"If you were running Crestwood what would you do to make life better for our community?"
"Tom, how about a thread that gets people to brainstorm the top ten things Crestwood needs to do to be a successful City?"
"If you were running Crestwood what would you do to make life better for our community?"
This idea came from one of our gentle blogger's, and it's a very good one! So what say we all take a look at where we live, and come forth with some positive ideas that we can take to the Mayor, and the BOA.
I am going to take "editorial license" on this topic, and advise you now that I will delete any remarks made that slam any board member, the Mayor, and City employees.
This thread is for ideas, and ideas only! Were going to leave off the petty bickering (one way or the other,) so post away!
Tom Ford
NO. 291
"If you were running Crestwood what would you do to make life better for our community?"
This idea came from one of our gentle blogger's, and it's a very good one! So what say we all take a look at where we live, and come forth with some positive ideas that we can take to the Mayor, and the BOA.
I am going to take "editorial license" on this topic, and advise you now that I will delete any remarks made that slam any board member, the Mayor, and City employees.
This thread is for ideas, and ideas only! Were going to leave off the petty bickering (one way or the other,) so post away!
Tom Ford
NO. 291
posted by Crestwood Independent at 08:21
32 Comments:
I m going to start out with a thought that makes a lot os sense to me.
The Cities that seem to be moving forward in St. Louis County these days are putting up a "united front!"
I believe we must all get behind a banner we can all agree on (such as the route 66 logo,) and run with it! Who would want to locate a business in a City that had no "civic pride?"
This is still our City folks, and she needs all of us to work for her betterment!
Tom Ford
Return to the city website the message board that was removed shortly after Mayor was elected. This would allow all to see the questions being asked of the Aldermen and Mayor and their answers or lack of same.
Close access to message board from Feb 1st to day after what ever election being held that year to prevent board from becoming a campaign site for those running for office
1. Brainstorm a way to get some of the 500,000 vistors to Grant's Farm onto Watson Rd. to spend money.
2. Explore the possibility of moving the Cadillac dealer to the Jim Butler location. This could open a contiguous shopping center from Sappington all the way to Office Max.
3. Create an online petition to Westfield to try to get them or whomever is interested in buying the mall to move forward.
4. And this is total Brainstorm for the fun of it but what the heck...Serve some really good ice cream at Whitecliff Pool Snack Bar so that after a walk on the trail we can socialize at the park with our Crestwood neighbors.
-Thanks
Excellent ideas!
I second that - excellent ideas!
I agree about updating the City's website, making it user-friendly and allow for open communication such as on this blog.
Also, I agree about the civic pride and creating a theme, however I'd like to see the Route 66 logo go. Something that doesn't speak to our days past, but to our future, and to revitalization in Crestwood.
Updating the web site? Great idea, but first try and keep up with what is already supposed to be on the web site. The city can't even post the approved BOA minutes in a timely manner.
5. City incentives to professionally rehab and invest in a house and not do a cheap "flip". Retail pays the bills, but sustaining quality neighborhoods should be our major focus.
Years back, there was a large and interesting display in the Mall about Crestwood. It was there for just a while. Where is it now?
can anyone explain why, for the past several months, during the last 2-3 days of the month, the crestwood police are out in full force writting tickets? I can go the entire month and see only 1 person pulled over, but today, on my way to work, I saw 4 people pulled over, and several more police looking for their next ticket? It just strikes me as odd, that this has happened the past 3 months (that i have noticed).... if anyone has an explination, please do tell me...
Good question for your adlerman. Remember, they receive a salary for being an alderman.
Temperature Of Coffee Expected To Rise Nine Degrees By End Of 21st Century
WASHINGTON, DC—A report released by the Union of Concerned Dietitians stated that not only will the temperature of coffee increase by nearly nine degrees by the end of this century, but also that the rise is directly linked to human activity.
"At this point, there is no way to reverse the trend, but we can slow it down," said UCD President Marilyn Presber, who blamed the rising temperature on corporate coffee "super-heaters" such as Starbucks, McDonald's, and Dunkin' Donuts, and added that if the public made a conscious effort to heat water short of its boiling point and pour "extremely chilled" milk into the beverage, the overall temperature increase could be delayed nearly 150 years. "If we don't make some sacrifices now, our children's children will be living in a world in which it will be virtually impossible to avoid having the inside of their mouths burned."
However, many Americans remain skeptical of the coffee-heating issue, such as Tampa, FL coffee drinker Henry Giesen, 67, who calls it "a hoax perpetuated by the anti-caffeine lobby and the carbonated-beverage industry."
