Crestwood clerk position 2

Page 10A - Call Publishing, Thursday, July 31, 2014

City administrator’s conduct‘unprofessional,’ citizen says(Continued from Page 1A)city’s Charter and was opposed by City Clerk Tina Flowers, who has since re-signed, effective July 25. Sime named Helen Ingold acting city clerk.

In February, Sime proposed an ordinance to amend the city’s municipal code to make the city clerk’s position unclassifi ed, or exempt — the same status as elected offi cials, the city administrator and depart-ment heads, who are not covered under the city’s Civil Service Rules and Regulations.

During a period for public comment at the July 22 Board of Aldermen meeting, Martha Duchild prefaced her comments by reading Mayor Gregg Roby’s response to a question about transparency during a candidate forum earlier this year. Roby defeated former Mayor Jeff Schlink in the April election. Ward 3 Alderman Paul Duchild is Martha Duchild’s husband.

“Roby said, ‘The public has an absolute right to know what we are doing at all times. I believe in open government com-pletely,’” Martha Duchild said, adding, “I couldn’t agree more, but judging from the actions on the issues surrounding the attempted reclassifi cation of the city clerk’s position, it appears the city administrator and city attorney (Lisa Stump) don’t share the mayor’s enthusiasm for transparency.

“The following remarks are directed at the city administrator. In responding to inqui-ries from the press and public on why you proposed and then withdrew the ordinance to reclassify the city clerk’s position, effec-tively removing the clerk’s civil service pro-tection in addition to wasting $1,700 of tax-payer money (for legal fees), you claimed it was a personnel issue and you preferred not to discuss it. Is this correct?” she asked.

Sime replied, “Correct.”Martha Duchild said, “I found this response

peculiar, given this memo dated Feb. 4, 2014. The memo accompanied the proposed reclassifi cation ordinance, which was an agenda item that was to be discussed in pub-lic. The reason given for the reclassifi cation in this memo refers to the need to reclassify the clerk’s position due to the parameters outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). That was the reason you gave.

“How can the reason for the reclas-sifi cation be open for public debate in February, but then in June it somehow is a personnel issue that cannot be discussed? I can answer that. You gave one reason in February in the February memo, but then when (Ward 4) Alderman (Michael) Vincent expressed his concern to you at the end of May about the cost of the with-drawn ordinance, you led him to believe that the reclassifi cation was the city clerk’s wish. And that it was withdrawn because she changed her mind,” she continued.

“The story conveniently absolved you from any blame for wasting money on a withdrawn ordinance that was in confl ict with the City Charter. The May version of the reason for the reclassifi cation was a fabrication designed to shield you from public criticism. I have come to know both city clerks — the previous city clerk and (Flowers) through my work on the Civil Service Board, and one thing they valued

above all else was their civil service protec-tion,” Martha Duchild said. “So it is com-pletely implausible that the clerk would willingly relinquish these protections, let alone request that they be removed. Further, the city attorney’s redacted version of the city clerk’s side of the story in this matter was a blow to transparency.

“Mr. Sime, your conduct in this matter was unprofessional, and in your role as a personnel director, your treatment of the city clerk was unforgivable,” she said.

Sime did not respond to Martha Duchild’s remarks.

Flowers, who had served as city clerk since January 2007, submitted her resig-nation July 14. In a May 30 email sent to aldermen, Flowers wrote that Sime’s proposal would directly confl ict with the city’s Charter, which states the city clerk “shall be a civil service employee.”

Sime’s effort to reclassify the post re-surfaced after Ward 2 Alderman Tim True-blood instructed Stump on May 27 to draft an ordinance for aldermen to consider June 24 that, if approved, would ask voters to consider whether the city clerk’s position should “fall entirely under the selection, control, review and direction of the Board of Aldermen ...”

However, Trueblood asked the board June 24 to postpone consideration of the pro-posed Charter amendment. Trueblood’s pro-posal called for voters to consider whether aldermen should appoint the city clerk, who would be subject to the direction and super-vision of the board. As proposed, the post would remain a civil service position.

Trueblood’s proposal met opposition from Vincent, who wrote in a May 30 email that after talking with Sime, he believed any Charter amendment for the clerk’s posi-tion would be better handled by the city’s Charter Review Commission in the future.

“I say wait — and incur no expense now. Most of us I assume have seen the legal costs incurred the last time this was brought forward,” he wrote. “It is my understanding our clerk initiated discus-sions with our CA (city administrator) and that he attempted to positively help her and to consider FLSA guidelines.

“It is my understanding our clerk changed her mind and the issue was dropped. At that time, as now, I understand our CA had no criticism of our clerk or her work. It is my hope we all feel our clerk is doing excellent work, and needs no further pro-tection beyond what she has with the CSB (Civil Service Board),” Vincent wrote.

But in her May 30 email response to Vin-cent, sent to all aldermen, Sime and her personal attorney, Flowers wrote, “I did not initiate nor did I support the reclassifi ca-tion of my position as city clerk. This issue was proposed to me by City Administrator Sime in late January 2014. At that time, I expressed the concerns of this reclassifi ca-tion as being in direct confl ict with the City Charter and also that my position would no longer have the status of being a classi-fi ed position under the city’s Civil Service Rules and Regulations ...”

In response to a request for copies of her May 30 email and Vincent’s May 30 email, Flowers provided the complete emails to the Call. In response to the same request, Stump redacted most of the emails.

• Challenge

For Details visit

ShopSouthCountyCenter.com

Meet Team UmiZoomi August 8 from 11 am – 1 pm.

I-270 & I-55 | 314.892.8954

ShopSouthCountyCenter.com

August 1–3

Blue Jeans Go Green Recycle your denim at Buckle and the Food Court now through August 31.

Blue Jeans Go Green™ is a trademark of Cotton Incorporated. Blue Jeans Go Green™ was formerly known as Cotton From Blue to Green™. All denim collected will be converted into UltraTouch™ Denim Insulation, a portion of which will be

distributed to communities in need.

• ForcedBoard votes 5-0 with two abstentionsto name new director of public works(Continued from Page 1A)

Clark replied, “... I got my information right from the horse’s mouth.”

Roby said, “Well, we’re not going to comment on that. Any other comments, sir? You have a question or comment?”

Clark had no further comment.As fi rst reported by the Call, Flowers resigned her posi-

tion, effective Friday, July 25. Flowers, who had served as city clerk since January 2007, submitted her resignation July 14, according to an email Sime sent to aldermen.

Flowers was unavailable for comment before the Call’s press time.

At last week’s meeting, another resident, Ron Hering, called for Sime to “pack his bags and go away.”

“... There’s something stinks bad up here in this City Hall,” he said, adding that he and his neighbors get to-gether and discuss city affairs. “We remind ourselves, if you all remember, of a city administrator that we had a number of years ago that put us in hock, big time — big time because he had the ear of the mayor and the board, and we almost had a city jail that we didn’t need.

“We had to have a bond issue or a proposition to get us out of hock. That took us how many years — six, seven years? There’s something wrong here, and I think it would behoove our city if you would just kind of pack your bags and go away. Thank you.”

Resident David Brophy said he is “very concerned about what’s happening in this city.”

