Friday Feb. 3rd was the last day to vote on how the city of St. Louis should spend the settlement funds received from The Rams.
City of St. Louis website
February 3, 2024, became the last day that you could have placed your votes for ideas as to how the settlement from The Rams should be spent. Just last year, the city of St. Louis created a special website of inclusivity, for the citizens to get involved.
As some of you may not know, Mayor Tishaura Jones placed St. Louis’ city portion of the funds in an interest-bearing account. In turn, it drew a substantial return, allocating funds that the city could use to spruce things up.
From my understanding, some of these essential chunks of change were used to help cut the cost of the America’s Center renovation. And don’t get me wrong, this is a great thing; bringing the city millions in tourists and convention dollars.
A win-win for us all.
Furthermore, will the Board of Aldermans, now cut down to 14, do the right thing and honor the voters’ submission ideas? You may view the ideas that were submitted to be voted on by clicking here. The form will ask you to sign in with an email and password as well.
In conclusion, there will be no more meetings for the citizens of St. Louis to attend. Possibly, just the results of the Alderman’s decision per the ideas submitted.
Ideas that I was very concerned with:
No. 1: Establish a grant program for small businesses to locate Downtown
Priority: Catalyzing Downtown Reinvestment
Author/Source: Kurt Weigle, Stephen Wright
Many of Downtown’s historic buildings currently sit vacant, causing economic, public health, and public safety concerns. In order to support small businesses and revitalize vacant storefronts Downtown, this program would provide grants to small retail businesses that choose to locate Downtown.
This idea could be funded by the annual interest accrued from a municipal endowment fund. It would likely be administered by SLDC, which currently manages the $37M North St. Louis Commercial Corridor Grant Program.
Funding Considerations
- Cost estimate: To be assessed
- Can this be funded from interest via a Municipal Endowment Fund? (Estimated value of $12M annually): Yes
- Does this require matching funds? (More than $250M) No
- Is this eligible for a tax-exempt bond? (Project benefits taxpayers and proceeds used by the governmental entity) No
- Is this likely to attract philanthropic funding? No
- Are there other potential funding sources? Yes
City: North St. Louis Commercial Corridor Grant Program (via ARPA)
Federal: None
No. 2: Establish a Revolving Redevelopment Loan Fund
City Hall
Priority: Improve City Finances & Catalyzing Downtown Reinvestment
Author/Source: Jonathan Ferry
Redevelopment projects in economically distressed areas are considered risky investments by banks because the lender needs assurances that if a developer cannot repay their debt, the lender can seize and sell the property to recover the loan. With additional collateral, developers can access larger amounts of capital than they could on their own. The City could establish a Redevelopment Loan Fund to serve as a collateral backstop to support development in disinvested areas. The Fund, if established as a separate 501(c)3, could also receive investment from private partners, including banks, large corporate sponsors, and other big St. Louis institutions such as sports teams. This could also reduce the use of tax incentives, which provides more funding for schools, libraries, and other entities that rely on property taxes for funding.
This idea could not be fully funded by the annual interest accrued from a municipal endowment fund. Ideally, this would be a joint investment with contributions from institutions including the City of St. Louis.
Funding Considerations
- Cost estimate: To be assessed
- Can this be funded from interest via a Municipal Endowment Fund? (Estimated value of $12M annually): No
- Does this require matching funds? (More than $250M) No
- Is this eligible for a tax-exempt bond? (Project benefits taxpayers and proceeds used by governmental entity) No
- Is this likely to attract philanthropic funding? Yes
- Are there other potential funding sources? Yes
City: Economic Development Sales Tax
State: None
Federal: None
A recap from 2023:
Vote on Priority Ideas
We want to hear directly from city residents to understand your needs. City leadership wants to use this money in ways that help the economy grow, encourage more people to live in the City of St. Louis, and make life better for the people that live here.
The Kick-Off survey asked about the challenges that you and others face living here in St. Louis, which has informed the types of proposals we will consider funding through the Rams Settlement. Together, we have brainstormed and build upon previously submitted ideas that address the Priority Challenges.
But before the Board of Aldermen is asked to choose between ideas, there’s a lot of work for City staff! Now, the City has to conduct due diligence to vet ideas for feasibility – from identifying lead departments to understanding funding considerations. For example, how much does an idea cost to implement? Is it a one-time cost or does it require similar or greater funding year after year?
This is where we could really use your help! Which ideas should we prioritize for deeper vetting and highlighting during public hearings? Let us know by voting for your favorites!