Mayor Purzner goes to court....again

According to an article by Norm Parish at stltoday.com (the St. Louis Post Dispatch - online) dated Jan 31st, 2006, Mayor Purzner has filed suit against the St. Louis County Election Board in an effort to block the Recall from appearing on the April ballot. ( link )

From that article:

"Purzner claims there is no legal basis for the recall and proper procedures aren't being used to bring the issue before voters."

According to Missouri Revised Statutes Section 77.650:

The reasons for recall are misconduct in office, incompetence or failure to perform duties prescribed by law.

The Recall petition stated the reasons for Recall were the Mayor's improper attempt to remove Chief Herron from office and her violations of the Sunshine Law.

In ANN PURZNER, APP V JAMES HERRON The county court ruled against the Mayor's removal of Chief Herron, and Chief Herron remains our Chief of Police to this day.

In ROBERT DODY, et all V ANN PURZNER and CITY OF OVERLAND the county court ruled against the Mayor, finding her to have violated the Sunshine Law. From that ruling:

44. The Court finds credible evidence that Defendant Mayor Purzner and some members of the City Council purposely violated the Sunshine Law by disregarding legal advice that warned of the potential for violations of the Sunshine Law and by obvious facts presented to them of the size of the attendance of meetings. Furthermore, Mayor Purzner deliberately and purposely continued to schedule the meetings at a location of insufficient size to accommodate Overland citizens who wanted to attend.

The Courts of St. Louis County have ruled that the Mayor wrongfully attempted to remove Chief Herron from office, and violated the Sunshine Law. These rulings validate the reasons for recall as stated on the petitions.

There is no question as to the legal grounds for the Recall other than to determine if these violations are due to misconduct or incompetence. If the Mayor knowingly choose to violate the law in the cases sited above then it's likely misconduct (or at least qualifies as "failure to perform duties prescribed by law"). If she unknowingly violated the laws above it's likely incompetence. Either way, those violations are both within the language as well as the spirit of Section 77.650.

As for her reference to improper procedure, we've already covered that issue here, and Steve Garrett, referenced in the above article as "a lawyer for the election board" is quoted as saying:

"They believe that the this has be done in the form of the ordinance and we disagree,” Garrett said. “I think that the motion that was passed by the (council) is sufficient.”

I predict the Mayor's legal challenge will meet the same fate of her previous appearances in the St. Louis County courts and the Recall measure will be on the ballot in April. The only question that remains in my mind is who is paying for her legal council?

Mole Hill of Jewels

In the February 2007 issue of the Localite an advertisement, paid for by Councilman Ken Owensby of Ward III appeared on page 14:

The invoice reproduced in the above ad is dated 8/21/2002. The invoice states it's for service pins from 2001. 14 awards are listed for a total cost of $1350.00 (an average of just under $100.00 per award). Each award is designed to recognize employees for their years of service to the City of Overland, ranging for 5 to 30 years.

Councilman Owensby's ad states:

"Here's the bill for the jewelry that they bought with your money! Every time you pay your trash bill in the future please remember this bill and that while you now have to scrimp and save to come up with the trash money they were buying jewelry when they had control of the city finances!"

When referring to "they" Councilman Owensby should have actually said "we". At the September 9th, 2002 City Council meeting, though Councilman Owensby did raise a few questions concerning this bill, he voted to pay the bills as presented, which included the bill he now references in his Localite advertisement. According to the minutes of that Council meeting:

Mayor Dody called the question for approval of bills submitted for payment. Mayor Dody polled the vote as follows: Paul - Yes; May - Yes; Stuckey - Yes; Allison – Yes; Hodge - Yes; Owensby - Yes; Saye - Yes; Kientzel - Yes. Motion carried unanimously.

The invoice in the ad references awards for 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, etc. Based on this it appears that the City of Overland recognizes employees for every 5 years or so of continual service to the community. The average pin on the invoice costs $100.00 which breaks down to $20.00 per year being recognized. If the average employee works roughly 2000 hours per year (40 a week with 2 weeks vacation) that means the community is spending approximately one additional penny per hour to recognize our employees' commitment to our community.

