ALDERMAN NEWSLETTER 34 - John Hoffmann



ALDERMAN NEWSLETTER 34

September 20, 2009

From John Hoffmann

DEER NEWS: In preparation for the deer hunt and sterilization our contractors with White Buffalo out of Connecticut have been touring town (in the very large Ford Excursion gas guzzler police vehicle) last week getting ready for the deer control management that begins in October.

The first meeting of the Deer Herd Management Program Implementation Task Force meeting will be held at Longview Park on Thursday Sept. 24.

I THINK YOU ARE GOING TO LIKE THIS PICTURE: Okay Bob Cummings (in the role of playboy photographer Bob Collins on the old “Love that Bob” TV show) didn’t snap it, but the Deer Herd Management Program Implementation Task Force has actually all ready met once. At the suggestion of Alderman Fred Meyland-Smith the entire group of six met before the Parks Long Range Master Plan meeting. A month earlier, Fred was correcting minutes that listed him and Alderwomen Lynn Wright as Co-Chairs, as he was the Chair and Lynn was merely a task force member. Now photo-ops. Maybe next a TV series in development.

MORE DEER NEWS: White Buffalo has also been hired by the Johnson County Kansas Parks and Rec Department to train park police officers and oversee the shooting of deer in the very large Shawnee-Mission Park. White Buffalo president Tony DeNicola had a similar contract with the Maryland National Parks Police to kill deer back in the late 1990s. Here is the lead to the KC Star article:



Firm hired to train officers for Shawnee Mission deer harvest

By JIM SULLINGER

The Kansas City Star

[pic]A national wildlife management firm has been hired to train police officers to safely shoot deer in Shawnee Mission Park.

The Johnson County Park and Recreation District board approved hiring the nonprofit White Buffalo Inc. firm during a meeting Wednesday.

Dan Field, chief of the park police, said volunteer police officers have started training under the direction of Anthony DeNicola, president of White Buffalo and a national expert in wildlife management.

“We’re bringing him on because he is the foremost expert,” Field said. “He’ll be here with the shooters at all times.”

Field would not say how many police officers were being trained to take part in the deer harvest but said more volunteered than was needed.

According to the company’s Web site, White Buffalo has removed more than 9,000 deer across the United States.

“As a result of these programs more than 200,000 pounds of venison have been donated to various food shelters,” the Web site stated. “We also design, organize, and oversee suburban hunting programs.”

The Web site is .

Field would not discuss when the deer cull will begin, but it is expected to occur sometime next month and possibly run through November. The park will be closed when the shooting occurs. Police will work in teams of three. The deer will be lured to bait and then shot.

Field said DeNicola is teaching the volunteer officers deer behavior so they’ll understand when to take a shot and when to hold their fire.

“He has made it very, very clear to all the sharpshooters that there will be no crippled deer,” he said. “These deer will be killed on the first shot.”

Field said nearby residents shouldn’t be worried about safety when those shots are taken.

“They are going to be unbelievably safe in the design of this program,” Field said. “They have nothing to worry about. All of the sites that have been chosen were safe choices.”

CLAYTON ROAD FLIP-FLOP OR THE EARLY BIRD GETS ITS WAY: In August Public Works Director Craig Wilde announced to the Board of Aldermen during a work session that he planned to keep the no shoulder-center turn lane markings on Clayton Road and repaint them unless he heard otherwise.

Residents had complained to me about having the lack of shoulders making it dangerous to get their mail, walk, jog or bike on Clayton Road and makes it dicey for kids getting off school buses on Clayton Road.

I sent an e-mail to Craig about citizen complaints I have received on the lack of shoulders on Clayton Road. He replied back that he was going to wait for the Clayton Road Task Force meetings for the Task Force to make a decision. He wrote and implied that the decision for the road layout and striping had been directed to the Task Force.

Then on September 9th the Clayton Road Task Force held their first meeting…at 7:30 in the morning. That time will normally guarantee anything but a large turn out!

The meeting started five minutes late as co-chair Lynn Wright kept waiting for Nancy Avioli to arrive. Lynn mention that they may decide to choose other times for meetings but 7:30am is best for Nancy Avioli.

Guess who never showed up? Yep…Nancy Avioli. Nancy is an international lawyer for Monsanto…a job that puts her out of the country on a regular basis. She has four kids that create their own special scheduling. From July 14, 2008 to July 13, 2009 Nancy missed six regular Board of Aldermen meetings for a total of absentee rate of 26% for the meetings.

