19 FEBRUARY 2019 / 6:45 PM / Adam’s Park Boy’s and Girl’s Club

MINUTES

6:45 – 6:46 pm Meeting Called to order(Vincent Chewning)

  • Call to order

6:46 – 6:50 pm Treasurer’s Report (Adelina Mart)

  • Call to pay dues
  • Nothing new on the treasurer’s report

6:50 – 7:00 pm Crime Report (Ed Slade)

  • Increase in auto thefts
    • 4100 block of Manchester
    • 4500 block of Arco
    • 4300 block of Swan
    • Thefts were “straight steals, some with keys in the ignition”
    • Didn’t see much of this last year
    • Thefts are driving larceny numbers up
  • Most of the reports taken are accidents; 7:1 accidents to crime ratio
  • Sunday (2/16): Robbery at the Subway on Kingshighway
  • Regarding patrols:
    • Work from the top of the hour and staggered
    • Day-watch starts at 7:00am
    • Neighborhood is cut into two beats; with two different cars
      • Cars aren’t always in the neighborhood
    • Nightwatch: usually runs short on manpower
    • Overtime allocated when needed (leads, hot spots)
    • Secondary assigned (The City’s Finest Service) usually stay on the perimeter
  • Slade encourages calls on suspicious activity (has to do with person or vehicle) to help out
    • You can email Slade for other things

7:00 – 7:20 pm Civil Rights Enforcement Agency (CREA) (Charles Bryson)

  • CREA investigates complaints of discrimination in the areas of housing, employment and public accomodation and follows up with a ruling and a settlement or files lawsuits
    • Incident must occur in the city
    • Fair Housing- They investigate claims of discrimination when applying for renting, buying or securing financing for a home
      • Race, color, sex, religion, ancestry, familial status, gender identity or expression, and legal source of income
    • Member had a question about domestic violence becoming a nuisance issue. Bryson’s response: CREA is only an enforcement agency; tenant can come to CREA with a claim, and CREA will remind the property owner/landlord of housing policy and to evaluate each applicant/tenant the same

Call CREA for questions and assistance: 314-622-3301

Address: 1114 Market Street, Suite 626, Saint Louis, MO 63101

Website: stlouis-mo.gov/civl-rights

Email: crea@stlouis-mo.gov

7:20 – 7:25 pm Community Assistance Committee (Dan Scott)

  • A committee has been proposed to address neighborhood housing disparities with home repair help
  • They plan to help homeowners who own modest homes with home repair, neighborhood homeowner stabilization, and code repair resources
  • Applicants will be identified on walking tours and personal reach-out
  • Next meeting there will be charter presented and there will be a general membership discussion to create the committee
  • If interested, contact Dan Scott

7:25 – 7:43 pm FPSE Development Committee Update (Mark Mangapora)

  • Committee hasn’t met since November
  • Mangapora reminded members that the neighborhood has a formed-based code for developers to follow
  • Mangapora shared the largest commercial projects that have been presented to the committee:
    • Apartments at 4215 Arco
    • Raising Canes at Vandeventer and 64
    • Beast Craft BBQ at 4156 Manchester
    • Three Story, Seven Unit Apartment Building with a storefront at 4475 Chouteau
    • Ronald McDonald House at 4321 Chouteau (currently on hold by preservation board to address concerns about existing church on the property)
    • New construction to add onto Everest Cafe with micro-units up top at 4143 Manchester
    • New restaurant proposal at 4370 Manchester
    • WashU project for office renovations and demolition for a parking lot at 1234 South Kingshighway (Swan and Kingshighway)
    • Renovation and addition for an event space – “Dogwood in the Grove” at 4308 Manchester
    • Seven story building  for apartments, retail and underground parking at 4101 Manchester
  • Member spoke out about a recent ad in the local paper mentioning gentrification and using expensive housing for rentals that have been tax abatement; asked for members to call and to write to the paper

7:43 – 7:56 pm Community Announcements (Community)

  • Jes at Washington University Medical Center Redevelopment Corporation
    • WashUMCRC will help with National Night Out
    • Host monthly Happy Hours to raise money; Next up: March 6 from 5 – 7 for National Night Out event in August
    • In early Spring the planters that are located on Chouteau and Vandeventer will be removed because they’ve reached their lifespan
  • Properties at 4577 and 4579, 4581 Manchester were sold to Drury on January 31, 2019 and were told that Barnes Jewish will enter long-term lease; early proposal to build a hotel, but Drury does not have a design for the hotel; the hospital said Drury must get approval from the city and the neighborhood before proceeding.
    • Member question: How can the community have input in this process, and the process itself?
      • There will be a community engagement process
    • Request to get information on the process itself for the next meeting
    • Ron Coleman: Drury will talk to the community before going to the drawing board
  • Member announcement: Gibson Avenue has been renamed to Bob Gibson Way, and the next step is to have a dedication this Spring with the St. Louis Cardinals. Postal service will still use Gibson Avenue.
  • Member announcement: Petition for the sale of the airport is at the back of the room.

7:56 – 7:57 PM Adjournment (Vincent Chewning)

You can download this month’s meeting minutes below.

February 2019 Meeting Minutes