According to sources at City Hall these employee service awards have existed for decades, going back through several previous administrations. In general, it's common practice for governments, businesses, schools, and even volunteer organizations to recognize those who have been with them for several years or more with service awards like these. As hard as the employees of Overland, Missouri work, it would seem that the least we could do is give them a small thank you gift like this every 5 years or so.

Councilman Owensby seems to imply a lack of fiscal responsibility on the part of "them" in his advertisement. The ad suggests the purchase of "jewelry" in 2001 partially created the situation in which residents are now paying for their trash pickup today. However, It was not until June 28th, 2004 that the City of Overland started seriously considering having residents pay for their trash service themselves.

An example of fiscal responsibility in the eyes of both Councilman Owensby and then Councilperson Purzner can be seen in their repeated efforts to get the City of Overland to fund a Skateboard Park (as seen in the Council meeting minutes from May 12th, 2003, June 9th, 2003, June 23rd, 2003, July 14th 2003, August 11th, 2003, September 8th, 2003, September 22nd, 2003, and October 27th, 2003).

The skateboard park idea seems to have been dropped in the end of 2003 due to issues concerning insurance coverage as well as the cost of building the park. It was Councilperson Purzner who theorized that the building cost would be approximately $10,000.00 (though the City of Florissant's skateboard park, built around the same period, cost approximately $120,000.00).

Apparently $10,000.00 or more for a skateboard park (that would have likely created a blizzard of liability suits against the city) was more acceptable to Councilman Owensby than $1350.00 for 14 awards recognizing the service of our fine city employees (even though he voted to pay for them). Councilman Owensby frequently mentions the needs of our senior residents when addressing concerns about city services. Perhaps he intended on implementing a senior citizen discount at the skate park.

I attempted to contact Councilman Owensby on this issue. However, he had not returned my call by the time of publication. Councilman Owensby is welcome to add his own comments to this article if he chooses to do so. He is also welcome to contact me by emailing me here or calling me back at the number I left on his answering machine.

Mayoral Recall on April's Ballot

There has been some question as to whether or not the Mayoral Recall will be on the ballot in April. According to the St. Louis County Election Board it is in fact scheduled to be on the ballot now and removal would require a successful legal action opposing it.

In Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 77 (Third Class Cities) the specific reference is Section 77.655 (and to a lessor degree Section 77.650). The line of 77.655 in question is:

"If the petition shall be found to be sufficient, the council shall order the question to be submitted to the voters of the city."

The St. Louis County Election Board reviewed the petition and certified it as valid. The above requirement is considered administrative in nature. The City Council must order the question submitted to the voters. The "shall order" portion suggests an action that must be taken.

That said, the Mayor could choose to file a legal action against the St. Louis County Election Board in an effort to prevent the question from appearing on the April ballot. Though the Mayor has referenced this possibility multiple times since mid December 2006, to the best of our knowledge, she has yet to file a suit on the matter.

With the Recall added to the Municipal election in April the cost to the residents of Overland is negligible as all of the election expenses (polling places, poll workers, etc) exist regardless of the Recall being on the ballot. Should the Mayor file a suit against the Election Board and successfully argue that the measure should be removed from the ballot until that legal dispute is decided the cost to residents could be significant. If a legal challenge fails, The residents of Overland could be stuck with the expense of holding a special election for just the Recall. Every expense for an election, from poll workers to voting machine programming, would be passed directly to the city as a result.

Based on the statutes, discussions with election officials, and plain old common sense, we should expect to see the Recall measure on the ballot in April. Whether or not the Mayor is recalled will ultimately be up to the voters of Overland.

Do You "Recall"?

The Mayor may not "Recall" her record since taking office but many residents do. Here is a great synopsis of the Mayor's accomplishments in office, complements of a resident of Overland Missouri at the January 22nd, 2007 City Council meeting.

City Council Meeting 01/22/06

The Overland City Council met at the Community Center at 7PM, Monday (Jan. 22nd). There were only 3 resident’s comments at this meeting. No major issues arose to speak of. The first speaker read off a list of problems that have occurred since the Mayor’s election, another spoke on the reasons a recall is valid, and the last spoke in support of the Mayor.

Of course it wouldn’t be a meeting of the Overland City Council these days if there wasn't an argument about how many votes are needed to pass this or that. This time it started early with Councilman Owensby objecting a portion of the minutes from the December 11th Council meeting. He questioned how a motion with a 4-3 vote passed, claiming it requires 5 votes to do so. Councilman Corcoran correctly pointed out that this was a motion, not an ordinance, the Mayor agreed and the issue was dropped.

Mayor Purzner appointed Councilman Schneider to replace Councilman Sellers on the Board of Adjustment. No other appointments were made or attempted despite the fact that Ward 3 is still short one councilperson.

Though there was some issue over whether or not it should have been on the agenda, Resolution 2007-01 was read and voted on by the Council. It was approved with a vote of 4-3. This resolution was to add the recall of Mayor Ann Purzner to the ballot in April (though we thought that was voted on and passed back in December as well). The Mayor threatened to veto this resolution should it pass. Once again the argument as to whether this requires an Ordinance, and thus 5 votes came up (we will be working on answers to this in the coming days). There was also Bill 02-2007 for an Ordinance to add the recall to the ballot which received a vote of 4-3 but failed being that it was for an ordinance which requires 5 votes to pass.

Arguments continued with Bill 03-2007 which was to create an Ordinance to place a measure on the April ballot to allow the residents of Overland to vote on the issue of trash pick up. The vote failed 3-4. However, even if the vote had passed unanimously I don't believe it would have been able to be added to the ballot as the cutoff date for adding ballot measures and/or candidates was January 16th as can clearly be seen here, under "April 3, 2007 General Municipal Election" on the Board of Election's web site.

When faced with an argument about the trash measure being too vague to be meaningful, Councilman Knode of Ward 1 stated that it "just gives people the right to vote". Perhaps, if Councilman Knode, Councilman Sellers and others had shown up for the January 8th Regularly Scheduled Council Meeting, we would at least have had the opportunity to beat the Election Board deadline. As it was, because they didn’t show there was no quorum so no business could be conducted that day. I’d also like to know why Councilman Knode doesn’t seem to feel that the recall is something that "just gives people the right to vote" as well.

A recent Audit of the City's finances was presented at the meeting. The Auditor said we were on good financial footing overall, though we should have some investment and financial policies firmly in writing, and of course we need to pass a budget. Interestingly, neither the Mayor nor Councilman Knode (Chairman of the Budget Committee) called for a vote on the Budget at this meeting.

During the Public Works Department report Roland Lettner pointed out that residents with branches needing to be disposed of from the last ice storm must call Public Works by Friday (Jan. 26th) to ensure that they are on the list for pickup. Public works is going around picking up branches, but they need to know where to go (and you need to have them at the curb). You can reach public works at (314) 428-4677. When you call, make sure you thank them for their efforts. Public Works is providing a great service to residents by picking up those branches so let’s make sure they know we appreciate it.

During the Chief of Police’s report we learned that the backup generator, or more accurately the generator's distribution circuitry, failed when the power went out at the station in the last storm. It was determined that a part of a switch was broken and needs to be replaced. Replacement is proving difficult as the switch (as well as the generator) was manufactured back in 1966/67. The Chief assured us that there was a "plan B" in place to allow for manual switching if needed before they could get the part.

The meeting ended with the Council going to executive session (which was thankfully scheduled at the end of the meeting as was the norm until recently). The Lawyer representing the City's insurance company at the Sunshine Law case was there, but interestingly, while the Council was in Executive session the Mayor remained outside chatting with a few residents. That seems to suggest that the meeting may have been about the Judge's ruling against the Mayor in the Sunshine Law case. The results of which are the City has to pay the $16,000.00 or so in legal fees of the residents who filed to suit seeking to have Council meetings held at the community center where all interested residents could attend without restriction.

We will be covering the larger issues that came up during this meeting in greater detail as information is developed. We will also be adding video clips as they are put together. However, comments are open, so if you want to add something please feel free.

Ritenour's Prop R

April's Ballot will include Proposition R for the Ritenour School District. The proposition is for a 32 million dollar bond issue to build a new Performing Arts Center, a new Early Childhood Development Center and to do some smaller improvements throughout the district. If passed it will result in a 29-cent property tax increase for each $100 of assessed value (approximately $55.00/year on a $100,000.00 home). You can see floor plans for the projects, review the ballot language, and more at Ritenour's very informative Prop R web site.

