Public Statements to St Louis Aldermanic Committee

This is the statement that was read by Barb Floreth, President of C.O.R.C. A. (Chain of Rocks Neighborhood Association), to the St Louis board of Alderman Transportation and Commerce Committee, on Wednesday 11/10/10, at St Louis City Hall.

TO: Lewis Reed, President, City of St. Louis Board of Aldermen

Date: November 11, 2010

RE: Board Bill 211

As President of the Chain of Rocks Community Association in the City of St. Louis, I am writing to state our strong opposition to the Casino Celebration proposal at the base of the historic Chain of Rocks Bridge in the City’s 2^nd Ward. We oppose this proposal not only for the reasons that you may have already heard or expect - such as the argument that placing a casino in the middle of surrounding public recreation areas is completely out of character with the immediate area or the argument that the St. Louis region is already oversaturated with casinos.

We would like the Board to consider that a 24/7 casino at this location

- Would cause critical disruption to automobile and truck traffic on Riverview Drive (and beyond) and, in fact, would seriously decrease safety. Riverview Drive, Hall Street and connecting roads are heavily used as major commuter routes between downtown and the northern bi-state region and also as the only currently viable trucking route between our City’s northern industrial area and I-270.

- Placing a casino here would demand that the current transportation system servicing this north side area be completely upgraded to accommodate the increased traffic flow

- And the cost of the improvements that would be needed to handle the demands of the projected 168,310 monthly patrons would far surpass the projected tax revenues this proposal promises for the foreseeable future.

The Major Transportation Investment Analyses conducted by East-West Gateway in 2000 recommended major upgrades to all of Riverview Drive as well as Hall Street and E. Grand. – including lane additions, medians, urban parkway designs and intersection improvements. At a then projected cost of $72.1 million dollars. These are the streets that would service the proposed casino development – especially for workers and patrons coming from north city, downtown and quite often mid-town. In 2000, these outlined improvements were deemed necessary to improve access for jobs, medical care, education and shopping – to improve safety & decrease the accident rate and - to enhance neighborhood vitality.

No doubt, acurrent analysis that takes into account the projected increase in traffic would, at the very least, recommend these changes be done now and, most probably, would recommend a complete re-design of the Riverview and I-270 interchange. Who pays for these improvements?

The developer? The taxpayers of the City and State?

The developers vow to work with MoDot and the City to come up with plans to mitigate the problems that increased traffic would bring. But what they don’t promise is that no City and taxpayer money will be used to carry out the plans.

The exit from I-270 from Illinois requires drivers to cross traffic to proceed towards the City. From the west, casino patrons and workers would have to exit, yield to traffic and immediately make a left turn into the casino lot. To access the proposed casino from downtown and north city, a driver would need to find Hall Street via E. Grand (or Adelaide) from I-70 and then connect to Riverview Drive. As stated, all of these routes and intersections are already heavily used by commuters and truckers and quite frankly, for most, there is no other viable route.

And, to add another wrinkle, a MoDot engineer has stated that there is no point in improving the exit off of I-270 to accommodate additional traffic from Illinois unless the bridge over the Mississippi River is improved with additional lanes. To date, there are no specific plans for handling the increased traffic (except the suggestion by Koman Properties to install a couple of traffic lights and widen the lanes ONLY at the proposed casino entrance – creating a traffic light bottleneck.) The northside area MoDot engineer, who is very familiar with the district, has not seen plans or been contacted by Koman Properties or SLDC, and, over the last year, has strongly recommended to us that traffic lights on Riverview would only serve to decrease safety and increase noise. Again, we know that MoDot and the others will eventually take some of these problems into consideration, and we know that something will need to be done. What we don’t know is how much it will cost and who will pay for the necessary changes? We doubt it will be the developer.

This is a lot to consider (and only one issue since I have not mentioned the lack of public transportation needed to transport many of the workers that the developers promise to hire – OR- the already stressed infrastructure , drainage and stormwater issues that Riverview Drive currently faces.)

For the record, our association is not simply anti-casino or anti-development. We encourage private/public partnerships - and developments that enhance, rather than compete, with the area’s character. We have a great example in Cementland, the proposed family playground being developed by City Museum creator Bob Cassilly on an abandoned stretch of property just south of the park. This attraction will help increase the City and Ward’s tax base, it will provide jobs and it will bring people to the area to spend money – without destroying the distinctiveness and integrity of the neighborhood.

We know that the St. Louis Board of Alderman does not have a vote regarding the Missouri Gaming Commission’s decision about where to award the State’s 13^th license. However, we trust that the Board of Aldermen will take a long hard look at all of the probable costs and repercussions a well attended, 24/7 casino at this location would incur – before accepting this proposal as a good thing for the future of our City.

