The Town Hall meeting was called to order by Mayor Young at 6:30 p.m.  Mayor Young made the following introductions: 

The Pledge of Allegiance was given.

Mayor Young explained that the purpose of the Town Hall Meeting is to give the audience the opportunity to address the Board on any topic.

Ruth Murphy, 243 Howard Drive:  Mrs. Murphy said that Howard Drive has not been repaved in 37 years.  Minor repairs have been done but the street is in poor condition.  She said that Ballwin has money for other things such as parks, and she asked that Howard Drive be moved up on the list of streets for repaving.  Mayor Young explained that there is a special half cent sales tax that can only be spent on the parks, pool, recreation center.  Street repairs do not qualify for these funds.  Alderman Pogue said he supports more work being done in this area.  City Engineer Kramer said that new roadway pavement condition scores will be in this Fall for street evaluation.  Mrs. Murphy asked if there is a date set for repaving Howard Drive.  Mayor Young said that this Fall when the report is received, there will be an evaluation to determine what streets will be repaired. 

Mrs. Murphy asked that Ballwin pay for a portion of the trash collection bill.  City Administrator Kuntz said that Ellisville is able to do this because they have a property tax, which Ballwin does not have.  Alderman Gatton said that until recently, Ballwin subsidized the trash bills by paying nearly a quarter of one million dollars for recycling.  The City budget no longer allows us to do that.  He said the Board determined that it would be better to spend the money on repairing streets.  There is a limited amount of money and the question is should it be put toward subsidizing the trash bill or street repair? 

Mrs. Murphy asked who designed the parking for Olde Towne Plaza?  She said it was extremely poor planning.  Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that the plaza is private property and they designed it the way they wanted it. 

Mrs. Murphy said that the no left turn at Schnucks is a good and she thanked the Ballwin officials for doing this. 

Martin Lesko, 410 Valley Manor:  He requested that the Valley Manor speed limit be reduced.  He said this is important to protect the children.  Motor accidents are a major cause of death and injury to children.

Mary Lesko, 410 Valley Manor:  She supports lowering the speed limit on Valley Manor to 20 mph.  There are many children in the subdivision and there have been many near misses.  She said the majority of the people in the subdivision want the speed limit lowered.  This is about the safety of the kids in the neighborhood.

Mayor Young said that in addition to the information provided by the residents, information was also provided by the Police Department and Public Works so that a decision could be made.

Elizabeth Christie, 411 Valley Manor:  Ms. Christie spoke in favor of the lower speed limit on Valley Manor Drive.  She said there is a speeding problem and a lot of non-resident traffic.  The same problem exists in her neighborhood as in a school zone. 

Lance Christie, 411 Valley Manor:  Mr. Christie spoke in favor of lowering the speed limit on Valley Manor.  He disagrees with the conclusions of the Police report.  The report states that changing the speed limit will cause Ballwin to change its ordinance.  “The city will have a difficult time refusing to lower the speed limit on other streets that have more residences with children and a higher traffic volume.”  He said the residents know best what the speed limit should be in their neighborhood.  Speed limit signs should be posted.  He asked that the Board be pro-active to protect the children.  He said the Board of Aldermen are supposed to be representatives of the people, elected by the people, and for the people.  He asked that they listen to the people.

Police Chief Biederman said that traffic count information is available and it can be provided to the residents.  The average speed was 15 mph and the 85 percentile speed was 22 mph.

Harold Viemann, 585 Rolling Glen Lane, Meadowcrest Subdivision:  Mr. Viemann said that MoDOT has stated that the property where the entry monument is located is owned by Ballwin.  The monument will be removed when Clayton Road is widened and 15 feet will be taken away from the common ground.  He wants to know who owns the common ground. 

Tim Purviance, 989 Morena Ct.:  Mr. Purviance described the unsightly condition of the property at 977 Morena.  He said there needs to be limits on how much yard art should be allowed and what should be considered art. 

Larry Heintz, 968 Morena Ct.:  Mr. Heintz said that he bought his property 35 years ago and is one of the original home owners in this subdivision.  The Greenbergs at 977 Morena used to have 2 yard art items.  In the past 1½ - 2 years, the yard art has increased to 30 or 40 items.  There are water buckets hanging on trees with a pole, poles hanging on trees with aluminum foil running from tree limbs to tree limbs, the front door has decals and keep out signs, and 19 lights that stay on all night.  The property values in the neighborhood have been reduced.  Many years ago, the owner of a home on Skyline Drive had put two trees in the front yard with carvings on them.  The City of Ballwin required the owner to remove the trees because they did not belong there and were not part of the landscape.  He wants to keep his property values up.

City Attorney Lucchesi asked if the homeowners association can do anything about this.  Mr. Purviance said there are no controls in the indentures.  The flood lights are not wired properly.  Holes have been in his garage, and extension cords are used. 

City Administrator Kuntz said that this issue won’t be solved at this meeting, however, this should be checked out by our Code Enforcement department, and follow the law.  City Attorney Lucchesi said there is a real issue with the law and speech freedom problems.  Code Enforcement may be able to deal with the number of displays.  Mayor Young said that staff will look at this issue.

Bill Vellos, 812 Kehrs Mill:  Mr. Velios suggested that “do not litter” signs be placed on Kehrs Mill Road between Clayton Road and Holloway, and Holloway Road and New Ballwin Road.  There is a lot of trash being dropped in these areas. 

Mr. Vellios mentioned the poor condition of the road and gutters on Kehrs Mill Road and Holloway.  City Administrator Kuntz said that Ballwin will be starting curb and gutter work in a couple of weeks.  The work will be done over several years. 

Liz Aten, 36 Meadowbrook Country Club Estates, Senior Trustee:  Ms. Aten thanked the Board for the road repair work that has been done in her neighborhood. 

There were no further comments from the audience for the Board, and the Town Hall meeting was adjourned at 7:22 p.m.

 Walter S. Young, Mayor

ATTEST:

Robert A. Kuntz, City Administrator

MC