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Health & Fitness

Notes from the January Grantwood Village Board of Trustees Meeting

Grantwood Village Chairwoman Cathy Forand offers a play-by-play of the January Village Board of Trustees Meeting.

We were honored to welcome a special surprise guest, St. Louis County Chief of Police Tim Fitch. Chief Fitch reported on the recently updated crime statistics for St. Louis County. For the third year in a row, crime was down in the 3rd Precinct.  Crime throughout the County was also down this year, reaching levels not seen since 1971. He also reminded us that Grantwood was the first municipality to contract with the County Police, a relationship which started in the 1950s. He ended by thanking everyone and the Board for their relationship and “for having our act together.” We feel the same way, Chief! 

Trustee Reports

Trustee Kienstra, before giving the Treasurer’s report, noted December and January are big months for revenues as most real estate and personal property tax is received. Unusual disbursements for January included: Call Publishing for the candidate filling notice, Domian Paving for pot hole repair in Forest Haven West, Casey Electric for electrical repairs at the Town Hall, and new telephones at the Town Hall. For specifics, please refer to the Treasurer’s report on our Website. 

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Trustee Williams reported her progress on updating Village records, including improved filing systems and the scanning of documents into the Village computer.  Filing for the April election is now closed, with five candidates filing for two positions. They are: Cathy Forand, Pat Williams, Bill Hypes, Walter Rust and Will Larson. The election is April 3. 

Trustee Bess elaborated on the electrical work performed at the Town Hall.  Several low voltage circuits were replaced and one of the entrance lights, which was knocked over after being backed into, was also fixed.  Seliga Heating and Cooling also visited the Town Hall this month after the furnace failed. A group of wires were found to be burned and were replaced. This work was performed under a maintenance contract with Seliga. 

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Trustee Kelso updated the Board on the status of the private lateral sewer connection on Grantview. Due to MSD giving the wrong locate, work was prolonged, but the connection has been made and now we await warmer weather to repair the sections of street where the cuts were made. Pot hole repair was completed in Forest Haven West, with an additional 30 repairs being made. Pot holes repaired totaled 90. The Board approved $3,500 for the repairs; $2,900 was the bid for 60 repairs and the 90 repairs totaled $3,200. New stop signs and sign pole painting will begin in Forest Haven as soon as weather cooperates. 

Officer Mike reported another crime free month in Grantwood, and thanked Old Grantwood residents for handling the closure of the Grantview Entrance so well and without incident. Trustee Forand reported on Village communications for the month, which included her responding to 49 phone calls at her residence, 6 from the Town Hall voicemail, and 70 emails. 

Village Attorney Rich Magee reported the transition of his Prosecuting Attorney duties to Mike Vogt is going very well and expects Mr. Vogt to serve the Village well. 

Residents Questions and Comments

A resident commented and thanked the Board for the robo calls made to Old Grantwood prior to the closing of the Grantview entrance.  The Board will continue to use this timely and inexpensive method to reach residents when large scale projects, emergencies or short notices need to reach a large group of residents.  Trustees and Officer Mike will continue to monitor the safety and placement of the pylons at the Grantview Entrance while the street remains partially closed.  Another resident questioned the disbursement to Eckenrode-Maupin; this is the firm of our new Village Attorney, who also served as Prosecutor.  This month’s bill included work as Attorney and Prosecutor as the transition of the new Prosecutor is underway.  The final two questions involved landscaping.  To clarify, the trees located along Grantivew Lane north of the entrance were not on Village property and were removed by the homeowner some time prior to the construction earlier this month.  The Village is not responsible for any landscaping repairs or replacement due to the sewer work as all the landscaping was on private property.  The Village is awaiting a check from the insurance company of the moving company who damaged the Zinzer Island, and hope to have the check before the end of the month.

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