Westfield and Crestwood to meet to iron out differences.
As much as I hate to say it, I believe "I told you so" on this one! A few post's back I was roundly criticised for saying we shouldn't telegraph our intentions reference "development tools."
Well, a lot of people dis-agreed saying we should be on the attack, and tell them what were going to do. They of course prevailed, and now what do we have?
I pray that this can be worked out between all parties, and soon.
Please click on the header for the story.
Tom Ford
No. 388
Well, a lot of people dis-agreed saying we should be on the attack, and tell them what were going to do. They of course prevailed, and now what do we have?
I pray that this can be worked out between all parties, and soon.
Please click on the header for the story.
Tom Ford
No. 388
posted by Crestwood Independent at 09:52
34 Comments:
Please, what the City has done behind closed doors is wrong and against the law. Shame on those in control who did this to us. I agree with the CALL'S editorial 100% as I think 90% of those who read it in Crestwood will. In no other time in our City has any administration refused to be open about it's actions to the people as this one. No other city has not allowed its citizens to know what they were doing. Take a look at Sunset Hills OPEN meetings about the Viking if you want recent examples.
Finally, you said a reporter was not at the meeting, how would you know, you werent there? So who is giving you the second hand information that you use, is it still John Foot or has he been replaced since he is on the Board?
Face it Tom, Roy really has stepped into it this time with Westfield and he is going to have to break every one of his promises he made in order to keep the City out of hock. Promises he knew and we should have know he couldnt keep when he made them to get our votes.
Guess it's about time for all the spin masters to start blaiming all of this on former Mayors, City Administrators, Aldermen and the Crestwood Swim Club. It really is starting to look bad that no one is going to run against Roy and we will be saddled with him another 3 years!
Yeah looks pretty bad on Crestwood's part that Sunset Hills had their redevelopment meetings in the open and Crestwood had theirs closed in January. Why wait all that time since then to say anything? What were they hiding? The excuses the city gave in today's CALL were not enough. Having a closed meeting just because you don't know what you're doing yet isn't enough of a reason to have one. I believe the city is suffering from a lack of vision. I do believe the plan to get development at the mall is good and about time and they should proceed no matter what Westfield says. But anyone who doesn't see that the city has been hiding something is blind or has a serious agenda in support of those elected now in power. If they decided this as far back as January, as I read in the CALL, how come they waited so long to tell the people? Why make us worry? Why keep us in the dark? It sure seems like they were more worried about hiding this great plan than sharing it. This is unforgivable. I'd rather have a city that's open about problems than secretive about them. They can't tell me that Westfield didn't know about this then. From what I read in the St. Louis Post Dispatch yesterday, it sure seems like Westfield's not happy either. If they aren't happy about it, why didn't the city step up in January and put this out then? Would it have made any difference? No. Westfield is still unhappy just as they would have been earlier this year. But the city seemed to be more worried about Westfield's feelings than the people's feelings. We were kept in the dark. After reading the CALL today, I'm confident to say that's a fact. I'd sure rather live in a city that's open with their problems than one that tries to hide them or sugarcoat them. Crestwood can still be a great city and I am proud to live in it. But there has to be a change in attitude. It needs to be more open. This secrecy and closed door meetings like they're some elite secret society are unacceptable. At least in the kind of city I want to live in.
One more thing. If they had put this plan at the mall out earlier this year and didn't hide it like they did, we might already have a developer for the mall. We might already be well on our way to fixing the problem that was talked about and heard about by so many people at the meetings the city had a few weeks ago. This could have already been solved if the city had just been a little more honest and open. Here's hoping they will be more open and stop these SILLY CLOSED DOOR MEETINGS!!! It's WRONG and they know it.
Tom,
No matter what your views may be on all this mess, thanks for giving us an avenue to vent. We really need it right now.
Viva la open city!
5:05 PM blogger: Remember who you are agreeing with, the "paper!"
This guy has made a habit out of low rating Crestwood since the inception of that waste of a good tree!
I would know that the "reporter" was not there, as well as other things by talking to residents who were! Now as to who they are, well you will never know! All you need to know is that I do get the information, and apparently you don't.
As to whom is to blame in this mess, well as of now, I don't know, so I shall reserve judgement until I do.
