Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Michael O’Mara was named the council's new chair Tuesday night. The economy and county parks are high on his agenda for 2012.
Michael O’Mara (D-Florissant), District 4 was elected the new St. Louis County Council chair at the first council meeting of 2012 Tuesday night. He takes the helm from Steve Stenger (D-Affton), the councilman for District 6. Kathleen Burkett (D-Overland), District 2, is now the vice chair. O’Mara is a Florissant native, and has been on the council since 2000. He was the chair, last, in 2007. He was an All-American soccer player before playing professionally in Kansas City and St. Louis. He joined the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 562, and is currently an international representative for the United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Sprinklerfitters. O’Mara’s priorities this year for St. Louis County focus on the economy. He said he …
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
County Executive Charlie Dooley said all St. Louis County Parks will remain open, but job cuts are coming.
Less than five minutes into Tuesday’s St. Louis County Council meeting, County Executive Charlie Dooley made the announcement that all 23 St. Louis County Parks slated for closure in 2012 will stay open. “The things that we’ve compromised on is that we’re going to leave all of our parks systems open… we will keep the West County satellite office open as well, and we will keep the plowing in unincorporated St. Louis County,” he said. The county executive emphasized a team effort in not only adjusting the 2012 budget, but also looking ahead for long-term solutions to what he originally predicted to be a $26 million budget deficit. “There may be lingering issues in the future about how large a deficit was or wasn’t, or if it exists. Those don…
Thursday, December 1, 2011
St. Louis County Council Chairman Steve Stenger said he did not say anything insulting.
County Executive Charlie Dooley called for an apology from County Council Chairman Steve Stenger (D-District 6) about his comments on the Mark Reardon Show Wednesday. “In trying to insult me, Mr. Stenger demeaned and insulted the people of St. Louis County—many of whom do not have a college degree,” Dooley said in a release Thursday. Stenger was a guest on the show and discussed the 2012 recommended county budget and the special committee he formed to create alternative suggestions to the proposed closure of 23 St. Louis County Parks. (See related story: St. Louis County Budget Debate Heats Up) Reardon asked Stenger what background Dooley had specifically to the budget. This was after the two discussed Stenger’s 18-year history as a …
A special committee met Tuesday to brainstorm the 2012 proposed budget.
Two potential alternatives to closing county parks came out of Tuesday’s special budget committee meeting: moving money from the health fund to the parks fund and not filling current vacant positions in the county. (See related story: St. Louis County Budget Debate Heats Up) County Council Chairman Steve Stenger formed the committee, headed by District 5 Rep. Mike O’Mara, to suggest alternatives to the proposed 2012 budget. The budget called for the closure of 23 St. Louis County Parks and 173 lay-offs. County Executive Charlie Dooley said the budget reflected a $26 million deficit in 2012. Chief Operating Officer Garry Earls presented the committee with a report that outlined answers to the their questions from the last budget meeting. …
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The debate heats up between the county executive and council chair as St. Louis County's 2012 budget must be passed before Dec. 31. Part of the proposal is to close St. Louis County parks.
Tensions rose Tuesday night at the St. Louis County Council’s second special budget committee meeting when County Executive Charlie Dooley stood by his 2012 proposed budget, which includes the closure of 23 St. Louis County Parks. Check back later this week for more coverage of the budget meeting. The budget, which has been largely criticized by County Council Chairman Steve Stenger, also included laying off 173 employees in both the parks and code enforcement division. “Being the chairman of the county council does not give you the knowledge of the county budget in one year,” Dooley said. “You can’t know what you need to know.” Dooley said he hasn’t received anything from Stenger as the chairman. Stenger asked Dooley to elaborate on what…
Monday, November 21, 2011
The St. Louis County Council's special budget committee meets Monday for the first time to see if the budget can be balanced without closing 23 parks.
St. Louis County is not alone. As a special committee of the St. Louis County Council meets Monday to discuss closing the budget shortfall without closing 23 parks, the National Recreation and Parks Association in Washington D.C. said parks departments across the country are seeing cuts— sometimes twice in a year and sometimes by as much as 30 or 40 percent. Finding funding for parks as public revenue dries up is “probably the hottest issue in public parks and recreation today,” said Rich Dolesh, vice president for conservation and parks for the association. Dolesh, who attended St. Louis University, said “virtually every agency in the county is being tasked with this.” But even in the national trend of slashing public parks, Dolesh said …
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Nixon announced possible joint management as a solution to Dooley's parks-closing proposals.
In addition to Town and Country residents and the City of Manchester pushing to keep St. Louis County parks from being shut down, the state and the county may be teaming up to save 23 parks. The closures would also include two swimming pools, a community center and a petting zoo from budget cuts. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced Wednesday that the state is discussing joint state-county management of some of the county parks slated to close. The governor’s office offered Lone Elk Park as an example. Because the popular park is adjacent to Castlewood State Park, joint state-county operation could cut costs and keep the park open. “I am committed to working with County Executive (Charlie) Dooley and his team to explore ways we can help keep …
Friday, August 12, 2011
A University City resident's letter to the editor drew fire from the St. Louis County Council Chairman, while Councilwoman Colleen Wasinger from Town and Country, offered a suggestion.
Members of the St. Louis County Council struck back Tuesday in Clayton at criticism of county investment in a gathering aimed at drawing conventions to the St. Louis area. In June, the council approved $250,000 for a convention for the American Society of Association Executives. Dubbed the “Super Bowl of conventions,” the gathering is aimed at attracting major conferences to the St. Louis area. The event, however, drew criticism from Tom Sullivan, a University City resident who wrote a letter to the Call Newspaper about the council's allocation. “By anyone's standards, $750,000 is an exorbitant amount of money for a party—especially when it is completely funded with public money,” Sullivan wrote in his letter. Sullivan also wrote that “…
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Town and Country - Manchester Patch is looking for a few interested parents to participate on its "Mom's Council."
Hi, I'm Gabrielle Biondo, editor of Town and Country – Manchester Patch.com. I want to invite you to join us in an exciting project that we've launched for parents in our community. We are recruiting a “Moms Council” of three to five knowledgeable mothers (and even a dad or two) who would help us answer questions posted by parents, lead discussions of key parenting topics in our area, and reach out to online and offline moms’ groups in the community. As a council member, you'll help us improve our coverage of families by suggesting stories to write and you'll also help us recognize outstanding kids in Town and Country and Manchester. While we can’t pay you for your efforts, we hope you’ll be rewarded in other ways—this is a tremendous …