THE FLOP OR CATCH 22: At the first Early-Bird meeting PW Director Wilde stated that the Task Force needed to make a recommendation to the Board of Aldermen on how they wanted the street striped but it was up to the Board of Aldermen to decide. This contradicted his written email, but was actually correct. (see the email exchange below)

This caused me to ask if it wasn’t true he only had eight weeks of good weather to get lane marking painted. He said that was right and added that he still planned to simply repaint what was already on the road.

He admitted that the shoulder area where the travel lanes are now located were not as well built as the rest of the road. He then mentioned that that the Task Force needed to hear from Capt. Gary Hoelzer about accidents since the shoulders were eliminated and the center lanes were added. Of course Capt. Hoelzer does not come to work at 7:30 and he was unavailable.

I spoke with Capt. Hoelzer the next day and he said no one had mentioned to him the need to attend the Task Force meeting or he could have attended. He said the issue was what effect the center turn lane had on accidents. He said the left turn lanes have reduced rear end accidents. But he also admitted that the majority of the rear end accidents on Clayton Road actually occurred west of Mason Road where there are no left turn lanes.

ACTUALLY MORE ACCIDENTS WITH CENTER LANES THAN WITHOUT: On September 15 there was another 7:30am Clayton Road Task Force Meeting, Capt. Hoelzer presented information that city traffic engineers thought center turn lanes were safer and reduced accidents. However the actual statistics show they didn’t make any difference.

Over the four year period from 2004-through-2007 we average four accidents on Clayton Road from Rutherford Lane east of Mason to Mueller Lane west of I-270 without the center lanes. In 2008 we had 5 accidents with the center lanes and so far through September 14, 2009 we have already had five accidents with the center lanes. Of course there was more traffic in 2008 on Clayton Road, 50% more, but Highway 40/64 has been open for all of 2009 so we have had much less traffic on Clayton Road and have had more accidents with the center lanes.

Just to show you how slow something as simple as deciding to go back to the shoulders or keep the center lanes can be; here are the emails between me a the director of Public Works from August. This was followed by two task force meetings and we are no closer to reaching a decision.

From: John Hoffmann [mailto:johnhoffmann@]

Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 12:58 PM

To: Wilde, Craig

Cc: Mayor; Avioli, Nancy M; Wright, Lynn; Welby, Tim

Subject: Clayton Road re-striping

Craig:

 

I have been contacted by several Clayton Road residents who have asked that Clayton Road be re-striped as soon as possible putting back the shoulder area. Their reasons for the request is that they have felt unsafe for the last two years in getting their mail, since they have to stand in an active traffic lane to check their mailbox.  I feel that they have a valid point...six days a week they feel unsafe due to the lane striping on Clayton Road.

 

As you know another resident in ward-2 complained that her adult daughter while running was hit by a car and suffered fractures on Clayton Road.  She places some of the blame on the accident to her daughter having to run in an active traffic lane. 

 

I have several other issues with the lack of shoulders especially until the sidewalk/trails are built, but the above concerns have been brought to my attention by specific citizens.  I hope you consider these residents concerns before you re-stripe Clayton Road.

 John Hoffmann

Ward-2 Alderman    

Original Message -----

From: Wilde, Craig

To: Hoffmann, John W

Cc: Mayor ; Avioli, Nancy M ; Wright, Lynn ; Welby, Tim ; Copeland, John R.

Sent: Friday, August 28, 2009 7:00 AM

Subject: RE: Clayton Road re-striping

John,

The decision regarding lane configuration as well as numerous others (signalization, trail type, location) has been directed to the Clayton Road Task Force.  They will have their first meeting in the next few weeks.  We are currently attempting to find a time and date that works for all those involved.  As soon as this is set I will forward this information and the agenda on to you.

Craig J. Wilde, P.E.

Director of Public Works

City of Town and Country, MO

314-587-2824 (direct line)

GUT FEELING: I believe the director of public works despite statements that he does not care if the center lanes stay or goes actually wants the center lanes to stay and does not want to re-stripe Clayton returning shoulders for people to safely walk on until the sidewalks are build in 2012. I predict we will be seeing the center lanes for sometime to come. If you feel strongly on this one way or another, send an email to your alderman and or the mayor.

TIMELINE FOR CLAYTON ROAD SIDEWALKS: Here is the current timeline for the sidewalks/trails along Clayton Road. The project is broken down into two sections. Section One is from Mason to Topping and Section Two is from Topping to Bopp.