Another three years? Well who else is available to do as good a job as Mayor Robinson has? We seem to have a couple of "gentlemen" who would be king, but neither one has a clue what this City need's, so I with Roy, unless he show's me differently.
Tom Ford
Give you one thing Tom, you are loyal to your friends to the point of being blind to their short comings. To continue to support your friend the mayor because right now you can't see anyone else who you could support is a lack of vision. Why not point out what you want in a mayor that we do not have in our current mayor and see who pops up? What is wrong with Martha running? If you believe she is the right person, get her to run. Roy will always be your friend, he just got in over his head on this one.
What do you people really expect from a Mayor? Do you really think you are going to get a high caliber leader on a part-time salary?
There are others in our City that get paid a lot more and to provide guidance and it's still not there. We still need to hire consultants to tell us what to do....
The mayor took it upon himself, without BOA approval, to NOT go forward in January to solicit developers. At Westfield's request, he is the one that told Westfield the City of Crestwood would hold off until later in the year.
It took awhile, but I am glad to see others are seeing that the mayor has not displayed any long term vision for the city.
I also find it disturbing that the CA has stated that formulating next year's budget will be a task with the new employees. Don't we have more employees now in the "accounting department" than we used to?? There were only 2 main people supporting the CA previously that pulled together, numerous times at the request of certain BOA members, detailed financial information, along with handling numerous audits. Now with the current staff the BOA were asked to be patient?
Frank Myers. Nice guy. But incompetent. I love Tom's comments about the "entourage" he keeps at his side to do his work. I couldn't agree with him more. Is this guy really worth $80,000 a year when he's doing minimal work on the budget and the reports? Perhaps it's not the mayor so much as the short comings of Mr. Myers and the shaky legal advice from Mr. Golterman. The mayor relies on them. Don't put it all on Roy. He and the board are paying too much for too little in both cases.
Roy made promises as were quoted in the Call this week about what he would do if he became mayor. He hasn't done them, he hasn't been able to keep his promises. The C/A was his choice, no, it is his job to run the City like he said he would. He either simply not up to the task or was not telling us the truth when he asked for our votes.
You pick.
Crestwood sent people to Las Vegas to meet with Westfield. Nothing came of it. Waste of money.They stated at one time, they wanted to build a new theater and food court. They did neither. They then tried and failed to sell the plaza. Now it for sale again. They interferred in the Sunset Hills problem. Let's hope they do not destroy our hopes to find another suitor especially since they have apparently no intention of spending a dime on this plaza. Why shouldn't we do what we can to bring it back or find an answer? One has to wonder, does everyone affiliated in any way to our city think we have buried treasure? Good grief the cupboard is bare isn't it? Efforts to disqualify us from doing whatever it takes to develop the plaza or find an alternative seems to me to be obstructing us from handling our problem. Why don't we sue them? Dillards leaving is no surprise, they never had a land office business, even in our better days. I am sorry to see them leave however. The road is bumpy right now and I am very glad to realize that the former administration, who apparently thought a new city hall was paramount, has been replaced by officials who hopefully will ASK ALL THE PERTINENT QUESTIONS AND RECOGNIZE WHAT THE MAIN THRUST OF OUR FUTURE IS. ANY OF THEM WHO DO NOT, SHOULD RE-EXAMINE THEIR PRIORITIES AND THEIR POLITICS. Residents and employees deserve no less. The city cannot afford to have less than the best at the finance position. Our board needs the complete financial picture. The CAdmn.was hired to accomplish this. The city attorney was hired to keep us legal. The Development person was hired to develop. And I pay my taxes to get results. We do not need another dynasty. Mr. Myers and the board must make sure we have the talent we need to see us through. Not newbies who neither live here nor have what it takes to see this through. Less indians, less politics, more talent, more results. Otherwise why are we incorporated, why did anyone think we needed a new city hall, when what we need is a boxing rink. I really don't know what is more destructive, the bias of a local newspaper or a few of the aldermen whose agenda is often debatable. Code of Conduct, Sunshine Law, Meeting Announcements, Civil Service, Studies of this and that, pale under the light. Finances and the solvency and future of the city is the real deal. Those who do not recognize this reality are seriously unable to lead.
