ST. LOUIS – The City of St. Louis released the results of the Rams settlement funds survey Thursday, which gave residents the opportunity to choose what ideas they want the Board of Aldermen to research and consider.
The Rams relocation settlement, which yielded $790 million in December 2021, led to St. Louis City splitting a sum of those funds with St. Louis County and the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Authority.
Since the settlement, the City of St. Louis placed around $250 million into an interest-bearing account with the Missouri Securities Investment Program last year. The Board of Alderman hopes to make a decision later this year on how to allocate the funds.
During the 30-day voting window, the survey received almost 12,500 online and paper responses, according to a news release. This was an increase compared to the kick-off survey in August to identify resident challenges, which received just over 3,000 responses.
Voters were able to allocate 10 votes, or “tokens,” to twenty different ideas. There were four proposals that received more than 8,000 votes online:
Replacement of water mains (9,953 votes from 5,510 supporters)
Traffic-calming and pedestrian-friendly street design (8,973 votes from 5,155 supporters)
Raising wages or salaries for city employees (8,802 votes from 4,797 supporters)
Free of municipally subsidized child care for residents (8,271 votes from 4,592 supporters)
“These results paint a clearer picture of residents’ priorities,” Cristina Garmendia, policy director to President Green and author of the report, said. “It’s our responsibility in the President’s Office to organize city-wide engagement and share that information with the full board so they can make informed decisions.”
Of all registered voters, 77.7% said they are city residents, 5.2% said they are non-city residents but still work or visit the city, and 17.1% did not share that information.
The next Committee of the Whole Meeting is scheduled for Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. A final report of online and paper results will be released before the meeting.
Each idea that received strong support will be researched, vetted for feasibility and discussed among experts and the community, according to the release.
“This phase of the process is proof that people want to make decisions with their elected leaders,” Board of Aldermen President Megan E. Green said. “Until now, residents haven’t had an opportunity to participate in a way that works for them. I’m encouraged by the response and look forward to building on an approach that connects more residents to the City’s policy-making process long-term.”
