PRSR

T ST

DC

r Rt S

rt U

.S. P

osta

ge P

AID

Loui

sian

a, M

o.Pe

rmit

No.

11

Read more on Page 9A about the Mehlville Optimist Clubs Student of the Month.T

IME-

DA

TED

M

ATE

RIA

L

Name this tune and wina free classified ad. Details

in this weeks classified section.

Call P

ublis

hing

, Inc

.99

77 L

in F

erry

Driv

eSt

. Lou

is, M

o. 6

3123

Sierra Club brings Beyond Coal effort to faith groups, Nixon

Oakville panel looking at incorporationafter favorable reaction to Haefners bill

Volume 17, Number 8 1 Section, 16 Pages Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014 callnewspapers.com9977 Lin Ferry DriveSt. Louis, MO 63123

Lindbergh bond refunding to save district taxpayers $3.5 million

Planning Commission sets hearingon changing notification procedures

Calendar...................... Page 2AOur town ..................... Page 3AOpinions ..................... Page 4AOakville news ............. Page 6ACrestwood news ......... Page 7ALindbergh news .......... Page 8ASchool news ............... Page 9AClassifieds ................... Page 11ACrossword puzzle ....... Page 12ACounty news ............... Page 15A

Inside the CallThe Metropolitan St. Louis

Sewer District Board of Trustees has twice rejected plans, strong-ly supported by MSD adminis-tration, that union representa-tives say would freeze union workers salaries. Read this and other web-exclusive stories by visiting the Calls website at www.callnewspapers.com.

Web exclusive

Crestwood aldermen OKnew business-first panelBy KARI WILLIAMSStaff Reporter

The Crestwood Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to approve the for-mation of a business-first advisory coun-cil for the city at its meeting last week.

Mayor Jeff Schlink introduced the prop-osition to the board at its Jan. 28 meet-ing with the idea that Crestwood would partner with the Crestwood-Sunset Hills Area Chamber of Commerce.

The end-goal for the panel would be to (See PANEL, Page 7A)

By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor

Lindbergh Schools taxpayers will save more than $3.5 million with last weeks refunding of general obligation bonds originally issued in 2007.

The savings to taxpayers totals more than $1.8 million over the original estimate of $1.67 million, the districts inde-

pendent financial adviser, Joy Howard of WM Financial Strategies, told the Board of Education Feb. 11.

Earlier that day, the district sold roughly $32.65 mil-lion in bonds to refund bonds issued in 2007 as part of Lindberghs Proposition R 2006 that funded building re-pairs and safety upgrades.

The Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt a

resolution approving the sale of the bonds to Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. of Milwaukee, Wis. The companys true interest cost a combined measure of the interest and underwriting fees of 2.741089 percent was the lowest of 14 bids submitted. The savings to district taxpayers totals $3,503,832.

(See REFUNDING, Page 8A)

By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter

In the wake of coal-ash spills in other states, the Sierra Club continued its Beyond Coal campaign against Ameren Missouri and its Oakville coal-fired plant last week, taking its case to faith groups and Gov. Jay Nixon.

On Feb. 11, Metropolitan Congregations United, or MCU, spon-sored a forum at Mary, Mother of the Church that focused on the Meramec Energy Center, Amerens coal-fired plant nine miles away in Oakville. MCU invited Mary, Mother parishioners, a sci-entist, an environmental lawyer, the head of a faith group and the head of the Missouri Sierra Club to speak about Meramec.

Ameren deposits coal ash left over from its energy production at Meramec into settlement ponds, the majority of which are unlined.

It has submitted a tentative five-year plan to the Missouri Depart-ment of Natural Resources, or DNR, to build a coal-ash landfill on top of its current coal-ash ponds.

Chemical engineer Matthew Factor explained how coal plants operate and how they affect the surrounding environment. He cited a Feb. 2 incident in North Carolina, in which a pipe from an unlined Duke Energy coal-ash pond collapsed and spilled up to 82,000 gal-lons of coal ash into the Dan River, which provides water to sev-eral cities in Virginia. A larger 2008 spill from a Tennessee Valley Authority plant is still being cleaned up, he added.

Washington University School of Law professor Maxine Lipeles, who also co-directs the schools Environmental Law Clinic, gave an overview of coal plants and the law, noting that the coal industry

(See COAL, Page 5A)

By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter

When Oakville residents showed up by the hundreds last summer for a series of town-hall meetings on the federally funded National Church Residences senior apart-ment complex at 6050 Telegraph Road, they contended that the countys notifica-

tion procedures on zoning need to change.Based on that feedback, a committee of

county officials has recommended that the county change its notification standards and mail out more postcards in advance of the county Planning Commissions zoning hearings.

