ENA Meeting Notes - Jan 9, 2023
Meeting Notes – January 9, 2023
The Ellendale Neighborhood Association held its general meeting at Abbott EMS (2500 Abbott Place). The meeting announcement and joining/participating information were provided in advance, consistent with the organization’s bylaws (revised July 2015 and adopted November 9, 2015). Additionally, the meeting was livestreamed & recorded via Facebook Live.
The full meeting broadcast can be viewed on the Ellendale Neighborhood Association group Facebook page:
Meeting opened at 7:04PM
· Welcome & Facebook Live Overview
o Matt Sisul outlined the meeting procedures for the session so that online participants could submit questions via Facebook chat, or by email, or by text.
o Streaming our meetings via Facebook Live remains quite popular and will be continued indefinitely for future meetings.
o Because of recent flooding & sewer backups in the Ellendale neighborhood, there was unusually high attendance at the meeting. Matt Sisul reminded everyone present that this was the regularly scheduled General Meeting of the Ellendale Neighborhood Association and that there is business that ENA must conduct in order to continue & remain an active organization. He will try to give everyone an opportunity to voice their opinions & concerns about the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD), the City of St. Louis response to the situation, and any other topics relevant to the state of the neighborhood. However, he asked everyone to be respectful of one another and to our guest speakers & visitors and to those attending the meeting virtually by abstaining from any side conversations or similar interruptions.
· Approval of Minutes, September 2022 Meeting
o Hard copies of the September 2022 meeting notes were distributed to those attending the meeting in-person. A weblink to the online document was previously shared on the ENA Facebook page.
o Motion to approve September 2022 notes as formal meeting minutes made by Steve Gibson and seconded by Lesley Wilson. Approved by voice vote.
· Approval of Minutes, November 2022 Meeting
o Hard copies of the November 2022 meeting notes were distributed to those attending the meeting in-person. A weblink to the online document was previously shared on the ENA Facebook page.
o Motion to approve November 2022 notes as formal meeting minutes made by Steve Gibson and seconded by Lesley Wilson. Approved by voice vote.
· Community Reports
o Alderman Bret Narayan (24th Ward)
§ Board of Alderman have been on legislative break.
§ Brian Kolde is the new Neighborhood Improvement Specialist (NIS) assigned to the Ellendale neighborhood. He is our new contact for service requests submitted to the Citizens Service Bureau (CSB).
§ Refuse Division has both a shortage of personnel and a shortage of trash trucks serving the City. Scheduled pickups are running very far behind, including that for bulk pickups. Ald. Narayan is not in favor of permanently privatizing trash pickup, but could consider doing so temporarily – especially for bulk pickup – to help Refuse maintain services in the short term. Anyone with issues should contact the Mayor’s Office (314-622-3201). Refuse Division has been approved for all budget funding allocations the department requested.
· Ald. Narayan has been working with our state elected officials about the possibility of removing the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) for those operating trash trucks.
· Question: There are applications to Refuse Division that do not appear to be progressing through the Personnel process. Is there anything that the Board of Aldermen can do to expedite the backlog of employment applications?
o Ald. Narayan: Under our current City charter, the director of personnel has a lot of power to hire & set wages. The Board of Alderman can allocate more money & resources to Personnel. It cannot set wage amounts for employee classifications. He is working with Alderwoman Annie Rice (8th Ward) to propose to the voters the establishment of a Charter Commission every 10 years to evaluate the City Charter and to propose to the voters any recommended changes/amendments.
· Question: At our last meeting you expressed an interest in possibly hiring private contractors to handle City trash services. Any update on that effort?
o Unfortunately, City trash trucks have proprietary hooks that only work with City dumpsters. However, Ald. Narayan suspects that “bulk trash pickup” is the real problem. And the Board of Aldermen do not have the authority to enter into those such contracts. That would be the responsibility of the Mayors Office. The Board of Aldermen can only allocate funds for such efforts.
· Question: Would the City consider placing a large, 20+ yard dumpster on-street for bulk trash items to be dumped?
o That idea may have the unintended effect of encouraging illegal dumping, which is already a problem in the City at present.
