All Entries Tagged With: "Kinloch"
Public input sought for sustainable regional plan
If you’re a resident of Ferguson or any of the surrounding communities mentioned above, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments wants to hear from you. This local nonprofit recently received a $4.7 million grant from the federal government, which will be used to “create a regional plan that builds the capacity of local and regional leaders to implement sustainable practices by sharing knowledge, best practices, and resources; connecting local, regional, state and federal planning efforts; and making federal and local investments more effective and efficient.”
In other words, they want to listen to citizen input and then develop long-term strategies to meet six core goals:
- Provide more transportation choices
- Promote equitable, affordable housing
- Enhance economic competitiveness
- Support existing communities
- Coordinate policies and leverage investments
- Value communities and neighborhoods
During this three-year process, there will be public meetings in 11 different Community Planning Areas. For our Ferguson area, the first meeting is tomorrow night, 6:30pm, at the St. Louis Community College Training Center, 3400 Pershall Road. If you live in Spanish Lake, Glasgow Village, Bellefontaine Neighbors or Riverview, your meeting is March 20, 6:30pm, at Trinity High School, 1720 Redman Road.
If you can make it to either of these events, wonderful! If not, you can still participate in the process by completing this community survey. You can also learn more about the St. Louis Regional Sustainable Communities project, which is what this whole thing is called, on the RPSD website.
Maline Greenway plans to be unveiled 3/24 & 29
Suburban Avenue in Ferguson will eventually rest at the heart of the Maline Greenway, a proposed trail network spanning all across North County.
As I first mentioned back in October, the planning process is officially underway for the new Maline Greenway, an interconnected trail system that will run from the city of St. Louis all the way to Berkeley. Following the length of the historic Maline Creek, it will travel through Kinloch, Ferguson, Cool Valley, Jennings, Moline Acres, Riverview and unincorporated North County, ultimately linking the existing St. Vincent and Confluence Greenways and adding to the 600+ miles of trails that the local nonprofit Great Rivers Greenway has already completed.
Consultants from GRG have been busy soliciting citizen input and hammering out the details on the Maline project, and now they’re ready to share their results. During public open houses that start next week, they’ll lay out conceptual plans for the new trail and offer a glimpse at what each of the participating communities can expect.
“Our plan for Maline Greenway is intended to inspire citizens, developers, community organizations and local governments to work together to form an interconnected trail system along Maline Creek, providing children and families with a safe option for exercise, commuting and outdoor activities,” said Susan Trautman, executive director of Great Rivers Greenway.
The first open house will be held March 24, from 6-8 pm at the Bellefontaine Recreational Center, 9669 Bellefontaine Road, 63137. The second open house will be held on March 29 from 6-8 pm, at Ferguson Middle School, 701 January Ave., 63135. All are welcome. Free snacks and children’s crafts will be available during the event.
If you can’t make it, you may want to check out this video from Great Rivers Greenway. It follows a bus tour of the proposed Maline route, with commentary provided by GRG staff. The sound kicks in around :49.
By the way, the photo at the top of this post shows last year’s Live Well Ferguson 5K. Just wait until this year’s event, when my colorful new Ferguson banners will line Suburban Avenue… Have you registered for the race yet? It’s May 14th.
NoCo News Clips: 7/8
From here on out, Sunday News Clips will be just plain ol’ News Clips. Each post will be shorter but I’ll be writing more frequently and you should wind up with more news overall. As usual, if you have news to share, please send any press releases to me at shannon@NOCOstl.com. Comments and suggestions are also welcome. Thank you!
• Following intense debate in the community, Bridgeton has approved $7.2 million in tax increment financing (TIF) for a Walmart Supercenter to be built on the south side of St. Charles Rock Road at Harmony Lane. The new store will replace the existing Walmart across from Northwest Plaza, causing a likely budget shortfall for the city of St. Ann, which currently claims seven percent of the store’s tax revenue.
The Supercenter project is estimated to cost $23 million overall, bringing Bridgeton $7 million in annual tax revenue beginning in 2012. In an interview in the Post-Dispatch, Bridgeton Mayor Conrad Bowers said his city would have lost $1 million in annual tax revenue if Walmart had left.