(See NOTIFICATION, Page 15A)

By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter

The positive reception that state legisla-tion favorable to some Oakville residents hopes to incorporate as a new city has re-ceived at the Missouri Legislature has them focusing on that possibility rather than forming a new county, at least for now.

Citizens for Responsive Government, the steering committee of Oakville residents looking to form a new city in the unin-corporated area or break off into a new county, met for the second time last week.

Rep. Marsha Haefner, R-Oakville, said the positive response she received for her

(See OAKVILLE, Page 6A)

Gloria Lloyd photo

State treasurer tours Jefferson BarracksBrig. Gen. David Newman, right, chief of the Missouri National Guard Joint

Staff, explains the history of a 150-year-old staircase at Jefferson Barracks to Missouri Treasurer Clint Zweifel during Zweifels tour of the facility last week. Since being appointed to lead the Missouri Military Partnership by Gov. Jay Nixon in January, Zweifel has toured military installations and met with mili-tary leaders across the state. Read more at www.callnewspapers.com.

Page 8A - Call Publishing, Thursday, February 20, 2014

Taxpayers sole benefi ciariesof Lindbergh bond refunding(Continued from Page 1A)

Chief Financial Of cer Charles Triplett told the board, ... Weve done this several times before when the opportunity to get a lower interest rate presents itself, and we did that today. We used a competitive bid pro-cess to make this refunding available. That has also been very successful for us, and had great success this morning, as well ...

The 14 bids the district received was a record for Lindbergh, Howard noted.

... The most bids Ive ever had for you in the past was 13, so we beat it by one this time, she said. Typically, the more bids you receive, the better the interest cost, and it de nitely proved to be true in this case ...

The true interest cost ranged from the winning bid of 2.741089 percent to the highest bid of 3.286533 percent.

... If you look at the best bid and the next bid, they were very close, and even just with a few basis points difference because it was a very large issue, that difference equated to $134,000, Howard said. And the difference between the best bid and the worst bid was over $1,900,000.

Now the worst bid happened to be pretty close to the gures that I was using. I tend to be a little bit conservative, but on top of that, interest rates did improve somewhat since I started working on this for you ... I had given you an estimated savings of $1,672,000, and the savings that we have as of today theyre not nal. Theyre actually going to be a little bit higher worst-case scenario is $3,503,000, which is

a difference of $1,830,000, more or less ...Howard told the board the savings can

be attributed to the fact that the district received 14 bids for the refunding.

Of the savings, she said, So its huge, and Im really happy about it because it really improves your pattern of debt service and will de nitely help you keep your tax rates down ... This is like phenomenal. Im always happy when I can deliver better sav-ings than I expected, but for me, I would have been happy to say, Oh, its $100,000 better. This is just kind of shocking ...

This weeks bond refunding is the eighth the district has done since 1998, saving taxpayers a total of $8,819,568.

Of those eight refundings, Triplett said, ... Weve refunded almost $87 million of principal ... We have saved taxpayers more than $8.8 million in interest off of this. Thats more than a 10-percent sav-ings from the principal on the bonds that were issued. Again, were happy to do that anytime we possibly can and get the best value for the taxpayers ...

Superintendent Jim Simpson noted that district taxpayers are the sole bene ciaries of the bond refundings the district has done since 1998.

I would mention for the audience, I know the board knows this ... This is total taxpayer savings. Some people think, well, the district saved $8 million, what are they going to spend it on? Theres no spend-ing it on anything. This is just like your mortgage dropping. Its just taxpayers will not have to shell out the $8 million. The district has not bene ted anything other than our desire to help taxpayers.

Refunding

The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.

Call Today for a Free Initial Consultation

Law Of ce of Robin L. Kaiser, LLC10805 Sunset Of ce Dr., Suite 300 St. Louis, MO 63127

(314) 238-1266www.rlklaw.com

Member of the Missouri Bar, Bar Association of Metropolitian St. Louis

American Bar Association, WealthCounsel, Elder Counsel

Practicing in Estate Planning & Administration

Medicaid Planning Prenuptial Planning

Robin L. KaiserA T T O R N E Y

Fine Quality Jewelry At

Lower Prices!Celebrating 38 Years!

11802 Tesson Ferry Rd314-842-5544

gulianojewelry.comOpen Tuesday - Saturday

WE BUY GOLD

( J o e t h e J e w e l e r )Guliano Jewelry

Come in for a FREE Jewelry Cleaning!

COUPONWatch Battery Changed only

Excludes backs with screws.

$5!COUPON

$10 OFFJewelry Repairs

Totalling $35 or more

I Forever Do

Specializing In Retirement Planning

AndLump Sum Distributions

Stocks BondsMutual Funds

Financial, Estate& Tax Planning

IRAs Small Business Planning

Insurance & AssetManagement

THE EXPERIENCE YOU EXPECT, THE SERVICE YOU DESERVE.