Section One

2009 Engineering

2010 Easement acquisition

2011 Construction of trail/sidewalk from Mason to Topping

Section Two

2010 Engineering

2011 Easement acquisition

2012 Construction fo trail from Topping to Bopp

Currently it appears as if the sidewalk/trail will be on the north side of Clayton Road to at least Clayton Road and Municipal Drive/Des Peres Road where it may cross at the MoDot traffic light to the south side and connect with the walk to Drace Park on the east side of I-270.

CLAYTON ROAD TASK FORCE…A STRANGE APPOINTMENT BY THE MAYOR: On August 24, 2009 Mayor Dalton appointed Alderwomen Nancy Avioli and Lynn Wright as chairs to the new Clayton Road Task Force. He also appointed Jane Jokerst, Lisa Stump, Peter Stevens of Principia and Jerry Alpert as regular members. The appointment of Mr. Alpert mystified me. Mr. Alpert is a fine guy, who for eight years had lived on the corner of Chapel Hill Estates and Clayton Road, but is moving to a condo in Kirkwood! His house was not just for sale, it was under contract. After attending two meetings he has resigned from the Task Force as he will no longer be a resident.

You would think before appointing someone it would be wise to ask if the person planned to remain a resident long enough to serve. Now after two meetings a newcomer will have to start the learning curve all over again.

Luckily a citizen from Ward-2 has attended the first two meetings and when I asked him if he would serve, said he would. I made that recommendation to Lynn Wright.

TRASH TALK: On March 9, 2009 after much delay, trickery, rudeness, votes and re-votes the Trash Task Force, under the shameful chairmanship of Steve Fons was done as the Board of Aldermen finally passed a revised trash ordinance. (Despite the efforts of Fons and Fred Meyland-Smith to continue the issue even further into the future! Fons had become famous for not allowing citizens to speak at meetings and when forced to allow them to speak, he would interrupt them constantly.)

TIME STOOD STILL: On March 9, the Board passed a new trash ordinance that was to go into effect on August 1. Did it go into effect? Nope…by August 1st Public Works Director Craig Wilder had pulled a “Fons” and had done almost nothing toward putting the law into effect…no meeting with trash companies to notified them on which days trash would be picked up in what subdivisions, no contacting HOA and determining which ones wanted to opt-out from rear yard to curbside pick up. In fairness to Craig, Mayor Dalton was pushing and shoving the “Green Team” Commission down his throat and instead of getting the trash straightened out…he was dealing with getting the Green Team going with their first meetings. This could have waited and getting the trash done on time should have occurred.

Now Craig has a new timeline calling for a hard deadline of March 15, 2010 for the law to actually be implemented…in other words…it is going to take the city hall staff at least ONE YEAR AND A WEEK to put a city law into effect after they claimed they would do it in less than six months. Do not let anyone kid you if they try and sell you the premise that our city hall is efficient.

FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE: All the former customers of Charles Sanders Hauling that was taken over by Meridian Waste received a letter from the owner of Meridian changing their trash pick up day from Friday to Wednesday. I called Meridian and learned the city had never contacted them and informed them that the city would be telling haulers what days they pick up in specific subdivisions. The company had no idea about the requirements for the new trash collection law that passed on March 9!

DRUNK DRIVERS AND THE T&C REVOLVING DOOR: Did you happen to read the Post-Dispatch article on drunk drivers on Sunday September 13? If you missed it here is a link:



After reading this reading I thought back to August of 2008 when I was attending a Town and County Municipal Court session and saw the guilty plea of drunk driver John D. McGuire and 45 minutes later his arrest for DWI on the City Hall parking lot. I wrote about in Newsletter #8. Here is what I wrote last year:

ONE FOR THE ROAD: John McGuire (not the former Post-Dispatch writer) appeared in Town and Country Municipal Court on August 21 along with his attorney. McGuire pled guilty to DWI and got the usual sweetheart deal of a suspended imposition of sentence for two years (no record if you successfully serve the probation period). He also pled guilty to speeding and he had to pay a $500 fine, plus attend an alcohol diversion program and perform community service. He told the court that he was checking into “Sober by the Sea” in California for a month to dry out. At the time of his guilty plea, McGuire’s driver’s license was revoked.

When he left the city hall he walked to the parking lot, got into his car and started the engine. He was promptly pounced on by a T&C Police Officer. He was taken out of the car and then found to be intoxicated by the cops. He tested at .19 BAC. His probation was 35 minutes old and he was in violation of it. McGuire’s explanation of why he was in his car at city hall wasn’t because he drove to court on a revoke license and was going to drive home or to a bar. No he told officers that his car was there so he could charge his cell phone and that was why he was behind the wheel having started the engine.

