(Here are two articles for which I took several good photographs at the April 28, 2025 Ballwin Board of Aldermen meeting, then enjoyed two lengthy interviews the following day before turning in both pieces with photos by May 1.)
Despite
being just 50 years old, Tim Pogue served five years as Ward 1 alderman prior
to a remarkable 16-year stint as mayor for the city of Ballwin, where he’s
lived his entire life.
On April
28, Pogue was honored in many ways after previously announcing his retirement.
He and wife Amy can soon spend lots of time together with a first grandchild
due by early summer to son Zach Pogue and his wife.
Pogue is
normally a man of few words. But he made an exception at his final meeting with
a thank you speech that ended in a teary-eyed, distinct change of voice. Here
are some excerpts:
“It’s
been a pleasure and an honor to serve the residents here for 21 years. I
couldn’t have done that without the Board of Aldermen I’ve served with
throughout those years. I owe a great deal of gratitude to our staff. They’re
terrific and definitely made my job easier. We have one of the best staffs
around. Last but not least, I want to thank my family. Sacrifices they’ve given
as well has made it possible to serve this community like I have. Thank you.”
Several former aldermen and a handful of current ones
plus other staff members joined in for heart-felt accolades to Pogue. That
included ones at the April 14 Ballwin Board meeting.
Alderman Michael Finley (Ward 1) spoke for well over five
minutes, offering so many details of Pogue’s successes and also their close
personal friendship.
“To my friend, Tim Pogue: Today is the day we knew
someday would come, but we sure wish it wouldn’t. For my tenure on the Board,
I’ve enjoyed the blessing of working with a great mayor who has served all of
us with a superlative amount of leadership, dedication, and time. Tim has
conducted our meetings and himself with an unwavering level of good
communication, temperance, and fairness. He has set an unforgettable example of
how Ballwin should be led.”
Finley added that Pogue inspired him as that as an
alderman, you only get out of it what you put into it.
“Many times, I’ve thought of him as the hardest working
man in Ballwin. Other than a rare excuse such as sickness, Tim made every Board
meeting, every Planning & Zoning meeting, and every Board of Adjustment
meeting. He regularly attended Homeowner’s Association meetings and even made
our Work One Country Creek HOA a couple weeks ago, after the election. He makes
Lafayette mayors meetings, ones with the City Administrator, the Attorney,
department heads, and all other meetings and events.”
Alderman Frank Fleming (Ward 3) awarded Pogue with a plaque
from the city plus a new watch that displays the city’s logo. Fleming was also proud
to note that he has worked with Pogue at his on position since 2004, and
offered several compliments of his own.
“As I
mentioned at the last meeting, Tim never gave a long speech and I’m not going
to make him listen to one tonight. But I can tell a lot of stories about our
shared experiences here since 2004. But you’ve been tremendous to work with,
and all I can really say as you leave is, you left the city financially strong,
we have this new government center and several other new amenities throughout
the city. I know you grew up here, and your heart is always here in every
decision that you make. Thank you for your years of service and I appreciate
working with you.”
After a lengthy break following Pogue honors, his spot
behind the podium was taken by newly-elected Mayor Mark Stahlmann, who served
10 years as Ward 2 alderman.
Prior to that, Stallmann offered his own tribute to
Pogue.
“On behalf of all the citizens of Ballwin, and the staff
and Board, thank you Mayor Pogue for the outstanding work for this city. So
much of what the city is today has been due to his leadership over the last 21
years. He’s done an outstanding job bringing ideas and people together as a
city. Whether it was great ideas or hands-on work, helping navigate
construction of this building or other facilities, or last weekend with two
days left as mayor, being down at the ditch at The Pointe, helping to close down
the water leak. He’s done a fabulous job as mayor, and we are grateful for his
services.”
Former
Ballwin alderman and current St. Louis County Council member Mark Harder was
also there for a presentation which included the following:
“Tim Pogue
has been a resident of Ballwin his entire life. He attended Ballwin Elementary,
Selvidge Middle School, and Lafayette High School. He has served his community
as a sprinkler fitter with local member 268 for the last 25 years. Tim headed
the call for fellow Ballwin residents to successfully keep the Ballwin Athletic
Association fields in their current location.
“In 2004,
at the urging of fellow residents, Tim successfully sought the office of
Ballwin alderman for Ward 1, and in 2009, at the urging of his fellow aldermen
and other civic leaders, Tim successfully sought the office of mayor. Under Tim’s leadership, Ballwin has
consistently been rated as one of the safest and best cities to live in the
United States.
“Tim
utilized his professional expertise and leadership skills to spearhead the
construction of a state-of-the-art government center that we’re all in now and
enjoying, a police headquarters right down the street, as well as the
construction of an expanded public works facility which were all accomplished
without a tax increase or indebtedness—for all our residents. Also, the new
playground that you just cut the ribbon on the other day. Tim spearheaded major
improvements in the expansion of the parks systems.
“The
County Council expresses its sincere gratitude to Tim Pogue for his many
contributions to St. Louis County and wishes him many joyful years in
retirement. I will also say he must be really special because he got all seven
of us (County Council) to agree to this! So, let that be a note that you can
get people to work together. Ballwin’s
motto has been ‘bringing people together,’ and you’ve done that.”
