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| O'Fallon Watchdog |
Exposing Corruption, Injustices and the Truth.
Council considers adding fifth ward
By Nina Kult
O'Fallon Journal
Wednesday, May 2, 2007 7:04 AM CDT
As O'Fallon's population goes up, city officials are considering adding a fifth ward to district maps.
Currently, eight councilmen - two for each of the city's four wards - serve on the O'Fallon City Council.
During the council's work session Thursday, council President Bill Hennessy said Ward 3's population is getting
humongous compared to other wards.
"I just feel, at this point, the city has gotten big enough that it may be time to look at adding a fifth ward and
redistricting in such a matter," said Councilman Rick Lucas, Ward 2. "We're close to 80,000 residents within city
limits, not including residents within the city that are part of St. Charles County."
City Attorney Kevin O'Keefe said the City Council may redistrict by passing an ordinance, and is not required to
take the matter before voters during an election. He said being classified as a third-class city, O'Fallon is allowed
to have either one or two councilmen per ward and no less than four wards.
Councilman Jeff Schwentker, Ward 4, said he would like to see the item back on another workshop agenda and,
in the meantime, look at ward maps to see if the wards could be spread out more evenly.
"Ward 3 is big, but it has a lot of St. Charles County residents," he said. "It sort of looks like Swiss cheese. I'd like
to see the maps we have and the number of residents in each district and see if someone is overloaded or
underloaded."
O'Keefe reminded the council that while some wards are growing in population faster than others, all wards would
need to be redistricted so each one is equal as far as current population and not based on anticipated growth in
one area.
Councilman Daniel Christoff, Ward 1, said according to a 2006 estimated population study, almost 75,000
residents are being served in a land area of 29 miles. He agrees it's time to look at expanding to five, or even six,
wards in the city.
"I'd like to have staff look at St. Charles, St. Peters and Wentzville and see how many wards they have per square
miles," he said. He said creating another one or two wards would better serve the residents of O'Fallon.
Councilman Pierce Conley, Ward 2, suggested rather than adding wards, give each current councilman his own
ward, therefore, allowing eight wards in the city. He said because the city will have to redistrict in 2010 anyway,
due to the census, this would be a less expensive way of finding a solution to the city's growing population.
Hennessy directed staff to put together a list of options for its next workshop May 10.
Watchdog Response:
I appears certain members of our council are at work again trying to pull the wool over the residents eyes. Just like
when they created the Public Safety job that they backed away from filling before the election. The Council had to
back away from it because it became a liability to Cantwell’s and Hennessy’s re-election bid due to the cost and
apparent desire to bring a fired City Official into fill the position . Needless to say the blunder of creating this
worthless position for one of their buddies contributed to Peter Cantwell getting the boot from the voters.
Unfortunately Ward 4 voters have done a poor job of holding Bill Hennessy accountable for all of his transgressions
against the citizens of O’Fallon.
I can assure you the discussion of adding a 5th Ward is Peter Cantwell’s Council cronies way of bringing Peter
Cantwell back without a vote of the people. Notice in the story how they emphasize that Ward 3 is a big problem.
Will these guys ever give up on building their empire at the expense of the O’Fallon taxpayer? The decisions being
made aren’t being made on what is in the city’s or the citizens best interest. They are making decisions based on
what is in their own and their political supports best interest, doing whatever it takes to keep the power from
slipping into the hands of the citizen’s of O’Fallon.
Make no mistake about it. It appears Peter Cantwell is working diligently behind the scenes to continue to
influence his cronies on the board. If a 5th ward is added that will give O’Fallon 10 members on the council
excluding the mayor. See the chart below to see what other large cities in Missouri have for representation. Don’t
let the board majority lure you into think that this somehow in your best interest. If a 5th ward is created two council
members can be appointed without a vote of the people , which is exactly the way O'Fallon likes to do business.
8888
By Nina Kult
O'Fallon Journal
Wednesday, May 2, 2007 7:04 AM CDT
As O'Fallon's population goes up, city officials are considering adding a fifth ward to district maps.
Currently, eight councilmen - two for each of the city's four wards - serve on the O'Fallon City Council.
During the council's work session Thursday, council President Bill Hennessy said Ward 3's population is getting
humongous compared to other wards.
"I just feel, at this point, the city has gotten big enough that it may be time to look at adding a fifth ward and
redistricting in such a matter," said Councilman Rick Lucas, Ward 2. "We're close to 80,000 residents within city
limits, not including residents within the city that are part of St. Charles County."
City Attorney Kevin O'Keefe said the City Council may redistrict by passing an ordinance, and is not required to
take the matter before voters during an election. He said being classified as a third-class city, O'Fallon is allowed
to have either one or two councilmen per ward and no less than four wards.
Councilman Jeff Schwentker, Ward 4, said he would like to see the item back on another workshop agenda and,
in the meantime, look at ward maps to see if the wards could be spread out more evenly.
"Ward 3 is big, but it has a lot of St. Charles County residents," he said. "It sort of looks like Swiss cheese. I'd like
to see the maps we have and the number of residents in each district and see if someone is overloaded or
underloaded."
O'Keefe reminded the council that while some wards are growing in population faster than others, all wards would
need to be redistricted so each one is equal as far as current population and not based on anticipated growth in
one area.
Councilman Daniel Christoff, Ward 1, said according to a 2006 estimated population study, almost 75,000
residents are being served in a land area of 29 miles. He agrees it's time to look at expanding to five, or even six,
wards in the city.
"I'd like to have staff look at St. Charles, St. Peters and Wentzville and see how many wards they have per square
miles," he said. He said creating another one or two wards would better serve the residents of O'Fallon.
Councilman Pierce Conley, Ward 2, suggested rather than adding wards, give each current councilman his own
ward, therefore, allowing eight wards in the city. He said because the city will have to redistrict in 2010 anyway,
due to the census, this would be a less expensive way of finding a solution to the city's growing population.
Hennessy directed staff to put together a list of options for its next workshop May 10.
Watchdog Response:
I appears certain members of our council are at work again trying to pull the wool over the residents eyes. Just like
when they created the Public Safety job that they backed away from filling before the election. The Council had to
back away from it because it became a liability to Cantwell’s and Hennessy’s re-election bid due to the cost and
apparent desire to bring a fired City Official into fill the position . Needless to say the blunder of creating this
worthless position for one of their buddies contributed to Peter Cantwell getting the boot from the voters.
Unfortunately Ward 4 voters have done a poor job of holding Bill Hennessy accountable for all of his transgressions
against the citizens of O’Fallon.
I can assure you the discussion of adding a 5th Ward is Peter Cantwell’s Council cronies way of bringing Peter
Cantwell back without a vote of the people. Notice in the story how they emphasize that Ward 3 is a big problem.
Will these guys ever give up on building their empire at the expense of the O’Fallon taxpayer? The decisions being
made aren’t being made on what is in the city’s or the citizens best interest. They are making decisions based on
what is in their own and their political supports best interest, doing whatever it takes to keep the power from
slipping into the hands of the citizen’s of O’Fallon.
Make no mistake about it. It appears Peter Cantwell is working diligently behind the scenes to continue to
influence his cronies on the board. If a 5th ward is added that will give O’Fallon 10 members on the council
excluding the mayor. See the chart below to see what other large cities in Missouri have for representation. Don’t
let the board majority lure you into think that this somehow in your best interest. If a 5th ward is created two council
members can be appointed without a vote of the people , which is exactly the way O'Fallon likes to do business.
8888
|
| Note population estimates are as of 7/1/2005 and can be found at Missouri Cities Population |