Last week, the Maryland Heights City Council voted unanimously to approve a contract with Ultimate Soccer Arenas of Missouri to lease Sportport, the facility located at Sportport Drive and Maryland Heights Expressway in the Howard Bend floodplain.  We applaud this vote because:

• Using land in Howard Bend for recreational purposes makes perfect sense.  Land used for recreation is less expensive -- and easier -- to restore than other commercial properties after the inevitable flooding that occurs in a floodplain.  We believe more opportunities should be sought to use the land in this area for recreation.
• This kind of sports facility requires a lot of land, which is not available elsewhere in Maryland Heights.  In fact, it's not readily available anywhere else in St. Louis County.  Thus, this is a wise use of land resources for our city and region.
• This type of development has a low impact on the character of the area.  Soccer fields do not loom many stories high, sprout smoke stacks, or generate the traffic of large-scale commercial developments.

Read more about the city's agreement here.  If you like this move by the city, you can let your City Council representatives know with just two clicks!

We invited newly elected Ward 3 Councilman Chuck Caverly to join us at the St. Louis Bread Company at Westport where we hold our monthly community meeting called ‘Second Saturdays.’  On arrival, he promised us a good 30 minutes.  An hour later, as we all extracted ourselves from the lively discussion to go on with our day, he said he looked forward to coming back.  Such is the pull of the Second Saturdays.

Caverly shared his motivation for running, his experience on the Planning Commission (where he has served 10-12 years), and some of his priorities as councilman.  Importantly, we think, one of his priorities is listening.  “Sometimes, people just want to be heard,” said Caverly.  “We have a great system [of government] where people have the opportunity to show up and tell the Planning Commission or City Council ‘Here’s what I think about that.’  And that’s great, we should be listening to everyone.”

We couldn’t agree more.  We look forward to hearing more from Councilman Caverly, and to being heard – whether it’s at Second Saturdays, the Planning Commission, or City Council.

We plan to invite other members of Maryland Heights’ government to stop by for open discussion at Second Saturdays. Please come and meet neighbors and special guests at the next Second Saturdays meeting on May 8, from 9:30 to 11 a.m., at the Westport St. Louis Bread Company.  See you there.

As MHRRG was coming together early this year as a broad-based community effort by residents in Maryland Heights, one of the first issues we tackled was the lack of regular ward meetings. While Ward 3 regularly has meetings, none of the other wards do and it had been, in fact, years since meetings were held in Wards 1, 2 and 4.

When confronted with the lack of ward meetings, the most common response from our ward representatives and city government was the complaint that only 5-6 people ever showed up for the meetings and it wasn't worth it.

MHRRG countered their complaints with our assertion that residents in Maryland Heights did care and would show up if the meetings were regularly scheduled and properly advertised through a variety of communications to residents.

Thanks to continuous efforts by MHRRG members Robyn Merschen and Kim Cuddeback, Ward 1 held a long-delayed residents' meeting on June 8. In addition to the traditional neighborhood signs, MHRRG sent email to the hundreds of people on our mailing list.

The turnout was fantastic! Over 58 people joined Ward 1 City Council members Ken Gold and Don Hunt for a spirited dialog on community development and transportation activities in Maryland Heights as well as an introduction to the new police dog and his handler, Office John Wilson. Residents clearly voiced their preference for regular meetings, approximately every four months.

We'll refrain from saying, "I told you so," but the absence of regular ward meetings is a serious problem and hinders accountability and transparency in city government. The council members have a responsibility to be the "eyes and ears" of their wards. They represent everyone and it's hard to do that without regular ward meetings where they can learn from, and talk to, their constituents.

Ward meetings are one of the few city forums that aren’t restricted by meeting protocols and are truly open to a productive dialog with our elected representatives. While time is allotted at City Council meetings and Planning Commission meetings for public  comments, they are time restricted  (usually three minutes per speaker) and there is no opportunity to ask questions or have a discussion with the city representatives or other meeting members.

So what can you do?

Ward 1 – Your next meeting is coming up, please attend!
To their credit, Ken Gold and Don Hunt, have just scheduled their next Ward 1 meeting, fulfilling their promise to residents at the June 8th meeting.
Monday, September 14, at 7 p.m. at the Maryland Heights Community Centre on McKelvey Road.

Wards 2 and 4 – It's time to contact your City Council members and ask why they aren't holding regular ward meetings.
Each City Council member has a public phone number and a city email address. Please feel free to contact them.
Ward 2
Ed Dirck:  314-878-9001  edirck@marylandheights.com
Judy Barnett:  314-878-0056  jbarnett@marylandheights.com
Ward 4
Norm Rhea:  314-739-0096  nrhea@marylandheights.com
Carol Turner:  314-739-5086  cturner@marylandheights.com
 
Ward 3 – Keep up the good work and let us know when the next meeting is scheduled.
It should be noted that Ward 3 City Council members Mary Nichols and Don Johnson have had a long tradition of regularly scheduled ward meetings. We applaud their ongoing efforts to fully represent their residents!