Friday, December 9, 2011
It may be at least several months before the TIF process gets back on track.
The changes being made to the controversial Kenrick Plaza site plan by developer GJ Grewe may delay the project by several months, or even call into question the future of the Walmart-anchored redevelopment. The changes are being made to avoid having to move the guy-wires that anchor a nearby radio tower, a move that Grewe said was necessary to avoid “years of litigation.” However, having to build around the cables may mean changes to the size and shape of retail spaces in the development, which could affect the profitability of the profitability of the project. Shrewsbury Director of Administration Jonathan Greever said it would be at least 60 days from the moment he gets the go-ahead to reconvene the commission before the TIF would be …
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Construction can start as soon as Wednesday on Reavis Road.
Approximately 150 people turned out for the groundbreaking of the new 72 child Affton early childhood education (ECE) center at 9832 Reavis Rd. on Tuesday. “We consider the early childhood program an investment in our community and our children,” Superintendent Steve Brotherton said before the crowd headed out into the light snow for the official moment. Current students at the St. George early childhood facility wore cougar hard hats as they dug into a patch of sand in front of the building with child-sized shovels—with a little help an encouragement from the Affton school board members posing with them for pictures. Depending on the readiness of the contractors construction on the former industrial building may begin as early as …
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Depending on action by the legislature, Affton could lose up to $680,000 next year.
With unknown drops in state funding on the horizon, Affton School District officials are reconsidering their budget plans for next year. After falling behind on fully supporting the public school funding formula for several years, Missouri is now looking at different ways to reallocate state money for schools next year—all of which appear to mean budget shortfalls for Affton. “There are all these scenarios floating around, and we don’t know which we will end up with,” Superintendent Steve Brotherton said at Tuesday’s school board meeting. “We hope that there is some kind of legislative solution at some point.” The proposals circulating around the Missouri state legislature have been shifting quickly, but the default response if no action …
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The language of the agreement has yet to be finalized.
After a contentious public hearing, the Affton School District has approved a project labor agreement for the construction of its planned early childhood education center. Project labor agreements (PLAs) are typically used by governmental organizations to ensure that construction jobs are completed properly and without delays by requiring that all contractor employees comply with the terms of the union-only agreement. More than 50 people turned out at the September meeting to weigh in on the PLA. Opponents argued that contractors shouldn’t be excluded from bidding because they don’t pay dues to a labor union. Supporters said that PLAs help to ensure that large projects like the ECE are completed on time and within budget. Earlier this …
Friday, October 7, 2011
The cost/benefit analysis by PGAV was presented to the TIF commission on Wednesday, but county officials requested more details on the report.
After several aborted sessions, the Shrewsbury TIF Commission met Wednesday to hear a presentation by Peckham Guyton Albers Viets (PGAV) planners on their cost/benefit analysis of the proposed Kenrick Plaza redevelopment. According to the presentation by Associate Director Andy Struckhoff, PGAV projects that the proposed development would bring in $87.8 million in revenue within the first 12 months of operation, starting in March 2013. $77.8 million of this would come from the anchor store, a Walmart Supercenter. The development would also bring in just over $1 million in sales and property taxes to Shrewsbury’s city coffers in its first year, Struckhoff said—$936,000 more than the $131,000 the city currently gets from the run-down …
38.585681
-90.32788
Shrewsbury City Center
5200 Shrewsbury Ave, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/kenrick-analysis-sees-87-mil-sales-1-mil-taxes-for-shrewsbury
1518770
/locations/5543424
Thursday, September 22, 2011
However, district officials said whether this leads to in an increase on tax bills will depend on the results of this year’s property reassessment.
The Affton School Board voted to increase the amount the district levies in property tax this year at a meeting Tuesday night, but the move may not result in higher tax bills for district residents. The board set the tax rate at $5.2974 per $100 of assessed valuation for residential real estate, $5.6189 percent for commercial real estate and $5.5131 for personal property. This is an increase of about five percent in the residential and commercial categories from 2010, which were 5.0301 percent and 5.4401 percent, respectively. Personal property rates remain the same. The vote came after a public hearing preceding the school board meeting at Rogers Middle School Tuesday. The increase does not require a ballot vote by residents because the …
38.57336
-90.319659
Rogers Middle School
7550 Mackenzie Rd, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/affton-school-board-approves-small-tax-increase
1518589
/locations/5424204
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Friends and foes of project labor agreement for $2.6-million Early Childhood Education Center clashed at the Affton School District public hearing.
