Plan for 2010
2010 STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE 21ST WARD
Prepared by Alderman Antonio D. French
VISION
2009 was a year of change and planning in the 21st Ward. 2010 will be about implementation. We have spent the last 9 months organizing our ward, planning for bold changes, and seeking funds and partnerships to fuel those plans. I am pleased to report we have been successful on all fronts. We now hit the ground in January 2010 with a clear vision and a roadmap to success in our mission of transforming the neighborhoods of the 21st Ward into premiere places to live, work and play in the City of St. Louis. – Alderman Antonio D. French
INFRASTUCTURE
One of the most basic functions of government is to provide and maintain the infrastructure. Unfortunately, for years our ward suffered from mismanagement and lack of attention to some of those most basic services.
CONDITION OF ALLEYS – We have done an assessment of those alleys in the ward that are in most need of repair and in the Spring we will begin work repaving them.
The other leading concern regarding alleys is the amount of trash in some of our alleys. First, it is the responsibility of property owners to keep both the front and rear of their properties clean. But as we all know, not everyone keeps up their end of the bargain. So this Spring we will also begin a 3-step approach to improving this situation:
- We will increase citations and fines for people not keeping the rear of their properties clean. This includes the owners of rental properties whose tenants are trashing up our blocks;
- We will launch a “Keep our Alleys Clean” campaign with signage encouraging people to take care of their alleys.
- And finally, we will begin “alley patrols” which will drive up and down the alleys of the 21st Ward on a regular basis calling in problems to the city’s Refuse Division and picking up debris on a limited basis. We WILL NOT be cleaning up your alleys for you. But we will be supporting your efforts and the efforts of our block units, and coordinating those efforts with the activities and resources of city government.
STREETS – Several major streets will be repaved this year, including streets which boarder our neighboring wards, such as Shreve which we share with the 1st Ward. Alderman Troupe and I have agreed to split the cost of paving this street this year.
SIDEWALKS - Sidewalk repair and maintenance is legally the responsibility of the property owner. The City does, however, offer a program called the 50/50 Sidewalk Program in which the City covers 1/2 the costs of replacing sidewalks, and bills the owner for the rest of the cost. To qualify for the 50/50 sidewalk program your property must be single-family, 2-family, or 4-family, and owner-occupied.
LIGHTING – Through a grant through the City, we plan to receive funds from the American Recovery Act to update the lighting along Natural Bridge. Natural Bridge serves as the “Main St.” of our ward and is where we are actively looking to increase commercial activity and redevelopment. Any funds to help improve this streetscape will go a long way to aid in these plans.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
HISTORIC TAX CREDITS – In the 21st Ward we are blessed with some of the best housing stock in the City of St. Louis. The homes of the Penrose and O’Fallon neighborhoods were built nearly 100 years ago with the kind of craftsmanship that simply does not exist today. These are historic neighborhoods and it is about time they received that official designation and the advantages that come along with that.
This year, working with Landmarks Association of St. Louis and others, in partnership with the 1st Ward and the 3rd Ward, we will begin the largest expansion ever of Historic Tax Credits in north St. Louis. Historic Tax Credits allow rehabbers to receive a tax credit totaling up to 45% of the cost of rehabbing the building. It was these tax credits which led to the transformation of the Central West End, Soulard, and the Washington Ave Loft District. Finally, we will see that kind of activity in our neighborhoods! This project will benefit both currently occupied and vacant houses in our ward.
REBUILDING “BLOCK-BY-BLOCK” — Many of our seniors have for years been seeking financial help in repairing their homes. There are currently more than 450 people on the waiting list for home repair funds. Unfortunately, the 21st Ward only receives funds to help 6-8 homeowners a year. So Alderman French approached the non-profit Rebuilding Together St. Louis about a radical new approach to this problem.
Modeled after their annual “Rebuilding Day” project, in which Rebuilding Together organizes an army of volunteers to help repair 100 homes in one day, Alderman French asked why can’t we do that on a small scale every month?
This year, beginning in May, Alderman French and Rebuilding Together will hit some of the toughest blocks in the 21st Ward and do a complete makeover. Not only will Rebuilding Together volunteers make repairs on the inside and outside of homes on these blocks, but Alderman French’s office will coordinate city departments to also make repairs to streets, sidewalks, alleys, street lights, and vacant lots.
The idea is that by the time we leave these blocks they will be completely transformed.
COMMUNITY-BASED DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS — The 21st Ward will soon have 5 community based development organizations, each charged with a different section of the ward to concentrate their efforts on.
The North Newstead Association, our existing CBDO, will be developing a 30-unit housing development on N. Newstead, between Lee and Penrose. They will also be asked to look for rehabbing opportunities along Newstead/Pope.
The O’Fallon Neighborhood Development Council and the Penrose Neighborhood Development Council are new organizations which will be tasked with seeking rehabbing and new construction opportunities in their respective neighborhoods.
The Natural Bridge Land Trust and Development Association will be tasked with assembling parcels for future development along Natural Bridge and partnering with developers for immediate opportunities.
The ACTS Partnership is a new CBDO formed by three of the largest churches in the area, St. Elizabeth’s, St. Peter’s AME, and New Sunny Mount. They will do rehabbing and offer some home repair services to seniors.
“REHAB TO SUIT” – Once historic tax credits become available in the area, maybe as soon as late this year, we will begin a first of its kind program working with the O’Fallon and Penrose Neighborhood Development Councils, a prominent local architect, and several well-respected general contractors to begin to market vacant LRA-owned properties to potential buyers as turnkey rehab opportunities.