A police lieutenant made McGuire sit in the courtroom and when court was over the lieutenant explained to the judge what had happened. The judge of course couldn’t hear this and told the lieutenant so and instructed him to take McGuire from the courtroom. The city prosecutor then instructed the lieutenant to arrest McGuire.

Actually the judge could not do anything because the prosecutor needed to file a probation violation against McGuire. There could be a problem with the guilty plea since McGuire was clearly intoxicated when he made the plea.

THE REST OF THE STORY: Now I cannot check on Mr. McGuire’s Missouri driving record from my home computer, but I can check on all state cases filed against him in the Circuit/Associate Circuit Courts. Here is what I found.

He was placed on 2-years probation by Town and Country Judge Dean Waidemer back in August of 2008 and then arrested 45 minutes on the parking lot. He was charged in Circuit Court in St. Louis County with a misdemeanor DWI for the parking lot arrest. He pled guilty on September 30, 2008 and was given 2-years probation! Keep in mind he was a multi-DWI offender prior to this.

Well at least the Town and County officers that obtained the state DWI conviction will surely notify the Town and County Courts so Mr. McGuire’s probation would be revoked…right? No you would be wrong. The court, despite the court clerk, prosecutor and judge all knowing about the arrest knew nothing about the conviction and did not even appear to be curious. .

TWO MORE DWIs: Next the City of Chesterfield arrested Mr. McGuire twice for DWI and charged him in Circuit Court for a DWI offense on February 13, 2009 and another DWI on March 8, 2009. These cases are pending.

ONE MORE DWI MAKES 4: On April the 9, 2009 the Ladue Police arrested McGuire on Hwy 40 for Speeding (16-19 mph over limit), Improper Lane Use, Driving With Revoked Drivers License, No Insurance and DWI. These cases are also pending.

THE SAME DRIVING RECORD AS YOURS IF YOU MAIL IN THE FINE: Mr. McGuire was charged with Speeding 100mph in a 60 zone, Improper Lane Use and DWI original in Town and Country in the Spring of 2008. He was found guilty and fined $500 for speeding and a speeding charge went on his driving record. The Improper Lane Use at 100 MPH was forgotten about and the DWI at 100 mph has not gone on his record as of yet and he is half through his probation term. In other words Mr. McGuire has the same record on his drivers license from this arrest as you do if you mail in a check for a speeding ticket you got somewhere in the metropolitan area.

FOUR DWI ARRESTS DO NOT REVOKE A T&C PROBATION: Apparently the Town and Country Court works on the 5 or 6 strikes and you are out system…four will not do it…including a DWI arrest and later conviction 45 minutes after probation was granted.

The court clerk explained that a month or two before a 2-year probation period ends another clerk will run computer checks on the probationer to see if there were any violations. I am sorry but justice is best served in a timely manner. It seems to me Town and Country should be running checks every quarter on DWI probationers. In this case there was no reason for the court not to be informed when the T&C case in Circuit Court resulted in a conviction.

You do not have to have conviction in the other jurisdictions to revoke a probation sentence. A probation hearing can be held and the officers from the other jurisdictions can testify and our judge can rule if the terms of probation were violated. Of course in most municipal courts the judges and prosecutors prefer to use a conviction to revoke a probation sentence because it is easier. But that can result in long delays waiting for the conviction and if anything happens to the arresting officer, such as being called up in the reserves or taking a law enforcement job out of state…suddenly there is no conviction. I prefer probation hearings as soon as practical after the new arrests. \

It can be expensive revoking someone’s probation, but the first thing to do is not to worry about sending him to jail, but give him a permanent conviction record, which the original probation would hide. T&C makes a lot of money from DWI arrests and when you run into people like Mr. McGuire you have to be willing to pay the cost of jailing someone for 30-to-60 days or your court system is simply a paper tiger.

I asked a police captain what procedure is used to notify the court of a DWI probation violation. He told me there was none as the subject has never come up as the court always handles it. It seems with as many DWI arrests made by T&C cops each year (278 DWI arrests last year) we would be getting some repeat customers who are on probation. There should be a system in place to notify an area court of a probation violation. I have made two requests for our court to revoke Mr. McGuire’s probation.