§ Ald. Narayan has been working with Alderwoman Christine Ingrassia (6th Ward) on aldermanic legislation regarding the operation of Short-Term Rental housing in the City.
· First reading of Board Bill anticipated at the upcoming January 13th session.
§ St. Louis XFL “Battlehawks” football team is returning. Will play their games starting February 2023 at The Dome. Along with the new St. Louis MLS soccer team, there will be an additional 27 more sporting events per year now happening downtown.
· Expected to increase City’s revenue and lower the City’s crime statistics, theorizing that more public presence reduces opportunities to commit violent crimes.
· New group page on Facebook: “24th Ward Citizen Services”
o Created by Alderman Bret Narayan (admin) to help with reporting service requests to the City. Requests for service can be made directly to Ald. Narayan, or to Brian Kolde, or through social media channels.
o Handouts outlining what to report & the CSB process are brought to every meeting.
- Statistically, well-lit areas generally have lower instances of crime. Reporting street lights out are a very inexpensive way to combat crime. City is replacing the old sodium bulbs with brighter LED bulbs.
- Potholes will become more frequent during the freezing months. These can be reported as well. Be advised that the Streets Department is currently running behind on its maintenance and repairs.
· Ald. Narayan posted an in-depth conversation with the Bethany Williams, Director of Streets Department, on his Facebook (facebook.com/bret.narayan) and Twitter (twitter.com/24thwardstl) accounts.
§ Service Request: Hermitage Avenue needs to be cleaned. There is still debris in the street from the flooding.
· Ald. Narayan will followup to get a street cleaner back to the affected areas.
§ Service Request: Fallen rocks in River des Peres are creating a dam-effect and need to be removed.
· Ald. Narayan will followup with MSD.
o Officer Robert Skaggs (2nd District)
§ Officer Skaggs brought crime reports for the neighborhood from the last 30 days. Crime in the Ellendale neighborhood is the lowest of all the neighborhoods in the 2nd District.
· 7 vehicle thefts, 1 larceny theft from a vehicle.
· Catalytic converter thefts on the rise throughout the metro region.
§ Public safety handouts are brought to every meeting.
o Brian Kolde (24th Ward NIS)
§ Neighborhood Stabilization Team assignments are now by neighborhood, no longer by ward.
§ Report requests for service can be made in the following ways:
· 314-622-4800, main CSB hotline
· Post to the 24th Ward Citizens Services Facebook page
· Twitter: @stlcsb
· Brian Kolde: by phone at 314-657-1364 or by email (preferred) at KoldeB@stlouis-mo.gov
· Guest Speaker(s)
§ Jared Boyd, Nancy Cross (Mayor’s Office
· Matt Sisul forwarded to Jared Boyd many of the questions he had been receiving from Ellendale residents affected by the flooding & sewer backups of late-July/early-August 2022. Nancy Cross was there to respond to these questions.
o Last fall, the City of St. Louis submitted a Notice of Intent (NOI) to apply for buyout assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) DR-4665. This NOI was selected for application development for up to 16 total properties (10 on Hermitage Avenue, 4 on Odell Street, 2 on Queen Street). The total funding consideration is $1,268,353 ($951,264.75 federal & $317,088.25 local match).
§ Question: Have the 16 addresses been identified yet?
- Nancy Cross: Yes.
- Matthew Sisul: That information has not yet been shared with those homeowners.
- Nancy Cross: The administration will try to do a better job communicating to affected homeowners.
§ Question: What determined the dollar amount of the City’s NOI?
§ Question: What determines the “fair market value” of homes being considered for a buyout?
- Nancy Cross: The home values used are what the City Assessor declares the value of the house was. She believes that is what both the state and federal management agencies require. Homeowners that believe their homes are worth more than these determinations can appeal directly to FEMA.
§ Question: What happens if not everyone chooses to participate in the buyout? Would the total grant amount be reduced proportionally? Or does the total amount stay the same…and buyout purchase prices be re-evaluated on a per-house basis?
