By Pauline Masson –
Who knew that a battle over rezoning a piece of land that had everybody questioning everybody else’s motives would morph into an appeal for help for rezoning opponents and for Pacific’s most unconnected residents – the homeless?
Barb Alt caught everybody off guard at the Sept. 20 board of aldermen meeting. In a brief but heartfelt appeal she argued that a little compassion could bring out the best in city leaders. Why not do the right thing, she asked.
With Sara Gendron absent and James Cleeve voting no, in a 4-1 vote Aldermen approved the ordinance that rezoned the 48-acre Barb Alt property from non-urban to light industrial so the sale of the property for an industrial park can now move forward.
But property owner Barb Alt did not know that rezoning would be approved when she stepped up to the speaker podium to address aldermen. Her property had been fought over in emotional claims of success and fear of failure for the past four city meeting. But now, Alt said she wanted aldermen to consider helping the Candlewick Lane residents – who were her opponents in the rezoning siege. She said she would leave the discussion on the rezoning to others.
Proponents and opponents of the proposed rezoning repeated their former arguments and aldermen promised that they would make sure the truck traffic and surface water issues would be dealt with when plans to develop the property come before them. But Alt said she had something different on her mind.
“I have a couple of other things I want to discuss that may be related to that,” she said.
The two things she wanted aldermen to consider was providing help for the residents of Candlewick Lane by replacing a gate that once stood at the end of Candlewick barring vehicle traffic into Industrial Drive. And she wanted help for the city’s homeless.
“We’ve been told that the gate cannot be put back up on Candlewick and the City cannot ticket trucks driving on Candlewick because we don’t really have a truck route at this time,” she said. “If we can’t ticket trucks going down Candlewick because the truck route is not available why should we ticket and criminalize homeless people who have nowhere to go,” she said.
“And why should we ticket and criminalize the legal residents who allow the homeless to live in their property, in trailers, barns, or whatever?”
She said the city’s inaction on truck traffic on Candlewick Lane was baffling, especially when there was a solution at hand.
“We hear that we don’t have a truck route because the Denton Road Bridge is out. But we have signs that say First Street to Jefferson Street to Denton Road is the truck route to the industrial parks. So why do we say the truck route doesn’t exist? Can somebody tell me that?”
“The Denton Road bridge is going to be replaced across Brush Creek north of Jefferson Street. And Jefferson leads into the Meramec Industrial Park and Denton Road,” she said. “Wasn’t Jefferson Street built to provide a way for the trucks to get to the industrial parks without having to go across the Denton Road bridge? That’s what I recall. Correct me if I’m wrong. Is there some reason that that still doesn’t work?”
Regardless of the status of the Denton Road bridge, there is a solution to truck traffic on Candlewick Lane that the city ignores – the gate once stood at the end of Candlewick.
“Why not put the gate back up and give these Candlewick people some relief from all the truck traffic they are experiencing?” Alt asked.
But her most emotional appeal for action by the aldermen called for compassion for homeless citizens that have been in the news recently.
“If we can’t ticket trucks, why should we ticket the homeless?” She asked. “Where should the homeless people go?”
“In many cities and places in the world, temporary housing is the best that people ever get. I know we’re not those places but can we show a little bit of compassion,” she said
She also addressed the fear that some people have of homeless, which is undoubtedly part of the reasoning of Police Chief Scott Melies, who is trying to get aldermen to pass a law that would criminalize homelessness.
“Why? Why?” Alt said. “I know that some of these people are addicts. Some of them are thieves. But not all of them are. Many are not. Any why should we penalize those who aren’t for those who are? “
“And why not allow the legal owners of property to live in temporary housing while building their homes?”
She ended her remarks with simple appeal.
“Can we please do something to help the homeless people and those who are trying to build their houses?”
The three-aldermen Operations Committee will discuss the details of the proposed ordinance that outlaws homelessness in the city at 1:00 p.m. Sept. 30. Melies said he plans to be there to continue to campaign for his version of the bill. The meeting in the city hall council chamber will open to the public
The statement that we don’t have a truck route is disinformation that Nemeth keeps preaching. There actually is, by ordinance, a truck route. All they would have to do is direct truckers there and then detour it closer to the Denton rd bridge. I don’t understand why this is so hard for our city leaders to figure out. The signs all have no trucks this way, but they don’t tell them which way to go!
No one at City Hall will venture forward to say why there is no truck route available, It’s like they are afraid they got caught doing a ‘naughty deed ‘ .Maybe someone laid out a truck route, and an ordnance to collect fines, using a State owned and maintained highway with out getting proper approval from MODOT.
As for as the Chief’s ‘ uninhabitable structures’ ordnance.
This either him looking for excuses why he can’t suppress crime in Pacific or he just want’s to bring more of his ‘ West County Karen B.S. ” to small town Pacific, or both.
There are so many groups and agencies willing to help, the City officials just don’t care to take the time to make an effort to help the homeless, To much more ‘portent stuff to do.
I have said it before; he and the Board should read Amos 8:4-7 to learn what happens to those who trample on the down trodden.
I believe Jesus said when he his feet were being anointed with oil and the comment was made that the oil should have gone to helping the poor, the poor you will always have . . . . I think there was also a phrase, “blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Not being a religious follower of the Bible, I may be wrong on these statements and someone can correct me if so. Of course, life is different today with massive drug use and addiction, both federal and state lawmakers skirting their sworn duty in favor of the almighty buck, white-collar crime that goes unpenalized, etc., etc.
Paraphrasing Amos 8:4-7 the deeds of those wreck the weak and trample on the poor will be remembered by the Lord.
Awesome post.