While hindsight is always 20-20, if I was running Crestwood, had anyone asked my opinion early on about the property over by Sams, I would have asked that our Development Lady pursue this with utmost urgency, and I do mean with total dedication to the task. Get the word out. This property is just off Hwy 44 and being between Six Flags and the Stadium and St. Louis, could have possibly become a beacon to travelers with the right signs posted. Thus a hotel and eating establishment or two would have been a plausible opportunity. Don't know if you don't at least give it the old college try. And I don't really think this position was very aggressive. AT ALL. WE can't just keep talking about the MALL, the Mall is not the whole answer or problem.
I think the one alderman is right to question the possibility of reduced sales tax. This is his job and if the aldermen don't take into consideration that they have to realize they are in control of these issues and if they don't hang tight and quit cowtowing to every developer that says, hey go to Crestwood, they are desperate, they will be asking for another tax increase. Then, we will be reminidng them of lost opportunity. Sure a medical building could be nice looking, but this property could hold a bigger opportunity if pursued. Did anyone even try?
This is what our Mayor could do to save Crestwood and bring it back. He does have a degree in law enforcement and knows the federal law real good.
OAKLAND, CA—Often referred to by his superiors at the Oakland Police Department as a "loose cannon," Lt. Buck Roth and his unorthodox policing methods have been the subject of controversy for much of his turbulent career. But the renegade detective who acts as judge, jury, prosecuting attorney, bailiff, court reporter, and executioner maintains that his approach gets results.
"Whatever it takes to clean up Oakland, I'll do it," Roth said Monday. "After all the laziness and corruption I've witnessed during my 13 years on the force, I've learned you can't trust just anyone to apprehend, arrest, fingerprint, photograph, delouse, interrogate, arraign, hear testimony from, and set bail for the low-life scumbags I deal with day after day."
Roth triggered a firestorm of controversy last Thursday when he ambushed and gunned down a suspected killer in a Bay Bridge–area warehouse, even though the suspect was not armed at the time. He further angered area law enforcement when he admitted to single-handedly securing the scene, taking fiber and DNA samples, notifying the killer's next-of-kin, and performing ballistics tests on his own weapon, all before calling for backup, which is the required procedure.
Roth, who is officially assigned to the OPD's Vehicle Theft division, said that he is not a one-man corrections officer, polygraph technician, sketch artist, parole officer, SWAT team marksman, death row chaplain, and evidence room supervisor because he wants to be, but because "the Alameda County criminal justice system has failed its citizens time and time again."
"Am I supposed to just stand by and watch the clowns at HQ let these depraved b*st*rds slip through the cracks?" said Roth, cleaning his service revolver as he scanned the two dozen subpoenas he personally issued and planned to serve later that afternoon. "The whole system is rotten to the core. Not one of these detectives, assistant DAs, court clerks, process servers, or parking enforcement officers knows his *ss from his elbow."
When asked whether he weighed the ethical ramifications of taking the law, and the subsequent triplicate filing, into his own hands, Roth said he doesn't "have the time to sit back and philosophize" when public safety is at risk.
"The worst part of this job is knowing that some piece of garbage is going to be back on the streets in six months," said Roth after sentencing a convicted methamphetamine dealer to six months in prison on a plea bargain Roth himself authored. "And having to witness it firsthand, too, as I file his release paperwork and reissue his civilian garb to him."
Despite major qualms with the bureaucracy and red tape he creates and then has to deal with, the maverick cop is confident he is doing the right thing.
"When you prepare a cold-blooded murderer's last meal, strap him down, inject him with potassium chloride, send him straight to h*ll, and officiate at his burial service in the prison cemetery, you realize it's all worth it," Roth said.
According to a source within the OPD's internal affairs division, Roth's loner tactics have alienated him from virtually every colleague, and he has clashed heatedly with the heads of Narcotics, Vice, Fraud, Missing Persons, Information Technology, Records, and the Police Athletic League.
"The man is out of control," said Lt. Larry Carling, head of the OPD's Forensic Science unit. "G*dd*mn it, if I hear about another rape kit gone missing or a surprise exhumation, I'll personally order the s*n of a b*tch to lock himself up."
As a result of the Thursday incident, Roth is now the subject of an internal investigation, headed by himself.
"We've got our best man on the case, and if he thinks Roth committed a serious infraction, Roth'll have his badge, gun, robes, gavel, stenotype, and Bible," said Det. James Lafferty, Roth's immediate supervisor.
