At our most recent meeting we shared the preliminary design for the painted fire hydrants and mosaic/painted electrical boxes to soon be created and a part of our neighborhood in Dutchtown West. 

A DWNA resident had brought up the idea last fall after they saw a link to the Saint Louis Urban Workshop blog, which talked about how the Grove neighborhood in Forrest Park South East is branding themselves by painting their fire hydrants.

We solicited your feedback and the help of our Aldermen this idea will soon become a reality! Thanks to all those who have helped to make this a reality.

This month’s updated issue list is now available online here: http://www.dutchtownwest.org/meeting/issue

If you have issues in the Dutchtown West Neighborhood Association to add to the DWNA Issue List, contact us at leadership@dutchtownwest.org or contact your Neighborhood Stabilization Officer: http://www.dutchtownwest.org/contact

For more information on Amberg Park visit: http://www.dutchtownwest.org/neighborhood/amberg

If you have issues in the Dutchtown West Neighborhood Association to add to the DWNA Issue List, contact us at leadership@dutchtownwest.org or contact your Neighborhood Stabilization Officer: http://www.dutchtownwest.org/contact

What ideas do you have for the gardens? Design, location, and function ideas are all welcome.
What concerns do you have about the gardens? We want to address these early on.
What are your questions about the garden process?
And importantly – DO YOU WANT TO BE PART OF MAKING THIS HAPPEN?

Are you interested in gardening this year?
Do you want to garden alongside your neighbors?
Do you want advice and support throughout the process?
We are seeking volunteers who want to be involved in our community’s gardens. We need people for a few hours a week starting in late-March and running through early Autumn. Gardening experience is great, but not necessary. Volunteers will have lots of support from HopeBuild throughout the course of the year.

Please contact Marjorie at 314-536-0566, or at marjorie@dutchtownsouth.org with your interest or questions. You may also leave comments to this post!

Marjorie Dove Kent

Marjorie Dove Kent’s contact information is:

St. Louis City New Yard Waste Containers/Bins

Waelterman’s letter to the St. Louis City Board of Alderman:

Dear Aldermen,
 
As you know, the City of St. Louis – like most Cities across the country – is dealing with budget constraints because of the global recession, and rising costs of pensions and health care. The Department of Streets, like all other departments, is looking for ways to save money while still effectively providing needed services to our residents.
 
In that spirit, the Department of Streets is experimenting with once-a-week trash pickup, which is the rule for municipalities in the region and in the country.  For the last two months, our Refuse Division has been picking up trash once a week on one alley route in each ward.  During our experiment, we’ve learned many important lessons – and we are making improvements as we get comments and suggestions through the Citizens Service Bureau.
 
Despite the challenges we’ve faced – frozen trash because of the bitterly cold weather and added trash volume after Christmas, among others – we think this program can work. We hope that it will encourage citizens to drop off their recyclables at our 27 sites, to become more aware of what they’re throwing away, to compact their trash, and – if needed – to walk a couple more steps to a dumpster that is not full.
 
This will work better if we replace some of our 300 gallon trash receptacles with 600 gallon receptacles.  We acknowledge that we’ll have to plan occasionally for additional trash pickup in some traditionally heavy times like Christmas.  But, overall, this plan should work, will reduce the amount of waste we put in landfills, and could save the City a projected $1 million per year.
 
There is another benefit.  An increasing number of our fleet of trash service vehicles are outdated and with very poor fuel efficiency.  This change would allow us to retire the most inefficient vehicles, improving our fuel efficiency, and thus making this an even more “green” initiative.
 
The Refuse Division is working to keep the alleys clean.  It’s important for residents to make sure their trash is in the proper receptacle.  As we have been adjusting cans and routes in our pilot program, my employees have been working hard to take care of any overfill trash.  However, if this program becomes permanent, residents will be responsible for making sure their trash is in the proper receptacle.  Once-a-week trash pickup will not mean unsanitary conditions – and my employees are committed to keep that promise.
                                                                                                          
There is a way to reduce our costs while minimizing layoffs.  The recent furlough agreement between the City of St. Louis and the Unions will help to prevent any of our employees – the people who pick up the trash and drive the trash trucks – from being let go during the pilot program.  Currently, the staff displaced with the pilot program balances out the required furlough days off.  If the program continues to be successful, as we expect it to be, a few refuse employees can be reassigned to vacant positions elsewhere in the Department of Streets.
 
Here are some helpful hints to suggest to your residents:
Please take your household trash bags to the alley dumpster as the bags are filled so we can gather accurate data about trash collection.
Many of the items that residents throw away can be easily recycled.  By separating cardboard, cans, paper, or glass items and taking them to one of 27 recycling centers, trash volume will be drastically reduced.  Visit http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/recycle/ for the recycling center closest to your home.
Encourage residents to walk their trash to the next available trash receptacle when the receptacle nearest their home is full.  Residents are welcome to use any trash receptacle on their block.
Encourage residents to compact their trash.  They should flatten boxes, which otherwise take up a lot of room in the dumpster.
When you have a problem with trash, please call Citizens’ Service Bureau.  They can be reached at 622-4800 Monday through Friday between 8am and 5pm.  Or, you can submit your comment, problem, or suggestion electronically by visiting http://stlcin.missouri.org/csb/csb.cfm.
 
Thanks for your understanding and your patience.  Once-a-week pickups will save the City money in a challenging time for city budgets – and be more environmentally responsible.
 
