Clinton Thomas
Agribusiness Reporter

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Call Clinton at 816-271-8589.

City hopes for green infusion
by Clinton Thomas
Wednesday, July 1, 2009

A possible infusion of stimulus money could help St. Joseph cut its energy spending for years to come.

Council approves downtown TIF district
by Clinton Thomas
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Downtown presents St. Joseph officials with one of their biggest fix-up jobs.
On Monday night, the City Council grabbed a tool it hopes will speed up the project.
The council voted 5-1 in favor of a plan to establish a Downtown tax increment financing district. Deputy Mayor Mike Hirter and council members Joyce Starr, Gary Roach, Donna Jean Boyer and Mike Bozarth approved the TIF, while council member Barbara LaBass was opposed.

The heart of St. Joe
by Clinton Thomas
Sunday, June 28, 2009

In the good ol’ days, a community never needed to search far to find its heart.
Side streets held their share of business and backyard diversion, but everyone knew where to go for the real action.
In small towns, the destination was Main Street or the square. Cities had downtown.

Downtown TIF proposal discussed
by Clinton Thomas
Friday, June 26, 2009

A lengthy discussion on an idea for Downtown revitalization leaves little room for fence-straddlers.
You’re either for tax increment financing or against it, and you have plenty of vocal volume to back your point.
City staff, council members and about 30 citizens discussed the proposed Downtown TIF plan during a Town Hall meeting Thursday at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge.
City Manager Vince Capell made the case that Downtown growth needs a TIF to create an incentive for independent investors.

Boulevard plan aims to enhance new growth
by Clinton Thomas
Wednesday, June 24, 2009

St. Joseph has outgrown its belt. The concern lies not with the city’s collective waistline, but with the Parkway System designed decades ago as a green belt around the community.
Winding roads carry drivers from Krug Park in the north to Hyde Park in the south, with smaller ribbons of green space shooting off to the side. Yet, years of eastward growth have left a large part of St. Joseph unserved by the Parkway System.

City isn't ready to get rid of trolleys
by Clinton Thomas
Tuesday, June 23, 2009

St. Joseph’s historic trolleys won’t hit the Downtown streets anytime soon. But at least they’re not leaving town. City staff pitched an idea to City Council members last week to move the trolleys from the transit system to the Parks Department, where they will be stored for future use.

Council postpones vote on Downtown TIF plan
by Clinton Thomas
Tuesday, June 16, 2009

If boom times ever return to St. Joseph’s historic core, the Downtown dreamers might thank the City Council for a vote it decided not to take. The St. Joseph City Council decided Monday to push back a vote to use tax increment financing to revitalize Downtown. Council member Joyce Starr proposed the move for two reasons. She did not want to take the vote because council member Mike Bozarth was absent and because council member Donna Jean Boyer had missed the past two council meetings and wanted more time to review the TIF plan.

Budget approved with little debate
by Clinton Thomas
Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The largest piece of legislation the city will pass all year was approved with little debate Monday. The St. Joseph City Council explained a handful of discrepancies between documents and spoken promises to two city employees before it passed the $130 million 2009-10 city budget. John Olszowka, a spokesman for City Employees United, was happy when he heard the city would add seven new employees next year instead of 11. But he had a concern: the budget showed nine new jobs.

City workers criticize budget
by Clinton Thomas
Sunday, June 14, 2009

When the city splits up its annual budget, someone always asks for a bigger share.
The city’s own employees have been the most persistent critics of the $130 million budget. The council will vote on the budget Monday.
City Employees United formed this spring, with the stated goal of improving communication between city employees and the staff and council members who establish city policy.

Capell says Chiefs money diverted funds from roads
by Clinton Thomas
Friday, June 12, 2009

A few weeks of summer football could lead to a few more years of bumpy roads.
When the City Council debated last week whether to accept a batch of federal stimulus funds for Downtown redevelopment, some members argued the money would be better spent on road repairs in the Eastside Industrial Business Park.
City Manager Vince Capell reminded council members this week of a plan to pay for road repairs. However, another high-profile council decision has made the plan untenable.

Council to tackle museum issue — again
by Clinton Thomas
Wednesday, June 10, 2009

One of last year’s most controversial issues has returned at City Hall.

