Fred Meyland-Smith receives Lieutenant Governor’s Senior Service Award

 (***This was a very special presentation I covered for West Newsmagazine)

It was a loud and often raucous lunchtime at Circle 7 Ranch in Des Peres on Wednesday, Nov. 3. In fact, the two heavy barn doors had to be completely closed in order to focus on the business unfolding in the restaurant’s private room – former Town & Country alderman Fred Meyland-Smith was being presented with a Lieutenant Governor’s Senior Service Award by current officeholder Mike Kehoe.

Meyland-Smith was one of roughly 100 individuals nominated for about one dozen awards. The requirements of which are to be at least 60 years of age and have performed at least 25 hours of volunteer work per year.  

The former alderman has gone well beyond the service hour parameter as highlighted in the full page letter State Rep. Dean Plocher (89th District) sent to Kehoe on March 30.

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe  (left) with Fred and Susan Meyland-Smith and Rep. Dean Plocher (Photo: Jeffry Greenberg) 

“When you look at Fred’s lifestyle, it’s been exemplary,” Plocher said at the presentation. “He’s been successful in business, as a husband and as a father. He’s just a good person who works hard and gives back to the community. He’s been retired for awhile, but he gave diligent service as an alderman for eight years, and has been serving on Planning & Zoning for 14. He doesn’t shy away from making hard decisions, and does what’s best for his community and for the state of Missouri. I’ve seen him do it, and it was an honor to nominate him.”

After graduating from Colgate University (in Hamilton, New York) with a degree in economics, Meyland-Smith was recruited by Procter and Gamble.  He spent 17 years with them in sales management.  He was then recruited by Ralston Purina and joined them in 1985. He soon became vice-president of sales for them, covering the entire United States until his 2001 retirement. In addition to his long tenure as a Town & Country alderman, he is still enjoying a 14-year stint on the Planning & Zoning Commission.

All that makes for an incredible lifetime resume but Meyland-Smith is far more proud of yet another volunteer activity.

“I am currently the vice-chair of the board of directors of Wings of Hope,” Meyland-Smith said. “We are a multi-national humanitarian organization headquartered at Spirit Airport. We are the largest medical air transport operation in the United States. In the course of a year, we will transport as many as 200 to 250 patients from their homes to wherever it is they need to get to for medical attention. We will do so at no cost to them, and we will do it repeatedly until they’ve achieved medical success. Sometimes that’s a dozen or two dozen flights over years to get them the medical attention that they need. 

     “We operate in 12 countries outside the United States, and proudly, we have twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. We operate three planes here in the United States, and planes in 12 other countries around the globe. Our mission is to help people lead a better life through the power of aviation. So, if we can use a plane to help someone get from their home to children’s hospitals or to get to the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota), Johns Hopkins University Hospital (Baltimore, Maryland), or to the University of Michigan’s (Ann Arbor) to get much needed medical care that’s not available where they live, we’ll be the catalyst to get them from home to the doctor’s office.”

Despite his years of service, Meyland-Smith was rather taken aback by being the recipient of the service award.

“I am humbled and honored by this,” he said. “Thank you. I was totally surprised. I did get a call from Diana (Hennerich), Dean’s administrative assistant, a while back, interviewing me and confirming some of the things I have been involved in. So, I knew Dean had nominated me for the award, but I didn’t know any of the details. This, today, is a surprise, and as I said, I’m humbled and honored by it. But I could only do all this because of my wife, Susan. She’s always so supportive and I’ve been proudly married to her for 53 years with three children and seven grandchildren!”

In his presentation, Kehoe told Meyland-Smith, “I deeply appreciate what you’ve done for our state.

He added, “I never met Fred until today, but when we read through the application and saw what he’s done in Town & Country … His involvement literally being the godfather to the Planning & Zoning process in Town & Country, his involvement with Trinity Church, with Wings of Hope … All of these things he’s done to give back to his community in retirement is what makes him a Senior Service Award member.”

The Senior Service Award was created 15 years ago by then Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder “to promote and highlight the positive accomplishments that Missouri’s senior citizens continually provide to their local communities.”

Long-time Ballwin resident honored for helping others

(This was just entered online yesterday at West Newsmagazine's site.)

 Once notified that it was her time to receive a proclamation at the Oct. 25 Ballwin Board of Aldermen meeting, Ginny Halloran was quick to reach the podium and quick to give her acceptance speech. 

