APRIL - JUNE 2024
No doubt - it's Summer! Record heat, record storms, and record attendance at the pool! I hope you have been able to enjoy some of the many activities offered by our Parks and Recreation Department. We are so blessed to live in our wonderful community of Crestwood. Wow - another three months have quickly gone by, so it's time for another quarterly report. Let's go!
As a reminder, I will continue to add more posts to the website, as events occur and information is available. So be sure to visit mayorshipley.org, or better yet, subscribe to receive weekly/ monthly updates via e-mail.
Click on the topics below to view each article.
In January, we hosted the first Elected Officials Town Hall / Open House for 2024. During this event, residents had the chance to engage with their Aldermen, the Mayor, and City Staff on a variety of topics, including Prop-A educational materials and the latest changes happening around Crestwood.
We're excited to announce that our second Elected Officials Town Hall / Open House this year will take place on Thursday, August 1, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Community Center at Whitecliff Park. Like our previous event, this will be an open-house format, allowing you to stop by anytime between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM.
This event offers another valuable opportunity to meet your elected officials, share your thoughts, and learn about the latest developments in Crestwood. In addition to these important conversations, we'll have some indoor family games like Bocce, Corn Hole, and Ring Toss, so bring the whole family for an evening of fun. Refreshments will be served, and there will be giveaways.
Resident engagement and government transparency are top priorities for both me and the Board of Aldermen. Starting in 2024, we will host Town Hall events twice each year. These gatherings offer an excellent platform to share our plans and, more importantly, to hear your feedback on our community's future. Mark your calendars—I look forward to seeing you there..
One of the highlights of the Crestwood Proposition A ballot measure is the replacement of the playground at Crestwood Park. It is our largest and busiest playground, but is beginning to show its age. This refresh aims not only to install new and updated equipment but also to create a play space that is more inclusive and includes ADA-compatible features. We’re committed to creating A Place For Everyone!
To achieve this goal, we need your input. There will be several opportunities for you to view potential options and provide feedback on what you want to see installed.
Open House Event
Crestwood Parks Department hosted an open house on June 27 to allow residents the opportunity to ask questions and share their thoughts about what should be included in the new playground. If you missed this event, there are additional opportunities to share your views - see below.
Online Survey
Please visit this survey to share your thoughts. It’s fairly short, and is a great opportunity to share your opinions and insights to help make this the best possible playground ever – a destination that people will enjoy.
Visit Survey HERE
August Park Board Meeting
City staff will present options again to the Crestwood Park Board on Tuesday, August 20, at 7:00 PM at City Hall. While this is a formal public meeting, attendees will have the opportunity to provide public comments. The Park Board will consider these comments, along with the feedback from the Open House, before making their recommendation
Long School Students
After school resumes in August, Crestwood Park staff will host an event at Long School where students can vote on their favorite playground designs. This event will include a short civic lesson about community participation and voting, making it a fun and educational experience. Each student will also receive an “I Voted” sticker.
Board of Aldermen
Crestwood staff will consolidate all the feedback from these events into a single recommended solution, seek bids from vendors, and present it to the Board of Aldermen. As with all Board of Aldermen meetings, there will be an opportunity for public comment before the final vote on this project.
The goal is to have the new playground installed in late Spring/early Summer of 2025. I’m excited about this upgrade to our community and encourage everyone to participate and provide your input. These Prop-A projects are investments that will benefit Crestwood for decades to come.
As we all know, Crestwood’s Proposition A passed in April with 60% voter approval. The very next day, city staff began working to bring all the components to reality. Here’s a high-level timeline of what’s to come. Please note that all these timelines are tentative and may change.
The Rest of 2024
- Finalize the planning and design work for the new Community Center.
- Gather resident feedback for new playground options at Crestwood Park and finalize plans.
- Finalize planning and design for the Nature Playscape (to be located near the new Community Center).
Early 2025
- Advertise for bids and select a contractor for the new Community Center and Nature Playscape.
- Advertise for bids and select a vendor for the new playground at Crestwood Park, with target completion by early summer.
Spring 2025 – Fall 2026
- Construct the new Community Center, followed by the installation of the Nature Playscape nearby.
- Begin design, surveying, and planning for the Walking Loop Trail and Pedestrian Bridge at Whitecliff.