Let the SPIN begin!!
Westfield single-handedly stopped the retail development in Sunset Hills, leaving a mess for their residents (who if you recall, picketed Crestwood Mall, to no avail), and closed businesses along Kirkwood Road. Do you really think little ole' Crestwood can butt heads with them?
And for all the talk about Roy and Frank Meyers. Roy went out and hired Mr. Meyers by himself, without consulting anyone else in Crestwood, and dropped that bomb on the board and residents without any input. If I recall correctly, the board was so blind-sided, they called for a Saturday meeting in order to meet the person Roy had decided could save Crestwood before he began his duties. So, if he didn't look deep enough into Mr. Meyers background, let's hold him accountable. Mayors aren't supposed to be in the hiring loop.
Also, I'm sorry, but I've listened to every public appearance that Roy has bestowed upon the residents, and he really isn't capable of doing the job for which he was elected. He public speaking abilities are an embarassment and his depth of knowledge on most subjects is sorely lacking. I can't imagine how you could think there aren't hundreds of better candidates residing among our population. It took Roy three lost elections before he found himself enough untruthful fodder to convince the residents that he was a suitable option.
No, we can't blame elected officials for Crestwood's faltering sales and all of Crestwood's lack of desireability for the retail public, but I do think we can do better than what we have now, and I shudder to think of Roy in any meeting with corporate Westfield in an attempt to navigate these unfortunate waters.
5:05 pm 9/13 Hey Wait Just A Minute.
We pay Rob Golterman big bucks to be city attorney. He is suppose to watch the city's back and TELL the mayor who appointed him when something is against any law or if we are heading down the wrong path. Is that not what lawyers do??? Maintain the law?
When the man who appointed you is not the expert in LAW, should it not be up to the city attorney to watch the mayor back as well as aldermen's. Maybe the City Attorney wants to see this mayor fall. He should have been on top of this "closed door" issue. My God that should be a "given".
Good Grief, what has Rob been doing except yawning at the meetings. Maybe he has spread himself a little too thin taking on Crestwood and other cities. Sounds like he has not been earning his keep and maybe the mayor should have appointed somebody else.
City Attorneys don't just draft bills and ordinances; they are suppose to protect the city against things that could lead the city into trouble.
Of course, the blame goes on the Mayor especially if you didn't like him to begin with. Rob Golterman is suppose to be up on all things needed to keep us out of harms way but if you want to blame it all on Roy, be my guest.
9:04 PM blogger: Support my friends, I wiil do that every time, don't you?
As far as support for "anyone" else as Mayor, I differ with you on that subject. Let me give you the short list of thoes that I think can do the job.
1. Roy Robinson
2. Martha Duchild
3. Jerry Miguel
4. John Foote
All of the above have the qualifications to get the job done if they have the support of the majority of the board. It's been said that "all politics is local" (Tip O'Neal,) and I believe it.
Local politics is no different than what goes on in Washington, wrangle, fight, posture, and run again. We see the same thing here in Crestwood, everyone seems to have an agenda, and everyone want's it now!
Just look at the factions that have poped up in the last few years. The pool people, the non pool people, the Faganites, "Roy's boy's" and on and on.
I have no idea how we change this, and I think it's good to have healthy discourse anyway eaven if the liberals resort to personal attacks when they run out of fact's. (that happens fairly quickly!)
Let's remember who, and what we are. Crestwood is a great town to live in where all people are accepted no matter what they do for a living, where they came from, what their religion or skin color is, and build on that!
Tom Ford
It makes me ill when people look to these elected officals for a long term "vision". If Crestwood is not what you want it to be then either do something about it or move somewhere else.
10:24 PM blogger: Yep, there it is my friend! These same people are the ones that come to a P & Z meeting and threaten the commissioners if something they don't like may be built near them!
Business is a very fluid thing, no one on the BOA, nor the Mayor has a crystal ball to tell them the future, so they do the best they can!
The NIMBY (not in my back yard) approach some folks here in town take when it comes to a business (not a pool,) as well as some of the silly restrictions we put on a business man when they try to come here, is the majority of our problem.
