In April 2023, I wrote a piece titled "Meacham Park is an Island: Part 1" that described the ways in which the historically Black neighborhood in the southeast corner of Kirkwood remained physically isolated from the rest of the community. The article seemed to resonate, and I even got a lot of comments from Meacham… Continue reading Meacham Park is an Island: Part 2
Update 12/11/2024: We learned new details about the origins of this proposal and which way the council is leaning at last week's public hearing. Here's the latest. When Director of Planning Jonathan Raiche presented to the council, you could tell he was a little pissed. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to… Continue reading Foregoing Sidewalks Won’t Make Kirkwood Affordable
Over a year after Kirkwood published its Attainable Housing Study, the city took its first cautious steps toward implementing some of its recommended solutions at last Thursday's City Council Work Session. But as Director of Planning Jonathan Raiche began presenting the study's findings, some council members appeared skeptical of its underlying premise. Council Member Jaksetic,… Continue reading Housing Reform on the Horizon?
When voters head to the ballot box on Tuesday, they will face many contentious questions that have been dissected 100 different ways: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, Lucas Kunce or Josh Hawley, should abortion be legal or illegal? I don't think I'm very likely to sway anyone one way or another on any of these.… Continue reading Election Day 2024: A Voter’s Guide
Last Friday, I wrote a piece explaining Prop T and why I don't think it's the right solution for improving Kirkwood's roads. In the week since, I've got a lot of responses folks stating that, while they agree that a Transportation Development District might not be the ideal solution, they weren't sure what the alternatives… Continue reading Three Alternatives To New Transportation Tax
On November 5th, Kirkwood voters will head to the polls to make an incredibly important choice. I speak, of course, of the question of whether or not the city should institute Prop T, a city-wide Transportation Development District (TDD) that would fund street improvements through a new city-wide half-cent sales tax levy. While the condition… Continue reading Four Reasons I’m Against Prop T
Kirkwood has issued a Request For Proposals for mixed-use development on 6 city-owned acres in the heart of Downtown. The city hopes the responses will yield a multi-faceted windfall for the community, but the stipulations listed in the RFP and the —$12.5 million the city has already sunk into facilitating such development— may mean that… Continue reading Public Works Site RFP Issued: Kirkwood Seeks to Recoup $12.5M
Update 9/30/2024: I made a mistake in estimating the tax revenue impact of this project. While I originally estimated the city would have brought in $900k in annual tax revenue from the project, upon further review, the impact would have likely been closer to $300k annually. For transparency's sake, I would like to thoroughly explain… Continue reading HDA Plan Rejected; City Loses $300k a Year
A couple of weeks back, Patrick Richmond wrote a mailbag letter in the Webster-Kirkwood Times that I think made some great points: First, I think he's spot on that the only real way of combatting congestion and a perceived shortage of parking in a growing Kirkwood is to get some people to switch from driving… Continue reading Micro-Transit: A Better Use for TDD
I've written 95 stories since I started Kirkwood Gadfly back in 2017. Of those 100 stories, my three stories covering the Jefferson RFP responses the city rejected rank 2, 3, and 8 in terms of numbers of views. Why? Well, my theory goes a little something like this: Kirkwood residents have repeatedly indicated that their… Continue reading Council Passes on $60m Investment & 362 Parking Spaces from NOVUS