Citing last year’s departure of a department head, he said, “... Apparently he did not feel that the working environment here was conducive to his staying, and that he was under threat of losing his job and had to fi ght through the Civil Service Board to protect his job and his reputation. Now we have another situation. Once again, not only through the newspapers but from other places, I am aware of what I

would term a hostile environment toward a city employee.”Regarding Flowers, Brophy said, “This city employee

has served this city faithfully and done an outstanding job for years. This city employee was kind and courteous to the residents and did everything she could to help the resi-dents on a friendly basis. The fact of the matter is, is that for some reason she was forced — and I believe forced — into giving her resignation before she was fi red …”

Brophy said he hoped that Flowers would be able to talk to the press about her departure.

“... I know from various sources that she was under pres-sure and in fear of (losing) her job ...,” he added.

Longtime resident and former Ward 2 Alderman Robert Deutschmann asked what the city gained “by the loss of our previous city clerk?”

Roby noted that Flowers resigned the post.“... It was a letter of resignation from her. She was not

released from the service of the city. So we can’t control when people leave the city of Crestwood. It happens all the time. It’s happened for years ...,” he said, citing Jim Eckrich, who last served the city as director of public ser-vices, and former City Clerk Kimberly Cottle.

“... We’ve been doing some calculations of our pay scale, as it relates to other communities around us, and I’ll tell you what, it’s not a very bright picture. So what I can tell you is we’re working currently on a new pay plan,” the mayor said, adding that the pay plan will be presented to the board before the budget process begins.

“... Once that is completed, I am going to be asking this board to fi nd revenues, to fi nd whatever method they can to put that pay plan in operation ...”

Former Ward 2 Alderman Chris Pickel said, “... Seems to be a lot of negative vibes out here tonight. As a former alder-man, I think that I try to follow city news and happenings pretty closely and it seems that there’s a lot of perceived facts that people have knowledge of that I’m not aware of with regard to the Tina Flowers situation ... As recorded by the Call, she hasn’t made any statements, so I just wonder

where these facts come from, and I think it would be in the best interest of the city if everybody just took a breath, sat down and when the information comes out, then we can all take a look at it and make up our own minds.”

The Call recently reported that former Ward 3 Alderman Jerry Miguel, who joined other aldermen in voting 7-0 to hire Sime in January 2013, outlined a series of decisions made by Sime that have caused Miguel to lose confi dence in the city administrator.

Pickel noted he served two terms on the board with Miguel.“... By my recollection, the city had four city administrators

during Mr. Miguel’s tenure, and that doesn’t include people who served in an interim role,” he said. “It’s my recollection again that Mr. Miguel initially supported all these individu-als and in most cases, he later changed his mind. And I think his sentiments are shared by other members of the board and as some of the comments made tonight by people in the pub-lic, and, of course, their sentiments are shared and published by the Call. As a side note, it seems like the same group had issues with our previous city attorney (Rob Golterman), and, of course, they made life diffi cult for him with a lot of berat-ing and he chose to resign for his own reasons.

“And now there seems to be a similar effort underway with our current city administrator. So it seems to me that these individuals can’t work with anybody, and I think the negativity has been a problem for a long time, and I think as long as it continues, it’s going to continue to stall our prog-ress and damage our reputation in the region ...,” said Pickel, who contributed to Roby’s mayoral campaign.

Public works director appointedIn a separate matter, the Board of Aldermen voted 5-0

to approve Sime’s appointment of James Gillam as direc-tor of public works. Ward 3 Alderman Paul Duchild and board President Mike Tsichlis of Ward 4 abstained. Ward 2 Alderman Mary Stadter was absent.

Gillam worked for the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District from May 1986 until he retired in July 2012. He replaces Michael Pratt, who resigned, effective May 2.

Page 14A - Call Publishing, Thursday, July 31, 2014

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

• What do you like?• What don’t you like?• What do you want to see more of?• What do you want to see less of?• What new ideas/suggestions do you have for seniors, parents, teens, school and pre-school age children’s news coverage? • What platforms would you like to see added?• How does social media help you?• How does the print edition help you?• How does the website help you?• How would you like to participate or contribute to your community newspaper - photography, art, video, writing, etc.? • How can we continue to serve you best?

We Want to Hear From You!Now in our 25th year, The Call’s staff

wants to hear from you! Who knew there would be so many platforms available for communication when The Call’s fi rst total market mailed weekly newspaper was launched in 1989? The Call’s website was launched in 2003 and today is actively engaged with Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and is also available on Google News.

Reply to “We want to hear from you.” Submit your thoughts, opinions, suggestions and ideas to:

Call Newspapers“We want to hear from you”

9977 Lin Ferry Dr. St. Louis, MO 63123or email Publisher Deb Baker at: [email protected]

Call Newspapers appreciates our readers responses. Opinions and suggestions may be published.

9977 Lin Ferry Dr. St. Louis, MO 63123

PRSR

T ST

DC

r Rt S

rt U

.S. P

osta

ge P

AID

Loui

sian

a, M

o.Pe

rmit

No.

11

TIM

E-D

AT

ED

MA

TE

RIA

L

Name this tune and wina free classified ad. Details

in this week’s classified section.

Cal

l Pub

lishi

ng,

Inc.

9977

Lin

Fer

ry D

rive

St.

Loui

s, M

o. 6

3123

Read more on Page 3A about this award-winning choir from Notre Dame Elementary School in Japan.

Sunset Hills news ....... Page 2ASchool news ............... Page 3AOpinions ..................... Page 4ANuptials ...................... Page 5ACalendar...................... Page 6ABirths .......................... Page 7ACrestwood news ......... Page 8AClassifieds ................... Page 11ACrossword puzzle ....... Page 12ASunset Hills news ....... Page 15A

Inside the CallVisit www.callnewspapers.com

for results of Tuesday’s primary election, which took place after the Call went to press. We’ll have results for the Democratic and Republican county execu-tive races and proposed amend-ments to the state Constitution that include a three-quarter-cent transportation sales tax.

Web exclusive

Incident between Furrer,bicyclist places city ininternational spotlight

Accounts by mayor, bicyclist diverge widely

By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor

The Crestwood Board of Aldermen re-cently postponed approval of minutes from its June 24 meeting after Ward 3 Alderman Bill Boston said he believed the minutes were “very incomplete.”

At the July 22 Board of Aldermen meet-

ing, Boston noted former Ward 3 Alderman Jerry Miguel had addressed aldermen dur-ing their June 24 meeting.

“... He spoke of six or seven deeply con-cerning events that took place at City Hall over the past 16 months. He spoke of these (events) in detail. Nothing of what Jerry spoke about to this board was put into the

minutes,” he said. “I do not know why all this information and his comments have been left out of the minutes from that 24th meeting. I believe the minutes are very in-complete, and I believe this public infor-mation needs to be put into the minutes for our next meeting.”

(See MINUTES, Page 8A)

Mehlville board to consider resolution against coal energy

Crestwood board postpones approval of minutes from June meeting

Volume 17, Number 32 1 Section, 16 Pages Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014 callnewspapers.com9977 Lin Ferry DriveSt. Louis, MO 63123

Mike Anthony photo

In response to Fenton cyclist Randy Murdick’s alleged treatment and concerns about their own safe-ty on Sunset Hills roads, nearly 200 cyclists participated in a group ride Saturday morning through the city that ended with a rally at City Hall. Visit www.callnewspapers.com to view more photographs.

