated that their decision wasn't a choice between "yay for sidewalks" or "boo for sidewalks". This amendment wasn't a very big deal, but this is unambiguously is a weakening of the sidewalk regulations, so... it's kind of sounds like the council is on team "boo for sidewalks"...
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- In better news, earlier this week I got my hands on the grant application submitted for the overhaul of Argonne, and while it's not quite there, it is better than I expected and within striking distance of real perfection. Hoping to have a piece up on how we can get there here shortly.
- A couple of items from last week's Webster-Kirkwood Times:
- On pg. 1, there's a great write up of Kirkwood Library as it approaches its 100-year anniversary here in 2026. Two quick thoughts:
- The "library of things" that lets you borrow physical equipment like cameras, tablet computers, and board games is actually so cool, you can check out the full list here
- This is sort of out there, but I really want the library to explore the possibility of adding a small coffee bar to the right of the foyer. It already operates a small gift shop there (my grandma is a volunteer!), and I think being able to grab a cup of joe and maybe a pastry 1) would make it an even better place to get some work done and 2) would add a bit of additional revenue. The gift shop space is perfect for it, let's reach out to Kaldis and get this done for the 100th year!
- Then, at the end, there are a bunch of notices for next week's City Council hearings on the budget. The city has taken a conservative approach, setting aside a nice chunk of funds in a rainy day fund, but I will say that in the minutes from a recent Council work session, the Citizens Finance Committee seems a bit concerned. Here are two bullets from the CFC's presentation:
- New development in the City’s various commercial districts has markedly slowed over the past year, perhaps due to higher interest rates.
- Revenue projections are low. The reliance on sales tax is a vulnerability, and there are not a lot of revenue sources besides going out for additional taxes.It is true that an over reliance on sales taxes is bad (it leaves you vulnerable to recessions) and that development (i.e. additional property taxes) has slowed in recent years, partially due to high interest rates. What's also true is that the city has further limited its ability to spur development and diversify revenue streams by being averse to welcoming new development in Downtown. In fact, this exact Council rejected several plans that would've brought the city an additional ~$300k in revenue each year (check my math here). It's not too late to reverse growth and unlock value for Kirkwood residents.
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That's it for this week! Talk to you all soon!
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