BTTV – Episode 14 – Doing Business in the St. Louis Region

In this episode of BTtv, Dave talks with our Economic Development committee co-chairs, Denny Coleman (CEO of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership) and Brian Murphy (president of BAM Contracting, LLC). Both Denny and Brian talk about the challenges and opportunities that come with working in the St. Louis region. Then, Dave heads to the Central West End to chat with Chris Sommers, owner of Pi Pizzeria and Gringo. Plus, Joe Wilson reports from the tiny (but fascinating) municipality of Champ.

Better Together in the Community

A Report from Research Fellow Joe Wilson

Better Together recently visited the Cherokee Street Business Association meeting at Nebula Coworking on South Jefferson.  At the meeting, Mark Nevelow shared all that he and his wife have done to follow their dream on Cherokee Street. They bought a building that was about to fall down and lovingly restored it. On the ground floor will be the storefront (a shop called Bespoke ) and above will be the apartment in which the couple will live.

Nevelow spoke at length about the city programs in which he took part. The Façade Rehab Program , while difficult at times to maintain compliance with, helped them create a beautiful storefront.  The Sidewalk 50/50 Program helped them replace a cracked, uneven sidewalk in front of their shop. St.. Louis City’s Tax Abatement Program held the taxes on the property at the pre-rehab amount and will keep it there for ten years. After spending so much on the project, the tax savings will be very helpful for the small business owners.

Participants in such programs benefit from local government that is trying, in small and big ways, to encourage local business growth. Plus, events like Lighten Up Cherokee , Cherokee Nights , Cinco de Mayo , and IndiHop are all designed to showcase the amazing shops, restaurants, and bars on the street. So many people are pouring everything they have into their dream – on Cherokee and all across the region.

March Municipal Birthdays!

By Joe Wilson, Better Together Research Fellow

Research fellows at Better Together spent time compiling a list of the dates of incorporation for every municipality in the County. After scouring the Internet and going to the Missouri History Museum’s Archives and St. Louis County Libraries, we have compiled the full list of birthdays. These dates stretch from the very early days of the region to within the last two decades.

There are three municipalities with birthdays in the month of March: Northwoods (Mar. 15, 1939), Normandy (Mar. 30, 1945), and Dellwood (Mar. 16, 1951). Normandy and Northwoods hug the south side of I-70 east of I-170, and Dellwood is in North St. Louis County, just south of I-270.

Normandy and Dellwood both have populations of around 5,000, while Northwoods is slightly smaller at about 4,200 people. Normandy is the largest geographically at 1.85 sq. mi., followed by Dellwood at 1.04 sq. mi. and Northwoods at 0.71 sq. mi.

This research was interesting – and it was light lifting compared to some of the work we do. But it also highlights something very important: the regional focus of Better Together. As a region, we have to know where we came from and the circumstances surrounding the birth of our multitude of municipalities. How our communities were formed is an important factor in understanding how we work as a region now and how we can achieve more in the future.

Spring Break in Champ, MO

By Joe Wilson, Better Together Research Fellow

I have wandered all over St. Louis County during the last three months, filming segments on the history, local curiosities, and problems that communities in our region have. So during spring break from SLU Law, I actually got to go somewhere “fun.” I went to Champ.

Incorporated in 1959 with the help of the Bill “the World’s Strongest Mayor” Bangert , Champ is kind of an odd duck. Most communities around the St. Louis region trace their history back to several tried-and-true origin stories: French/Spanish influence and founding, late-1800s/early-1900s suburban founding, post-WWII suburban expansion. Most of the communities fall into these three categories, but Champ’s history is a bit different .

Today, Champ has a population of 13, contains six houses, a mega-church, and a quarry. I know a lot of people (elected officials, government workers, and residents of the city and county) who use Champ as a punch line. Sometimes, it’s easy to do that:

Champ is experiencing a population boom right now… Somebody just had twins.

There’s a crime wave in Champ… the guy down the block won’t return my hedge trimmers.

Would you like a tour of Champ? Just look both ways before you cross the street.

It’s easy to poke fun at certain communities around the region, and lots of people do. It’s important to remember that there are folks who live there. They work in the muni we are making light of, and they raise kids there, go to school there, buy their first house there, or live till their dying day there.

I didn’t go to Champ to film a stand-up routine on the village. I went because the town’s story matters, and it should be heard. Every part of St. Louis City and County is important to the region, and we should be working for the success of them all, not just the one in which we live.

BTTV – Episode 13 – What Is a Community Study, Anyway?

On this episode of Better Together TV, we turn the tables a bit. Marius Johnson takes a seat in the host chair. His guest – Better Together TV host Dave Leipholtz – discusses his main, day-to-day role as Director of Community-Based Studies. Plus, field reporter Joe Wilson joins us from Marlborough, and we share footage from the Saint Louis University Law Symposium.

The Immigrant Experience in St. Louis – Better Together TV – Episode 12

In this episode of BTtv, we focus on a particularly important segment of the St. Louis region: the immigrant community. As an area, we are fortunate to welcome people from all spots on the globe. We are going to hear about the opportunities that immigrants find in the St. Louis region, as well as the hurdles they must overcome.

Dave is joined by Tanya Charumilind, an officer with the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of St. Louis. He also heads down to South Grand for a conversation with Kate Howell of the International Institute. Plus, Joe Wilson brings us a municipality report from University City.

Better Together TV – Episode 11 – What Do We Do with All This Data?