- Nancy Cross: The amount of the NOI will not change. The application represents what the City assessed these homes are valued.
- Nancy Cross: If you don’t want to be bought out, you won’t be forced to leave. However, you will have to abide by the requirements of the floodplain management plan. She refers to not rebuilding in “swamp land.”
o Question: What are those requirements? Who is the floodplain manager?
§ Nancy Cross: It may involve raising your home. It may involve elevating your foundation.
§ The City’s floodplain manager is Ron Brindell (Building Division). He was not in attendance and has not been in contact with the neighborhood association.
o Question: If I raise/elevate my house will I still need flood insurance?
§ Nancy Cross: I don’t know. Flood insurance requirements are determined by individual insurance companies.
o Question: If you own a vacant lot in the floodplain area, can you add soil to your property to raise the foundation that way for a new construction home?
§ No, this type of modification is not considered appropriate in a floodplain.
§ Question: Can you comment on the Building Division’s decision to rescind rehab permits previously issued and Plan Exam’s decision to not review any further permit applications for homeowners in this part of Ellendale? We’ve been told that there aren’t any forced buyouts anticipated, but these actions send mixed signals.
- Jared Boyd & Nancy Cross: We will followup with the Building Division.
· Nancy Cross asked if any homeowners had heard yet from Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD). Some in audience said yes, others said no. Nancy will followup with MSD directly about this.
· Nancy Cross is aware that the City’s Building Division has been sending letters to Ellendale homeowners. They would like to see copies from anyone willing to share to understand what they say.
o Residents can forward to either Matt Sisul or Sarah Russell.
o Letters referencing damage to a house exceeding 50% of the value of the house were required by the state & federal emergency management agencies to determine which addresses were eligible for the HMGP application.
· Nancy Cross: Under this buyout process, if a house is demolished there will not be anything built in its place.
· Jared Boyd: The City is not trying to buyout all of Ellendale. Rather, it is trying to navigate the federal & state emergency management processes to find ways to help those residents affected with available resources. In doing so, the City was given a very short window to apply for this HMGP funding, which is a multi-step application process.
· Jared Boyd: Unfortunately, this FEMA process is not a substitute for selling your home under normal market conditions.
· Question: Can residents whose houses have been condemned because of these flooding/sewer backup events be eligible for real estate tax abatement or forgiveness?
o No real estate tax abatement or forgiveness is being considered.
· Question: Is the Mayor willing to call an emergency meeting of the City’s Board of Equalization to reassess the properties identified on the NOI for HMGP funding?
o Jared Boyd: He will have to first explore whether or not that would make any difference as it relates to the dollar amount listed on the City’s NOI. It is his understanding that this $1,268,353 dollar amount cannot be adjusted.
· Question: Is the City considering any supplemental assistance to offset the difference between the grant application amount for a particular address & the real fair market value (or even just the outstanding balance of a mortgage) for that address?
o The City is exploring other grant programs and other state & federal assistance to further help those in Ellendale.
§ Sarah Russell (City of St. Louis Emergency Management Agency)
· The City’s goal is to take people who live in these repetitive hazardous zones – as determined by the floodplain map – and either get them out of that space or get them into a safer situation. The HMGP buyout grant is a way to facilitate this mitigation.
· HMGP is a hazard mitigation grant program. It takes into consideration not just buyouts but other ways to mitigate risks. The City’s NOI is a step that can be considered a “pre-application” step and was drafted to address flood risks in the City.
· The City was tasked with assembling a lot of data in a short period of time. This included trying to identify those homeowners who experienced flood damage greater than 50% of the value of their home. The numbers that the City used to draft its NOI were the Assessor’s Office determinations of value. If a property owner desires, they can appeal directly to FEMA and request a new determination of value.
o Those who experience flood damage less than 50% of the value of their home are not eligible to participate in the HMGP buyout process. There are other programs these homeowners may be eligible.
· No one is being locked-in yet on a buyout decision for their home. These are preliminary application steps underway at the moment. Once the City is approved to proceed further, Sarah will be working one-on-one with those 16 homeowners who wish to continue the process.
