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Committee advances St. Louis Works allocation; Streets commissioner says funds support paving and sidewalks
Summary
The committee gave a do-pass recommendation to Board Bill 38, the annual allocation of St. Louis Works funds, and heard from Commissioner of Streets Kent Flake about eligible uses including paving, sidewalks, engineering and park facility maintenance; the bill passed committee on a 5–0 recorded roll call.
Alderman Browning presented Board Bill 38 to allocate St. Louis Works funds for the year and asked the committee to approve a due-pass recommendation.
Kent Flake, Commissioner of Streets, said St. Louis Works is funded by a tax on utility companies and is distributed to aldermen for repaving streets and repairing sidewalks; he noted the program has been in place for “25 plus years” and that the dollar amount varies by year. In the committee record, Flake said this year’s allocation is about $400,000 higher than last year’s total.
Members asked about eligible uses. Flake and members discussed that St. Louis Works money can be used in the right-of-way for items such as asphalt material and supplies, 50/50 sidewalk repairs, related engineering adjustments and facility ground supplies and services (including upkeep of automatic-funded security cameras in parks). Flake said transfers among accounts are common after capital meetings depending on alderman choices.
Alderwoman Boyd asked whether a July 1 (the transcript records the answer "Seventeenth") list of streets to be paved would be available; Flake said the list would be close to July 17 and that tornado recovery had slowed the schedule. Browning praised the Streets Department for tornado cleanup work, saying the department “has stepped up in a huge way” and credited staff and equipment for debris removal after the May 16 tornado.
The committee moved for a due-pass recommendation and the clerk recorded a roll call with five ayes: Alderwoman Boyd, Alderwoman Schweitzer, Alderwoman Clark Hubbard, Alderman Devote and Chair Browning. The committee passed Board Bill 38 with a due-pass recommendation on that 5–0 vote. The transcript does not include the dollar total allocated to individual wards or a detailed spending schedule; Flake said aldermen receive balance sheets during capital meetings.