City Council prepares to vote on Downtown TIF
by Clinton Thomas
Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Another big Downtown decision lies ahead for the St. Joseph City Council.
The council will vote next Monday whether to establish a Downtown Tax Increment Financing district to promote redevelopment in a 113-acre area roughly bounded by Interstate 229 on the west, 10th Street on the east, Faraon Street on the north and Charles and Sylvanie streets on the south.
Clint Thompson, city director of planning and community development, said he has received phone calls from a number of business owners curious about how a TIF district would affect them.

Revote incites war of words
by Clinton Thomas
Friday, June 5, 2009

After a verbal storm of profanity and name-calling, the St. Joseph City Council decided to accept its share of federal stimulus money Thursday.
The council approved an ordinance 8-1 that will amend the city’s Consolidated Plan 2008 Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant Funding, which allows the city to accept more than $475,000 in federal stimulus money. The amendment states that Downtown redevelopment projects will be the city’s first priority.
Council member Barbara LaBass cast the dissenting vote.

Normandy vet kept going
by Clinton Thomas
Friday, June 5, 2009

Ceremonies around the world will commemorate the 65th anniversary of one of the most significant battles in military history Saturday — The Normandy Invasion: D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Tire business operator working to fix problem
by Clinton Thomas
Friday, June 5, 2009

Mark Horstman admits the smoke from his tire retread business has been worse than he expected.

Council to re-vote on rejected funds
by Clinton Thomas
Thursday, June 4, 2009

The St. Joseph City Council will hold a special meeting at 4:30 p.m. today in the council chambers on the third floor of City Hall.

Neighbor points finger at retread shop
by Clinton Thomas
Thursday, June 4, 2009

The deck behind Kim Fansher’s house on Messanie Street could give a teacher the perfect place to sit and smell the flowers during a summer away from the classroom.
It would be a lot better if the flowers hadn’t died and the summer breeze didn’t burn her throat.
Such has been the case since a tire retread facility opened about a month ago across an alley from Ms. Fansher’s backyard.

Some question funding refusal
by Clinton Thomas
Wednesday, June 3, 2009

If St. Joseph city officials want to make a last-gasp effort to grab federal stimulus money, they need to answer questions from concerned City Council members. The St. Joseph City Council will meet at 4:30 p.m. Thursday with city staff to discuss the consequences of its decision to turn down more than $475,000 in the fourth-floor conference room at City Hall. The council voted 4-3 Monday in favor of an emergency ordinance that would have brought the money to St. Joseph. However, the bill failed because emergency ordinances require six votes to pass, while regular ordinances need a simple majority.

YMCA seeks funds for elevator repairs
by Clinton Thomas
Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Plans to pay for elevator repairs at the St. Joseph Family YMCA with city money did not crash, but they may be stuck for a while. The St. Joseph City Council postponed a decision to donate $33,040 to the YMCA on Monday after citizens spoke out against using public money for private problems. The money would have come from the Riverboat Gaming Fund. The YMCA’s elevator had been out of service since it failed a pressure test in November. Repairs were completed in May, but the YMCA sought city funding to pay its bills.

Council declines stimulus money
by Clinton Thomas
Tuesday, June 2, 2009

The St. Joseph City Council denied an emergency ordinance Monday that would have brought more than $475,000 in Community Development Block Grant money to the city for Downtown redevelopment. Four of the seven council members in attendance favored the ordinance, but emergency ordinances need six votes to pass. Council members Bill Falkner, Mike Bozarth and Barbara LaBass opposed the bill, while Mayor Ken Shearin, Deputy Mayor Mike Hirter, and council members Gary Roach and Joyce Starr voted in favor. Donna Jean Boyer and Roger Baker were absent. Ms. LaBass asked why the city can obtain money for Downtown revitalization, but not for existing industrial parks that need road repairs.

Rural areas fight to retain the best and brightest
by Clinton Thomas
Sunday, May 31, 2009

Midwestern communities face a problem that could slowly suck the life out of their economies: brain drain.
This isn’t some plague lifted from a zombie movie, but it’s every bit as scary.
Brain drain refers to a phenomenon where highly educated people leave one area in favor of another. For example, scientists such as Albert Einstein fled Europe in droves before World War II for safer locales in the United States.

