The St. Louis County Council has decided to put on hold the appointment of two new Police Board members, Reverend Freddy Clark and former Republican Candidate for Governor, Dave Spence.
Both nominees were announced last week and would fill slots left by board members who stepped down out of concerns of potential conflicts of interests.
St. Louis County Councilman Steve Stenger and three other council members voted to adjourn a committee of the whole meeting Tuesday night without taking action on either of the candidates.
Stenger says he wants more time to evaluate the nominees.
“It is something that is very important, for all of us in St. Louis County,” Stenger says. “We just want to take all the time necessary and give it all the time necessary and give it the consideration it requires, which is a lot.”
St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley says he hopes that the process of approving his nominees can proceed swiftly.
“I think it’s unfortunate, but I stand behind those two very fine men that are nominated, and I hope (the county council) will do it very quickly, in the very near future, in the next couple of weeks,” Dooley says.
Dooley denies allegations that he is attempting to appoint board members who would support the ouster of Police Chief Tim Fitch.
Fitch recently asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to look into possible conflicts of interests involving former board Chairman Gregory Sansone, whose company was subcontracted to work on the county’s new crime lab.
A third member of the five person board, Raymond Wagner, stepped down Tuesday evening, citing other professional demands.
Wagner is married to U.S. Rep Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) and is vice-president for governmental and public affairs for Enterprise Holdings.
Housing development for low income seniors
The fight over a housing development for low-income senior residents in Oakville likely came to an end Tuesday night.
In June, several residents brought their concerns about the project before the county council. The council then voted to send the developmentback to the planning and zoning commission for further consideration.
The planning and zoning commission determined construction on the project, which is already underway, could continue.
St. Louis County Councilman Steve Stenger represents the district where the facility is being built and requested the additional scrutiny from the planning and zoning commission. He says any legislation to block the development will require five votes to clear the council, a threshold he says cannot be reached.
“Until those five votes become available, or unless they do, the matter will remain as it is right now, and it has 90 days from today’s date until it becomes a non-issue,” Stenger says.
The housing project, located at 6050Telegraph Road, has received a more than $6.7 million capital advance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to complete the project.
Follow Tim Llloyd on Twitter: @TimSLloyd