“I just want to thank all of you,” she said. “I was so stunned when Hedy (Boone, Ballwin’s superintendent of recreation) called me and told me about the proclamation. But knowing the people in Ballwin, my brother (former mayor Dick Andrews) has a street named after him in Vlasis Park and my husband (Jerry) has a plaque in the Ballwin Athletic Association right on the other side of Manchester Road, and you’ve made this complete. My family loves the city of Ballwin and the people of the city of Ballwin. Thank you so much, and we’ll go get dinner so you can finish your meeting.”

There was hearty laughter from everyone in the room, then a spontaneous chant in unison: “Wait! You have to get your proclamation!”

Mayor Tim Pogue proclaimed Oct. 25, 2021, as Ginny Halloran Day and extolled her many years of exemplary volunteer service. 

Ballwin Mayor Tim Pogue presents a proclamation to Ginny Holloran in recognition of her volunteerism. (Source: Jeffry Greenberg)

“Ginny has been involved with Ballwin Days since its inauguration,” the proclamation reads. “She started and ran a Ballwin Days Fair Bowling Tournament, and started and operated the Ballwin Days funnel cake booth. She also has volunteered in all aspects of the event, including the ice cream booth, kids’ games, the duck pond and the sucker pull. Ginny also came up with the idea to add books to the committee booth and has been serving on the Ballwin Days Committee since 1978.”

She and her husband were the 2006 recipients of the Mr. and Mrs. Ballwin Days award. 

“Ginny has always been very active in the community,” the proclamation continues. “She has been involved in the PTA (Parent Teachers Association). She was a senior Olympic Gold medal winner. She had a winning tap-dancing team that put on Dancing Follies. Ginny led tap dancing for years at the Senior Center and she is still heavily involved at the Senior Center. She has donated many hours of tutoring time through OASIS at Westridge Elementary School.”

Pogue said, “I don’t know how much more I can add to this. I’ve actually had the pleasure of knowing both Ginny and her late husband for quite a number of years.  ... It’s a great pleasure to be able to give you this proclamation as a thank you for all the years of service you (have given to) this community.  Thank you very much, and it’s definitely not gone unnoticed.”

After more thanks and a thunderous round of applause, Holleran announced, “OK, we’re going to go eat.”

The next day she told West Newsmagazine that her initial reaction to Boone’s call was disbelief.

“I told them they had made a mistake,” Halloran said. “I’ve done different things in my life, but it’s always been things I’ve enjoyed doing, like tutoring at Westridge for 20 years. I figured the kids did more for me than I did for them.”

She mentioned how her brother started Ballwin Days and how the street leading up to the old city hall was named Andrews Parkway in his honor. She also added that a plaque at the Ballwin Athletic Association reads, “If you enjoy sitting here watching the ballgames, you can thank Jerry Halloran.”

Of all the activities in which Ginny has been involved, one of her greatest thrills is dancing.

“We used to go out and perform at a lot of retirement centers,” she said.  “We would perform there, and they would pay us money, but we would give the money back to the centers so they had money to do things.”

Though she no longer lives in the city, she proudly declared, “I’m still a Ballwin fan!”

Ellisville discusses, passes motion on parking disturbances

 (...for West Newsmagazine...online Oct. 22,2021...my first event covered for the city of Ellisville)

A bill regarding parking annoyances was the subject of discussion and interest at the Ellisville City Council meeting held Wednesday, Oct. 20. Not only did all six council members weigh in on a bill amending current regulations to prohibit parking in specified places (Bill 3725), but it was the only one of four legislative bills that drew a series of public comments. The discussions led to one section being amended and another totally removed.

The meeting began with an already amended version of a piece of legislation focused on what to do about automobiles parked for prolonged periods on city streets.

That section read: “No person shall park a vehicle on any roadway for an uninterrupted period of time longer than twenty-four (24) hours except in an emergency.”

Ellisville resident Marilyn Niebling voiced her disagreement with the proposed time period during the public comments portion of the meeting.

“I hope we don’t do something that’s going to make parking harder for obedient residents and nice neighbors in order to solve a problem that exists in some areas,” Niebling said. “In my mind, 24 hours of having to get out and move your car is an effort. Where I live, we do not have driveways. I can’t put my car in my driveway. No one pretty much can on my side of the street where I have to park or my guests have to park. There’s only parking on one side of the street, which happens to be that same side. Therefore, it would be challenging if you have overnight or out-of-town guests for the weekend to be concerned with going out and moving the car every 24 hours, and trying to figure out how to get it shuffled around.”