On Thursday (Jan 17th 2006) Ritenour Superintendent of Schools Dr. Cheryl Compton, along with Assistant Superintendent Cindy Gibson gave a presentation to the Overland Business Association (OBA) on the measure. Many in attendance seemed excited about the possibilities these facilities would bring to our area. One of the most interesting things we learned involved real estate. 18 homes currently stand on land needed for this proposal. Dr. Compton was proud to point out that they had openly approached the owners of those homes and each owner had already accepted the district's offer of "fair market value plus an incentive". So, if Prop R passes, there will be no land acquisition issues (like eminent domain). At the end of the meeting the members in attendance voted unanimously for the OBA to publicly support Prop R, as well as donate $500.00 to Citizen's for Ritenour's Future, a group that has formed up to support the Ritenour School District in part by promoting Prop R.

Though this is a School district program it does have the potential of adding services to, and improving our community. Dr. Compton explained at the meeting that the Performing Arts Center could be used by local organizations and businesses needing a location for events and presentations. Though revenues from this might not be high, they could help pay for the facility.

Some of those revenues already exist. For example: the Laverne Meier School of Dance on Brown Road holds their end of year recitals at Pattonville High School now. Ritenour High is much closer to the dance school so it's likely they would want to hold those recitals at the Ritenour Performing Arts Center when it becomes available (as long as the price is right of course). They are surely not the only ones.

Other opportunities exist as well. Community theater groups, choirs, and bands are all possible. Larger groups might form with members from the entire school district, or smaller groups might form for each town. The shows and concerts that could come from such groups would likely be very inexpensive (if not free), which would add a few new entertainment options in our area.

In the end it will come down to whether or not the majority of voters believe this relatively low tax increase is worth the return.

In the interest of full disclosure I want to point out that I am somewhat biased on this issue. I married into a large family that, to a member, is made up of performers and/or musicians (though I have all the talent of a chipped rock). On top of that, I have a daughter who takes dance classes. Her love of the spotlight so far suggests I will regularly be in attendance at school events for years to come.

January Ice Storm hits Overland

Friday night freezing rain moved in to give the St. Louis area a bit of a re-run. Everything iced over, tree branches fell and the power went out for many. The storm didn't stop there. Saturday brought more freezing ran, more ice, and more trouble to our area. Now Sunday looks like it might do the same.

The power went out for nearly 160,000 in the St. Louis area (as of 11:00am, Jan 14th, 2006). In the 63114 zip code, the power was out for over 5000 residents (as of 11:00am, Jan 14th, 2006). The following is AmerenUE's Outage map:

For a full view of the outage map click here

For More information on outages you can visit Ameren's Homepage, or call them at (314)342-1000 (or (800) 552-7583 if outside the St. Louis area). They also have an Outage FAQ and a Storm Response FAQ online.

If there are power lines down in your neighborhood DO NOT assume they are off. The lack of sparks and the like means nothing. DO NOT touch a downed power line for any reason. If you have lines down call AmerenUE at: (314) 342-1000, and also call your local police and fire departments so that they can secure the area around the downed wires (For downed lines in Overland, Missouri call Overland PD at: (314) 428-1212 ). Touching downed power lines could easily make you the "star" of an upcoming funeral. Stay away from them.

If your power is out make sure to contact AmerenUE at (314) 342-1000 to let them know. Don't assume they already know your situation.

For those considering using propane heaters, portable generators and the like remember, most of these devices are not designed for indoor use. They need to be properly vented and they need to be monitored. Deadly Carbon Monoxide poisoning and Fires can result from unsafe use.

If you have decided to go stay with someone else due to your power being out remember the water lines your house. If the temperatures drop too far in your home your waterlines can freeze and rupture as it warms up later. This could leave you with a huge mess when you return. Turning off the water to your house and draining the lines is likely the best option.

It seems like my block weathered the storm fairly well so far. There are some sizable trees down, but it appears that everyone has power and few seem to have home damage. It is not over yet as there have been rumors of more ice and possibly increased winds to follow (check out the latest weather information from Fox 2 News here), but for this moment at least I took a short breather and thought I'd share a few pictures:

My Block on Ice, shaken, not stirred.

That one will take me awhile to clean up.