LET THE SUNSHINE IN: I have written a number of times over the last 18 months how difficult it can be to obtain public records in Town and Country. This case was a perfect example. I simply asked what had happened and our court clerk had me fill out of form to review the file. The form had a question as to why I wanted to review the file. Well that is a perfectly inappropriate question.

The public should not have to say why they want to look at a public record. Our clerk would not give me a copy of the probation order until she had approval from the city prosecutor.

Well now, that is not following the Sunshine Law, any citizen should be able to review open court files (with specific exceptions) and obtain copies anytime the court office is open and should not have to get specific permission from anyone. But things don’t always follow the law in Town and Country.

I friend of mine who worked at the prosecutors office in Clayton in the 1970s was buying a new gun and had to obtain a County Police gun permit. The form had a question that asked why he was buying a gun. Everyone would write such standard replies as “For protection” or “targeting shooting”, but my friend simply wrote, “Because I want it.” The County Police refused to issue a permit, he sued them and won.

INATTENTIVE DRIVERS…NO NEW LAW IN THE FUTURE: It appears as if there is little interest to pass an Inattentive Driving Ordinance. The police keep saying inattention is the major cause for auto accidents. But there appears to be little interest in doing anything about it.

At the last Police Commission meeting the city prosecutor was invited to appear to discuss the proposed bills that have been written. He didn’t show up. The commission members argued and then decided there was nothing they could do. Several asked why the police could not just use the current Careless and Imprudent Driving ordinance and they could not understand how officers must have 2 violation elements to write a C&I citation, such as Improper Lane Use and Speeding. The idea behind an Inattentive Driving Ordinance is to be able to pull over someone not paying attention before they do some major damage. The purpose is to stop someone not watching the road for a prolonged period or not using at least one hand to drive. (Putting on makeup or texting or dialing a phone for example)

During the meeting Police Chief John Copeland told the commissioners that he did some research and the bill I proposed was not the actual Delaware Inattentive Driving Law. He basically accused me of lying to the commission at this meeting and the prior meeting. Well it certainly was…word for word. Oddly enough I was in John’s office earlier in the day and he did not even mention it. This has gotten to be standard operating procedure with John on bills I propose. I send them to him days or weeks in advance before meetings and rather commenting on them to me in advance he waits until a meeting and then puts his own negative spin on them. Members of the board accuse me of not wanting to work together and every time I do the police chief/city administrators is the one who declines to cooperate. Below this the e-mail I sent to John and certain police board members:

In a message dated 9/15/2009 10:52:18 P.M. Central Daylight Time, johnhoffmann@ writes:

John,

 

I looked up the Delaware Inattentive Driving Law and found out what I already knew...my bill was the exact wording of the Delaware Inattentive Statute. 

 

I do not appreciate you sandbagging me in front of a commission tonight claiming that my bill was not the same as the Delaware law.  You went on to say you researched this and could not find any similar wording but did find language similar to common C&I laws. You have done this several times at Board of Aldermen work sessions, meetings or commission meetings.  Especially when I have sent you bills weeks in advance asking for your opinion and you do not give me your opinion until we are in front of a group. Frankly I am getting tired of it.  If you think I am mistaken, it seems I should deserve at least a phone call or an email.  Likewise if you disagree.  

 

Below is the Delaware Careless Driving and Inattentive Diving Laws.  Section A is Careless Driving.  Section B is Inattentive Driving.  They are two separate laws Chapter 4176 (a) is Careless Driving.  Section 4176 (b) is Inattentive Driving.  Two different laws.  I wrote my bill based on THE DELAWARE STATE INATTENTIVE DRIVING LAW.  It is the exact working. There was no research tonight in finding this for this email...I went directly to the Delaware traffic code.    For you to claim otherwise is at least a mistake or an attempt to try and discredit my research.  At this point I do not appreciate either.

 

§ 4176. Careless or inattentive driving.

(a) Whoever operates a vehicle in a careless or imprudent manner, or without due regard for road, weather and traffic conditions then existing, shall be guilty of careless driving.

(b) Whoever operates a vehicle and who fails to give full time and attention to the operation of the vehicle, or whoever fails to maintain a proper lookout while operating the vehicle, shall be guilty of inattentive driving.