- Complete the remaining design work for the Family Games Complex (remodel of the existing Community Center building).
During 2027
- Target completion of the Walking Loop Trail and Pedestrian Bridge at Whitecliff.
- Begin construction on the Family Games Complex.
During 2028
- Complete the Family Games Complex.
Note: This timeline only includes Prop-A-related projects. Other park maintenance and improvement projects will also occur during this time, but those will be determined as part of the annual budget process.
The Crestwood Police Department has been reviewing and updating Chapter 14 of our municipal code. This chapter contains all the rules related to vehicles, parking, and traffic. Part of my job as Mayor is to review proposed ordinances, so I recently had the chance to dive into traffic law.
During my review, I came across the section that defines when we can and cannot make a U-turn. I’ve always wondered about this, so now you get to learn about it too!
As it turns out, section 14-117 (U-turns) spells it out. You can read it for yourself via that link, but here’s my interpretation (and remember, don’t get a ticket and say the mayor said it was okay). My INTERPRETATION is this:
In Crestwood, you CAN’T make a U-turn in the following situations:
- At any traffic signal.
- On the other side of any of the concrete islands along Watson Road, Sappington Road, or Grant Road.
- At any place that would be dangerous (e.g., on a curve or at a blind spot on a road).
- And if there is a Police Officer parked nearby… well, you use your own judgment. ;-)
Stay safe out there, and remember to follow the rules to avoid any trouble!
A few other Crestwood-related updates to share…
MoDOT was originally scheduled to begin repaving Watson Road in 2024.
However, that project has been delayed and will likely start in early 2025. This is a significant project that will involve grinding off the existing asphalt and laying down a new layer from Geyer Road all the way to Shrewsbury. A major part of this project will be installing sidewalks where they are currently missing along the entire route. Additionally, the bridge over Gravois Creek (near Applebee's) will be replaced.
More info on this project can be viewed HERE.
Ameren will continue working along Watson Road for a while, but I’m not aware of any other major road projects for the remainder of 2024.
What’s Going on at 8800 Watson?
This shopping center still houses the Social Security Office, Victory Raceway, and a few smaller businesses. About two years ago, a new high-end apartment complex was approved for this location. Although there has been no visible progress since then, the owner/developer has assured the city multiple times over the past few months that they still intend to proceed. The original deadline for starting the project was May 2024, but the Board of Aldermen granted a six-month extension until Fall 2024. Hopefully, this gets rolling soon.
You can read more about this project in my Q2-2022 Newsletter.
What About the Old Aldi Shopping Center?
Also known as Crestview Plaza, the old Aldi shopping center had big plans to be reinvented into residential space several years ago. Unfortunately, the original owner was foreclosed on and lost the property. The new owner does not share the same vision for this space and is instead trying to spruce it up and lease space to new commercial users. We’ll see how this develops.
Mark your calendars! Once again this year, Crestwood will host two events to help you to clean out your closets and keep those items out of our landfills.
Both events will be held on the parking lot of the Crestwood Government Center (1 Detjen Drive) on a Saturday from 9:00 AM until NOON. We have scheduled more trucks than last year, but the event will end if the trucks fill up. So, I recommend arriving early.
Once again, Crestwood received a grant from St. Louis County Department of Health to cover the cost for these events. Just like previous years, volunteers will help unload your vehicle, so you’ll just need to pull up and pop the trunk.
Electronics Recycling, August 24 – Bring just about anything with a plug or battery and drop it off. This includes small appliances, computers, printers, old TV’s, phones, extension cords, Christmas lights, etc.
This is FREE for all residents, but there may be a fee required for some items (e.g., televisions, CRT monitors, etc.). However, as part of the grant we received, the first 150-200 televisions dropped off by ST. LOUIS COUNTY RESIDENTS will be FREE. This is more than we did last year, but it is still possible we reach that number before Noon, so arrive early.
Paper Shredding Event, October 12 – Empty out those old file cabinets and boxes of bank statements. Paper and CD’s will be shredded onsite, as they are loaded into the truck. Binders, plastic bags, and cardboard boxes will not be accepted (but we can empty the boxes and hand them back to you).
If you missed any of the previous newsletters, you can find a link to all of them here.