· The HMGP deadline is April 1, 2023. Their goal is to complete the application much sooner than that.
o The $1,268,353 dollar amount identified in the NOI cannot be increased. However, if any of the 16 addresses identified in the NOI are removed, the the HMGP application amount will be reduced by the dollar amount attributed to that specific address. Additionally, the addresses identified in the NOI cannot be replaced by other addresses in the affected area.
o The 1,268,353 dollar amount identified in the NOI includes more than just acquisition costs: demolition, resurfacing, greenspace management.
o Question: Can the amount of money assigned to an address through the HMGP be used to help elevate the foundation of that address?
- Sarah Russell: No, HMGP funds cannot be used for those types of mitigation efforts. Homeowners wishing to do this would have to apply for a different type of assistance program.
· The City’s Emergency Management Agency does more thank just flood relief. It handles preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation for the City. They brought agency handouts for anyone interested.
· Information on how to sign up for NotifySTL, which is one of the City’s communication tools.
· Promoting “Orange Folders” family emergency planning toolkit.
§ Committeewoman Carolyn McMahon (24th Ward)
· Aldermanic elections: March 7th primary; April 4th general
· Aldermanic Forum hosted by the 4th Ward Democrats ward organization will be held on Wednesday January 18th at 7:00PM at Mason School (6031 Southwest Ave).
o Recordings will be available on Facebook (facebook.com/ward4stl) for anyone to view if they can’t make the event.
· Board Report
§ Treasurer’s Report (Matthew Sisul, for Joe Nea)
· Balance as of 09/12/2022: $ 734.70
· Deposits: $ 99.00 dues memberships paid
· Expenses: $ 0.00
· Balance as of 11/14/2022: $ 833.70
· Deposits: $ 56.00 dues memberships paid
· Expenses: $ 0.00
· Balance as of 01/09/2023: $889.70
§ Housing Committee Report (Matthew Sisul, John Yarish)
· Matt Sisul received an emailed letter of resignation from Linda Boyd-Shell as chair of the ENA housing committee, dated 11/15/2022.
· Matt Sisul appoints current ENA housing committee member John Yarish as new chair.
· John Yarish discussed a new construction proposal for 7201 Southwest Avenue (at the corner of Hewitt & Southwest) that was presented to the housing committee for its consideration. The developer was requesting support for a variance to demo the existing single-family residence & build a two-family building.
· Matt Sisul explained that QuikTrip has purchased the ring binder company building at the corner of Jamieson Avenue & Arsenal Street and many of the homes on 3100-block of Jamieson Ave & the 6800-block of Smiley Ave. Matt asked the ENA housing committee to meet & give a recommendation to ENA general membership at the March meeting to formally support or oppose the building of a gas station/convenience store at this site.
o Ald. Narayan: He does not forsee a scenario in which he would support incentivizing a QuikTrip at this location.
o Matt Sisul: Because the single-family homes on Jamieson & Smiley are zoned “A – Residential” the development of a gas station/convenience store would likely at a minimum require a zoning variance.
§ Beautification Committee (Jenise Nea)
· No report
· New Business
o No agenda items
· Miscellaneous
o Annual dues are $6 per person, per household; $3 per person 65+; Business dues are $24
§ Venmo @Joey-Nea; be sure to specify “ENA dues” in transaction notes
o Block Captains/Neighborhood Ownership Model
§ Reach out to Matt Sisul to find out who your block captain is and/or if willing to serve as one.
o 24th Ward Community Directories (Clifton Heights/Clayton-Tamm, Ellendale/Franz Park/Hi-Pointe/Cheltenham neighborhoods) are available for pickup. Contact Matthew Sisul (314-606-3427 or m_sisul@yahoo.com) for delivery.
o The next ENA meetings will be Monday, March 13th at Abbott EMS (2500 Abbott Place).
Motion to adjourn made by Alan Arky and seconded by Steve Gibson. Approved by voice vote.
Meeting adjourned at 9:00PM