Green Park’s net positionsees increase of $742,000By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor

The city of Green Park’s total net posi-tion increased by more than $742,000 in fiscal 2013, primarily due to infrastruc-ture improvements.

An audit performed by Hochschild, Bloom & Co. for fiscal 2013, which ended Dec. 31, reported the city’s total net position — the difference between assets and liabilities — increased by $742,097, or 6.8 percent.

The city ended 2013 with a total net position of $11,588,362, compared to $10,846,265 in fiscal 2012, according to Mike Williams of Hochschild, Bloom.

(See INCREASE, Page 10A)

By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter

If hundreds of Oakville residents who have written to the Mehl-ville Board of Education get their wish, the board could become the first elected body in Missouri to adopt a resolution against coal energy tonight.

The board will hear presentations from Ameren Missouri, the Sierra Club and local group Clean Land, Air and Water, or CLAW, when it meets at 8 p.m. today — Aug. 7 — in the district’s

Administration Building, 3120 Lemay Ferry Road.Local residents from CLAW brought the resolution to the board

since Rogers Elementary School is close to Ameren’s Meramec Energy Center, which opened in 1953 at the intersection of the Meramec and Missouri rivers in Oakville. The district built Rogers in 1991.

Since the board’s first discussion of the resolution in May, Ameren’s board of directors voted to close the Meramec plant in

(See RESOLUTION, Page 4A)


A bicyclist claimed that Sunset Hills Mayor Mark Furrer hit him with his car in an intentional hit-and-run last week, a charge the mayor denied and the St. Louis County Police Department is investigating.

Furrer and Fenton bicyclist Randy Murdick’s ac-

counts of what happened diverge widely.“The mayor of Sunset Hills told me to get off his

roads, then ran me over,” Murdick, an electrician and seasoned competitive cyclist, wrote on Facebook the night of the July 29 incident, in a post that went viral among bicycling circles nationwide.

(See DIVERGE, Page 2A)


Sunset Hills made national — and even inter-national — news last week when the allegation that Mayor Mark Furrer hit a bicyclist with his red Mercedes convertible after reportedly tell-ing the cyclist to “get off his roads” went viral.

Although the Sunset Hills Police Department voluntarily turned over the investigation of the July 29 incident to the St. Louis County Police Department two days later, bicyclists nation-wide scrutinized the local force’s handling of the case, poring over news accounts of the story and, before Furrer took it down, mining the mayor’s Facebook page for evidence.

“The perception is that the police are more interested in protecting the mayor than protecting the community — because had it been you, or me, or anybody other than the mayor driving that car, they would have been arrested on the spot and they would have been given a field sobriety test, and neither of those things happened,” Sunset Hills Triathlon sponsor and triathlon store owner Chip Self told the Call.

Concerned about Fenton competitive cyclist Randy Murdick’s alleged treatment and about their own safety on Sunset Hills roads, hundreds

(See SPOTLIGHT, Page 15A)

Mark Furrer

Page 8A - Call Publishing, Thursday, August 7, 2014

Miguel outlines reasons whyhe’s lost confi dence in Sime(Continued from Page 1A)

The board then voted 7-0 to postpone approval of the minutes until its next meet-ing. Ward 2 Alderman Mary Stadter was absent.

Regarding Miguel’s comments at the June 24 meeting, the draft minutes stat-ed Miguel “approached the podium and shared his opinion of signifi cant events that had occurred over the last 16 months.”

But as reported by the Call, Miguel, who joined other aldermen in voting 7-0 to hire Sime in January 2013, cited a series of decisions made by Sime that have caused Miguel to lose confi dence in the city administrator.

Miguel said June 24 that he had been out of town for a couple of weeks and when he returned, he was surprised to read a headline in the Call that stated, “Sime declines to explain his attempt to reclassify Crestwood clerk’s post.”

In that article, the Call reported that Sime declined to explain publicly why he attempted earlier this year to reclassify the city clerk’s position as an unclassifi ed position — a change that appears to violate the city’s Charter.

In February, Sime proposed an ordinance to amend the city’s municipal code to make the city clerk’s position unclassifi ed, or exempt — the same status as elected offi cials, the city administrator and depart-ment heads, who are not covered under the city’s Civil Service Rules and Regulations.

But City Clerk Tina Flowers, who recent-ly resigned, wrote in a May 30 email sent to aldermen that she objected to Sime’s proposal and that it would directly confl ict with the city’s Charter, which states the city clerk “shall be a civil service employee.”

After reading the Call article, Miguel said, “It got me to thinking of the events of the past 16 months. I had full confi dence in you, Mr. Sime, when you were presented to the board. I grilled you intensively for an hour, and I had full confi dence in your ability to lead the city forward in a business-like manner.

“But I refl ected on the events of the past 16 months. First event was (eliminat-

ing) animal control. I fully supported that move. It was obvious to me that that was a duplication of services. I had no problems with that. I was a little bit surprised in how quickly it occurred, but nevertheless that had my full support.”

Next, Miguel cited Sime’s decision to outsource the city’s information technology services to ThrottleNet, which he “found understandable.”

“The third event was the pooling of the secretaries. Again understandable, but as I found out later, it was not very well-handled,” Miguel said.

The fourth event, Miguel said, was the “fi ring” of an employee.

“Questionable from the beginning — at least in my mind. The decision was reversed by the Civil Service Board. Obviously ... the fi ring was uncalled for,” he said.

“Fifth, the outsourcing of the fi nance department. Again, in my mind, a bad move from the get-go. I applaud the board for fi nally coming and voting 6 to nothing to reject that proposition ... But at the same time, I admonish the board for taking so long in which to do that, and I regret the persistence of the administration in pursu-ing that particular line.”

That issue, Miguel said, brought him “to the top of the hill. What pushed me over was what I saw when I came back — the attempt to reclassify the city clerk.”

Miguel, who served on the board from 2004 to 2013, asked Ward 1 Alderman Richard Breeding and Ward 2 Alderman Tim Trueblood if they recalled the reclas-sifi cation issue being raised about nine years ago.

“I think that issue came to the board when — about 2005. It was handled very appropriately at this board, at least as my recollection is concerned, was brought up, was discussed and the issue was dropped. As a result of these actions, Mr. Sime, my confi dence in you has been lost. I regret to say that. The question for the board — I present to the board is: What’s the next thing to be outsourced? Will it be police or will it be fi re? ...”

The Board of Aldermen will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12, at the Government Center, 1 Detjen Drive.

• Minutes

• 911In his 911 call, Murdick saysmotorist ‘ran me off the road’(Continued from Page 2A)that the person in the car was the mayor un-til he went to the Police Department later.

The fi rst 911 call opened with someone who is not the caller shouting in the back-ground, “Pull over, pull over! You just hit that guy and took off!”

The caller, who identifi ed himself as the son of the man shouting, told the emer-gency dispatcher, “I would like to report a hit-and-run over here on Old Gravois Road, right here by Delta Dental.”

“Leaving the scene, or a hit-and-run?” the dispatcher asked.

“The guy hit a bicyclist, drove off and then turned around and came back,” the caller responded.

As the call continued, the caller’s father

can be heard yelling in the background, until the dispatcher asked the caller to tell his father not to say anything to the driver.

“Dad, stop yelling,” the caller said.“If he has to continue that, he needs to

get in the car and close his mouth,” the dispatcher said.

