Fenton chamber asks city to back regional study of St. Louis–area population trends; aldermen defer action

Matt Thomason, president of the Fenton Area Chamber of Commerce, asked the Fenton Board of Aldermen to join other organizations in asking the East‑West Gateway Council of Governments to study population and economic trends across the 16‑county St. Louis metropolitan service area and identify the causes of recent population changes.

Thomason, who said the chamber represents about 500 businesses in the Fenton area, presented charts and articles comparing 50‑year population changes in several U.S. metro areas. He described the chamber’s sample resolution and said the group is asking East‑West Gateway to take three steps: "reach a consensus upfront and in advance on the nature of the problem and a common definition of the challenge," "ensure that everyone is truly on board with a common effort to directly address this challenge," and "commit to a process that is both candid and evidence driven, including careful examination of other similar regions that have grown much faster than us." (Thomason’s words.)

Thomason cited comparative figures shown in his presentation: large metros such as Charlotte and Dallas grew several hundred percent over the last 50 years, while he said the St. Louis metropolitan area grew about 19 percent over that period. He also pointed to more recent county changes he described as a greater than 20 percent loss in population in St. Louis City and St. Louis County between 2020 and 2023, then noted growth in counties such as St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin.

Several aldermen responded with questions and cautions. Alderman Joe Westbrook said Fenton itself has seen substantial growth and is "a bright spot in St. Louis County," noting the city’s population rose from roughly 2,275 in 1970 to about 4,300 in a recent census count. Alderman Rogers asked for clarification on the charts' units and suggested normalizing the figures for national population growth. A couple of aldermen said they wanted more information about who drafted the resolution and whether the study would be used to support proposals such as consolidation or merger.

Mayor (name on record) suggested the board could send a letter to East‑West Gateway asking the regional body to pursue the study; he said that is effectively the regional council’s responsibility. Several board members said they would like to see more data before signing on to the chamber’s resolution.

The board did not pass a resolution or take a formal vote to join the chamber’s request. Alderman Rogers said he was "not prepared to take any action this evening" and asked to "let it ride" and revisit the item at a future meeting after additional research. There was no motion recorded to adopt the sample resolution that night.