As an alternative, Niebling proposed a 72-hour window.                                                   

Ellisville Police Chief Steve Lewis also said that there was similar ordinance passed in his 24 years with the Chesterfield Police Department where the window for car removal was 48 hours. However, Lewis agreed with Niebling's proposed 72-hour time frame. He also added that the concern is targeted toward individuals who consistently disregard neighbors and block streets and driveways in subdivisions.

“I always envision this to be a complaint-driven type of ordinance,” council member Vince McGrath (District 1) said. “The problem District 1 is having is not just somebody coming through to a park and parking there for awhile. We’re talking about people parking on a street continuously for weeks at a time.”

Meanwhile, Dan Duffy (District 3) specifically disagreed with a section of the bill that read: “No person shall park a vehicle on any roadway which adjoins a residence unless the person has as his/her destination a residence adjacent to such street."

"We have a lot of young families who drive to the neighborhood parks, have to park on the street, and it’s not their street, and it doesn’t adjoin a residence of their destination," Duffy said. "They’re heading to the park. I know at Meadowlark Park, lots of times the park is fairly crowded, people drive to the park and park adjacent to residences that are near the park. We’ve never really had problems with that. So, I would hate to see that limited by this part of the ordinance.”

Ellisville council members ultimately agreed the section should be removed from the bill.

                                   (Photo Source:  Pixabay)

Council member Mick Cahill (District 2) brought up additional points regarding the 72-hour rule and its potential enforcement.

“How would you know if the vehicle doesn’t come home for the day, come back for the evening or vice-versa?” Cahill asked Lewis. “Maybe they go out in the night and park all day there, like a night shift nurse. I truly believe this has to be complaint driven.

“I would also like to know how are we going to let the homeowners know this because you’re saying this would be no tolerance, and if a homeowner doesn’t know that this is an ordinance; they’ve been parking in front of their home for years … and maybe only drive their car on the weekends, and take the bus during the week, or have a different vehicle that they drive and keep in their garage, and leave a car on the street, although no one’s being bothered by it, nobody knows. So, how is the city going to come around and notify everybody of this?”

Lewis responded that first, once there was a formal complaint, officers would come out and do visual observations, note that in Ellisville’s log, electronically note the location of the vehicle, and return the officer to observe that violation in the same location. At that point, he could issue the summons or parking ticket.

He added that he complaint would start in the notification. For example, the three-day violation wouldn’t start because the car was there for five days. Once the police are officially involved is when the three days would start.

“Then, my direction to the officer would be that we make contact,” Lewis said. “We would mark that car in some fashion, and we would contact that owner within those three days.”

The bill was passed by a council vote and became Ordinance 3494, with Cahill voting in objection. The ordinance will be full force and effect 30 days from and after its approval by the council.

Unique Wildwood businesses share sweet connection

 (West Newsmagazine, 10/4/2021)

There’s an art to making beautiful cakes and scooping perfect portions of ice cream. Just ask Wildwood entrepreneurs Tiffany Thompson and Steve Christensen.

For most of the summer, Thompson’s 3-foot-tall birthday cake in honor of Bagnell Dam’s 90th anniversary was paraded through the Ozarks. The cake features icing that replicates water and waves. There are boats and fish – all the things you’d associate with Lake of the Ozarks. The top tier resembles the dam itself and bears the celebration’s logo proudly proclaiming: The Best Dam Birthday Bash!

Tiffany Thompson with her Bagnell Dam birthday cake.

It all looks good enough to eat. But Thompson would not advise it. The cake’s ingredients came mostly from Home Depot and Menards – Rubbermaid totes, buckets, sewer hoses, spackling compound and tape. Yep, it’s fake.

While Thompson’s creations are “fakelicious,” there’s nothing inedible about Christensen’s passion.  He’s the Scoops Guy, who recently opened a Scoop School at 2612 East Ave. in Wildwood, right behind the Grover post office. 

Just as Thompson is an expert at creating fake cakes and other food and drink items, Christensen is an expert when it comes to the world of real ice cream, frozen yogurt, frozen custard and the like.

The Brisbane, Australia, native is the executive director of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association. As such, he has spent the last couple of decades training individuals and management around the world in all the details of entering into and maintaining top-notch frozen dessert stores. His journey to Missouri was, of course, ice cream – or custard – based and a bit circuitous. He moved from Australia to Michigan to Missouri.