Roth said that despite the constant resistance he runs up against, he will not be deterred from performing the many jobs he has set out to do.
"Sure, I know I'm just 17 cogs in the machine," Roth said. "But I'm still gonna be out on these mean streets come h*ll or high water, cracking heads and busting creeps. And if they kick me off the force, I'll still be a punk's worst nightmare, as a vigilante, private detective, bounty hunter, bail bondsman, and repo man all rolled into one."
Roy could do this!!
If the economic development position is filled, it should be filled with a marketing communications specialist.
Watson Rd beautification needs to move forward.
If a development project asks for CID tax assistance, then our alderman should make sure tax money actually improves community property..not just private. You want $x million to repave your parking lot. We want you to light and landscape the frontage on Watson Rd. We want you to contribute to landscaping the islands on Watson Rd. etc.
Excellent idea 10:05! That is what is really needed here-someone with marketing skills and communication skills as well. Then it's up to the board for negotiation skills.
For me, it was a sad day when Bread Co. left our city. It was at the Mall. I wish they would consider a free standing restaurant, as most of them are. If anything draws people, it is Bread Co. It was always bustling when I was there as are the others.
Hope there is a car dealer who wants to expand who will take the Butler spot. Maybe our Mayor should give a call to Bommarito or Sinclair, see if they want a satellite operation.
If ever they hire another Development person I would hope it would be a probationary position. We cannot afford to hire someone who is not aggressive and knowledgeable.There should be a solid job description, etc. etc. Maybe it would be good to wait up on this for a while.
If Maplewood can bring it back - I would hope Crestwood could. Maybe when the Old Sappington/Watson development takes place.
10:07 PM, February 27, 2007
You witnessed this on the second to last day of the month. I guess not enough tickets had been issued for February.
If your not speeding then you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
arent there more productive things for our police force to be doing besides writting speeding tickets? if they are spending the last couple of the days of the month meeting their ticket "quota" then i think there should probably be a review of the crestwood police force's procedures
Next they will be checking to see if your pet is neutered
This thread is for brainstorming ideas. What should the police be doing that they are not?
Send an email along with your friends and family to Bread Co. and tell them you want them in your neighborhood. It worked at Grasso Plaza.
I can't take credit for getting Shop 'n Save in our neighborhood. But I know it didn't hurt that I emailed them numerous times prior to them announcing a store in Crestwood.
You actually can make a difference. And it's no harder than complaining on this blog...
Also, if you want something done at the Mall, put pressure on Macy's Dillards and Sears. Tell them you enjoy their conveniently located stores and that you would frequent their Crestwood locations more often if the Mall was up to date and more enjoyable to visit.
Thanks so much to a couple of the last bloggers who applied their thinking to the subject of this blog. Having read through some of the other blog columns, I take pity on those unhappy people who can only express their misery and contempt on this blog. I feel truly grateful that I am able to look for the good in people and not waste my time writing hateful things.
Great idea, let's call Bread Co. and drop some hints. And the other stores as well. Won't hurt.
We have 3 anchor stores at our Mall. Let's shop at them and the other shops, too. Let's drop hints wherever we go. Ask for the Manager when we shop. We have 2 major grocery stores. Good for us. If we play our cards right things will keep looking up. Those of you on this ugly kick. Maybe this town is just not the right fit for you.
It's unfortunate that we barely have 10 ideas. Some of these other threads have had many more posts.
If you can show your City leadership that you have good ideas as well as constructive criticism it will buy you more respect.
I wish we could get a Trader Joes or a Whole Foods. It would bring people in from Kirkwood, Webster, etc. - the closest are in Brentwood. Our neighbors already have Schnucks & Shop & Save. We need businesses that people will specifically come to Crestwood to visit.
3:01 AM Blogger: Well we will have a Starbucks, and I hope a host of new stores in the new Sappington project, so we shall see.
Let us hope that the developers will attract what what we need to move forward!
There will be a really great hardware store (ACE,) and a kid's playground next door, so that will help.
Tom Ford
With the loitering problems you hear about at the Mills, Galleria and Wehrenberg you begin to see how it can be benefical to not be located in a mall.
One serious crime could really hurt a Mall. Especially one that is struggling.
Use the Contact Us section of Trader Joes and Whole Foods websites to request their prescence in Crestwood. Send them a link:
http://www.cbre.com/usa/us/mo/st+louis/property/sappingtonsquare
sappington square
I am somewhat amazed that there are not more residents offering suggestions on how we can help our community thrive and work together to get the job done. However, the ones presented are good ones and show a great deal of good will from those who put put it on the blog. Cometimes, those who really care about our city are driven away and disgusted by the bloggers who only blog to satisfy their personal vendettas and inner souls, which unquestionably are not to the best interest of the city.