On this episode of Better Together TV, we discuss the ways in which you can use the Public Finance Study data. What do these figures — pulled from more than 350 separate source documents — teach us about our region? How do we turn numbers into knowledge?

We talk with Brian Schmidt, founder of MO Wonk, a St. Louis-based firm that provides policy analysis. In a two-part interview, Brian helps our viewers navigate the abundance of data in our Public Finance study.

Also on the show: field reporter and Better Together research fellow Joe Wilson visits Affton and Fenton.

Follow the discussion online:
http://BetterTogetherSTL.com
…
https://twitter.com/BTstl

BETTER TOGETHER TV – EPISODE 10: INVESTING IN ST. LOUIS, PART 2

In this episode of Better Together TV, we talk with young civic leaders and social entrepreneurs about why they are making St. Louis their home — and what it means to own a start-up business in St. Louis. BTtv host Dave Leipholtz heads back to Cherokee Street to chat with Jeff and Randy Vines, the owners of STL Style House. Then, we talk again with the team behind GoodMap, a web app that connects local social-service providers to the resources they need. Also on today’s show, field reporter and Better Together research fellow Joe Wilson visits Wellston.

PRESS RELEASE: BETTER TOGETHER RELEASES PUBLIC FINANCE STUDY RESULTS

Contact: Anne Marie Moy
Phone: 314-686-8958
[email protected]

The First of Six Community-Based Studies is Accompanied by a Polsinelli Law Firm Memo Addressing Municipal Debt Transfer

Mon., Feb. 10 (ST. LOUIS) – Today, Better Together – a grassroots project sponsored by the Missouri Council for a Better Economy (MCBE) – is releasing results of its Public Finance Study.  This is the first of six community-based studies examining how municipal services are delivered to the people who live within the boundaries of St. Louis City and St. Louis County.

The Public Finance Study was conducted under the oversight of study chairman, Bob Baer, retired local business executive who is past president and CEO of Metro and has also served as chairman of the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District and the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority.   Baer authored and signed the executive summary of the report, which consists of municipal debt and revenue data collected from St. Louis City and St. Louis County, as well as the 90 municipalities and 23 fire districts within the County. All data collected was verified and compiled in a searchable database and is available to the public on the organization’s website ( www.bettertogetherstl.com ). Public Finance experts from Stifel provided technical assistance with compiling information and developing the database for the study.

“This project is the first endeavor of its kind,” noted Better Together Chairman, Ambassador George Herbert (Bert) Walker, III. “The data compiled in the Public Finance Study, as well as the five studies to follow, will for the first time be collected and assembled in one centralized location and made publicly available. This will enable people and organizations to have informed discussions, and put forth fact-driven proposals for what the future of the region should look like.”

The success of the Public Finance Study is in large part attributed to both the collaboration and oversight of public finance professionals as well as the cooperation of the municipalities.

“This report is not meant to compare municipalities or fire districts to each other,” said Baer.  “Rather, we are analyzing how we pay for services and how those services are financed.”

The study found that the costs associated with funding all 115 governments and their collective population of 1.3 million has reached $2 billion per year, of which $1.6 billion stems from annual tax revenue with the remaining funds consisting of fees and other sources of governmental revenue streams.  Additionally, the study found that these governments are responsible for more than $1.25 billion of outstanding general obligation, leasehold, COP and special obligation debt.

While the Public Finance report consists of data collected from each of the 115 governments in St. Louis City and St. Louis County, there are still some governments and municipalities that have not yet responded or continue to gather the requested information.  Overall, the municipalities and fire districts, as well as the City and County, were very cooperative in the process.

In addition to the release of the study, Better Together requested and has released a legal memorandum from Polisnelli PC, which addresses questions surrounding the transfer of municipal debt.  The memo, signed by attorneys Bill Kuehling and Kenny Hulshof, concludes that:

  • In the event the City of St. Louis became a municipality in St. Louis County and then subsequently filed for protection under Chapter 9 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, the City of St. Louis would continue to be solely responsible for its legal debts, to the extent approved by the Bankruptcy Court.  Neither of St. Louis County, the State of Missouri, nor any other third party would become responsible for any of the City’s debts and/or other expenses, absent their explicit agreement to do so.  There is no law (either State or Federal) or court precedent that would lead to any other conclusion.
  • The City of St. Louis, as employer of its police, fire and City employees, would remain responsible for any unfunded liability in the City employees’ pension systems.  The act of the City of St. Louis re-entering St. Louis County as a municipality would not automatically change its status as the employer of these employees, nor change its responsibility as employer to those employees.
  • No existing City of St. Louis obligations would automatically become the partial or full responsibility of the County, were the City to re-enter the County as a municipality.  Additionally, no future obligations of the City would automatically become the partial or full responsibility of the County after the City entered the County.

About Better Together

Better Together launched in Nov. 2013, as a grassroots project sponsored by the Missouri Council for a Better Economy (MCBE).  Born in response to growing public interest in addressing the fragmented nature of local government throughout St. Louis City and St. Louis County, Better Together is driving an inclusive, transparent process of developing and assembling valuable information other organizations can use to craft their own plans for what the future of the region should look like.

Today, 1.3 million people who call St. Louis home are served by 115 local governments, which include St. Louis City and St. Louis County, as well as 90 municipalities and 23 fire districts.  The costs associated with funding all 115 governments has reached $2 billion per year, underscoring the need to revisit the discussion to reunite the region.

#  #  #