THE ST. LOUIS BRICK BANK — One of St. Louis’ most valuable resources is its brick. Even houses that have been vacant for decades and whose exteriors are dilapidated are very valuable because of what they are made of — well-made, 100 year-old red clay bricks. There is a lucrative market for these valuable bricks, which have made the structures in some north St. Louis wards the targets of brick thieves (Here is a video Alderman French shot a few years ago with Alderman Sam Moore on this subject).
Through a joint project between the 21st and the 4th Wards, we’ll be looking to address this problem while also creating jobs for people in our community. More details to follow…
CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY
Crime — both real and perceived — is a leading impediment to bettering the quality of life in our neighborhoods and bringing the kind of investment we want to see in the 21st Ward. And so in 2010 we will be hitting the ground hard addressing this issue and bettering the perception of our community.
BLOCK UNITS — In the fight to keep our streets safe there is one thing we know for sure: Organized blocks are safer blocks. With that in mind, we began last year organizing our ward and increasing the number of active block units — which was only a dozen before Alderman French took office — to now over 40. Our goal is 100 block units by years end.
WEED & SEED — In 2009, the 21st Ward’s two largest neighborhoods, Penrose and O’Fallon, were selected as Weed & Seed neighborhoods. Weed & Seed is a community-based strategy sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice that aims to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity among youth and adults in designated high-crime neighborhoods.
The strategy is implemented through a comprehensive multi-agency approach involving law enforcement and social service agencies, faith-based and community organizations and the community. The strategy is a two-pronged approach: law enforcement agencies and prosecutors cooperate in “weeding out” violent criminals and drug abusers while public agencies and community-based private organizations collaborate to “seed” much-needed human services, including prevention, intervention, treatment, and neighborhood restoration programs. A community-oriented policing component bridges the weeding and seeding elements.
PUBLIC SECURITY CAMERAS — We will be installing surveillance cameras in at least a dozen locations around the ward this year. These cameras will aid police in their investigations of crimes and act as a deterrent to criminals wreaking havoc on our streets.
PRIVATE SECURITY — The fact is that the City of St. Louis just doesn’t have enough police officers on the streets. That is mostly a budgetary problem. Just not enough money to pay for all the cops we would like to have. So the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department does the best it can do with the resources it has. That unfortunately means more responding to crimes in our neighborhoods than patrolling to prevent crimes. We hope to help supplement those efforts by contracting with a private security firm to patrol certain parts of the ward. This effort will most likely be funded through the creation of a Community Improvement District along the stretch of Natural Bridge that runs through the 21st Ward. This will help business owners on Natural Bridge split the cost of security, which has become a large line item in many of these small businesses’ budgets. The added security will also help attract new businesses and mixed-use developments to the area.
EDUCATION
PUBLIC SCHOOLS — Second only to crime, the lack of quality education choices in our neighborhoods is one of the biggest impediments to making our neighborhoods some of the premiere places to live and invest.
There are three St. Louis Public Schools that service our area: Ashland Elementary, Yeatman Middle, and Beaumont High. We plan to work with each one to improve student attendance, reading scores and parent participation.
There are also several closed St. Louis Public School buildings, which we will be working with SLPS and private groups on possibilities to reopen the buildings as public, private, contract, or charter schools. We need more and better education options in our neighborhoods and I am committed to increasing learning opportunities for the current and future families living in the 21st Ward.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS — St. Louis Catholic Academy, located at 4720 Carter Ave, is a private school that serves 161 students in grades PK, K-8. St Louis Catholic Academy is coed and is Roman Catholic in orientation. In 2008, St Louis Catholic Academy had 13 students for every full-time equivalent teacher (The Missouri average is 14 students per full-time equivalent teacher). 100% of graduates went on to high school.
Scholars Academy is another private school serving the 21st Ward. Its new location is 4500 Pope Ave, the site of the former New Vision Development Center.
PARKS
O’FALLON PARK — Construction on the much-anticipated O’Fallon Park Recreation Center will begin this year. Construction is expected to continue through much of next year with the new $20 million facility expected to open Fall 2011.
Alderman French has also begun work on major improvements to the rest of the park, beginning with an update of the O’Fallon Park boathouse. This summer expect to see a new cafe occupy the upper level of the boathouse with paddleboat rentals returning to O’Fallon Park at the lower level of the restored boathouse — just in time for the 2nd annual O’Fallon Park Jazz Concert Series!
Also look for remodeled, ADA-compliant public restrooms in the park and a new jogging/biking track.
FAIRGROUND PARK — This summer we look to expand the number of activities available in Fairground Park. And with the creation of a new Fairground Park Improvement Committee made up of neighborhood residents, we hope to come up with some great ideas on how to improve this beautiful city park.
TINK BRADLEY PARK — Tink Bradley will also be seeing some improvements this year, including new water fountains, the resurfacing of the basketball court, and the leveling of some areas of the park that have see some ponding after heavy rains.
NEWSLETTER
Lastly, one of the keys to building a strong community is communication. With that in mind, we will be creating a quarterly newsletter to service the Penrose and O’Fallon neighborhoods. This publication will be a helpful tool for sharing information about the great things going on in our community and arming citizens with information on how to help make us all safer.
And of course, between issues of the newsletter, residents can always stay informed on our website, 21stWard.org and our Twitter account www.Twitter.com/21stWard.