Apparently it fits their idea of give and take to malign the Mayor, seek out the sore spots and poke fun at anyone who has an opinion which would be considered intelligent. This proves to me there is a contingent in this city who like to spend all their time on this blog bullying. These are not unknowns, for they are the same ones who do it publicly, and actually don't contribute anything but criticism to our city.
Most residents are watching closely for signs of disruption and city politics from the contingent who hang tight to the unelected who were fortunately voted out of office. Every vote, one can tell in advance certain aldermen are going to vote. How very sad. Thank heavens we are not paying for a 14.5 Million Dollar City Hall that was an unessential blunder of haughtiness. Thank heavens most of the Charter changes did not float. Thank heavens there are a few independent thinkers on the board.
Look around you, a new day seems to be dawning. It is not the doing of a bunch of soreheads, it is the doing of a wonderful contingent of residents who chose to look on the bright side.
For grown people who are also officials to chose the Aldermanic dias to tout their brand of tag team politics and dispute good ideas as time wasting or grandstanding is easily the most unessential government function in a city where egos are bigger than the city.
Take the time to understand the issues before jumping in for the vote. Represent your constituancy not your pub pals. This would be the expedient thing to do. Bad decisions can haunt you, good ones can make you.
It is irritating to keep hearing from city leaders to shop in the mall. I shop in Crestwood(Kohl's Gordmans etc) but will not step foot in that mall unless it is to go to Sears or Macys. I do not feel safe to go to the mall with my children or alone, I have heard and seen too many things. That mall will never prosper as long as the Westfield name is on it. I think if a new devoloper came in and made big changes people would be THRILLED to return to the mall. I meet my husband of ten years at that mall and would love to see it thrive again. With Highway 40 being a mess-now is the time!I love the banner idea!!! Crestwood needs an idenity and a united front. My next idea my not be popular with some,(yes extreme)and I do not wish to offend anyone who lives in this neighborhood, but I strongly think the Ridgewood subdivision needs to be torn down and new afforadble single family four bedroom houses with basements should built in thier place By affordable I think Houses in the 350,00 dollar range that an average second time home buying family with children could afford. Before you all think I am crazy, please hear me out. Right now basically that area is owned by first time home owners and most of the original owners that are left are very elderly.(so not very many attachments) I had relatives that moved in the subdivion when it was built, but now one is dead and the other is in a nursing home. Those homes may have been 'the style in the day" but they are far outdated, do not have basements etc.(many have mold problems" It is very difficult for thirty somethings to buy a new house within 270 because everyone is building villas for the retireing baby boomers. This could bring many new young families with children to the area. Families that have spending power. If I may speak for most thirtysomethings, these houses are very unattractive to us. It is difficult to find a two story house in Crestwood (we managed to finally do this) and this is the type of house that new families want in 2007. Crestwood started with new houses for families and some new ones need to be built in the style of today. Imagine a new family subdivision in the heart of Crestwood!! I know this is a very complicated idea, but I have no doubt it would save the city(keep schools open). Thirtsomethings have fond memories of Crestwood mall from their teenage years. I do remember some security issues(with teens) then mostly at night but they were taken care of ASAP When I was growing up I lived in the Saint Louis Hills area and had many firends that lived a distance away in Kirkwood, at we all shopped at Crestwood Plaza. There are plenty of people to support that mall, but no mother with children or elderly shopper wants to feel unsafe. They should redesign the mall and maybe have a outside plaza with food, coffee icrem etc. Also another big difference between Crestwood and Kirkwood, and Webster not only is that these areas have banners but they also have outdoor eating places. As a teenager, I worked for a Crestwood business and they wanted to have a very nice patio eating area in the front and Crestwood would not allow this, so I am wondering if these types of rules are still around, As a child and a teenager I dreamt of living in Crestwood and now I live in my second house in Crestwood and I would love to see the city flourish. We almost moved out this summer, but since my husband works downtown there is no way we wanted to deal with 40. I love this blog because the people need to get organized and speak up!.NOW IS THE TIME!!!
One last comment
Teenagers have spending power, but I would not let my soon to be teenager shop in Crestwood Mall with friends like I did because it is no longer safe.
The people of Crestwwod hate the name Westfield and what they have done. They just need to give another devoloper a good deal because the Westfield name is mudd here!!!!
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