A New Millennium | Snapshot | Demographics | Economy | Housing
Infrastructure | Public/Social Services | Public Facilities | Quality of Life | Conclusion

PUBLIC FACILITIES

The City of St. Louis, as well as the St. Louis region as a whole, faces a looming crisis with regard to its public facilities. An aging infrastructure will require substantial resources for repairs and replacement, resources for which the City must compete with suburban and exurban areas.

AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS

The City struggles to maintain air quality standards set by the EPA and at the same time, facilitate industrial and commercial growth and the restabilization of City neighborhoods. Air pollution in St. Louis diminished 37% between 1991 and 1996 according to the most recent EPA report. The dramatic decrease is attributed to the departure of several big polluters and to upgraded equipment and facilities. The regulated community is concerned, however, that despite these gains new regulations will be put in place that make the process of doing business and buying property in the City more cumbersome and expensive.

Currently, the St. Louis area is classified by the EPA as having "moderate" air pollution. Efforts established over the past five years along with future goals will bring the St. Louis area closer to the standards set by the EPA.

The Air Pollution Control Division (APC) serves as the environmental regulatory body in the City, enforcing all State and Federal air pollution regulations. Activities include asbestos and other regulation, permit issuing, compliance inspections, and air quality monitoring in the region. APC works with the Building Commission, the Land Reutilization Authority and others in the regulated community to enhance air quality in the St. Louis region.

PUBLIC FACILITY INVESTMENT NEEDS

Between 1998 and 2015, the area will experience a shortfall of $302 million needed for resurfacing and repairing existing roads and bridges and building new ones. Plus, local governments have an additional infrastructure "wish list" totaling $2.7 billion that remains unfunded. Other public facilities needs include:

• Programs to ensure better compliance with Clean Air standards.
• More and better opportunities for youth leisure time activities.
• Implementation of the $1.2 billion Downtown Now! improvement plan.
• Improvement/restoration of the City's many parks.
• Improved access to health care for all City residents, with an emphasis on prevention, education, and child immunization programs.
• Significant investments to upgrade the equipment used for solid waste disposal.

At the same time, the City has made substantial progress in many areas. Since the creation of a Capital Fund in 1989, the City has been following a program for restoring and improving its capital assets. The City's efforts in this regard received a resounding endorsement by City voters when in 1993 they approved a 1/2 cent sales tax dedicated to capital improvements. Included among the major accomplishments of the City's CIP between FY89 and FY99 are:

Street Lighting Enhancement - A three-year program to increase the amount of wattage provided by City streetlights was completed in FY98 at a cost of $1,400,000. In certain portions of the City, the wattage was actually doubled. Locations benefiting from this were schools, churches and neighborhood parks. In addition, since FY96 the City has budgeted $2,300,000 for lighting improvements in specific neighborhoods.

Building Demolition - Starting in FY96, the City earmarked capital improvement funds for the demolition of abandoned and unsafe buildings. Since that time over $5,300,000 has been used to augment other funding sources for building demolition purposes. The result of this effort has been the clearance of approximately 3,000 buildings by the City and the St. Louis Land Reutilization Authority. According to the CIP, there are over 1,800 vacant and condemned buildings in St. Louis and, of these, nearly 650 should be demolished in FY00. In addition, voter approval of a bond issue in the amount of $11,000,000 for demolition purposes will allow the City to reduce substantially the backlog of abandoned and unsafe buildings.

Major City Parks - Infrastructure repairs in six major parks have been completed and several other repair projects continue. Since FY96, the Capital Budget has provided $11,800,000 for a variety of park infrastructure projects ranging from curb and sidewalk replacement to athletic field upgrades and picnic table replacement. The six major City parks benefiting from this infusion of funding for capital projects are Carondelet Park, Fairground Park, Forest Park, Tower Grove Park, O'Fallon Park, and Willmore Park.

Major Equipment - $17 million has been provided through the Capital Budget since 1996 for replacement of computers, telecommunications, medical, and rolling stock equipment used by City departments.

Flood Protection - The 1993 flood clearly illustrated the need for improved flood protection along the Mississippi River and the River Des Peres. As a result, the 1998 Capital Budget included funds to help control flooding along the River Des Peres in south St. Louis City. To date, $690,000 has been allocated for this purpose and more funds will be provided in future years.

Recreation Facilities - Capital improvement projects at the City's recreation centers have focused on repairs and renovation for compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Since 1996, The Capital Budget has provided $2,500,000 for recreation center improvements.

Municipal Facilities - Funds available through the CIP have allowed the renovation and/or expansion of municipal buildings. Recent examples include a 224-unit addition to the Medium Security Institution, the final phase of a $40 million renovation of the Civil Courts Building, construction of the $91 million Justice Center project which is now in the beginning stages. Since 1996, the Capital Budget has provided over $49 million for municipal facilities.

Police Area Command Stations - With the passage of the a sales tax in 1993, funding provided through the Capital Improvement Fund has been used for debt service on the three area command police stations that opened in FY90. The Police Department has also been able to fund capital improvement projects from the Capital Improvement Fund. Since 1996 the Capital Budget has provided over $5,700,000 for debt service and building improvements. In the future, funds available after debt servicing on the area command centers will be used to construct a new prisoner processing area in the new Justice Center.

Warning Siren System - The FY99 Capital Budget provided $2,500,000 for replacement of the existing warning system. Installation of the new sirens is scheduled for FY2000.

LOOKING AHEAD

Over the next five years, the City of St. Louis, the State of Missouri, Bi-State Development Agency and other public/quasi-public entities will invest literally billions in a variety of public facility improvements that will benefit residents of both the City and the region. A partial listing of these improvements follows:

• Expansion of MetroLink west from Forest Park to Clayton and south to Shrewsbury and the City of St. Louis at Lansdowne.
• Construction of the St. Louis Gateway Multi-Modal Facility.
• Mary Miss - Federal Courthouse Plaza.
• $2.6 Billion expansion of St. Louis International Airport.
• Upgrading and replacement of traffic signal interconnects throughout the CBD and along major arterial streets.
• A new garage to support the proposed new convention center hotel.
• A new garage to support renovation of the downtown core.
• A new garage to support businesses along Market Street.
• A new garage to support the reuse of major office buildings on Tucker Boulevard.
• Implementation of the Forest Park Master Plan projects.