Mapping software to improve communications
by Clinton Thomas
Monday, May 25, 2009

St. Joseph Mayor Ken Shearin has an eye-in-the-sky idea to improve the city’s communications with its residents.

Fund receives $2.6M to burn
by Clinton Thomas
Sunday, May 24, 2009

Gerald McCush has a new kind of problem.
As the city’s community development manager, Mr. McCush dispenses St. Joseph’s annual share of Community Development Block Grant funds. The city’s slice of CDBG pie has shrunk to $1.75 million in the upcoming budget, but Mr. McCush has grown to expect funding cuts.
That’s what makes this problem different.

Theater to raise curtain on improvements
by Clinton Thomas
Saturday, May 23, 2009

A set of long-awaited upgrades could hit the stage at the Missouri Theater.

Mustangs to debut on 28th in renovated Phil Welch Stadium
by Clinton Thomas
Saturday, May 23, 2009

Kansas City won’t be the only baseball town to show off a revamped stadium this summer.
Phil Welch Stadium will have a new look when summer baseball returns to St. Joseph next Thursday for the St. Joseph Mustangs’ season opener against the Omaha Diamond Spirit.
Fans who haven’t visited the ballpark since the Blacksnakes left town two years ago will see more than $600,000 in new features.

Developer eyes Corby Building
by Clinton Thomas
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Put away the packing tape, park the moving van, and don’t even think about hanging plywood on the windows.
The St. Joseph City Council agreed Monday night to support Foutch Brothers LLC in its efforts to purchase and redevelop the Corby Building in Downtown St. Joseph.
Sunrise Senior Living, which currently manages the building, told its 65 residents last month that it planned to close the facility by Oct. 16 due to high maintenance costs.

Inspectors quietly do the job
by Ahmad Safi by Clinton Thomas
Monday, May 18, 2009

Some people will always do the right thing — inspector or no inspector. For others, the “bubble gum and duct tape” method is the way of the world. They’ll do anything to get the job done cheap.
That’s why the city of St. Joseph employs inspectors in four trades: plumbing, mechanical, building and electrical.

No rain on May Fest Parade
by Clinton Thomas
Sunday, May 17, 2009

A parade long enough to cramp a parent’s feet will always seem short to the children chasing candy in the street.
The annual May Fest Parade on Saturday gave North Side residents the chance to show their pride as the ROTC program, band and cheerleaders from Lafayette High School led the procession up St. Joseph Avenue to Krug Park.
Neighborhood businesses bumped by in cars with enough back-seat bass to drown out whatever message they tried to yell to the sidewalk. But that’s what the signs are for, and of course, the candy.

Proposed budget forges path for job expansion
by Clinton Thomas
Sunday, May 17, 2009

Stimulus funding and unfunded mandates will bring new faces to St. Joseph in the upcoming year.
Financial stress has forced many private businesses to cut their work forces in recent months, but the city of St. Joseph’s proposed budget sets a course for expansion.
The City Council and staff have emerged from two weeks of deliberations with a budget that will add seven employees to the city payroll, while a federal grant included in the stimulus package will pay for six new police officers. The grant would fund the officers’ salaries for three years, after which the city would assume the costs.

Roy's Branch next phase of sewer project
by Clinton Thomas
Wednesday, May 13, 2009

One wet spring was enough to convince Joseph Robidoux to move his trading post from the mouth of Roy’s Branch to higher ground one mile south near Blacksnake Creek. More than 180 years later, the city plans to regain control of the Roy’s Branch watershed. The city will accept bids until May 21 on the second phase of a project to build a separate stormwater system to capture runoff before it enters the sanitary sewer system. The job is part of the city’s Combined Sewer Overflow Long Term Control Plan, which aims to reduce the annual volume of raw sewage that flows into the Missouri River.

St. Joseph sewer rates begin climb upward
by Clinton Thomas
Thursday, May 7, 2009

Bad news has arrived for anyone clinging to hope that city officials’ warnings about sky-high sewer rates was a case of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”
The wolf is at the door.
Residential sewer rates will make a double-digit jump in St. Joseph, effective July 1.