“St. Louis stole our hearts,” he said. “It’s a big custard town and there’s great premium ice cream here, too. St. Louis is very central, and (students) can get some great ice cream while they’re here.”

Christensen has been in West County for the whole 17 years he’s been in the state. “I love the family feel of it,” he said, “and I’ve always strived to have the facility close to where we live.”

Years ago, Christensen’s organization purchased the Silky’s in Ballwin and did training there at the Mr. C’s facility. He said it was nice to learn how to run a shop within a shop, but the facility was limited in terms of space. His second location, inside St. Louis County’s business incubator on Spirit 40 Park Drive in Chesterfield, offered a large auditorium but no retail section. 

“In our new location in Wildwood, we actually have both,” Christensen said. “We have a great training room, a lot of space and we’re building an ice cream shop in the front of our facility. So, we have space dedicated to training, inventory and a functioning ice cream shop … Cherry Hills Creamery. You got the scoop on that! We haven’t told many people.”

It may be the one aspect of his work that Christensen has kept quiet. He has literally traveled the world teaching the nuances of running a successful frozen dessert business to tens of thousands of people in seminars, trade shows and workshops. For well-established businesses, he works with stores on a consulting basis. 

“They may seek a few areas of improvement, to hand the business down to a relative or totally get out of the business. In some cases, franchise management teams from various parts of the country are brought here to get up to date with their training,” he said. Then, he added, “Potential independently-owned ice cream shops are really our wheelhouse.

Scoop School boasts a three-day standard course that’s roughly 50% theory and 50% practice. The theory part is in the classroom learning about finance, operations and marketing. The hands-on portion is making ice cream and everything else – from scooping treats to rolling waffle cones.

Christensen also maintains a YouTube channel and icecream.video website that features some 250 videos about all aspects of the business. Recently, Scoop School videos surpassed their 1 millionth view.

Steve Christensen (back, center) with Scoop School graduates.

“We’re unique in that we train the theory and business of ice cream as well as the hands-on. Yes, it’s important to learn about small business finance, marketing and how to lay out your store. But everybody loves standing in front of a freezer or a custard machine, and having that beautiful, fresh ice cream or fresh dessert coming out – it’s pretty hard to beat.”

Unlike Christensen, Thompson had absolutely no experience in the food and beverage industry before she created “Fakelicious: Fake Food for the Real World!” In fact, she said her business grew out of a childhood hobby and a desire to amuse her father during 2020, when COVID-19 meant she couldn’t take him out to eat or bring him real food.

As a child, Thompson made fake food out of Play Dough, boxes of sticks, or whatever else she could find. She made similar items for her granddaughter. Then, last year her hobby took a different twist.

“My dad is a disabled Vietnam veteran who lives in the Columbia VA Hospital,” Thompson explained. “We weren’t allowed to see him for 14 months during COVID, so I started sending him fake food.  Once we got in to visit him again, they still wouldn’t let us bring real food in. So, I would bring him a Cardinal baseball hot dog made out of clay. He loved it!”

And Fakelicious was born.

“I’ve always been an artist,” Thompson said. “In high school, I won the state Best of Show at the State Art Competition in 1986. I’m good at painting and drawing, and can do just about anything creative.”

She said she goes into restaurants now and says, ‘I can make that better.’ For a growing list of clients, she does. Restaurants and stores use Fakelicious food for staging and photoshoots since real food can lose its appeal over a very brief period of time. Thompson’s food looks as real and fresh as “just served.”

“Margaritaville in Lake of the Ozarks is going to have me stage their bridal room,” Thompson shared. “If people are planning to have a wedding there, they can see how it will look with plated food, a fake wedding cake and champagne. They can also pack it up and take it with them when they do bridal shows.”

Thompson said she donates a portion of her profits to the Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri. She chose that charity because of the assistance they gave her in 2015, at a time when she personally knew what it was like to not have food. She also donates many of her creations to silent auctions and other charities such as Camp Circle Star and those working to increase breast cancer awareness.

Her food, she said, meets more people than she does. But perhaps not for long, as her fame is growing.

Locally, Thompson has created lifelike toasted ravioli for Pasta House and frozen custard for Ted Drewes.

