Politics & Government

Aldermen Candidates Chime in on Dissolving Community Association

The question about dissolving the C.A. and having the city take over C.A. amenities brought some adamant and unexpected responses.

Lake Saint Louis Board of Aldermen discussed several local issues during a recent Meet the Candidates Night event, including the possibility of doing away with the city’s Community Association.

The event, held March 15 at the Community Association, was designed to give residents a glimpse of handful of candidates vying for three two-year terms and one one-year term on the city’s governing board.

Candidates gave a brief introduction and then answered questions that audience members submitted beforehand.

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The typical questions about each candidate's qualifications, about taxes and funding street repairs were asked and answered, one by one.

But the question about dissolving the C.A. and having the city take over C.A. amenities brought some adamant and unexpected responses.

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"The C.A. is a private organization of home owners," said Ward 2 incumbent Ralph Sidebottom, noting that about 20 percent of the city is not in the association. "C.A members decide the boundaries of the C.A. That's their privilege and responsibility, it has nothing to do with the city."

Further, the city couldn't afford the clubhouse building or the lakes, Sidebottom said.

Richard Morris, a Ward 3 candidate, said that dissolving the association would create more problems than solutions.

"Everybody and their uncle could come here,” he said.

Ward 2 incumbent Karen Vennard said she had looked up the tax records for the C.A. clubhouse.

“It's clearly owned by the Lake Saint Louis Community Association," she said. "They are not city amenities. It's not something that the city can take over. We don't use any taxpayer money to deal with this."

Vennard said the nature of a homeowners association is that it can be discriminatory.

"They don't have to open up to everybody," she said.

Tony Zito, Ward 1 candidate, said he’s against it because government seems to want to take over more and more things.

"Absolutely not. I believe in government getting smaller,” he said. “It should remain separate."

John Pellerito, Ward 3 incumbent, said the matter is made worse by the fact that hardly anybody understands the history surrounding the association.

"Nobody in Missouri understands this … and how they evolved into separate entities and how much they control," he said. "The C.A. has a large budget—at this time I don't the city could possibly undertake a responsibility of that nature."

Pellerito said he would listen to interesting alternatives.

"At this time, it's not a possibility,” he said. “But it's something to look at in the future. When (Highway 364) comes in, we're going to have a growth in the west side of the city that's going to rival Wentzville's."

John Lynch, Ward 2 candidate, went against the grain and stood in favor of dissolving the association.

"How can the present government say with a straight face that it's our goal to grow this city and embrace new residents, but continue to operate under an old-fashioned way of governing the city?"

Lynch said it's incorrect that nothing can be done about the issue.

"The C.A. has made an error … it became too intertwined with the city government, which makes it illegal and inappropriate,” he said. "We want to grow this city, find ways to generate income, but we continue to alienate a significant portion of the population.”

Lynch said after a period of study, the city should be equipped to take over the association, the lakes and amenities. He said state laws would prevent the lakes from being opened to the public because of their size and limits on personal watercraft.

"We're tired of the condescending response that we can't change it because it's the way it’s always been," Lynch said.


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