Murdick told the Call that when he fi rst called 911, he was routed to a county dis-patcher, who then sent him to the Sunset Hills Police Department.

In the second call to Sunset Hills 911, Murdick told the dispatcher his location, and the dispatcher asked him if he was the bicyclist who had been hit by a car.

When the dispatcher asked if Murdick had any injuries, he replied, “I’m fi ne. The guy that ran me off the road’s here.”

“We will be there shortly — do not have words with the driver,” the dispatcher re-plied, before the call ended.

Reward Your Student

CHESTERFIELD13700 Olive Blvd.

Mon. - Sat. 7:00 am - 6:30 pm Sun. 7:30 am - 2:30 pm

KIRKWOOD113 N. Kirkwood Rd.Mon. - Sat. 7:00 am - 6:30 pm

Sun. 7:30 am - 2:30 pm

SOUTH COUNTY3055 Lemay Ferry Rd.

Mon. - Sat. 6 am - 7 pmSun. 7:30 am - 2:30 pm

(314) 894-0900 • www.mcarthurs.com“When you want to serve the very best.”

Limit 1 per customer. Must redeem coupon. Not valid with any other offer. Expires 8/31/14.

FREE

Buy 1 Get 1Breakfast or Lunch

Sandwich

Limit 1 per customer. Must redeem coupon. Not valid with any other offer. Expires 8/31/14.

Limit 1 per customer. Must redeem coupon. Not valid with any other offer.

Buy One Dozen Cookies or BrowniesGET ONE DOZEN

at equal or lesser value

FREELimit 1 per customer. Must redeem coupon. Not valid with any other offer.

NOTTELMANN MUSIC CO.1590 Lemay Ferry Rd.St. Louis, MO 63125

314-631-1486

714 Jeffco Blvd.Arnold, MO 63010

636-296-3780

Visit or Call one of our stores today!Nottelmann Music offers quality

name instruments - Woodwinds • Brass • Precussion

• Strings • Guitars • Amps.We take pride in our professional service.

Sign up forPRIVATE LESSONS!

Since 1953

We Want to Hear From You!Now in our 25th year, The Call’s staff wants to hear from you! Who knew there

would be so many platforms available for communication when The Call’s fi rst total market mailed weekly newspaper was launched in 1989? The Call’s website was launched in 2003 and today is actively engaged with Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and is also available on Google News.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!• What do you like?• What don’t you like?• What do you want to see more of?• What do you want to see less of?• What new ideas/suggestions do you have for seniors, parents, teens, school and pre-school age children’s news coverage? • What platforms would you like to see added?• How does social media help you?• How does the print edition help you?• How does the website help you?• How would you like to participate or contribute to your community newspaper - photography, art, video, writing, etc.? • How can we continue to serve you best?

Reply to “We want to hear from you.” Submit your thoughts, opinions, suggestions and ideas to:Call Newspapers

“We want to hear from you”9977 Lin Ferry Dr. St. Louis, MO 63123

or email Publisher Deb Baker at: [email protected] Newspapers appreciates our readers responses.

Opinions and suggestions may be published.

or email Publisher Deb Baker at: [email protected]

PRSR

T ST

DC

r Rt S

rt U

.S. P

osta

ge P

AID

Loui

sian

a, M

o.Pe

rmit

No.

11

TIM

E-D

AT

ED

MA

TE

RIA

L



Cal

l Pub

lishi

ng,

Inc.

9977

Lin

Fer

ry D

rive

St.

Loui

s, M

o. 6

3123

Visit www.callnewspapers.com to read about stu-dents’ efforts to restock Mehlville High’s food pantry.

Panel seeking clarity on rumorsof dissolving Police Department

Construction underway on new library,Grant’s View, at Gravois and Musick

Our town ..................... Page 3AOpinions ..................... Page 4ACounty news ............... Page 5ACrestwood news ......... Page 6ACalendar...................... Page 7ACalendar...................... Page 8ASports ......................... Page 9ASunset Hills news ....... Page 10AClassifieds ................... Page 11ACrossword puzzle ....... Page 12A

Inside the Call

Megan LeFaivre-Zimmerman photo

Eureka tames Oakville TigersThe Eureka Wildcats tamed the Oakville Senior High School football Tigers

Friday night, 46-6. The Tigers now fall to 0-2 on the season and will face Hazelwood East Saturday afternoon on the road. Above, Eureka’s Chaun Smith, left, attempts to bring down Oakville’s D’Juan Reaves Friday night. Stories and photographs from Friday’s games are featured on Page 9A.

The first lawsuit against St. Louis County from the police response to protesters in Fergu-son was filed last week — a $40 million federal lawsuit that alleges “excessive force and rogue actions” by unnamed county police at the protests. To read this story and others, visit www.callnewspapers.com.

Web exclusive

Citizens critical of Sime don’t have all the facts, officials say

Residents, Mehlville officials concerned about proposed subdivisionBy GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter

A proposal for a 30-acre subdivision next to Rogers Elementary School has some residents and county historians upset at the prospect of Oakville’s oldest historic home being demolished to make way for new houses.

The county Planning Commission could vote on the new subdivision at Fine and Telegraph roads as early as its next meet-ing, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, in the County Council Chambers at the Administration Building, 41 S. Central Ave., Clayton.

A decade ago, the planning panel recom-

mended approval of the site, which is sur-rounded by vacant property and is directly adjacent to Rogers Elementary School, for a Planned Environmental Unit, or PEU, for 99 lots, but the development fell through.

New owner Pulte Homes of Atlanta, Ga., proposes a 57-home subdivision built over

(See CONCERNED, Page 5A)

Volume 17, Number 36 1 Section, 16 Pages Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014 callnewspapers.com9977 Lin Ferry DriveSt. Louis, MO 63123

For a related story, see Page 3ABy MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor

Crestwood residents clamoring for the removal of City Admini-strator Mark Sime simply don’t have all the facts, according to Mayor Gregg Roby and Ward 2 Alderman Tim Trueblood.

In recent months, Sime has come under fire from some residents, including former Ward 3 Alderman Jerry Miguel and former Ward 4 Alderman Steve Nieder. In June, Miguel, who joined other

aldermen in voting 7-0 to hire Sime in January 2013, cited a series of decisions made by Sime, a retired Air Force colonel, that have caused Miguel to lose confidence in the city administrator.

Following City Clerk Tina Flowers’ resignation in July, some residents publicly alleged that city officials, including Roby, Sime, City Attorney Lisa Stump and Ward 4 Alderman Michael Vincent, had targeted Flowers in an effort to force her to resign.

At the Aug. 12 Board of Aldermen meeting, Roby defended Sime,(See FACTS, Page 6A)


The Sunset Hills Police Advisory Board is seeking clarity from city officials whether rumors are true that the Police Department could be dissolved and police services out-sourced to St. Louis County.

The police board is slated to discuss the issue when it meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, at the Community Center, 3915 S. Lindbergh Blvd.

The board will discuss asking the Board of Aldermen to make a definitive statement if aldermen have any intention of outsourc-ing the Police Department, along with a discussion of who is actually in charge of the Police Department and whether Police Chief William LaGrand’s personal use of a city car should be reinstated.

If the police board passes any of the reso-lutions, the issues will also be discussed by

(See RUMORS, Page 10A)

MFPD board begins workon preliminary ’15 budgetBy MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor

The Mehlville Fire Protection District Board of Directors recently began work on the district’s preliminary 2015 bud-get.