Tuesday’s Affton School District Board Meeting turned into a showdown between construction contractors, trade associations and union groups during a public hearing on the district’s proposed use of a union-only project labor agreement. More than 50 people packed into the board’s Tuesday night meeting at Rogers Middle School to voice support and opposition to the project labor agreement (PLA). Such contracts are typically used by governmental organizations to ensure that construction jobs are completed properly and without delays by requiring that all contractor employees comply with the terms of the union-only agreement. The district is considering requiring a PLA for bids on the estimated $2.6 million renovation of an industrial building …
38.57336
-90.319659
Rogers Middle School
7550 Mackenzie Rd, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/potential-labor-agreement-for-affton-ece-stirs-union-controversy
1518589
/locations/5623448
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Reduced interest rates should save the district $817,000 over 10 years.
A bad day for the stock market turned out to be good news for the Affton School District today. Despite fears last week that government inaction on the debt ceiling might roil the financial markets, an Affton School District bond issue did especially well Thursday as investors fled stocks for safer investments “We couldn’t have had a better day to sell bonds, really,” said district Business Director John Brazeal. “There are a lot of things going on in the financial markets. For whatever reason, there is a lot of money moving out of the stock market into the bond market.” With investors worried about a global economic slowdown and about an ongoing debt crisis in Europe, highly rated and well insured bonds like the Affton issue seemed like a…
38.55456
-90.323
Affton School District
8701 Mackenzie Rd, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/as-stocks-plummet-affton-schools-bond-issue-thrives
1518425
/locations/5016840
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The school board held its June meeting Tuesday.
At its June meeting Tuesday night, the Affton school board passed a balanced budget for the district’s 2011-2012 school year. The budget projects total revenues of $27,246,300 for the coming school year and projected expenditures of $27,247,341. Business Director John Brazeal said that while budgets have been somewhat tight, the district has been successful at living within its means. “Overall, it meets all the objectives of our plans,” Brazeal told the school board. “We are ending the current year better than we anticipated in the budget, and we hope to do the same thing next year as well.” Brazeal told the board that increasing tax-levy rates to the voter-approved ceiling last fall and generally curtailing spending throughout the year …
38.57336
-90.319659
Rogers Middle School
7550 Mackenzie Rd, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/affton-school-board-passes-balanced-budget
1518589
/locations/4670650
Friday, March 4, 2011
Nurse Kathy Beezley is organizing programs for Rogers Middle School students, including Wii fitness sessions and a quick breakfast.
Starting next Thursday, Rogers Middle School students will gather once a week after school for an hour of dancing, games and exercise using several Nintendo Wiis purchased with a grant from the St. Louis Dairy Council. The $3,000 grant was awarded to school nurse Kathy Beezley, who applied in December to the Fuel Up to Play 60 program, an anti-childhood obesity partnership between the National Dairy Council and the NFL to encourage children to eat healthy and exercise 60 minutes every day. “Last year, I was looking for a way to exercise myself, and (Rogers Middle School Principal Jeff) Remelius brought this in,” Beezley said, who began planning for the grant during the 2009-2010 school year. “I loved it. If you are going to reach kids, …
38.57336
-90.319659
Rogers Middle School
7550 Mackenzie Rd, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/with-dairy-grant-rogers-nurse-crusades-for-student-fitness
1518589
/locations/3584125
Tony
8:33 am on Friday, December 9, 2011
As I noted on the previous article on the topic, something STINKS in Shrewsbury. The guy wires were always a known factor. In fact, Grewe, PGAV, and Bert and Barry all used the guy wires to convince the citizens of Shrewsbury that we HAD to have big box retail at Kenrick, and have done so for YEARS. Citizens pleaded for mixed use, something less intrusive. But we had to have big box. Why? Let's … more ›