“Now that people are getting to know the product and the name, I can do more,” she said. “I’m even talking to Busch Stadium to see if I can get my fake hot dogs and cotton candy into the Redbird Club so they can display their products. I would be so excited to be able to get my food into Busch Stadium!”

For Thompson, Fakelicious is part therapy, part business and all fun.

“It just makes people happy!” Thompson exclaimed. “People just don’t know that they need fake food in their lives!”    

That may not be true of ice cream or frozen custard or frozen yogurt.

“Frozen custard is always near and dear to my heart,” Christensen said. “We started off in that business. But the country’s being taken by storm by these small batches of micro creameries that offer a number of premium ice cream products with unique flavors, locally run and made. So, it’s kind of a toss-up currently between custard and premium ice cream.

“The beauty of the business is that everybody loves ice cream products. Particularly in these days when life is a little uncertain and there are some challenges, it doesn’t take a lot to go down to the local ice cream shop and get a little treat … it’s like a 15-minute vacation.”

Keeping the Faith: Former St. Charles mayor to deliver message at Alzheimer’s Walk

(In MidRivers Newsmagazine, Sept. 1, 2021)

When Sally Faith was running for various public offices, she used the catchy campaign slogan, “Put Faith in Government.”  When faced with re-election, it was “Keep Faith in Government.”

Over the past 10 months, if Faith had a new catchphrase, it would have morphed into something outside the realm of work and into something far more personal. A likely candidate in both title and lyrics would be Billy Joel’s song, “Keeping the Faith.”

Mayor Sally Faith (left) with Officer Shelley Shirk and “Lilly”, one of the city’s police horses. [File photo: City of St. Charles]

Late last year, the former member of the St. Charles County Council (District 5), Missouri House of Representatives (District 15) and two-term St. Charles mayor, was diagnosed with early-stage dementia.

On Saturday, Sept. 25, Faith will deliver a 5-minute, 9:30 a.m. speech to kick off the Walk to End Alzheimer’s at St. Charles Community College. Coincidentally, she served on the college’s first Board of Trustees for a total of nine years.

Alzheimer’s is often described as a journey and Faith’s began when a couple of her girlfriends called her son, Howard, and told him that Sally should be checked out immediately for what seemed to be a deep depression. Faith said she was upset that friends didn’t call her directly.

“But I decided to go to the doctor,” she said. “My son went with me, and I told my doctor, ‘I wish these friends of mine wouldn’t have helped me.’ After giving me some tests, he told me, ‘Well, I think you should call your friends and thank them.’ He sent me to a neurologist, who was very blunt and said, ‘You have early dementia, and it’s not curable.’”

After the diagnosis, Faith thanked her friends, then she and Howard gathered more information about dementia.  Although Faith had been a caregiver for her mom, who also had Alzheimer’s, she said she knew little about the disease, one of the more than 100 forms of dementia.

“I truly believe people should accept it,” Faith said. “It’s not something you want to wake up, have a cup of coffee and talk about but it’s important to get it done early. I can tell I’m changing now that I’m aware of it. Before, I thought it was because I was retired after working morning, noon and night for so long, or it was the pandemic keeping me from going to many places. I knew something was just not right. I just didn’t know what it was.”

About six months ago, Faith started seeking support. She found a group run by Nancy Young and also reached out to Mary Williams, who is in charge of the St. Charles Walk To End Alzheimer’s and knew Faith during her mayoral years.

“Mary talked about the upcoming walk,” Faith recalled. “We went to a meeting and she asked if I would be willing to speak there. I told her I would be honored. It’s not a secret and it’s going to be my focus to say, it’s OK. It’s not catching. It’s not something to be embarrassed about. It’s what it is, and we can deal with it the best we can. You need family support, and I need social support. I like people, I’ve been around people and I reach out to people.  I want to keep in touch, and I want to do it now before it’s too late.”

Williams said Faith is an anomaly. “Most people don’t feel comfortable talking in public about any form of dementia, she said, “but Sally is just right for this role … I’m sure she will inspire many!”

After retiring, Faith had planned to write a book about her three decades in the political arena. But with her recent diagnosis, the subject of her book, which she hopes will be out at the end of the year, has changed dramatically. Its title is likely to be “I’m Losing My Memory. I’m Not Losing My Mind.”       

“When all this happened, it’s like what do I tell my friends?” Faith said. “I told them, ‘I found out I have early dementia, and I’m going to write about how I’m dealing with it.’ Then, there’s dead silence. No one knows what to say. A few of them said, ‘I will keep your secret. I won’t tell anyone.’ After a couple of them said that I thought, ‘Wait a minute! I’m not a secret. I have things to say.’ 