(c) Whoever violates this section shall for the first offense be fined not less than $25 nor more than $115. For each subsequent like offense occurring within 3 years of a former offense, the person shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $230, or imprisoned not less than 10 nor more than 30 days, or both. 21 Del. C. 1953, § 4175A; 56 Del. Laws, c. 305; 60 Del. Laws, c. 701, § 47; 65 Del. Laws, c. 503, § 20; 68 Del. Laws, c. 9, § 31; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1.;

Here is my bill:

BILL NO. ORDINANCE NO. 320.110

Whoever operates a vehicle and who fails to give full time and attention to the operation of the vehicle, or whoever fails to maintain a proper lookout while operating the vehicle, shall be guilty of inattentive driving.

 

The original bill is exactly the same!!!!  A modified bill was the work of city attorney Steve Garrett and it is almost the same and is based on comments made by Aldermen Meyland-Smith and Fons.  Here is Mr. Garrett's revision.  

 

Any person operating a moving motor vehicle who fails to maintain a proper lookout and is operating a motor vehicle in a visibly inattentive manner and or causes an accident, shall be guilty of inattentive driving.

 

I have tried to introduce bills that would make people safer and allow police officers to take action to clearly dangerous actions.  If you disagree fine, but don't tell the commission what I had told them in prior meetings was untrue when in fact it was true. Then when I asked for you to show me your source you decline to do so.     

 

John Hoffmann

Ward 2 Alderman  

SPECIAL MEETING ON INATTENTIVE DRIVING: The Police Committee will hold a special meeting on the topic of Inattentive Driving Monday September 21 at 5pm at City Hall, the city prosecutor and city attorney will be present to discuss the issue. .

THE LATEST CITY NEWSLETTER: You can tell it is a non-election year. Mayor Dalton’s mug is only in the most recent newsletter six times. That might be an all time low.

THE MAYOR’S COLUMN: Three pages of the wisdom of the mayor. I especially enjoyed the photo of the Police Command Vehicle. Of course this is the Ford Excursion that sucks gasoline at such a rate that it gets under 10-MPG. The police can’t use it as a patrol vehicle because it is so top heavy you cannot drive over the speed limit. It would have been an example of good government if we had gotten rid of this vehicle during the Cash for Clunkers program. In over nine years the vehicle has less than 30,000 miles on it.

Next the mayor extols the new trash ordinance which the staff has dragged its feet for actually putting in place. It is useless on paper if the staff does not implement it. Also it was an ordinance that I pushed through despite the mayor’s attempt to pass a resolution to go back to the existing system.

I love the photo of a person playing tennis, when in the last two weeks the city’s consultant for our parks master plan was recommending paving over the tennis court at Longview for more parking.

In another photo Whole Foods got another plug. Last newsletter Whole Foods got a free three-quarter of a page ad mailed to every household in town. This issue they got a photo plug.

It was good to see the mayor had a photo of the Missouri Athletic Club as part of his column. You may remember the mayor listed his membership to the MAC and to Old Warson Country Club on his campaign material as his “Civic and Charitable Organizations.” Now I used to belong to the MAC and never considered it a civic or charitable organization. It used to be a good place to take the fellows for lunch or impress a date. However the mayor still likes to include an organization that prohibits 53.3 percent of the city’s population from being a member in the city newsletter.

ANNIVERSARY PARTIES GALORE!...THE REAL STORY: “So far the most popular event to book at the Longview farm House has been couples celebrating their special Wedding Anniversary.”…so write Parks Director Anne Nixon in the current city newsletter, with the headline of “Anniversary Parties Galore!”

I am up at Longview on a regular basis and have not seen a Galore of anything at the Longview House. This caused me to ask Anne what number constitutes “Parties Galore.” The answer is the number THREE.

“Galore: in abundance.  When the article was written, anniversaries were 100% of the parties held for a total of three.  I was borrowing one of your tools-creative writing for affect!”…so wrote Anne, who made me laugh and tells me she apparently reads this newsletter.

I want you to please consider that we spent $1.5 million for this addition and now have a Facility Steward employee at Longview, and one year after Mayor Dalton cut the ribbon and three months after we began renting the new addition out we have had three actual money paying customers.

IRONY: I mentioned this in a recent newsletter but seeing it in print forces me to mention it again. The city newsletter has a headline of “GOING GREEN AT MOBAP” and talks about all the recycling Missouri Baptist Medical Center is doing. It is of course in the same month that Missouri Baptist is trying to get the city to allow it to reduce its green space on its zoned hospital district campus.

MORE TO COME: So many people complained about the length of some of my newsletters that I now try and keep them at 5,000 words. I know that I have not even covered the most recent Board of Aldermen meeting and a few other meetings in this issue. So I will write a shorter newsletter and send it out in a few days.

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