Both the Riverfront Times and Post-Dispatch had articles this week detailing the trouble we are having reaching a fair agreement to operate the new O’Fallon Park Recreation Center.
From my perspective, this is not about politics. This is about numbers.
There are not the votes at the Board of Aldermen to pass the agreement in its current form. The Aldermanic Black Caucus (representing 12 wards, including all of North St. Louis) sent a statement to the Mayor’s Office last week voicing its unity in fighting for a better deal for our constituents. And when this bill appeared in front of the Parks Committee, three of the four South Side aldermen voted “No” or “Present.”
That’s 15 aldermen, a majority, that have publicly expressed displeasure with the current agreement.
One major reason why a majority of aldermen are dissatisfied with the current agreement is also about numbers.
As the bill stands, the Mayor’s Office has asked us to approve a 10-year deal committing $1.2 million a year plus, several hundred thousand dollars of upfront costs. Of those funds, $5 million has no presently identified source and presumably would come at the expense of other city services.
Additionally, that large subsidy (roughly 60 percent of the annual operating budget) is not reflected in the monthly fees that citizens will be asked to pay to access this 100 percent taxpayer-funded facility. Those fees are as high as $44 per month for an adult and $40 per month for a senior.
It is my top priority to see that this beautiful facility is opened quickly, but under terms that allow it to be accessed by all city residents, regardless of income-especially children and seniors.
Just two things need to happen to get this Rec Center agreement passed.
A clear, fair fee schedule outlining exactly what low-income people will be asked to pay to access this public facility has to be added to the agreement.
And a fair agreement (with a clear funding source) needs to be reached that allows the Boys & Girls Club of St. Louis to operate programming for kids at their normal rates of approximately $25 per year per child.
We have been requesting these two items from the Mayor’s Office for months and still have not received them.
Until we do receive these additions to the agreement, the votes are not there to pass it at the Board of Aldermen. And I will not push it.
French is 21st Ward Alderman for the City of St. Louis.