“My call is to say, ‘Hey! You’re not the only one out there!’”

 Faith said the book is “powerful, and it’s also painful” but it portrays the need for humor in our lives.

“I’ve got things to make them laugh,” Faith said. “The more we laugh, the more our heart listens and our head opens up. So, humor just has to be included. It’s sad that some people can’t laugh.”

Her advice, which she will share with participants at the walk, is simple: Don’t be embarrassed and make the most of the time that you’ve got.

Walk to End Alzheimer’s Promise Garden

To participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s: Participants can signup at the Sept. 25 event; however, it is highly recommended that they register in advance at ALZ.org/sccwalk. Walk participation is free, but donations are the goal. Walkers can participate as part of a team or as an individual, in memory or in honor of a loved one or not.

Each walker will be given a flower in one of four colors to signify their reason for participation. For instance, Faith could have a purple one for someone who has lost someone to the illness or a blue one for someone living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. The sight of those flowers en mass is a signature of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

Williams added that there will be four separate entrances to the walks, and there will be free food, drink and other surprises for participants!

RBG Tourney Big Hit on All Counts

 

(This is another of my paid published articles from some 25-30 years ago…as I have always enjoyed covering events of a charitable nature, helping with the St. Louis Volunteer Meetup group events and doing P.R. writing for not-for-profit/charitable organizations.)

     The jingle, ‘You deserve a break today’ could not have been more fitting for the third annual Rubin, Brown, Gornstein and Co. Coed Softball Invitational played Saturday and Sunday at Shaw Park.

     After experiencing 100-degree temperatures at the tournament for two consecutive years, this year’s participants received a reprieve.  A break in the heat wave brought comfortable temperatures in the 70’s and low 80’s for this year’s activities.  The tournament was also a big break for the Ronald McDonald House, raising $7,400 for that charitable organization located in the Central West End.

     “The purpose of the tournament is two-fold,” said Steve Hays, the creator of the event and auditing CPA manager at RBGF and Co. “One, to raise money for charity, and two, it’s a good avenue to get all the clients together.  The first year, we held it for the Dream Factory, and this is the second year for the Ronald McDonald House.  We know they do a lot of good things in St. Louis, are kids are of interest to all of us.”

     According to its executive director, Libby Gutberlet, the Ronald McDonald House is a temporary home-away-from-home for out-of-town families with children who require care at St. Louis hospitals for serious illnesses like cancer and cardio transplants.

     Since the Ronald McDonald House charges just $5 night for a stay, contributions are necessary to maintain the 90-year-old building and to pay for electricity, sheets and laundry facilities.

     “We’re a small charity,” Gutberlet said.  “Since only 30 per cent of our income comes from the McDonald Corporation, most of our donations come from softball, golf and other fundraisers.  We depend on community businesses because we don’t have the budget or mailing list that major charities have.  The Ronald McDonald House is important because without it, out-of-town families who couldn’t afford hotel facilities used to sleep on hospital floors, in lobbies or parking garages.”

     RBG and Co. is no stranger to athletic events. The Clayton-based CPA firm has a special trophy room on its premises that is filled with mementos from its company softball, soccer and basketball team successes.  One of its men’s softball teams has captured the Shaw Park League championship some nine years in succession.

     That same competitive nature was evident in RBG and Co’s coed softball tournament.  Beth Friend pitched a four-hitter as University City-based Tomco blanked Midwest Petroleum, 3-0 to reach the finals against Cord Moving and Storage.

     “I haven’t had much sports background,” said Friend, who actually works at nearby Gershman Investment Corporation.  “I’m only here because my husband works here (and plays third base).  I thought I did pretty good this game.  I won yesterday, too, but it wasn’t a shutout.  I might even try a softball team next year.”

     Another Tomco star was shortstop Joe Doyle, a Webster Groves resident who walked and singled in his two plate appearances against Midwest Petroleum before going three-for-three with two RBIs in Tomco’s 10-5 loss to Cord in the title game.  Dave Johnson, Jim Vorio and Dave Bolesta had two hits apiece as Tomco rallied from a 10-0 second inning deficit.