Chief Financial Officer Brian Bond told board members that the district’s 2014 tax rates will be presented to them in September for adoption before Oct. 1. At that time, the board will consider approval of a preliminary budget. A final budget will be presented to the board for approval in December, Bond noted.

“... I just wanted to talk about the mate-rial premises that will be used to develop the preliminary budget,” he said. “With

(See BUDGET, Page 3A)


Construction is underway on the new Tesson Ferry Library — which will not only have a new location, but a new name.

The new library will be called Grant’s View, since its glass wall will overlook Grant’s Farm across the street. The location at the intersection of Gravois and Musick

roads is set to open in a year, when the cur-rent Tesson Ferry Library, which opened in 1958 on Lin Ferry Drive in Green Park near its namesake road, will close.

Although the new library’s neighboring subdivisions are called Grant’s View, the library’s new name has nothing to do with the subdivisions and was inspired only by its

(See LIBRARY, Page 4A)

Crestwood Board of Aldermen reviewsSime’s performance in closed session

Call Publishing, Thursday, September 4, 2014 - Page 3A

• BudgetBoard to set 2014 tax ratesat meeting later this month(Continued from Page 1A)regard to revenues and transfers, we’ll be developing the budget without utilizing any voluntary reductions in the tax rates ...”

The district’s current “blended” tax rate is 70.8 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The 2014 budget anticipates revenues of $19,526,104 with projected expenditures of $18,898,706 — a surplus of $627,308.

“We’ll be transferring $1.2 million from the general fund to the capital fund to address capital expenditures in the year 2015 ... And like last year, we’ll also trans-fer $350,000 from the general fund to the pension fund to address the current-year shortfalls in the pension fund and also continue to reserve $300,000 per year for future underfunded disability payments,” Bond told the board Aug. 20.

Regarding expenses, Bond said the dis-trict’s staffi ng needs will be evaluated to determine if any additions are necessary.

“In regards to unscheduled overtime, we’ll keep that at $550,000 to address the current unscheduled overtime utilization that’s necessary to operate the sixth ambu-lance,” he said.

For employee benefi ts, Bond is forecasting a 10-percent increase in medical insurance premiums and a 5-percent increase in dental and vision premiums. The actual amount

of premiums will be known before the ap-proval of the 2015 budget, as will the cost of workers’ compensation premiums.

A 10-percent increase in workers’ com-pensation premiums is anticipated.

For administration, general overhead, professional fees and other expenditures, Bond said, “We’re going to evaluate those and determine them based upon a rolling three-year average, look at current-year forecasted expenditures and also compare that information to itemized needs for 2015. They’re specifi c only to that year.”

In addition, debt service “will be bud-geted in accordance with the debt-service schedule on certifi cates of participation issued in 2000 to fund the expansion and renovation of the district’s No. 5 fi rehouse and administrative headquarters.”

For capital expenditures, $500,000 will be included for the purchase of a pumper, $180,000 will be included for the purchase of an ambulance, $100,000 will be reserved for apparatus replacement and $100,000 will be reserved for future engine house renovations, Bond said.

Chief Brian Hendricks said, “... What we’re trying to do is just start a dialogue with the board and you can think about what we presented here — take this and come back and talk about it at the next meeting ...”

The board is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, at the district head-quarters, 11020 Mueller Road.


The Crestwood Board of Aldermen dis-cussed the performance of City Admini-strator Mark Sime during a May 27 closed session, according to information obtained by the Call through a public records request.

“Mayor (Gregg) Roby discussed the pro-cess and details for the performance evalu-ation of the city administrator, Sime,” the approved closed-session minutes state. “The aldermen commented on specifi c performance strengths and weaknesses of Mr. Sime.”

The minutes state that Ward 2 Alderman Tim Trueblood made a motion, seconded by Ward 3 Alderman Paul Duchild, to appoint two aldermanic liaisons, Ward 4 Alderman Michael Vincent and Ward 2 Alderman Mary Stadter, along with Roby, to meet with Sime to conduct his performance review and provide him with feedback submitted by the board.

In response to the Call’s original public records request in May, the draft min-utes of the May 27 closed session stated, “Further, Mayor Roby and the liaisons will report back to the Board of Aldermen in 90 days following the date of Mr. Sime’s performance review.”

But the approved minutes state, “Further, in 90 days following the date of Mr. Sime’s performance review, the board will reassess Mr. Sime’s performance.”

The motion was approved unanimously

by the Board of Aldermen, according to both the draft minutes and the minutes that were approved by the board during a June 24 closed session. Both sets of min-utes were prepared by City Attorney Lisa Stump.

During the Aug. 26 board meeting, Trueblood took exception with comments made by former Ward 3 Alderman Jerry Miguel that were critical of Sime, saying aldermen have reviewed the city adminis-trator’s performance.

Of his comments at the Aug. 26 meeting, Trueblood told the Call that he was mak-ing a statement to Miguel, “who I have a deep respect for,” and other residents that they don’t have all the information that the board has.

“... Gosh folks, you’re acting like we don’t have all the information. We do. The problem with it is your information and the information we’ve been provided does not bring us to the same conclusion that you have, which is he needs to go ...,” he said of Sime.

Sime’s performance as city administra-tor has been discussed by aldermen in closed sessions, the appropriate venue for a personnel matter, Trueblood said, adding that under the city Charter, aldermen are required to review the city administrator’s performance at least once a year.

“Each performance review shall be made a part of the confi dential personnel fi le of the city administrator,” the Charter states.

Smiling Buddha

LUNCH & DINNER HOURSMon 4:30pm - 9:00pm; Tues-Thurs 11:00am - 9:00pm;

Fri 11:00am-10:00pm; Sat 11:30am to 10:00pm; Sun 11:30am to 8:00pmLUNCH SPECIALS AVAILABLE ALL DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK

5544 Telegraph RoadCall or fax your order: Phone (314) 845-8233 • Fax (314) 845-0577

or order online at: www.smilingbuddhasaintlouis.com½ Orders

NOW

AVAILABLE!

NOW HIRING SERVERS • Apply in Person!

Check out our 2 for $20

special!

20% OFF Your entire order

Excludes Lunch Specials. Not valid with any other coupon or offer.

Expires 9/30/2014.

Dine-in • Carry-Out • Free Delivery • CateringChoose 2 Soups - Egg Drop • Hot n’ SourChoose 1 Appetizer - Crab Rangoon • Pot Stickers(2 in each order) Fried Dumplings • Vegetable Spring RollsChoose 2 Entrees - Sweet & Sour Chicken • General Tso’s Chicken Mongolian Beef • Kung Pao Beef

Home of the Onion BlossomSteak & Seafood Specials on Weekends

So. County’s Best Pizza & Wings

5647 Telegraph Rd.

(314) 846-8881

Good Times With Good Friends

Open 7 Days a WeekLUNCH & DINNER

Carry-Outs & Catering Available!

garveysgrillonline.com

“We have received calls on every week we’ve run, so we’re believers!”

Lizanne YoungMarketing ConsultantCentury Credit Union

Fine Quality Jewelry At

Lower Prices!Celebrating 38 Years!