Thank you.

Barbara Floreth

President, Chain of Rocks Community Association

9856 Parkway Dr.

St. Louis, MO 63137

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This is the public statement read by St Louis City resident Chris Ballew to the St Louis Aldermanic Committee on November 10, 2010 :

Good afternoon my name is Chris Ballew, thank you for this opportunity to speak to you.

We live in our home overlooking the Mississippi, above Riverview Drive, just south of the Historical Old Chain of Ricks Bridge. I wonder how many of you have been up to the location of this proposed casino at Chain of Rocks. A lot of folks do not realize this area is even still in the City. Often, I have City employees try and tell me I don’t live in the City, and I must educate them.

For those of us who know, this is a hidden treasure of a neighborhood, visitors always come and say: “It does not even feel like we are in the city anymore, it feels like we are in the country”. It is a nice and peaceful little cluster of St Louis City homes, up there right along the river.

That is in large part, because that stretch of riverfront around the Chain of Rocks Water Treatment Plant has never been commercially developed. Since the Water Plant opened 100 years ago, it has all been public access park land to the south and west of the Water Plant, and to the immediate north is where the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, on the old Route 66 route, comes ashore. The area at the foot of the bridge also never saw any development.

The Old Bridge is now a pedestrian bridge, it is a destination for folks on road trips from all over, they come to walk across or ride a bike on the bridge. Crossing the bridge, they can gaze at the beautiful wonder of the only section of the Mississippi River, from Minneapolis to New Orleans, that is closed to river traffic and not commercially developed. The view to the eastern shore in Illinois, is of the protected islands Chouteau and Mosenthein, which function as bird sanctuaries and a home to wild deer. There is a feeling of peaceful wonder to see the mighty Mississippi River in its natural setting – all within the city limits, as it has been for generations.

For the working folks in the area, who do not have the means to travel far, this is our Forest Park, or even our Yellowstone. Some may laugh at this, but for the people who live there, and have not means to travel elsewhere, it is a fact of life. This is where our children learn about the beauty of the mighty Mississippi River, and fish its banks for the first time. I know you would not allow a casino development to be built on land adjacent to Forest Park or Tower Grove Park, simply because a developer had his plans ready to go.

Now, within this special area the city wishes to allow a large, 24 hour, seven day a week, casino gambling facility. A grander contradiction I cannot imagine. After all the millions spent, and the blood sweat and tears poured into developing this area for people to enjoy nature , the city in its short sighted anticipation of earnings from the gambling tables, wants to drop a large casino operation within this natural public parks area.

When asked if the city ever considered any other location for a casino, we were told by Rodney Krimm of the St Louis Development Corporation that : “NO , we did not look at any other possible locations for a casino development”.

They just went with the Komans proposal because it was ready to go. Not because it was the best site, but because there was a plan on the shelf, ready to go. The Komans, who are good business men whom I respect, were prepared and ready to go with land that they own - which has sat neglected and undeveloped for nearly 40 years. In many ways, St Louis City is offering to make the Komans dreams come true – but at such a cost, we cannot now measure.

Those of us who live along the Chain of Rocks, live there because there is no development on this open section of the river. They will be destroying exactly what makes the area special by building a casino there.

Now, I do want to mention that, we would not be against the right kind of development for the area. The Bob Cassily project nearby, which he calls “Cementland” will be a water themed attraction. It is a perfect example of something that will contribute in a positive way to the neighborhood, with jobs and tourism, all while highlighting what is special about our area. If any of you are familiar with the popular City Museum downtown on Washington Blvd., you will know what Mr Cassily’s projects can do for an area.

A casino would just siphon cash from an already struggling working class population that is presently seeing overwhelming numbers of foreclosures and unemployment. I certainly do not believe that the folks in the immediate area will be getting their fair share of available jobs – short term or long term.

One final note on a practical level, I want to reinforce strongly what anybody who lives up along the Chain of Rocks already knows – that stretch of Riverview Drive will become a money pit for the city and state when they discover how much they will have to spend to rebuild the local road system, highway exit ramps and storm sewers, on a street that already struggles with traffic problems, and seriously floods with every rainfall. I know for a fact the Komans have not properly considered the traffic issues. When we met with them a couple of months ago they seemed blindsided by our warnings about Riverview, and all the trucking and commuter traffic that would be affected by a casino at this location. They had not had any discussion with MODOT, and seemed quite naïve about the everyday realities of the area.

While I know you do not determine who is awarded the 13^th Missouri gaming license, I did want to warn you about what you need to be prepared to lose, if Casino Celebration does get built at Chain of Rocks.

Thank you for this time to speak to you.