Lucky Break

As far as I can tell so far we thankfully have no roof damage .

I'm headed up to the attic to double check after I post this though.

Close Call.

I will have to repair the Gutter,

but it could have been the roof.

Maybe my procrastination with the Christmas lights saved us

(I know, my wife isn't buyin' that either).

What's amazing is how beautiful it all can be
(when it is not causing power outages, blocking roads,
tearing up roofs,or causing other destruction).

If you have any information you would like to see shared here please contact me at: overlandsailor@aol.com, or just add you comments to this post. Otherwise, keep an eye out for neighbors in need and do what you can, where you can.

The "Good Ole Days"

A friend sent me an email containing some facts about life in America in 1906. Though I am sure this has made its rounds throughout the internet I just couldn't resist. I did a little more research and converted the various lists into commentary. Happy New Year Everyone!......Enjoy.

The Year is 1906

One Hundred Years Ago

If you hang around your older relatives and neighbors long enough you will inevitably hear something along the lines of: "If we could only go back to the good ole days". But what were those days really like?

Sure, things were cheaper:

-Sugar cost 4 cents a pound
-Eggs were 14 cents a dozen
-Coffee was 16 cents a pound
-Flour was 20 cents for a 3 pound box
-Ham cost 12 cents a pound
-Sirloin Steaks cost 9 cents a pound
-Milk (condensed) cost 12 cents a can
-Cream Cheese cost 14 cents a pound
-Butter cost 24 cents a pound

You could buy children's boots for 99 cents a pair, a men's suit for $8.89, ice skates for 60 cents, rent a 6 room house in New Jersey for $12.00 a month and you could mail a letter, first-class, for 2 cents (which is the only way people communicated over distances since long distance phone calls cost four dollars a minute or more). Sounds great right? Well, not so good when you consider that the average worker made $200.00 to $400.00 per year (22 cents an hour), though there was no income tax back then so they got to keep a lot more of it.

The cost of living might be questionable, but people are really talking about society when referring to the good ole days right?

-Women couldn't vote in most states
-Natives Americans couldn't vote anywhere
-Literacy tests, poll taxes and a host of other obstacles kept the poor from voting
-America was still segregated based on race
-Employers could refuse to hire someone based on their race, sex, age, religion, etc.

Well, that's all politics though. When considering life in America in the good ole days we are really talking about everyday life.

Life was certainly different. Neighborhoods across America had ordinances prohibiting people from moving in based on race, marital status, income, religion and more. Though pre-marital sex could land you in jail in many places, people were probably less inclined towards it since only 14 percent of American homes had bathtubs and women generally only washed their hair monthly, using borax or egg yolks as shampoo.

Life was also shorter. There was a near complete lack of environmental or safety regulations which surely contributed to the low average life expectancy of 47 years. This was also "helped" by the fact that 90%+ of all doctors had no college education and instead attended "medical schools" which where considered substandard at best by the press and the government alike. Maybe that is why 95% of all births happened in the home and the leading causes of death were:

1. Pneumonia and Influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart Disease
5. Stroke

On the upside, people were likely more relaxed in America back then. Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. In those days pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."

Many claim that we respected our elders more in the good ole days. Yet, there was no Social Security, no laws against age discrimination, no Mother's or Father's days, and rather than nursing homes, we sent all but the wealthiest of the elderly to "poor house" and the like (as well as the disabled and the poor).

There were fewer entertainment options back then as well. Obviously there was no TV, game systems or internet access and only the wealthiest among us could afford a car or a telephone. However, there were also no crossword puzzles, canned beer, iced tea or microwaves. There was no National Football League; the only football back then was college ball (though 1906 was a great year for it as the forward pass was finally allowed).

Education was getting better though. Nearly 80% of white Americans could read and write, though only 6 percent graduated from High School (minority numbers were likely quite lower).

When someone starts talking about the good old days, ask them what they mean specifically. They might just surprise themselves with their answers.

Under Construction

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The Overland Examiner is undergoing a major redesign. Though this project has been well underway, recent conceptual changes have resulted in needing to go back nearly to the beginning. As a result, we'll be focusing on the new site at the expense of this site I'm afraid.

Keep an eye out for us. When the new site is online I believe everyone will be pleasantly surprised.

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