Thursday, May 31, 2012
New information from the St. Louis County Board of Elections suggests that a special election for the city in the fallout of plans for a Walmart Superstore would cost between $8,000 and $10,000.
Following the Ellisville City Council's decision to permit a Walmart Superstore, a recall aimed at removing the council members who supported the project could cost taxpayers between $8,000 and $10,000, a St. Louis County Board of Elections representative said Wednesday. "That would be a minimum," elections director Rita Heard-Days said of the estimated expense. Efforts to remove select city council members from office started earlier this month following the city council's vote to grant the developers of a Walmart Superstore a TIF or tax increment financing district. The TIF will allow the developer, The Sansone Group, to capture half of all new sales tax growth in the area of the project located southwest of Manchester and Kiefer Creek …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Employees at Westgate Animal Hospital and a Valvoline service center located within the project site said they are not aware of any timeline for the project, which will ultimately replace those businesses.
Small business owners and employees throughout the Ellisville area Monday said the benefits of increased traffic due to a newly permitted Walmart might be outweighed by competitive pricing. A mix of enthusiasm for potentially revitalized business and concern about a negative impact on competing stores comes less than a week after the Ellisville City Council voted in favor constructing a Walmart southwest of Manchester and Kiefer Creek roads. “Overall, I’m not a proponent of Walmart," said Jim Randall, owner of ASAP BBQ in Ballwin, located less than a mile east of the Walmart project site. "Walmart and small business don’t go real well together.” Randall said part of his concern is the company’s relationship with its vendors, which …
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Mayor Adam Paul reprimanded fellow city council members for approving the Walmart project immediately after voting late Wednesday.
The Ellisville City Council narrowly approved plans regarding tax incentives for the developers of a new Walmart, as well as a relocation policy compensating residents to be displaced by the development, at a heavily attended city council meeting late Wednesday. The proposals were approved 5 votes to 2, with Mayor Adam Paul and Councilmember Michelle Murray dissenting. The five votes in favor of the project fulfilled the minimum number required after the city’s TIF commission in March failed to give a positive recommendation for the project. Paul, who was elected in April after a campaign centered around opposition to the then-proposed Walmart, reprimanded his fellow council members immediately after their supporting votes. "For you all …
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Ellisville Mayor Adam Paul said Wednesday's expected votes have the chance to "split the city up or make us stronger."
Residents in Ellisville should know Wednesday evening whether a controversial project involving a Walmart will in fact move forward, Ellisville Mayor Adam Paul said this week. “Unless something changes, I believe they’re going to be read and voted on, unless an unforeseen event causes a delay,” Paul said of the Walmart proposals. “I don’t see the point in delaying this any further." Previously scheduled votes on the issues surrounding tax incentives for the developers of the Walmart, as well as related legislation setting terms for relocating residents in an apartment complex located at the planned site, were twice pushed back from expected voting dates. The proposals before city council members would create a tax increment financing or …
Friday, April 27, 2012
A group called the Ellisville Article 9 Alliance is seeking to have members of the Ellisville City Council recalled, alleging that support for a Walmart in town does not fairly represent the city's residents.
A group of Ellisville residents met Thursday with several goals related to a possible Walmart in Ellisville, including an effort to remove from office elected officials who support the project. The group, called the Ellisville Article 9 Alliance, drew about 40 residents to West County Lanes, where they also discussed efforts to help approve state legislation that could impact whether Walmart is built in Ellisville, in addition to efforts to forbid the city's use of eminent domain. "As you know, our elected leaders here in Ellisville are not listening to us regarding the Walmart TIF," group organizer Liz Schmidt said in reference to the related tax increment financing proposal. "So we're going to take matters into our own hands, and our …
Thursday, April 19, 2012
The loss of the electronics retailer Best Buy, which is scheduled to close within a month, was a major talking point of Wednesday night's Ellisville City Council meeting.
