An encouraging sign in last week's election was how the mayoral candidates' stance on big box retail development -- pro and con -- decided the election.  According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Voters in Wildwood gave Mayor Tim Woerther another term in office in what was seen as a referendum on future development in the city."

"Woerther said his victory shows that people in Wildwood don't want to 'go chasing commercial development' just for the sake of getting it, and that his city is on the right path in terms of sustained development."

Perhaps the best line in the article reads, "Woerther has said that he doesn't want the 17-year-old Wildwood 'to look like the rest of St. Louis County'."  Read the full article here.

It's refreshing to see a local elected official standing up for a better vision of his city, a vision not defined by what is a good deal for a developer or even a short-term monetary gain for the city, but a sustainable future.  We in Maryland Heights need to have the same robust public discussion on sustainable development in our city, and that is a discussion that should be led by, well, our leaders.

_ As a partner of The Open Space Council, which is a 501(c)3 organization, MHRRG will not endorse any specific candidate in the Maryland Heights City Council race.  Even without an endorsement, we thought that passing along what we know of the candidates in Wards 1 and 2 would be useful to residents as you make your decision before Tuesday’s election.The incumbents in Wards 3 and 4 are running unopposed.

Please note that Ward lines have been re-drawn since last April, you may be in a different ward.  Check the ward map on the city’s website(enlarge to view street level) or call City Hall at 314-291-6550 to find out what ward you live in.

No matter what, please remember that local elections are often decided by just a few votes.  YOUR VOTE MATTERS!!! Make sure that the path of our community’s future is not decided by only a few hundred people.

Ward 1: 
John Minton- Mr. Minton has lived in Maryland Heights for 45 years and owned a business along Dorsett Rd in the 1980s and 90s. He is opposed to the large scale development planned in Howard Bend by Creve Coeur Park. Mr. Minton decided to run for office this year because he feels that competition is healthy for our democracy and at the time of filing, the incumbent was running unopposed. He does not accept campaign donations and if he wins the election, he will donate his salary to charity.

Steve Leipziger- Phone messages inviting Mr. Leipziger to meet with us went unreturned. Information from Patch.com says that he graduated from Parkway North and has lived in Maryland Heights for 3 years. He is currently a trustee for the Dawn Valley Neighborhood Association. We applaud Mr. Leipziger’s desire to serve his community; we just wish we knew his views on any of the issues.

Ken Gold- Mr. Gold is a longtime incumbent who is in favor of large-scale development in Howard Bend next to Creve Coeur Park. Campaign finance records show that the majority of his donations come from Howard Bend landowners, Harrah’s Casino, developers and contractors as well as Allied Waste and its associated PAC known as “Citizens for Truth in Government”.


Ward 2

Kim Baker- Mrs. Baker was appointed last year to fill the unexpired term of the late Judy Barnett. Kim has been an active member of the City’s Cultural Arts Commission for many years. Proposed development issues in Howard Bend have not reached the City Council since Mrs. Baker has been in office, so she has not had a chance to vote on it. She has indicated that she does not favor the large scale big-box developments that have been proposed by Creve Coeur Park and has made a point to attend nearly every Planning Commission meeting since she has taken office.

Howard Abrams- Mr. Abrams is on the City’s Planning and Zoning Commission and previously served on the city’s Beautification Committee.  He is a trustee for the Pheasant Run Residents Association. While campaigning this season he has said that he is not in favor of the large scale Howard Bend development, but he is on the record as voting for sending development plans on to the next stage of the planning process.

That’s a brief summary of our understanding; now we are interested in hearing your opinions and questions. Comment below or on our Facebook page to comment.

Residents: what are you looking for in a candidate and what issues concern you most?

Candidates: since there isn’t a candidate forum for our municipal election, we invite you to use our Facebook page or the comment area below to tell residents your vision for Maryland Heights and key issues you would like to see addressed. It’s difficult to meet every voter face to face; use this opportunity to let us know your views on the issues you see as most important.

 

Hundreds of people have signed up for our email alerts over the last four years to keep up with the latest development proposals near Creve Coeur Park.  We're switching to a new email service, so to keep the information coming, please sign up  for email alerts AGAIN with the link at right.

We expect developers of Maryland Pointe to return with a conceptual plan for their big-box development in the next few months.  Stay on top of the news by re-subscribing! 

There will be competition for City Council seats in Wards 1 and 2 in Maryland Heights.  Who sits on City Council has a lot to say about the direction of our city, so know your ward and know your candidates!  

See the candidates on Patch.com.
Find out which ward you're in.

Mark your calendar to vote on April 2!

Come join us for a night of fun at our annual Trivia Night fundraiser. Grab your friends and neighbors and test your knowledge while supporting our efforts to save the floodplain by Creve Coeur Park from massive commercial development.

MHRRG has been partnering with the Open Space Council to help educate the community on the plans that Maryland Heights, St. Louis County and certain landowners have come up with to pave over farmland and wetlands adjacent to Creve Coeur Park. We will have more information available during the trivia night and have people on hand to answer questions before the event begins.

This event is MHRRG's main fundraiser for the year, please help us make it successful! There will be a Raffle and Silent Auction conducted throughout the evening as well as extra games thrown in for fun. Put together a table of 8 people and come have some fun!
For more information and registration form, go here.

We need your ideas and help to make our 5th Annual Trivia Night a great success on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012!  

We spent down a large portion of our reserves this fall with mailed notices and educational outreach on the Maryland Pointe development skirmish with Planning & Zoning.  

Now we need to refill the coffers so we can continue to fight when Maryland Pointe developers bring their initial design plan to the city.


Our first planning meeting for Trivia Night will be featured at Second Saturday this weekend. We're looking for volunteers to organize, publicize, solicit prizes from local businesses, and help us run the event. We also need supporters to recruit players for the fun evening we have in store. 

It doesn't matter if you have experience or not, we're all in it together. Sharing our knowledge and having fun! 

Save It, Don't Pave It! Here's how you can help:

Second Saturday Meeting
Saturday, Dec. 10, 2012
St. Louis Bread Co. at Westport 
Drop in between 9:30-11:00 a.m. 

Read the editorial: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/article_6065a503-af24-5764-9fcb-b9d9a122a362.html?mode=story

When the Planning Commission let the Maryland Pointe developers go forward to the next stage, they set out a list of conditions the new plan must meet from the get-go.  This organization hosted a community meeting during which residents made their own comments and additions to the city's conditions.

Both documents were reviewed at the Oct. 25 meeting, but not everyone got a copy.  Click here to review a copy of the conditions and residents' comments.  Take a close look and let us know what you think.