ARNOLD, Mo. – Backlash over an Arnold road project appears to have led to politicians backing down.
It involves plans for a parkway that was proposed to run parallel to Interstate 55 from Highway 141 to Richardson Road. Dozens of homes and about ten businesses would have to be wiped out to make it happen.
“The council heard loud and clear that there was a great deal of opposition to the project,” Bryan Richison, city manager, said. “So they decided the best thing to do for the community was to cancel it.”
Sarah Lurkins, who began a petition to recall the mayor over the issue, is skeptical.
“We do not believe that is true. We believe they will continue on with portions of the project,” she said. “The TDD still exists, and that’s why we believe that unless the city dissolves the TDD, they do fully intend to continue on with some project.”
A Transportation Development District, also known as a TDD, continues collecting a 1% sales tax in a retail corridor surrounding the road project, she added.
Plus, the TDD has already purchased $1,196,000 worth of property.
More than a half dozen homes now vacant in the Key West Estates subdivision were bought up under the previous plans to build the parkway—five homes or on Christy Drive alone. The homes are still planned for demolition, according to the city.
“We’re not the landlord, so we’re not set up to do leases to manage property, repairs—also not necessarily set up to monitor that number, that amount of property and make sure it’s secure—there’s not squatters,” Richison explained.
“They should be sold to somebody who needs a home,” former Councilwoman Doris Borgelt said. “Why would you demolish something that you purchased and use it for a land bank if you don’t have something planned for the future?”
We asked the city manager, “How do we know it’s not just a temporary cancellation and it’s going to be started again in six months?”
Richison answered, “Well, I’d be the one working on it, and I can tell you I’m not working on it.”
A lawsuit filed by Water Tower Development, which includes the businesses that would’ve been wiped out, intends to make sure.
Development spokesman Lance LeComb told us, “We’re still suspicious of the city and the TDD because there really hasn’t been a whole lot of movement since we first filed our lawsuit.”
He claims a lack of responses to basic sunshine requests, saying, “If this is a well-thought-out plan, where are your planning documents? They won’t share any of that with us. By their own admission, they’ve been working on this for three years.”
The city manager says they have nothing to hide, explaining that the council added a resolution to Thursday night’s meeting agenda, affirming termination of the project.
And what about the million plus dollars spent on those homes in which the land is no longer needed?
We asked the city manager, “How do you explain that use of their taxpayer dollars?”
Richison answered, “Well, they didn’t want the project. We listened to them, and they wanted it stopped.”