Front Row: Pat Beelman, Richard W. Basler, Denise EssmyerBack Row: Daniel J. Basler, Darin F. Basler, Dirk Basler

Richard W. Basler, CFP Darin F. Basler, CFP Daniel J. Basler, Financial AdvisorRegistered Investment Advisor Representatives

Dirk Basler Patricia Beelman Denise EssmyerClient Service Managers

Convenientlylocated near

So. Lindbergh& I-55

Were Committed To Your Financial

Future.

314-845-1900 4163 Crescent Dr., 63129

Since 1976

Looking fora way to save?You need to insureboth your autoand your home,so why not save money in the process?Call today for a free,no-obligation look atauto and home discountsfrom American Family.

Daniel Fowler Agency, Inc.5647 Telegraph Rd Ste 4

Saint Louis, MO63129-4200

dfowler@amfam.com(314) 846-1700

American Family Mutual Insurance Companyand its SubsidiariesAmerican Standard Insurance Company of WisconsinAmerican Standard Insurance Company of OhioAmerican Family Insurance CompanyHome Offi ce Madison, WI 53783amfam.com

2008 001726 Rev. 11/08

INSURER Auto HomeBoats Motorcycles

Life Health Business

Charles Meyer Insurance5516 Telegraph Rd. 894-1313

info@charlesmeyerins.com

Christine Meyer Blood

Save Money. Be Protected.

Since 1972

E. D. D. M.Every Door Direct Mailfor 6 per address!

Call for details!(314)843-0102

Mailed to Zip Codes:

63129, 63128, 63127,

63126, 63125, 63123,

& 63010

Concord Call Green Park Call Oakville Call

SunCrest Call Mail Call Welcome Call

Call Publishing, Thursday, February 20, 2014 - Page 4A

9977 Lin Ferry Drive, St. Louis, MO 63123(314) 843-0102 843-0508 (fax)

Published on Thursdays by Call Publishing Inc.Statement of purpose:

We dedicate ourselves to the public, holding its welfare in the highest regard and standing firmly in opposition to any who would oppose it.

Call Direct Mail Newspapers

Publisher: Deborah Bakerdbaker@callnewspapers.comGeneral Manager: Bill Milligan

wmilligan@callnewspapers.comBookkeeper: JoAnn Cassani

Visit www.callnewspapers.com to take part in the Calls iPoll.

Composing: Megan ZimmermanCirculation: Joette Wright

Office Assistant: Lindsey HorvathStaff Reporter: Gloria Lloyd

news3@callnewspapers.com

By Mike Anthony

Lindbergh bond refundingstuns with savings amount

Wow just wow.Thats our reaction to the amount of

money Lindbergh Schools is saving district taxpayers with its latest bond refunding.

Even the districts longtime inde-pendent financial adviser, Joy How-ard of WM Financial Strategies, was a bit taken aback by the savings.

... This is like phenomenal. Im always happy when I can deliver bet-ter savings than I expected, but for me, I would have been happy to say, Oh, its $100,000 better. This is just kind of shocking ..., she told the Board of Education last week.

In December, the board put the wheels in motion for the bond refund-ing, which, at that time, was estimat-ed to save district taxpayers roughly $1.67 million. The district planned to sell roughly $32.65 million in bonds to refund bonds issued in 2007 as part of Lindberghs Proposition R 2006 bond issue.

The Feb. 11 sale generated 14 bids for the Aa1 bonds.

That night, the Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt a resolu-tion approving the sale of the bonds to Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. of Milwaukee, Wis. Robert W. Baird & Co.s true interest cost a combined measure of the interest and under-writing fees of 2.741089 percent was the lowest of 14 bids submitted.

The savings to district taxpayers totals $3,503,832 more than $1.8 million over the original estimate of $1.67 million. The districts taxpay-ers are the sole beneficiaries of the savings because the $3.5 million will not be collected from them, and the districts debt-service tax rate is set to collect only the revenue necessary to retire the bonds.

Chief Financial Officer Charles Triplett noted that last weeks bond refunding is the eighth the district has done since 1998, saving taxpayers a total of $8,819,568.

Of those eight refundings, Triplett said, ... Weve refunded almost $87 million of principal ...We have saved taxpayers more than $8.8 million in interest off of this. Thats more than a 10-percent savings from the principal on the bonds that were issued. Again, were happy to do that anytime we possibly can and get the best value for the taxpayers ...

And last weeks bond refunding savings is on top of the $32 mil-lion the district saved taxpayers from 1995 to 2005 by voluntarily rolling back the districts tax rate. Thats a combined savings to district taxpay-ers of roughly $40.8 million.