Extensive work planned for Wyeth-Tootle Mansion
by Clinton Thomas
Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Plans are moving forward to bring the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion back to its former glory. Ornate wood floors will resurface after decades beneath worn linoleum. Repaired exterior walls will give a spruced-up appearance from the street. And workers have already started to uncover a 19th-century fresco from under layers of white paint on the ceiling of the mansion’s Louis XIV Room. These are just a few items from St. Joseph Museum Inc.’s long-range plan, which will bring its facilities — including the mansion — into the future while maintaining their historic past.

Sounds of silence to roll through Downtown
by Clinton Thomas
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Downtown residents can look forward to a little bit of peace and quiet. The sound of train whistles has kept hotel guests awake, disrupted business meetings and scared pets ever since the railroad came to Downtown. Two years ago, city staff began a process that would let the trains pass through St. Joseph’s core without blowing their whistles. City Council postponed the ordinance once and threatened to again Monday night before it changed course and unanimously approved the plan. The city, BNSF Railway Co. and the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission will close three railroad crossings and modify two others to establish a railroad quiet zone Downtown.

Wind turbines on the roof?
by Clinton Thomas
Monday, May 4, 2009

Help may be on the way for St. Joseph residents frustrated with high electrical bills.
Personal wind turbines can lower electric costs for their owners, or in some cases, cause the meter to spin backward as the device produces more energy than is used.
City staff has started work on an ordinance that would allow the installation of wind turbines within the city limits.

Officials plan the future of St. Joseph’s landfill
by Clinton Thomas
Monday, May 4, 2009

The moment seemed normal enough.
Mayor Ken Shearin briefly interrupted a City Council committee meeting last week to praise one of City Hall’s department directors for a job well done.
“We’ve got a jewel here, folks,” Mr. Shearin said. “It’s one of the brightest spots in the city and we really ought to try to market this thing.”

Uptown to show off properties today
by Clinton Thomas
Sunday, May 3, 2009

People willing to look past a few empty lots can find signs of growth today in Uptown St. Joseph.

Employees speak out about city's spending
by Clinton Thomas
Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Many residents might think city employees have a sweet deal. The idea of free employee-only health insurance coverage makes private sector workers envious. But many of those workers likely don’t know that city employees no longer receive pay raises. In fact, some five-year police officers still bring home the same pay they did on day one. Shawn Henderson has worked for the city of St. Joseph since 1985. He retired after 22 years with the Police Department, only to rejoin the city as a member of the Fire Department. On Tuesday evening, he spoke to a group of city employees about how the city’s financial situation relates to employees’ health insurance bills.

TIF plan just the latest attempt to revive Downtown
by Clinton Thomas
Sunday, April 26, 2009

For every old story about Downtown St. Joseph’s glory days, there’s another about the failed efforts to bring those days back. Last week, city Planning and Community Development Director Clint Thompson explained how tax increment financing could help move the area forward. Mr. Thompson told the TIF Commission about the first phase of the project, which would offer a financial incentive for property owners who wanted to improve their building facade within a Downtown Entertainment District. The commission ultimately approved the plan, but not without a few questions.

City opts to freeze insurance premiums
by Clinton Thomas
Friday, April 24, 2009

The rising cost of health insurance can drown families that live on a shoestring budget.
For at least one year, the St. Joseph City Council has decided to throw a lifeline to its employees.
The council’s finance/audit and personnel committees decided Wednesday to freeze premiums for employee-only health insurance coverage for the 2009-10 fiscal year.

Downtown TIF plan clears important hurdle
by Clinton Thomas
Thursday, April 23, 2009

A new plan for Downtown revitalization has earned an important seal of approval.
The Tax Increment Financing Commission unanimously recommended in favor of a Downtown TIF plan Wednesday. The City Council will vote on the issue at an upcoming meeting.

City Hall mulls over liquor law changes
by Clinton Thomas
Tuesday, April 21, 2009

A new set of proposed rules from City Hall could put a cork in liquor sales for local caterers.
The St. Joseph City Council introduced an ordinance last night that would restrict the sale of alcohol by caterers within 300 feet of residential areas, except for locations within the Downtown Entertainment District.