11802 Tesson Ferry Rd314-842-5544

gulianojewelry.comOpen Tuesday - Saturday

WE BUY GOLD &

DIAMONDS

( J o e t h e J e w e l e r )Guliano Jewelry

Come in for a FREE Jewelry Cleaning!

COUPON

Watch Battery Changed only

Excludes backs with screws.

$5!COUPON

$10 OFFJewelry Repairs

Totalling $35 or more

“I Forever Do”

1540 Lemay Ferry Rd. 3920 Jeffco Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63125 Arnold, MO 63010 314-544-1818•800-595-8587 636-464-5037•800-880-0640Serving all who live or work in St. Louis, Jefferson & Franklin Counties, and the City of St. Louis. $25 share deposit allows full access to all Century CU services. Credit eligibility & loan rates determined by credit score. Credit score of 640+ for 6.0% Signature Loan; all others take 0.60% off regular rate. $60 Home Equity Closing on $50,000 or less. All others take $60 off regular closing costs. Offer available to qualified members through October 31, 2014, and subject to change. Refinancing only on loans from other financial institutions.

LIMITED TIME ONLY

$60 Home Equity Closing Costs6.0%apr Signature Loans

60th Anniversary Specials & Savings Spectacular!

BIG

• FactsRoby defends Crestwood administrator:‘I have found a man who has integrity’(Continued from Page 1A)saying, “... In the time since I’ve been elected and I have worked with Mr. Sime, I have found a man who has integ-rity. I have found a man who is dedicated to his job. I have found a man who doesn’t know what hours, work hours, mean because he’s here till all hours ...

“So the man puts in his time. He doesn’t complain. He does his job and he has always — every single time that I or any manager, department head in this city, has approached him and said, ‘Can I talk to you?’ his door is open. He is there to discuss whatever you want to discuss.”

Citing Sime’s military background, Roby said, “... When you supervise people in the fi eld and you tell them to do something, you expect them to do it. And maybe that’s carried over a little bit into this public realm that we cur-rently have here at Crestwood ... When you go to work for the man, he gives you a job and he expects you to do that job — no ifs, ands or buts about it. And that’s what I would expect ...”

At the Aug. 26 Board of Aldermen meeting, Timothy Randick, a city resident who recently resigned from the Public Works Department, referenced Roby’s remarks about Sime’s military background, saying he “would cau-tion (against) that line of thinking,” adding that employees “did not enlist into the city of Crestwood. They were hired as employees. There were job descriptions. They are civil service employees that have rules and regulations which they are governed by, and to just have a blanket attitude that whatever somebody says, goes, is in my opinion, the wrong approach to have toward the employees.

“It’s not fair — it’s not fair to ask a $30,000-a-year secre-tary to do a $90,000-a-year employee’s job. That’s why we have job descriptions. That’s why we are intended to have a personnel director to make sure that those duties are car-ried out by the proper people and that’s why we have civil

service rules to protect them. There was also the statement made to a resident — I believe that you yourself, Mr. Mayor, challenged that resident to come and speak to you ...”

Roby interjected, “I sure did.”Randick continued, “... to hear both sides. I’m here

tonight to also challenge you and the rest of the board members to hear both sides because I believe there are many of you that have not. So there are numerous things that your city administrator has done that I believe you are not aware of or you’re choosing to ignore, which include violating civil service rules, purchasing policy, city code, Charter and numerous other unfavorable characteristics ...

“So what I would like for you to do as aldermen and elected offi cials, do your due diligence, and as the mayor recommended, go and hear both sides ...”

Miguel also addressed the board Aug. 26, beginning his remarks with a quote from President Abraham Lincoln: “If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

“Power is a two-step process. It’s a never-ending process — accumulation and preservation. It goes from one to the other, until it’s lost. The residents of this small city have given each of you elected offi cials a degree of power. You have the power to hire and fi re the city administrator.

“In turn, you have given the city administrator a great deal of power. He can fi re any employee in this municipal-ity. The question for the mayor and the board is: Has this city administrator used the power given him wisely or has he abused the power given to him?” he asked.

Reviewing some of the “major events” since Sime was hired, Miguel cited the fi ring of a city employee, that em-ployee’s reinstatement by the Civil Service Board and the same employee’s “ultimate decision that returning to work under the current city administrator would not work,” and Sime’s efforts to outsource the city’s fi nancial operations, which was “to me, a power play — an attempt to consolidate the positions of CEO (chief operating offi -cer) and CFO (chief fi nancial offi cer).”

In addition, Miguel cited Sime’s effort to reclassify the

city clerk’s position as an unclassifi ed position — a change that appears to violate the city’s Charter.

“I viewed this action as laying the groundwork for her (Flowers’) dismissal ... and in July of this year, the city clerk resigned, fearing retaliation,” he said. “I ask the Board of Aldermen to review the events of the past year and a half. It’s a daunting task, but I think it’s ... neces-sary, and I feel it’s a responsibility of your position, along with the power that comes with it ...”

Trueblood and Roby took exception to Miguel’s remarks.“... The only comment I would make is we have reviewed

much information, if not all that’s been presented to us tonight, and the question then becomes: If the board does not agree with the synopsis or the outcome or the conclu-sion that you want us to agree, Mr. Miguel, what are we supposed to do then?” Trueblood asked. “You’re assuming we haven’t reviewed this, and I think that’s an assumption you might be on thin ice in making.

“So please, don’t take it incorrectly, Jerry, but we have reviewed these things and we just don’t agree with your position on it. Thank you. And Tim, if you want to put it in writing for us, we’ll be glad ... to read it, but I don’t want to spend the rest of this night having this conversation going on, but the assumption is this board’s not doing its due diligence in supervising the staff we are supposed to supervise, and it’s just becoming rather offensive to me ...”

Roby said, “Yeah, this subject has been a sore point in this community for a number of months and I, too, am tired of it. And I, too, am tired of the accusations that are made by some individuals who do not have all of the information.

“They’re not privy to the personal information that this Board of Aldermen is privy to, and so I do take exception to some of the comments that are made. But out of respect to you, Mr. Miguel, I gave you the opportunity to stand here and speak your piece. But there’s actually more to it than meets the eye, and I hope that the citizens that are here that are listening to these negative comments will also understand that there are two sides to every story ...”

Page 6A - Call Publishing, Thursday, September 4, 2014

2922 Telegraph RoadPH: (314) 845-2881

FRANVIEW BARBER SHOPYour Personal Barber Team

SOUTH COUNTY’S ORIGINAL BARBER SHOP Since 1966

TUESDAY - FRIDAY8:30am - 5:30pm

SATURDAY8:00am - 3:00pm

Pete

John Ed Terry

OUR TEAM Has over 175

Years of Barbering Experience!

Luke

The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.

Call Today for a Free Initial Consultation

Law Offi ce of Robin L. Kaiser, LLC10805 Sunset Offi ce Dr., Suite 300 St. Louis, MO 63127

(314) 238-1266www.rlklaw.com

Member of the Missouri Bar, Bar Association of Metropolitian St. Louis

American Bar Association, WealthCounsel, Elder Counsel

Practicing in • Estate Planning & Administration

• Medicaid Planning• Prenuptial Planning

Robin L. KaiserA T T O R N E Y

cusanellis.comServing South County families for over 60 years!

705 Lemay Ferry Rd.(at Bayless)

(314) 631-7686Open 7 days a week at 4p.m.

Bayless Ave.

Lemay Ferry Rd.Cusanelli’s

N

S

Bayless Ave.


River City Casino one mile from Cusanelli’s

Daily SpecialsAvailable!

Reservations Available!

PARTY ROOMSAVAILABLE!

Seats up to 45

Yorkshire Cleaners8080 Watson Road

across from Yorkshire Center (314) 843-1881

Suburban Cleaners126 E. Lockwood Avenue

1.5 blocks east of Elm(314) 961-1330

Yorkshire Cleaners - Oakville5620 Telegraph Road (314) 846-2646

ANY CLEANING ORDER*10% OFF

now inOAKVILLE

Drycleaning • Laundry • Bedspreads Comforters • Drapes • Wedding Gowns

YORKSHIRE CLEANERS

*Excludes alterations and suede and leather cleaning. Must present coupon. Must accompany incoming order. Coupon expires 11/4/14.

Voluntary SubscriptionsConcord Call, Green Park Call, Oakville Call,

SunCrest Call, Mail Call

If you are currently receiving one of the Call’s weekly, mailed newspapers Concord Call, Green Park Call, Oakville Call, or SunCrest Call or wish to receive future Call publications, you can make sure you’re keeping up-to-date with local news, sports and advertising with a volunteer subscription to the newspaper you are now reading.

I want to be informed. Please continue sending me the Call, or please send me the Call when you expand your circulation to my zip code.Signature: _________________________________________________________Date: ___________________________Print name: ________________________________________________________

Check One: Resident, BusinessAddress: __________________________________________________________City: ____________________________ State: _____ Zip Code: ____________Phone: _______________________________

Send, or drop off attention of:Diane Henrich, Circulation ManagerCall Publishing, Inc.9977 Lin Ferry Rd.St. Louis, MO 63123

Cash donations that accompany voluntary subscriptions will be used to help defray mailing costs. If you have any questions, call 314-843-0102. Ask for Publisher Deborah Baker, General Manager Bill Milligan, or Circulation Manager Diane Henrich.

If you want to be well informed, you’ve got to read the Call

since 1989

PRSR

T ST

DC

r Rt S

rt U

.S. P

osta

ge P

AID

Loui

sian

a, M

o.Pe

rmit

No.

11

TIM

E-D

AT

ED

MA

TE

RIA

L



Cal

l Pub

lishi

ng,

Inc.

9977

Lin

Fer

ry D

rive

St.

Loui

s, M

o. 6

3123

Visit www.callnewspapers.com for complete cover-age of Friday night’s high school football games.

Calendar...................... Page 2AOur town ..................... Page 3AOpinions ..................... Page 4ANuptials ...................... Page 5ACalendar...................... Page 5ACrestwood news ......... Page 6ASunset Hills ................ Page 7ASports .......................... Page 9AClassifieds ................... Page 11ACrossword puzzle ....... Page 12A

Inside the CallAn Oakville High School par-

ent and St. Louis Community College controller was charged last week with felony theft for allegedly stealing more than $11,000 from the Oakville High School soccer team’s booster club account, which he oversaw. Read more by visiting www.callnewspapers.com.

Web exclusive

Plowing issue draws90 to board meeting

Police respondto multiple callsby, about Furrer

Lindbergh taxpayerswill save $1.1 millionin sale of GO bonds

Roby casts deciding vote against proposed Charter amendment

Sunset Hills aldermen hearfrom New Balance officials

Volume 17, Number 38 1 Section, 16 Pages Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014 callnewspapers.com9977 Lin Ferry DriveSt. Louis, MO 63123


Crestwood Mayor Gregg Roby cast a tie-breaking vote last week against an ordinance to put a Charter amendment on the April bal-lot that would have asked voters to place the city clerk’s position under the supervision of aldermen.

Aldermen deadlocked 4-4 on the ordinance at the board’s Sept. 9 meeting.

In favor of the measure were Ward 2 Alderman Tim Trueblood, Ward 3 Aldermen Paul Duchild and Bill Boston and board Presi-dent Mike Tsichlis of Ward 4.

Opposed were Ward 1 Aldermen Darryl Wallach and Richard Breeding, Ward 2 Alderman Mary Stadter and Ward 4 Alderman Michael Vincent.

The city clerk currently is appointed by the city administrator, and(See VOTE, Page 6A)


The July episode with a Fenton bicy-clist was not the first time Sunset Hills police responded to the scene of an inci-dent involving Mayor Mark Furrer.

The Sunset Hills Police Department has responded to mul-tiple calls by and about Furrer over the past four years, according to police logs and reports the Call obtained through a public-records request.

None of the incidents apparently ever resulted in any tickets or charges against Furrer — including a dustup with an elder-ly resident of Friendship Village.

(See FURRER, Page 7A)

Mark Furrer

Mike Anthony photo

Firefighters participate in trainingMehlville Fire Protection District firefighters participated

in a training class last week at Clydesdale Park in Green Park to earn their trench-rescue certification. Roughly 25 MFPD firefighters participated in the four-day class. Visit www.callnewspapers.com to read more about the train-ing class and view additional photos.


Lindbergh Schools taxpayers will save roughly $1.1 million with the sale of more than $34 million in general-obligation bonds.

The Board of Education voted unanimously last week to ap-prove a resolution authorizing the sale of $34,035,000 in general-obligation bonds to investment bank Piper Jaffray of Minneapolis, Minn., which submitted the lowest of 10 bids.

Piper Jaffray’s bid carried a true interest rate of 2.84 percent, while the highest bid had a true interest rate of 3.06 percent. The true interest rate is a combined measure of the interest and under-writing fees.

Seeking bids for the bond sale contributed to its success, ac-cording to Chief Financial Officer Charles Triplett. Most school

(See BONDS, Page 10A)


The city of Sunset Hills has always plowed private streets after snowstorms, but residents are frustrated because it is now up in the air whether the practice is legal.

Along with votes to keep the Police Department, the issue brought 90 residents to the Board of Aldermen meeting last week. Most speakers and aldermen agreed that they would prefer the city still do what it has always done and plow private streets.

Aldermen unanimously voted to ask City Attorney Robert E. Jones to study the issue again and see how other cities legally plow their private streets.

Twenty-six residents and the majority of the Board of Aldermen crowded into the

(See PLOWING, Page 4A)


A representative of New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. told the Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen last week that paying taxes to the city on a gross-receipts basis “is not sustainable for our business.”

When New Balance began operating last year at 3636 S. Geyer Road, the company paid the city taxes based on its gross receipts.

But New Balance representatives requested a meeting in June with Mayor Mark Furrer and City Attorney Robert E. Jones to discuss changing their business license to one in which the com-pany pays city taxes based on square footage, not gross receipts.

After the meeting, Jones sent an email June 20 to Caitlin Campbell and Matt LeBretton, both of New Balance, and Furrer, that stated,

(See HEAR, Page 8A)

Page 6A - Call Publishing, Thursday, September 18, 2014

If board had OK’d measure,mayor would have vetoed it(Continued from Page 1A)is subject to the direction and supervision of the city administrator.

The amendment sought to have voters decide whether the clerk would report directly to aldermen, who also would super-vise the clerk. Under the Charter, the clerk’s post is a civil service position and would have remained so under the amendment.

Roby told the Call that even if the ordi-nance had been approved by aldermen, he would have vetoed the measure because he believes the issue should be considered by the Charter Review Commission, which will convene next year.