Like we said: Wow just wow.

Letters policyThe Call welcomes letters to the editor.Typed letters of 200 words or less are given priority. Letters must

be marked exclusively for the Call.Visit www.callnewspapers.com/Site.Aboutus.html for our com-

plete letters policy.

Web exclusiveThe Call is updating its website on a daily

basis. Visit www.callnewspapers.com to read web-exclusive stories.

To track down your web-exclusive com-munity news, simply use your smartphone and scan the QR code to the right.

Reader skeptical new school Lindberghs only logical solution

Executive Editor: Mike Anthony news1@callnewspapers.com

To the editor:The Call recently reported again that Lindbergh Schools

only logical solution is a new school on the Dressel property.And in a companion article of the same issue was information

regarding a proposed $34 million bond issue to pay for it, along with the increased amounts in taxes to homeowners for the bond issue.

I applaud the school board for being proactive on a possible increase in future student enrollment, but have all possibilities really been examined?

We keep hearing from the chief financial officer, Charles Trip-lett, how property values are down in the district and school fund-ing is reduced, but, my tax assessor must not have got that memo.

Despite what we keep hearing reported, the fact is taxes have been increasing every year and the grip is tightening around the Golden Gooses neck.

Besides Dressel School, which the district finds unacceptable,

there are currently two other school buildings sitting unused in the Lindbergh Schools area.

Seven Holy Founders and St. Elizabeth of Hungary both have schools that are no longer being used. I have never heard any proposals that would consider utilizing either of these facilities as an interim plan to see if a new school will actually, in fact, be required in the future to accommodate increased enrollment.

This would seem to be a win-win all around. The schools are class ready, a huge tax increase could be averted and the school property owners could realize income from the leasing of the cur-rently unused schools.

Im sure the school board and planning committees are spending many diligent hours seeking solutions, but it seems they may have all jointly acquired tunnel vision focusing only on a new school and a tax increase.

Ken HouseSappington

To the editor:I favor a split of south county from St.

Louis County.The main reason for my support is that it

will not add government.Unlike incorporation, a new county will

not add a local government. I agree with the several comments that another layer of government is undesirable.

Recent foolishness in some local city governments confirms my opposition to this additional layer.

A new county will free south county of interference from Clayton. We wont have

to keep opposing bizarre notions that only affect us.

South county would not be subject to St. Louis Countys infatuation with subsidiz-ing Metro for the city. We would not be forced into trash districts that dont affect anybody but the unincorporated areas in north and south county.

We could prevent whatever allowed the unpopular development on Telegraph Road. We could make our own decisions regarding cooperation with surrounding jurisdictions city/county merger.

We could do all of this with no additional

government. We also would benefit in a way that is near and dear to my heart. We would not have to drive to Clayton for anything.

Less government is better government.A county split is far better than incorpo-

ration. The only other choice is to continue

bowing to the whims of Clayton.Robert W. Haul

OakvilleEditors note: Mr. Haul serves as presi-

dent of the Oakville Township Republican Club.

Oakville resident favors split of south county from St. Louis County

Oakville Middle, Oakville High students got talent, judge writesTo the editor:On Feb. 15, it was my privilege to be one of four judges at the

first Oakvilles Got Talent competition at the Mehlville School Districts new William B. Nottelmann Auditorium.

As a judge, I was seated on stage close by the performances, so I had a birds-eye view, and let me tell you what these stu-dents from Oakville Middle School and Oakville High School are incredibly talented, indeed.

Personally, I would have liked to have given them all first place for their hard work, for their performances and for their grit to get out there and put themselves in front of a crowd and be judged.

These students are achievers and dreamers, and they are to be commended.

The Mehlville School District is also to be commended for its support of these students as they branch out into the arts, along with the dance and musical instructors who live in our community and are a vital supporting arm of the communitys schools and talent.

And I would be remiss if I did not mention another star in the districts crown, the new Nottelmann Auditorium. It is a lovely, well-equipped venue in which to show off our local talent.

If you werent there, you missed it. But stay tuned, youll have another opportunity.

Because let me say it again Oakvilles Got Talent.Mary Hughes

Oakville

Three-decade Oakville citizen says new county not the way to goTo the editor:The steering committee Republican

Party wants a new government, Oakville County?

I thought that is what the Republican Party

is so adamant against. New additional taxes, new police force, county hall buildings, elected officials salaries and perks, lobby-ists influence, just to name a few of the headaches that a new county breakaway will

bring. The monetary cost for this adventure will be astronomical. As a three-decade resi-dent of Oakville, this is not the way to go.

Burke Campbell Sr.Oakville

Green Park 1A copyPage 8A copyPage 4A copy