CLAYTON 鈥 Wellston officials have given a St. 亚洲无码 County agency a deadline to come up with plans for the real estate it owns there. The city hopes the move will finally spur some action from a county office that it says has had 25 years to attract new jobs and development to one of the region鈥檚 poorest communities.
The Wellston City Council in November passed an ordinance requiring the St. 亚洲无码 County Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, which owns two large redevelopment sites along Page Avenue and dozens of vacant homes and lots in the city of 1,500 people, to submit plans for its land by March.
The ordinance also requires construction begin in 18 months and the LCRA have a 鈥渟ubstantial portion鈥 of its property under construction within three years.
If the county LCRA misses those deadlines, it would lose its authority to operate within the city, according to the ordinance.
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Among other provisions, the ordinance also names a new nonprofit started by Wellston Mayor Nate Griffin and City Clerk Janice Trigg 鈥 the Wellston Community Empowerment Corporation 鈥 as the 鈥渕aster developer鈥 for a new citywide redevelopment plan. That power had previously been granted to the St. 亚洲无码 County LCRA.
鈥淭he city has provided (the St. 亚洲无码 County LCRA) a right to come in and develop their property based upon time schedules; they just need to get off their butt and do it,鈥 said Lloyd Jordan, a lawyer who is advising Wellston officials on the matter.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e sat on this project for 25 years, so you cannot let Wellston waste away like that,鈥 Jordan said.
The deadlines and designation of the nonprofit as developer were included in an ordinance adopting an updated redevelopment plan for Wellston, an action the St. 亚洲无码 County LCRA had been urging Wellston to take for over a year. The county LCRA has been unable to buy or sell property in Wellston because Missouri law requires LCRAs operating in municipalities to have a redevelopment plan adopted by the municipality. The old plan expired at the end of 2017.
The county LCRA has had a significant presence in Wellston for decades, largely because it spent tens of millions of dollars remediating two polluted factory sites along Page Avenue. Those sites now offer a combined 45 acres for redevelopment.
It also has rehabbed one former factory into the MET Center, which has hosted job-training programs over the years. The Partnership also opened a small business incubator in the city.
But the two large sites have not been developed, and for years were entangled in political scandal after the LCRA鈥檚 old leadership sold them to major donors of former St. 亚洲无码 County Executive Steve Stenger, who went to prison for corruption.
The St. 亚洲无码 County LCRA has also taken title to dozens of abandoned homes in the once-thriving inner ring suburb, which lost more than 80% of its population in the last 70 years. Transactions involving those parcels have stalled, too. The Normandy School District for two years has wanted to acquire several properties near Normandy High School from the LCRA for a renovation project but has been unable to do so, LCRA leadership said, because of a lack of a redevelopment plan.
The St. 亚洲无码 Economic Development Partnership, which operates the LCRA, has tried to keep the impasse quiet while prodding Wellston to act. Over the summer, the St. 亚洲无码 County LCRA board passed a resolution adopting the development plan contingent on Wellston鈥檚 approval of the plan during closed session. It also offered to donate several parcels it owns to the city and approve the Normandy transaction, according to the resolutions. It only made the resolutions public after the newspaper asked about the dispute.
This week, the LCRA moved up its regular bimonthly meeting, which had been scheduled for Jan. 24, to Tuesday. Most of its business was discussed in closed session.
Partnership CEO Rodney Crim was unavailable for an interview about the Wellston ordinance, his office said Tuesday, but in a statement Crim said he was 鈥渆ncouraged鈥 by Wellston鈥檚 adoption of the redevelopment plan.
鈥淭he ordinance accomplishes many objectives of the (LCRA) board,鈥 Crim鈥檚 statement read. 鈥淲e look forward to working with the City of Wellston. At this time, we are still evaluating some of the requirements in the ordinance.鈥
LCRA board member Sam Shannon, who is also a Wellston City Council member, said the board approved the property transfer to Normandy schools in closed session on Tuesday. He said not much else involving the ordinance and its conditions came up, and he and other Wellston officials will wait and see whether the Partnership can come up with a plan for its real estate in the city.
鈥淲e had to make a move to get things started,鈥 Shannon said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 in their court now.鈥
Jordan, the city鈥檚 legal adviser, said the deadlines for the county LCRA can be amended if Crim鈥檚 office is showing 鈥済ood faith鈥 on development plans in the city but that the county鈥檚 鈥渓and banking鈥 in Wellston is not fair to its residents.
鈥淓verybody hopes and prays that the LCRA finally stands up and does some of the things that they are required to do,鈥 Jordan said. 鈥淭he mayor wants to do whatever he can to get the city moving. He鈥檚 not trying to draw any lines in the sand. He鈥檚 saying, 鈥楤e responsible.鈥欌