• Over in Florissant, another new Walmart is being discussed, with the same developer seeking the same kind of public subsidy. At a recent city council meeting, Alan Bornstein from THF Realty outlined preliminary plans to build a Walmart Supercenter on 42 acres near New Halls Ferry and Lindbergh, directly behind Lowe’s.
Bornstein said the new store would not replace the existing Walmart in Ferguson, which is less than four miles away. He also said the project would not proceed without TIF money. If THF decides to submit a formal proposal on the Supercenter, it will have to make its case with the St. Louis County TIF commission and then gain approval from the Florissant city council. Stay tuned…
O'Pestkey's @ Jamestown Mall
• First, a new Irish bar and grill opened at Jamestown Mall. Now the St. Louis County Economic Council is holding a public forum there to present ideas on how the mall might be revitalized in the future. Everyone is invited to attend the meeting, which will be held Thursday, July 15, from 6:30 to 8pm at the mall cinema. For more info on the county’s redevelopment plans, look here.
• If you live in Ferguson, you may have heard the recent celebration going in Kinloch. A live band and lots of revelers helped to kick off the city’s newly named “historic district,” which Kinloch Mayor Keith Conway hopes will transform his community into a tourist destination. As he describes in this Post article, Conway is planning to install a Kinloch Walk of Fame, which will feature plaques for 80 prominent former and current residents, including Conway himself and the city’s four aldermen.
• If you have kids, mark your calendar for Thursday, July 22! That’s when the St. Louis Science Center’s Dome Theater arrives at the Lewis & Clark library, offering an IMAX-style viewing experience for free!
To register, you must call beforehand: (314) 994-3300. Space is limited but 12 movies will be shown, with narration by celebrities like Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks. Here’s the full schedule:
9:30-10:30 a.m. “Secret of the Cardboard Rocket” (Grades PreK-2)
10:30-11:00 a.m. “The Dinosaur Prophecy” (Grades K-4)
11:00-11:30 a.m. “Earth’s Wild Ride” (Grades 1-4)
11:30 a.m. – noon “Fantasy Worlds” (Grades 3-8)
12:00-12:30 p.m. “Secrets of the Dead Sea” (Grades 3-8)
12:30-1:00 p.m. “Passport to the Universe” (Grades 3-8)
1:00-1:30 p.m. “The Search for Life: Are We Alone?” (Grades 4-8)
1:30-2:00 p.m. “Future Moon” (Grades 4-8)
2:00-2:30 p.m. “Night of the Titanic” (Grades 5-8)
2:30-3:30 p.m. “Secret of the Cardboard Rocket” (Grades PreK-2)
3:30-4:00 p.m. “The Dinosaur Prophecy” (Grades K-4)
4:00-4:30 p.m. “Earth’s Wild Ride” (Grades 1-4)
The library is located at 9909 Lewis-Clark Blvd., 63136
LOST DOGS: Please help find George & Girl
Ever since their dogs, George and Girl, first went missing several weeks ago, my neighbors Tom and Theresa Carper have passed out more than 300 flyers, visited multiple shelters and spent every single day scouring North County to find their beloved pets.
George, above left, is a male Chow/Corgi who weighs around 60lbs and is just two years old. He is skittish around strangers but is very attached to his companion, Girl. She is a female Malamute mix, similar in size to George, and she’s wearing a red collar with a rabies tag on it. She is more likely to come when called.
The dogs left Ferguson and were initially seen in Kinloch but may now be near Switzer Avenue in Jennings. The Carpers are desperate to find them and are currently putting out food near Calvary Cemetery in hope of luring them out of the dense woods nearby – if, in fact, they’re in there. They may actually be headed toward the city.
If you see George and Girl, please contact the Carpers right away! They are brokenhearted over this and would greatly appreciate your help. They can be reached at (314) 521-5031, (314) 330-3016 or (314) 330-3690. Thank you very much!!
Are you getting ready for the big day? NOCO is a proud sponsor of the 3rd annual Live Well Ferguson 5K