We plan to continue this trial run through the spring.  Your comments and suggestions are making it better.
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Todd Waelterman
Director of Streets

In 2009, South Grand Boulevard was selected as one of four Great Streets Initiative pilot projects in the St. Louis region. Since 2006, East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWG) has been helping communities in the St. Louis region expand the way they think about streets. Local leaders and citizens are encouraged to think beyond the curb to see how transportation decisions affect the total built environment.

EWG recognizes the importance of streets as community resources, and through the St. Louis Great Streets Initiative intends to make them more than just conduits for cars. Great Streets in St. Louis will emphasize all modes of travel, especially walking. Great Streets will address and reconsider the auto-centric approach that has dominated design over the years in order to transform these streets into great community resources.
Considering how street design choices affect the pedestrian realm and abutting land uses is central to the St. Louis Great Streets Initiative. Connecting communities requires more than just installing a sidewalk along the edge of a busy street. It requires the careful and intentional creation of an environment that suits walking, bicycling, and transit. It requires taming traffic in a way that still allows for mobility, but at speeds that are safe and undamaging. It requires a ‘green’ approach to storm water management.

To learn more about the development plans for South Grand and the plans for a “green” approach to storm water management, view their plans online here. Or, contact:

Rachel Witt
Executive Director
South Grand Community Improvement District
3203-A South Grand Blvd.
St. Louis MO 63118
Phone: (314)772-5750
Email: Rachel@southgrand.org
Website: www.southgrand.org

St. Louis City New Yard Waste Containers/Bins

If you recall, the Dutchtown West Neighborhood Association (DWNA) added this issue to our Issue List over 300 days ago:

How can we get permission to place different colored stickers with pictures on the different dumpsters to distinguish Yard Waste vs. No Yard Waste?

Alderman Shane Cohn, for the 25th Ward, announced today that the new green colored yard waste containers will be slowly replacing old/deteriorating dumpsters moving forward.

Click on Image for Source

Click on this link to access the procedures and a “how to” guide for protesting a liquor license.

Further questions can be obtained by contacting the St. Louis City Excise Commissioner’s Office at 314-622-4191. You can speak to any liquor agent or ask for the Director, Bob Kraiberg.

Click on Image for Source

We are looking to have a Block Captain on every block of our neighborhood to help keep an eye on what is going on in your area (crime, problem properties, etc.), serve as a resource for neighborhood information, and enhance the lines of communication with neighbors on your block.

To see a list of all blocks in our neighborhood, the current list of Block Captains, and to volunteer to serve as a Block Captain, please CLICK HERE!

(Click on Image for Source)

The list includes properties North of Meramec as of this date (CLICK HERE TO VIEW LIST). It has been forwarded to the Alderman, NSO, and Forestry Department.

Once funds are available for new trees in the 15ht and 25th Ward, the St. Louis Forestry Department will survey the area, choose an appropriate tree, and then place the following door hang on the properties door to allow the homeowner to opt-out of planting a tree in front of their house:

If you would like a tree planted in front of your home,contact us and we will add your address to the list…or contact the Forestry Department directly at: 314 613-7200

The St. Louis Fire Department and the St. Louis First District Police Captain came out to support the neighborhood. Consider hosting a block party for National Night Out 2010!

Click Image For Source

Click here to view the blog post/story: http://www.stlurbanworkshop.com/2009/08/second-round-of-fire-hydrant-painting.html

Perhaps this is something we can do in the Dutchtown West Neighborhood Association (DWNA) area? It looks like the Washington University Development Corporation has been prety active in bringing about positive visual changes in the surrounding neighborhood including decorative planters along street corners among other things:

Click Image For Source

Reply to the post with your comments or suggestions…or email us at leadership@dutchtownwest.org.

1. Amberg Park:  Litter/debris pick up (weekly), Gardening (quarterly)
2. Mt. Pleasant Park: Litter/debris pick up (weekly), Gardening (quarterly)
3. Meramec Street (between Grand & Minnesota): Litter/debris pick up (weekly), Gardening/weeding (monthly)
4. Cleveland High School: Litter/debris pick up (once)

Operation Brightside

Operation Brightside has responded that they are “not sure we [they] will be able to clean up every week in your designated areas but will definitely get these projects on the calendar.

If you are interested in helping clean-up our neighborhood park, contact Operation Brightside at 772-4646 or join DWNA for one of our monthly park clean-ups held on the 2nd Saturday of each month at 10:00am.

Please join us to clean-up the only park in our neighborhood, Amberg Park, on the 2nd  Saturday of every month at 10:00am.

Amberg Park Clean-Up on April 25, 2009

We will have the trash bags, gloves, and a few rakes and shovels. If you have any tools you think might be useful, please bring them. We will meet at the corner of Keokuk and Gustine.

Contact: Mitch Hurias, mitch@dutchtownwest.org, 482-2688

For more information on Amberg Park visit: http://www.dutchtownwest.org/neighborhood/amberg ]]> http://www.dutchtownwest.org/archives/839/feed 0 http://www.dutchtownwest.org/archives/716 http://www.dutchtownwest.org/archives/716#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:13:54 +0000 admin http://www.dutchtownwest.org/?p=716 Yesterday, DWNA neighbors met to drive around our neighborhood and create a list of visible problems in our area to report to the Citizens Service Bureau (CSB), our Neighborhood Stabilization Officer (NSO), as well as our Alderman.

We identified 46 items that need attention in our area and have forwarded them onto our city officials. Click here to look at the list created: (Excel or PDF).

We will focus on Neighborhood Alley’s next.

See pictures of identified items below: