|
What's Happening in the Old Jamestown Area
On this page, we provide information about
what's going on in the Old Jamestown Assn. area and answer
questions that occasionally come up. If you have information
you would like to see addressed here, please send a request
to
prautes@aol.com
If you want to learn about current re-zoning requests,
The St. Louis County Department of Planning web site has
information about scheduled public hearings.
The main
St. Louis County
site has links to a great deal of useful information.
ASSOCIATION SUBMITS KARST PROPOSAL TO THE COUNTY: Click here to see the Association's proposal for recognition of the Florissant Karst Area, which will be submitted to the St. Louis County Council on April 29, 2008.HIGHWAY 367 WORK COMPLETED AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
Congratulations to Bill Schnell, MODOT North District Engineer, and the design and construction teams that completed the Highway 367 Improvement Project in December 2007 that transformed Highway 367 to an uninterrupted freeway from I-270 to New Jamestown Road, six months ahead of schedule and $25,000,000 below the estimated cost. Such an achievement should not go unnoticed and should set a good example for the Highway 64 project now under construction.
CITIZENS GROUP ORGANIZED TO ADDRESS DRAMATIC INCREASES IN REAL ESTATE TAXES IN ST. LOUIS COUNTY
Large tax levy increases on individual St. Louis County residential properties since year 2000 have been caused by the ever escalating assessed market values of homes that far outstrip the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The end result has been unjustifiable tax increases for taxing jurisdictions such as School Districts, St. Louis County government, Fire Districts, State and Municipal Services and many other services, such as the Zoo, Libraries, Sewers, etc. Except for two years, it appears that the St. Louis County Government had not adjusted the residential tax revenues downward to comply with Missouri State law and the Hancock Amendment to the Missouri State Constitution.
A group of three concerned citizens organized “St. Louis County Residents for Property Tax Relief Now” in May 2007. Since that time, the group has expanded in numbers and expertise, established an excellent website, maintained a continuous log of activities, developed on-line and manual signature petitions, developed media outlets and appearances, worked with legislators to encourage their involvement to address the situation, and have conducted meetings and presentations with many community organizations.
The current status is that the petition signatures count is 3600, and there are eighteen bills that have been introduced in the State Legislature related to the situation.
The Legislative session ends May 16th and by that time, there will be only one of those bills passed, and by the nature of the legislative process, it may have been so intensely negotiated that the effectiveness will have been lost.
If that is the case, the tentative plan is to pursue the referendum process next year that would result in a statewide ballot on the issue. That procedure will be more involved, more labor intensive, and more costly.
Individual action plan NOW for concerned residents:
JAMESTOWN MALL PROPOSAL WITHDRAWN The Carlyle Development Group, Inc. has withdrawn their request for modifications to the General Plan for development of Jamestown Mall. The request fo changes had been recommended by the Planning Commission for approval by the County Council, but was withdrawn by the developer prior to the vote. NEW TRASH COLLECTION PROGRAM BEGINS IN ST. LOUIS COUNTY
The distribution of 65 gallon recycling carts marks the beginning of the new St. Louis County Waste Collection Program that includes curbside recycling. The program officially began on January 1, 2008. It has been marked by controversy from individuals and groups who object to either the concept of single hauler districts and/or recycling paid for by all residents. The program has been modified during the discussion period to address some of these issues and will most likely continue to be adjusted until fully operational.
The program will provide a basic minimum level of trash collection service, including single stream curbside recycling, to all residents of St. Louis County. Municipalities with comparable trash hauling contracts are exempt and subdivisions by a 75% vote of residents opposing may opt out of the program. Their residents may then continue to make individual trash service decisions.
Note: The Association is not a legal entity, such as a subdivision, and therefore does not have the choice to “opt out”. The Directors, recognizing that there are varying opinions on this issue, feel it is important that residents voice their individual opinions to the County.
The program is designed to encourage recycling, by requiring trash haulers to provide once-a-week curbside recycling pickup, as part of “a basic level of minimum service” as defined in the trash haulers contract. Recycling will be included in the monthly charge paid by residents in each of the eight newly formed Trash Collection Districts. The Old Jamestown Area is part of District One.
A single trash hauler, based upon competitive bids, will be selected for a specified contract period in each Collection District to deliver Basic Services to all residents. District One will be awarded later this year, after the bidding process takes place. The monthly fee for the “basic minimum service level” will differ between Districts because of the many variable characteristics within each District at the time of bidding. The efficiency of scale and duplication of services by haulers should reduce the overall cost of trash collection, however the addition of recycling as a standard component will increase individual monthly fees. The new fee will be determined after the District contract is awarded and will remain in effect until the next bidding period. Residents may choose not to recycle, by continuing to place all their waste into a single container placed at the curb for weekly pickup, and return the 65 gallon recycle cart to the County. The monthly basic trash collection fee will, however, include recycling. Residents will choose whether they actually recycle their trash. Resumption of recycling may occur at any time by requesting the return of a recycle cart from the County. |