Obama the socialist, some say
by Clinton Thomas
Sunday, April 19, 2009

When politicians want to get a point across, they reach for one key word that ties a bow on their message.
President Barack Obama’s word was “change” — or “hope,” for voters who favored the iconic T-shirt design.
It didn’t take long for the Republican candidate, Sen. John McCain, to find a word of his own for Mr. Obama’s rhetoric: “socialism.”

Levee costs split groups
by Clinton Thomas
Friday, April 17, 2009

Local government officials agree that they need to raise Missouri River levees that protect Rosecrans Memorial Airport, Elwood, Kan., and Wathena, Kan.
But when the time comes to split the bill, agreement becomes harder to come by.
The city of St. Joseph, Buchanan County and three local levee districts struggled to find a way to fit a $2.7 million levee design project into their already-stretched budgets during a meeting Thursday at City Hall.

Capell: City plans to finance Muchenberger program
by Clinton Thomas
Thursday, April 16, 2009

The Muchenberger Center will get its money, but the city must sign its own check. St. Joseph City Council members agreed to accept a Community Development Block Grant funding recommendation Wednesday that will distribute $408,000 in federal funds among 10 of the 11 social service organizations that applied. The Muchenberger Center’s Youth Enrichment Summer program was the only one not to receive funding. Children who use the program need not worry: City Manager Vince Capell said the city will keep the program going.

Muchenberger Center left out of CDBG funding proposal
by Clinton Thomas
Sunday, April 12, 2009

When St. Joseph cuts up this year’s social service funding pie, one of the city’s own programs could be left with an empty plate.
The citizens committee in charge of dividing the city’s $408,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding will present its recommendations to the City Council at 4 p.m. Wednesday. As available funding shrinks, groups have grown accustomed to getting less money than they requested. Even so, Parks Director Bill McKinney didn’t expect this.

Firefighters’ union files lawsuit to force city into negotiations
by Clinton Thomas
Saturday, April 11, 2009

St. Joseph firefighters will use the courts to force the city to the bargaining table.
Local No. 77 of the International Association of Firefighters filed a lawsuit against the city of St. Joseph last week in Buchanan County Circuit Court. The union alleges the city did not negotiate in good faith when the two sides met to discuss wages and other conditions of employment this winter.

Dock project could float
by Clinton Thomas
Friday, April 10, 2009

Two-and-a-half years ago, Ron Allen floated a hopeful idea through City Hall: a 200-foot dock to serve boaters on the Missouri River — from St. Joseph, Kansas City, Omaha or any number of other river towns on the Big Muddy.
The St. Joseph City Council read a bill Monday that would let the city execute a $100,000 grant agreement through the Boating Infrastructure Grant Program. The project would spend up to $133,340 to install a dock south of the French Bottoms boat ramp, near the Remington Nature Center. Thanks to the grant, the city would only have to foot 25 percent of the bill.

Board seat doesn’t sit well with mayor
by Clinton Thomas
Thursday, April 9, 2009

For much of the past three years, one seat has been conspicuously empty in the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce board room: that of Mayor Ken Shearin.
Citing eight straight months of absences, the chamber board of directors invited Deputy Mayor Mike Hirter to fill the city’s seat in January. Now the seat has become a political hot potato, bouncing from one set of hands to the next.
The mayor called the chamber’s decision a “behind-the-back move” and appointed City Council member Bill Falkner as his replacement. In response, the chamber gave both Mr. Hirter and Mr. Falkner seats on the board.

City officials return from trip to capital
by Clinton Thomas
Monday, April 6, 2009

A recent trip to the state capital has given Mayor Ken Shearin a newfound sense of optimism in his battle against three of the city’s most critical issues.
The mayor, along with City Public Works Director Bruce Woody and Col. Stephen Cotter, commander of the 139th Airlift Wing, visited Jefferson City last week to discuss the city’s sewer system, Missouri River levees and the South Side railroad overpass with representatives of Gov. Jay Nixon’s office.
The mayor described the meeting as a one-way presentation where the city made its case for increased funding.

‘Go back to square one’
by Clinton Thomas
Sunday, April 5, 2009

The group of residents who rallied to protect France Park in December can breathe easy.