Parc Place of Vlasis unveiled at Ballwin P&Z meeting

 (This appeared on July 8 in West Newsmagazine)

Now that firm plans are in place for the new Ballwin police department building, to be located on Kehrs Mill Bend Court behind the Regions Bank at 14915 Manchester Road, a good deal of attention is being focused on what to do with the old government building site and its surrounding area.

In fact, that was the lone topic of discussion at the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) meeting on Tuesday, July 6. The meeting culminated in the initial approval of the three applications for the proposed Parc Place of Vlasis.

Aerial view of proposed Parc Place at Vlasis (Source: V Three Studios LLC)

Attorney George Restovich, representing Ballwin resident Brent Evans and Landau Group LLC, gave the opening remarks regarding the project, which will:

• Consolidate three lots at 14811, 14819 and 14821 Manchester Road into a single lot.
• Rezone the resulting lot into commercial property.
• Implement a Manchester Road revitalization overlay district (MRD).

Along with approval on each of those items, the developer sought site plan approval.

“This project takes the three properties that are currently not in use and tackles very difficult topographic hurdles to create an entrance to Vlasis Park; a gateway so to speak that is unique, visually appealing and inviting. It also satisfies the need for more affordable housing of the highest quality,” Restovich said.

Rendering of the proposed Parc Place at Vlasis (Source: V Three Studios LLC)

According to Gabe McKee, design principal at architecture firm V Three Studios, the proposed five-story building would feature 197 rental units; green rooftops above the parking garage, gym and yoga workout areas; lounges; an event space; an outdoor area suitable for a food truck court; and a retail café on the ground level, the only non-residential segment of the plan.

Commissioner Grant Alexander expressed concern over the residential nature of the development.

“Part of (the MRD), as I understand it, we’re trying to promote this whole mixed-use and economic development piece,” Alexander said. “This is obviously heavily skewed toward multi-family with a very small retail faction. Toward that economic piece, I understand there’s no written requirement, but to see more of that might be quite appealing. When I see multi-use I kind of think of The Brentwood Promenade. I see the first level that’s pedestrian and it’s all walk-up. Then, everything above that floor is multi-family.”

McKee responded that what is being currently considered as a utility section could later be converted to another retail space.

Rendering of the proposed Parc Place at Vlasis (Source: V Three Studios LLC)

Another major bone of contention was parking. The developer is proposing 237 parking spots for 197 total rental units. P&Z chair Mark Weaver noted that elsewhere in the city, a formula of 1.5 parking spots per dwelling unit is used.

“If they did that, your apartments would have 294 spots,” Weaver said. “That means you’re 57 spots short.”

McKee noted that a 1.2 multiplier was used to determine parking needs, based on current market rates for similar Ballwin developments. 

“There was not an actual coded parking requirement for a building of this type, so we looked at what market rate was for the area,” McKee said. “There is the ability to fit more spaces, but as you can see from the site plan, we’re close to maxing out because of some of the amenities, such as a food truck court.”

Weaver was not convinced with that assessment, noting that the proposed number of spaces would be suitable for mostly one-bedroom and some two-bedroom apartments, but that’s not what is proposed for Parc Place of Vlasis. 

The breakdown of the proposed development is 22 one-bedroom/one-bath units, 26 two-bedroom/one-bath units, 99 two-bedroom/two-bath units and 22 three-bedroom/two-bath units. McKee deemed the parking sufficient for guests and tenants with up to two vehicles, as well as a modest number of parking spaces for retail locations.

In regard to traffic concerns, Scott Goforth, also with G&W Engineering, made reference to a traffic study by the Lochmueller Group, which looked at Manchester Road as well as access points on Seven Trails Drive and Andrews Parkway. The onsite traffic report was adjusted back to 2016 data to account for the effect of COVID-19.

The report showed the traffic numbers would not appreciably change; however, commissioner Olivia Pieknik mentioned that there were bound to be additional delays and perhaps decent periods of cars blocking traffic at both the nearby QuikTrip and Wendy’s.

“I’ve been in the business for 16 years now and peak hours in the a.m. and p.m. were almost always the same no matter where I went in the city,” Goforth said. “It’s 35-45 minutes, then it winds down after that.”

Other issues addressed included the likelihood of more stop signs surrounding the complex, a potential crosswalk at Andrews Parkway and a potential nearby bus stop for children attending Ballwin Elementary.

If approved by the Ballwin Board of Aldermen, a groundbreaking could take place in the first half of 2022. Construction is expected to take at least six to eight months and the complex should be move-in ready by spring or summer 2023.