In other
meeting highlights, Tequila Gray, who was voted in to take Stallmann’s Ward 2
spot, was sworn in by her mother, Patricia Duckworth as the first black female
to serve on the Ballwin Board. Jim Lehmkuhl (Ward 4), Mark Weaver (Ward 3), and
Mike Utt (Ward 1) were also sworn in as aldermen.
Lifelong public servant Stallmann is
set to continue Ballwin’s top standing
Ballwin Mayor Tim Pogue recently retired after 16 illustrious
years in that position. But Pogue has left the office in good hands. Mark Stallmann is also no slouch when it comes
to serving the public. In both longevity and quality of service, Stallmann is in
a class of his own.
“I have always been interested in government at all
levels; particularly at the local level,” he said. “At one point, I was the youngest
elected official in St. Louis County, elected to the City Council of Maplewood
at the age of 21 in a special election in December of 1979.”
Stallmann served there until 1993. He then ran for mayor
of Maplewood and lost. Since he had given up his seat at that time, Stallmann thought
he was totally done serving. Boy, was he wrong!
His next step was spending countless hours helping
industry and civic organizations. Stallmann served as President of both St.
Louis Realtors and Missouri Realtors. Having a severely autistic son Matthew,
born in 1990 to Stallmann and wife Karen, he also turned his interests in a
slightly different direction.
“In the late ‘90s, the Special School District talked
about wanting to do partial inclusion, and they recommended the Rockwood School
District. We looked for a home, and as you know, real estate is my day job. We
found one we liked in Ballwin in Rockwood Schools. So, we moved here in July of
’99.”
Turning to political advocacy groups, Stallmann was twice
appointed by Governor Mel Carnahan to the Special School District Public Review
Committee. He was also co-chair of the committee with Bob Clark of Clayco for
the last property tax campaign from the Special School District.
“Then I got involved in Ballwin after being recruited by
former City Administrator, the late (Oct. 22, 2024) Bob Kuntz to get involved
in a campaign for a parks tax where we could add an option for about 1 cents
sales tax to fund park improvements. At the time, Ballwin wanted to replace its
older outdoor pool with a modern state-of-the-arts facility at North Pointe. I
served as treasurer of that campaign, and it was subsequently approved by
voters. It’s been a jewel ever since!”
Stallmann was also chair of his HOA trustees for awhile in the early to mid-2000’s. Then in 2014, Shamed Dogan and Mark Harder, who were his two aldermen at the time, were elected to the Missouri State House and to the St. Louis County Council, respectively.
“I remember telling my wife, ‘You know, if there’s a time to get involved in the Ballwin government, this is probably the time to do it.’ So, I talked to Bob Kuntz, who put me in touch with Tim Pogue, and I said, ‘I’d like to be considered for the appointment.’ Tim appointed me, and I was subsequently reelected in ’15, ’17, ’19, ’21, and ’23. When Mayor Pogue decided not to run for reelection right before the filing date, I filed on the final day possible, and ran unopposed."
Stallmann often indicated he was interested in becoming
Ballwin’s mayor. But being a good friend of Pogue and recognizing his stellar
service over the years, Stallmann refused to run against him. The rest is
history.
Now, Stallmann was quick to offer his goals for Ballwin. He
wants to continue the city’s rank as one of the safest cities in the state and
the nation and to maintain its position as one of the most affordable cities
with one of the lowest per capita taxed communities in the state.
“We have great city services which I want to continue.
Also, our low tax status. Ballwin residents don’t pay property taxes. I know
people may read that and say, ‘Well, what do you mean? There’s a whole list of
things I pay property taxes to.’ But there’s no actual municipal or real
property tax.”
Stallmann also emphasized that he wants to expand upon
the already terrific public relations and marketing of his city—both internally
and externally. He wants to ensure Ballwin’s residents are aware of all the
programs and services, including the Parks and Recreation Department and Streets
Department.
Finally, Stallmann seeks more promotion of economic
development; especially when it comes to addressing vacant storefronts along
Manchester and Clayton Roads. Due to so much modern-day competition from online
shopping, Stallmann is set to work with property owners and retail firms to
attract more businesses into Ballwin; both restaurants and shops.
That goal is to bring in sales tax so Ballwin can
continue to provide great services to residents and businesses without
additional tax increases.
Stallmann also announced that he was kicking off a PR
effort starting Saturday, May 10 by hosting the first Coffee with the Mayor. The
details for that event and subsequent ones will be run from 10-noon at The Wolf
Café.
“I’m going to be inviting city residents to come by to hear
what’s going on in Ballwin and offer their thoughts and suggestions,
complaints, concerns; whatever the case may be. I’ve invited the aldermen to
join me if they’d like. We’ll be doing this periodically throughout the year.
“Lastly, I want to continue Ballwin’s great record of
transparency. We are part of the Missouri Government portal for local communities,
which you can get access from our website as well as the Missouri Department of
Revenue. Basically, every dime we spend in Ballwin is out there for residents
to review. We’re one of only four municipalities in the St. Louis area that
participates in the program. Also, all the details of our agendas and what’s
behind them are on our website. Nothing is business as usual or secretive other
than some specific legal and personnel issues that have to be in closed
session. Any other information anyone needs can be found by calling someone or
on our website or social media.”
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