If you want tax paying retail, you have to take the noise and all the other things that go with it. Otherwise plan to put some more cash in the bank for taxes, for they must go up to maintain our police, fire, and public works departments.
I have heard some of you say well why not go to County, and dis-band Crestwood? Well if you want your taxes to go up, your police, fire, and ambulance to extend their lead time to 5-10 min. before they get there, go for it!
I have worked in North County and watched while it took 10-20 min. for the County police to respond because they were "out of position."
I will tell you now that for three square miles of area, we won't get more than two cars on the street at any one time! That can be, and is a horror story for the poor soul's waiting for help!
To those who know better than the Mayor, and the BOA, I say this, run for office, put your energy, your money, and your expertise where your mouth is. I did, I lost fair and square, and I will tell you that it's an experience not to be missed!
Tom Ford
Poster 1:09 AMEN, brother or sister, AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Roy has been in office for over 2 years and what has the decline in the Mall revenue been per Myers, 13%. What was it before? 3%.
I would much rather have a business in my backyard that operates year round from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. than a pool that is open three months out of the year. I would much rather hear delivery trucks and traffic rather than kids laughing and playing.
Marha, Jerry, John for Mayor in 08
Open 24/7 year round, trucks, traffic - sounds to me like sounds of tax revenue; the cash register for the city going ching ching - for everyone's benefit.
Children can swim and play and support our CITY pool with laughter and play and civic joy.
And while they are doing just that they are not destroying all chances of a quiet and enjoyable summer for residents who live with the private pool nightmare-travesty.
Any outcome of the meeting?
Yes, read this weeks CALL for real quotes from the real people who where there, instead of made up stuff posted by anonymous poster(s).
I thought the CALL reporter wasn't at the meeting?
Are Tom's sources wrong?
Is it possible the CALL reporter had someone else getting quotes at the meeting for him?
Maybe one of the aldermen friendly to the CALL?
Naw - it was the "cub" reporters!
9:01 AM blogger: Well Mr. Wasson was not at the BOA meeting at all. So my "Cub reporters" were, and are completly accurate! Besides, I have the "inside track" remember? Your posts said I did, so why woulden't I know?
By the way did anyone see that "cartoon" in the "paper" this week? You know the one that belittles OJ? That seems to me to be the type of cartoon that should never be in a family newspaper, and I intend to write to the editor with my outrage!
I am shocked! How dare they implicate an African American of such a sorted crime? That should be retracted at once!
Tom Ford
4:42 PM Tom, you are just asking for it on your remarks aboiut OJ!!! I hope you are ready for the onslaught! I wouldn't touch that one with a ten foot pole.
6:09 PM blogger: Well what goes around comes around! If your going to call me a "raciest" you had better be darn sure your skirts are extreemly clean!
In this instance, that's dosen't seem to be the case now does it. I am waiting for the outrage from the locals twards the "paper!" This will showcase their honisty, or the lack of it!
Tom Ford
Tom,
To assume race automatically with O.J. is more racist than anything else. I saw the cartoon in question. I didn't think African American. I thought guilty. Like I did back when the first time around. I think you assumed race. The cartoonist didn't. Why else would it print?
Agreed with earlier post. You're really grasping at straws now aren't you?
Workin in a coal mine!
Hey!
Goin down down!
Workin in a coal mine!
Hey!
Tom's really hit the ground!
In other words, Tom is really digging himself in deep on this one. Using O.J. for his own agenda. Wow. Have you no decency sir? You completely misunderstood the comic. Tom is either desperete to make someone look bad or just really really dumb.
Tom says,
"Well what goes around comes around! If your going to call me a "raciest" you had better be darn sure your skirts are extreemly clean!"
Proof this is more about Tom's agenda that his feelings on the cartoon. Without Tom's stupid mistake earlier that probably explains why he resigned from a city board, he would have had no reaction to this cartoon at all.
Well, as I have said before, you are all very predictable in your comments! Nice try, but you so called liberals who require a 4x6 "family photo" for "identification" to join the pool will not asuage your guilt on me!
Sorry, but that "OJ" whether you like it or not, was aimed at one, and only one person, and you know it!
Tom Ford
Huh?
7:28 PM blogger: My bad, I left the word "cartoon"
Tom Ford
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