Coffee with Dardenne Prairie Mayor Pam Fogarty
February 10, 2008
Dardenne Prairie
About a dozen residents headed to M’s Café (inside Shop ‘N Save) in Dardenne Prairie at 10:00 a.m. Friday morning to hear the latest from Mayor Pam Fogarty.
Neighbors enjoyed each others’ company, but there was a sense of melancholy due to Thursday night’s tragedy in Kirkwood, when a gunman took the lives of many at a Kirkwood City Council meeting.
During the Dardenne Prairie meeting, the mayor accepted calls from family and local government officials. While the aftermath of the tragedy was still being sorted out, Fogarty made her sympathy apparent. She mentioned that all kinds of issues are addressed in city meetings, controversial and not. “You get comfortable,” she said.
The mayor mentioned that since her appearance on Tyra Banks’ show about cyber-bullying, she has been getting a slew of e-mails from across the country. Cities have been asking for a copy of the Dardenne Prairie ordinances to use as a sample when drafting theirs.
Fogarty will soon be knocking on doors to distribute information regarding a proposed change in the April ballot. Currently on the ballot is a 1-cent tax to the general fund and a ½-cent tax for the parks and storm water fund.
The ½-cent proposal for the parks may actually allow too much money for parks projects. So, the city has been advised to redirect the ½-cent tax for capital improvement and street projects.
Some involuntary annexation issues will also appear on the ballot. The mayor stated that the annexation involves “two acres here and four acres there.” She said, “I am a property rights person,” and that she will not pursue eminent domain.
Fogarty said that city hall should be built this year and the downtown area, called The Village, near Post Road and Highway N will soon get underway. A parks building near Barat Haven Park should also be started this year. It was mentioned that asphalt cannot be laid on Hanley Road, near the current city hall, until the weather warms.
The mayor described the upcoming downtown area, which will have strict architectural standards. Tree grates will boast Dardenne Prairie’s Golden Triangle logo and there will be standards regarding such things as the sizes of porches, awnings and sidewalk boards.
Dardenne Prairie is a designated Tree USA City and the city has been considering the types of tree varieties to plant.
Traffic lights have been planned at the intersections of Hanley Road and Highway N as well as at the intersection of Hanley Road and Feise Road. St. Charles County was to pay 75%, about $172,000, for each traffic light and Dardenne Prairie would pay about 25%, about $57,500, for each one. St. Charles County has now asked Dardenne Prairie to go to the federal government for funding. If Dardenne Prairie is granted the money, the traffic lights could be postponed for a year or so.
It was brought up that the future Quick Trip Station, to be built at the corner of Bryan Road and Feise Road, has put off building for a while. The Jiffy Lube going in the same general area, is farther along in the building process.
Fogarty mentioned that the section of Highway N, from Shop ‘N Save to Bryan Road, will be renamed. The coffee chat attendants seemed pleased with that idea.
The next Coffee with the Mayor will be at M’s Café (inside Shop ‘N Save) at 10:00 a.m. on March 14.
Copyright 2007 Neighbors About Town