Asked about his vote, he said, “There were a number of options to that situation. Quite frankly, the reason I broke the tie with a ‘no’ is because I have always been a fan of the Charter (Review) Commission reviewing that. And, in fact, the last time the Charter Commission was convened, I was told they did consider that and decided not to put that before the voters.”

The mayor cited the relationship between former City Clerk Tina Flowers, who re-signed in July, and several aldermen.

“... I feel like the relationships between the previous city clerk and several of the aldermen on the board were very close, and I appreciate the fact that they were looking out for her, but I believe that the Charter Commission is really where that decision needs to be made,” Roby said, adding that he did not “want to drag this thing out, so to basically take action in this meeting I felt was most appropriate.”

“The other options would have been let it go, vote ‘yes,’ put it forward for a second reading, which would not have moved forward that night because there was other opposition to that,” he continued. “So I knew someone would vote ‘no’ for a second reading, which meant it would be delayed until the next meeting.”

At the next meeting, the board’s vote likely would have been 4-4, Roby said, “in which case I would have had the oppor-tunity to vote ‘no’ again on this issue, which would have killed it. But it would have pushed it another meeting and added another item to the agenda.”

Another scenario he outlined was the possibility that “someone on the ‘no’ side wasn’t at the meeting, and so we only had seven members and it ended up where it was, say 4-3. And my vote wouldn’t have made any difference because there was no tie. So I would have had to veto it, and by vetoing it, it would then come to the next meeting, and then they would have had six of the eight in order to get it passed to over-ride my veto. And they wouldn’t have got-ten that, and it would have killed it anyway.

“So I just decided to kill it at this fi rst meeting, let the Charter Commission han-dle it when I convene that after the fi rst of the year and move forward from there.”

Earlier this year, City Administrator Mark Sime proposed an ordinance to amend the city’s municipal code to make the city clerk’s position unclassifi ed, or exempt — the same status as elected offi cials, the city administrator and department heads, who are not covered under the city’s Civil

Service Rules and Regulations.Flowers wrote in a May 30 email sent

to aldermen that Sime’s proposal would directly confl ict with the Charter require-ment that the clerk’s post is a civil service position.

Trueblood asked City Attorney Lisa Stump at the board’s May 27 meeting to draft an ordinance to place the amendment on the ballot. But when the board met June 24, Trueblood postponed consideration of the proposal. He noted that some questions had arisen about the proposed amendment and said he wanted more time to review the issue.

However, Trueblood said he did intend to bring the issue back, which he did Aug. 12.

At that meeting, aldermen voted 5-3 to have Stump draft the ordinance for the Charter amendment, with Stadter voting in favor of having the ordinance drafted.

During a discussion of the proposal at the Sept. 9 meeting, Tsichlis said, “I do strongly support this proposal. I support it based on the common practice of most municipalities, the majority which do have this form of reporting structure set up — organizational relationship set up. And there must be a reason for that ...”

Wallach reiterated his opposition to the proposal, noting that voters would have to be educated about the reason for the change if the ordinance moved forward.

“... What I haven’t heard from the board (is) why the change? I recognize there’s other municipalities that have this feature, but it can’t just be that,” he said. “You must state a reason why the change. It’s been in place for 19 years, the current posi-tion as it’s at now. What has changed in that 19 years to refl ect that there’s a need to go to the city clerk to (report) directly to the Board of Aldermen?

“I don’t know what’s changed. Maybe again, that’s something the board needs to educate myself, which will be a voter, as well as the citizens. What’s changed in 19 years? ...”

Stadter said, “I voted in favor of this (Aug. 12) not necessarily because I was in favor of the change but because I didn’t have a problem with it going in front of our voters. However, looking at this and listen-ing to my colleagues … I did have a couple of comments to make. One of the other aldermen stated that most cities or a major-ity of cities around here have that structure.

“I don’t think that was a true statement. We were saying — if I recall correctly at the last meeting — that by making this change and also keeping the role as a civil service employee, we were setting a precedent, that that was not the case in the other places where they reported to the board. They were no longer a civil service employee, so that was one question that I had,” she said.

“And the other issue that I have with this now, looking at it, is even if this is passed by the voters, the proposed amendment won’t take effect until July 1, 2015. I’m not sure we need to have such a big rush on this. It might make good sense to have this reviewed — because we’re going to have a Charter committee coming up again in 2015. It might make sense to let the new Charter committee look at this and make recommendations before we make the change and put it on the ballot ...”

• Vote

cusanellis.comServing South County families for over 60 years!

705 Lemay Ferry Rd.(at Bayless)

(314) 631-7686Open 7 days a week at 4p.m.

Bayless Ave.


N

S

Bayless Ave.


River City Casino one mile from Cusanelli’s

Daily SpecialsAvailable!

Reservations Available!

PARTY ROOMSAVAILABLE!

Seats up to 45

SMARTPHONE USERS!Bookmark

www.callnewspapers.com/mobile through your internet browser to have easy access to everything Call Newspapers has to offer!

Fine Quality Jewelry At

Lower Prices!Celebrating 38 Years!

11802 Tesson Ferry Rd314-842-5544

gulianojewelry.comOpen Tuesday - Saturday

WE BUY GOLD &

DIAMONDS

( J o e t h e J e w e l e r )Guliano Jewelry

Come in for a FREE Jewelry Cleaning!

COUPON

Watch Battery Changed only

Excludes backs with screws.

$5!COUPON

$10 OFFJewelry Repairs

Totalling $35 or more

“I Forever Do”

Voluntary SubscriptionsConcord Call, Green Park Call, Oakville Call,

SunCrest Call, Mail Call

If you are currently receiving one of the Call’s weekly, mailed newspapers Concord Call, Green Park Call, Oakville Call, or SunCrest Call or wish to receive future Call publications, you can make sure you’re keeping up-to-date with local news, sports and advertising with a volunteer subscription to the newspaper you are now reading.

I want to be informed. Please continue sending me the Call, or please send me the Call when you expand your circulation to my zip code.Signature: _________________________________________________________Date: ___________________________Print name: ________________________________________________________

Check One: Resident, BusinessAddress: __________________________________________________________City: ____________________________ State: _____ Zip Code: ____________Phone: _______________________________

Send, or drop off attention of:Diane Henrich, Circulation ManagerCall Publishing, Inc.9977 Lin Ferry Rd.St. Louis, MO 63123

Cash donations that accompany voluntary subscriptions will be used to help defray mailing costs. If you have any questions, call 314-843-0102. Ask for Publisher Deborah Baker, General Manager Bill Milligan, or Circulation Manager Diane Henrich.

If you want to be well informed, you’ve got to read the Call

since 1989

Looking fora way to save?You need to insureboth your autoand your home,so why not save money in the process?Call today for a free,no-obligation look atauto and home discountsfrom American Family.

Daniel Fowler Agency, Inc.5647 Telegraph Rd Ste 4

Saint Louis, MO63129-4200

[email protected](314) 846-1700

American Family Mutual Insurance Companyand its SubsidiariesAmerican Standard Insurance Company of WisconsinAmerican Standard Insurance Company of OhioAmerican Family Insurance CompanyHome Offi ce — Madison, WI 53783amfam.com

© 2008 001726 — Rev. 11/08

INSURER

Documents

Crestwood clerk position 2