The annual Claverach Park Neighborhood Meeting was held on May 21st at Oak Knoll Park.  The meeting kicked off with wine, cheese and viewing of The St. Louis Artists' Guild's collectors choice V art exibition.  The meeting was attended by Claverach Park neighbors, our city manager, Michael Schoedel, and our Ward II Aldermen representatives, Linda Goldstein and Claverach Park's Michelle Harris.

Topics covered included:

• Indenture Review
• Annual Report
• Neighborhood Renovation Reviews
• Trustee Election
• City of Clayton Report
• Open Discussion

Please see the meeting minutes below.

The meeting minutes were recorded by our neighbor, Kim Kordonowy, as follows:

Wally Council, Trustee President, conducted the meeting.

• He introduced Mike Schoedel, Clayton City Manager, who discussed topics relevent to our neighborhood.
• He said that Metrolink plans to open the Clayton branch around October 31. He said that they were having budget difficulties and to expect a request for a sales tax increase to run the line.
• Mike discussed the Highway 40 project. Not only is this one of the largest and most complex undertakings, it is the first time that MODOT will do this work as a Design-Build project. Basically, the highway will be dismantled and rebuilt from Spoede Road to Kingshighway, in four years. Though not all parties have finished giving input, Mike said to expect a recommendation to do this project in two phases: all the east lanes to stay open to traffic first, and then all west lanes to stay open.
• Mike said that the Centene project is moving forward slowly. Clayton is asking that the building be unique and "green."
• Next, he said that there will be a "Maryland Walk" this year, and the city of Clayton is trying to encourage participation in this event.
• Mike said that there is some optimistic activity concerning the Schnuck's site on Hanley and Clayton Road. The problem has been that the owner has been asking about $12 Million dollars for the property, and it is appraised at just over $4 Million. Taxes reflect the lower amount. He feels that whatever is built on that property will be dense and multi-use. Clayton would like to see some food or restaurant activity on the site as well.
• Questions arose about the throughways in Claverach Park. Mike said that the city is addressing these concerns.
• Another question was raised about the increased traffic on Clayton Road and within Claverach Park with the highway 40 project. Mike said that Clayton's policy is not to impede traffic by using "horses" or speed bumps. He said that they might monitor speed on Clayton Road. He said that the traffic moving east on Clayton Road is patrolled by Richmond Heights, and the traffic moving west is patrolled by Clayton.
• He said that the joint study of merging services or communities with Richmond Heights is just beginning and will continue for two years before recommendations are given. He said that the school districts will not be part of the merger.

Next Wally Council, Steve Holten, and Mark O'Bryan discussed indentures, and gave the Annual report and the Neighborhood Renovation Reviews. These were some of the points made:

• We can build dormers into our attics and finish the attics but cannot build a third floor--there are height restrictions.
• Exterior walls must be made of brick, stone, concrete, or some sort of approved fireproof material, not siding.
• House fronts must be set back 50 feet from the street, 10 feet from the sides of the property, and 10 feet from the back.
• Any change in the grade of the property, or use of retaining walls must be approved ty the trustees, because this can affect water drainage onto the neighbor's property.
• There are requirements for fences (6 foot height maximum and no chain link) but no plans need to be submitted.
• Otherwise, three sets of plans must be submitted to the trustees. The turnaround time is 10 days for approval.
• Above all, Wally reiterated that the trustees try to be reasonable with submissions and look at everything on a case-by-case basis. In the past, some things have slipped by that would not be approved today. The trustees work very hard in a volunteer capacity. They count heavily on the City of Clayton to enforce and follow up on building plans and changes.
  

Mark O'Bryan, Trustee Secretary, gave several examples of recent remodeling.

• There is currently a house which was purchased for tear-down. The trustees have approached the new owner about submitting plans.
  

Steve Holten, Trustee Treasurer, discussed the following:

• There will be an assessment in 2007. The last one was in 1999. The amount of the accessment is based on the front footage of the individual property, $.75 per front foot.
• This year, nine homes have sold, five receiving more than their asking price.
• The homes' average size was 3464 square feet
• The average price was $885,167.00.
• The price per square foot was $272.00.
• Selling time varied from a couple of days to over 500 days.

Lastly, Gene Portman was unanimously elected to the three year trustee position to replace Wally Council who will be stepping down. Gene is extremely well qualified for the position. He is a civil attorney who has specialized in real estate for the last 40 years. He received his law degree from Wash U. His wife Ellen was previously a trustee. Wally will continue to work on the new Claverach web site.

Everyone is encouraged to check in to the Claverach Park website. More and more information will be posted there, as well as a list of businesses and references.

A new directory will be compiled this year as well.