Best Buy in Ellisville, which is scheduled to close within a month, was a major talking point of Wednesday night's meeting of the Ellisville City Council, which again deferred voting on a TIF for Walmart developers. Although the council did not cast any final votes on the deal, the evening did preview council members' stances on the issue, which newly sworn-in Mayor Adam Paul said he was in no hurry to pursue. Paul was sworn in Wednesday evening after being April 3 elections, which proved successful for Paul through a campaign centered around opposing Walmart in Ellisville. The Sansone Group, who is facilitating the project with Walmart, would collect half of all new sales tax generated at the site under the proposed deal, with …
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Ellisville Mayor-Elect Adam Paul is expected to be sworn in at the city council's April 18 meeting.
With the support of all but one city council member, current Mayor Matt Pirrello said Wednesday night's scheduled vote regarding a tax incentive for a possible Ellisville Walmart will wait until Mayor-Elect Adam Paul is sworn in. The motion to continue the vote until the next council meeting—the second delay of a vote for the proposed tax increment financing district—received a mixed response from the capacity crowd in attendance at Ellisville City Hall. In addition to the proposal regarding a tax incentive for the Sansone Group—the development firm facilitating the project—the council was scheduled to vote on a related proposal that hinges on the TIF ordinance's passage which would give households within Clarkchester Apartments, which sit…
The Ellisville City Council's last meeting under current Mayor Matt Pirrello on Wednesday is scheduled to include a controversial vote that would give a tax incentive to a pending Walmart project.
The Ellisville City Council is poised to vote on at least two proposals Wednesday night regarding tax incentives for a possible Walmart Superstore, which a developer for the project previously said will not be constructed without the sought after TIF. If the TIF or tax increment financing measure is approved, half of all sales tax dollars created by the proposed site exceeding current sales tax revenues generated there, as well as 100 percent of increases in real property values, will be allotted into a fund under the developer’s control earmarked for infrastructure improvements to the surrounding area. Sources close to the project said that because the property does contain existing developments, any grossed revenue would almost …
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Ellisville Mayor Matt Pirrello said he couldn't predict the outcome of a vote scheduled for Wednesday aimed at giving Walmart developers what they've called a vital tax incentive.
Despite confidence in its approval earlier this month, Ellisville Mayor Matt Pirrello said he couldn't predict whether a proposal up for vote Wednesday aimed at giving developers of a Walmart they've called a "vital" tax incentive will ultimately get approved. The TIF proposal would allow the Sansone Group, a development agency who would facilitate the proposed Walmart near Manchester and Kiefer Creek roads, to access half of all new sales tax revenues generated at the site, with the stipulation that the revenues be applied to infrastructure improvements for the surrounding area. Mayor Matt Pirrello said earlier this month that the Ellisville City Council had enough members supporting the TIF or Tax Increment Financing proposal for it to …
Friday, March 16, 2012
Ellisville Mayor Matt Pirrello and mayoral candidate Adam Paul discuss the proposal meant to draw a Walmart into the city's east end on a recent appearance on KMOX NewsRadio.
Appearing on a St. Louis-based news radio program, Ellisville mayoral candidate Adam Paul and Mayor Matt Pirrello discussed a measure meant to attract a Walmart development into the city. By using a TIF or tax increment financing, the City would allow Walmart’s developers to retain half of the newly-created sales tax dollars generated on the site. Pirrello, who is leaving his executive seat and running for a council position, recently said the project would create valuable sales tax revenue for the city; Ellisville city staff familiar with the project, which would be developed under the Sansone Group, said it would annually generate about $500,000. The Ellisville City Council could vote on that measure as soon as its March 21 meeting. To …
E. Schmidt
2:07 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
Then the attorneys for the locals and internationals representing the "union thugs" you mentioned will finally know where to direct their nuisance defamation lawsuits. Stepping out of the shadows in a big way, no? No more hiding...good for you. more ›