Winter 2019

Winter 2019 Edition

Greetings and Happy Holidays!
It’s hard to believe that another year will soon be behind us. It has certainly been a tumultuous year in St. Louis County with “Better Together,” the indictment of a former county executive, and the Board of Freeholders process. Although these have been distractions, to the extent we were able, we have tried to represent the best interests of our residents, while continuing o focus on our primary mission of providing services to our community. Land clearing and construction is well underway at “Aventura” and “The Pearl at Wildhorse.” Aventura is a 170 unit apartment complex located at the intersection of Wild Horse Creek and Old Chesterfield Roads. Just east of that location between Wild Horse Creek Road and I 64 will be The Pearl, which will include a “Ruth’s Chris” restaurant, a hotel, and another 170 unit apartment complex.

CHESTERFIELD MALL
Although at this writing, there is no signed paperwork, we understand that agreement has been made for The Staenberg Group to acquire Chesterfield Mall (exclusive of Macy’s and Dillard’s) from Hull Properties of Augusta, Georgia. Once this is finalized, we anticipate that it will take considerable time for a redevelopment plan to be formalized and brought forward to the City.

STILL AWAITING SUPREME COURT DECISION ON POOL TAX STATUTE
I know we have addressed this in previous issues of our quarterly newsletter, but I think it worthy to take every opportunity to educate the Chesterfield voters as to the likely effect of a victory at the Missouri Supreme Court level. If the Court decides, as we think they should, and hope they will, it is likely that the statute (66.600) that authorizes the pool tax would be invalidated, which would remove the county-wide 1% sales tax in Chesterfield and throughout the county. There are 54 other municipalities that previously (prior to 1977) had a municipal sales tax, that could be re-imposed without going to their voters for approval. Other cities, including Chesterfield, would need to ask for approval of a tax that would replace the no longer effective county-wide pool tax. Under the applicable statute, the maximum rate that could be requested is 1%. Therefore, under NO circumstance would there be an INCREASE in the rate of sales tax. The reason I am stating the obvious is that there have been some individuals who have misrepresented the facts and suggested that there would be a sales tax increase. The whole point of the legislative effort and legal challenge over the past five years was to allow our City to receive our fair share of revenues in order to provide the services our residents deserve. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, but not hold our breath!

Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2020!

Cordially,

Mayor Bob Nation