: Today In History · Horoscope 23°

Login · Register |  Contact Us · Site Help |  Place an Ad · 

Subscriber Services Home Delivery Gift Subscriptions Mail Subscriptions Bill Pay Address Change Delivery Issues Vacation Stop EZ Pay Single Copies

Council approves new rules

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

City council members approved a set of controversial policies and procedures during Monday evening’s session. The guidelines had been on review since first being introduced several weeks ago.

The new guidelines were approved by a majority vote. Councilwoman Vonne Phillips tried to get fellow members to eliminate a passage which she indicated she felt was too restrictive on public participation. Although fellow council members Larry Forsythe and Stuart “Mit” Landrum voted with her, the effort fell short when Phillips couldn’t garner the necessary votes to amend the new rules.

The procedures manual was first introduced in July, at which time it was tabled over concern by a few council members about the wording of several sections of the rules. Council members were given a chance to propose changes — all of which were apparently reviewed and considered — and an updated set of guidelines were proposed for passage at Monday evening’s meeting.

Phillips proposed her one final change in the procedures and policies. She said it was her belief that the passages governing public participation were too restrictive, and that the citizens had shown over several decades that they could control themselves.

She proposed doing away with a section of the proposed rules which governed “audience decorum”. She made a motion to strike that passage from the document before it was voted on in its entirety. That vote failed by a margin of 5-3.

That discussion done, the group took up a vote on adopting the new rules governing themselves and all those who participate in council meetings. The resolution, R22-2008, passed with a majority approval.

Council members began the evening by holding a public hearing regarding a city code change to allow for “wind mills” and “detached solar power systems”. Jeffrey Ward, who lives at 218 Kingsway Drive, had requested to be allowed to erect a wind-powered generator in his backyard. His plan was to erect a utility pole which would hold up a six-foot wide wind turbine approximately 25 feet in the air.

Before the group could allow Ward the special use permit he needed to put up the windmill in his backyard, the city laws had to be changed to include windmills are part of existing rules governing towers. Later in the meeting the full council gave approval for both changing the law to include windmills, and for Ward to build the first one in his backyard.

And the council also gave 6-2 approval to a resolution “supporting and encouraging RCH Development in their endeavor to renovate Townhouse Estates utilizing the Missouri Housing Development Commission Tax Credit Incentive Program”.

Spokesman Robb McClary appeared for a second time within a month to discuss RCH Development’s plan to seek state tax credits to help offset the cost of an apartment complex remodeling project. Earlier in the month McClary approached the council about gaining the group’s support to seek tax credits to remodel the Abby Lane Apartments, located off Old Fredericktown Road. At that time he gave the indication that RCH owner Chad Hartle was in the process of buying Abby Lane Apartments and intended to empty the tenants and completely remodel the buildings before taking applications for tenants to fill the new units.

McClary explained how the project would cost about $2.5 million and would greatly enhance the apartments which were about half occupied at the time. He said the improvements would bring the apartment complex up to the standard of the neighboring complex, Townhouse Estates, already owned and managed by RCH Development.

Within days after the council meeting, the current owner of Abby Lane Apartments contacted the city and media sources and claimed he had not negotiated to sell his apartments to RCH Development. Furthermore, he was upset at McClary’s reference to the condition of his apartment units and the statements made that tenants would have to move out and could then apply to occupy the units once they were remodeled.

At Monday’s meeting, McClary admitted his statements earlier in the month had left “some confusion” to the state of any negotiations between RCH and the current owners of Abby Lane Apartments. He said that a representative of RCH had approached the owners of Abby Lane on several occasions and identified himself as being associated with RCH. He went on to say that RCH Development was now in the “process of negotiating” a deal to purchase Abby Lane Apartments. He said RCH Development’s local representative, Steve London, had been “invited by the owners of the property”, and that in recent weeks a capital needs assessment had been in the works.

McClary also apologized for statements he made at the council work session earlier in the month regarding management and occupancy rates at the units. He said he “did not mean to offend present management,” and that by his count the occupancy of the apartment complex was nearly half at the time of his statements.

Then he proposed applying for the same state tax credits, but for a different project. He said the deadline for applying for MHDC tax credits was Sept. 5, and since any agreement to possibly purchase Abby Lane Apartments would not be reached by that time that RCH Development would like to apply for the credits to help offset costs of remodeling Townhouse Estates, located off Old Fredericktown Road — a complex which the company already owned.

McClary said the scope of improvements would consists of work to both the interior and exterior of the buildings. He said the complex was showing “age” since being built in 1987. RCH Development owner Chad Hartle would later tell the council that he purchased the apartment complex as a foreclosure in 1999. He said routine upkeep could be done out of profits from the units, but that major renovations would require additional cash flow.

It was explained that if the tax credits were approved, he would remodel the apartments and turn them into housing for low to medium income residents. The rent would remain the same as now, he said, but the residents would be getting newly remodeled units for that price.

Councilwoman Phillips questioned McClary about him making a statement during the earlier council work session on Aug. 14 during which he said if RCH Development received the state tax credits they could improve the Abby Lane Apartments complex to the standards currently seen at Townhouse Estates. McClary responded by saying he was new to the project and his statement might have been confusing.

Then McClary was asked why he was changing his request for state tax credits from Abby Lane Apartments to Townhouse Estates. He again answered by saying he was new to the project and that it was his intention all along to ask for the city council’s blessing for tax credit applications for both apartment complexes.

However, he added, since talk was primarily about Abby Lane Apartments during the work session he had inadvertently left out the fact that the company also wanted to apply for tax credits to remodel Townhouse Estates.

Hartle went on to explain to the council that the tax credits are actually “income tax” credits, which are generally sold at a fraction of the face value to large corporations to offset income tax liability in coming years. The developer then takes the profits from the timely sale of the state-provided tax credits and uses that revenue to pay for constructing or renovating housing for low to medium income individuals.

All that said, the council approved a resolution, R34-2008, “supporting and encouraging RCH Development” in their efforts to seek state tax credits to renovate Townhouse Estates. Council members Phillips and Jeff Firehammer made very clear their opposition of the resolution, with it still passing by a 6-2 margin.

The council will meet next on Sept. 11 for its monthly work session.

Top of Page · Archives · Site Map · Home Page · Yellow Pages · Contact Us · RSS Feeds · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use

Copyright © Daily Journal Online. All rights reserved. Certain portions © Lee Enterprises and the Associated Press.