St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 119

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATIH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1996 ROCK HILL Mall City Departments Must Live With Current Building Voters' rejection of a tax proposal means Rock Hill's government must operate in its current building until the Board of Aldermen can generate more revenue or determine how to build new facilities with the money it has. The police, fire, public works and parks departments along with the library and city-hall administrators need more space than their 30-year-old building at 9620 Manchester City Administrator Larry Hensley said aldermen would discuss the chances of a sales-tax proposal on the ballot or expanding the current facilities with the money available. In other business, Police Chief Donald A. McDonald says he will retire effective June 4.

"I have been in the business for 42 years," said McDonald, 64. "It is just time to go on to something else." He has been Rock Hill's chief since 1983. Road can provide. To relieve the crowding, the aldermen planned to build new facilities on Stroup Field on the southeast corner of McKinley Avenue and Old Warson Road across from the Rock Hill Quarry. The city was counting on a potential parks and drainage sales tax and money from the sale of the old facilities to pay for the new complex.

But the measure was rejected 907 to 1,492 last week. spaces ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 square feet and smaller shops in spaces of less than 5,000 square feet. The mall would include a food court. NesDor would build the mall and other facilities in two phases. The first would be 1.2 million square feet of space on 135 acres on the east side of the property.

The second would be 900,000 square feet of space on the remaining 147 acres. NesDor said it hoped to start construction in August and open the first phase by July 1, 1999. One or more hotels may be built on the site, the redevelopment plan says. Their construction could occur in either phase. The plan did not include any information about financial commitments for the project, but that is expected later.

The plan gave an allocation for spending $56.25 million in tax-increment financing. One allocation includes $7.85 million for improvements to the interchange of Interstate 44 and Allenton-Six Flags Road so it could accommodate traffic to the Six Flags theme park and the mall. Among the improvements would be widened ramps, new traffic signals and an overpass over railroad tracks at O'Sullivan Avenue. The state has a three-phase plan for upgrading the roperty-tax revenue from the development would go into a separate fund. interchange, but work on the last phase might not start until 2002.

Berry said Eureka would use tax-increment financing so the work could be done now. The state would receive the difference in cost resulting from moving up the work and from additional construction needed for the mall. Other allocations include: $15 million for grading the site and removing rock. $14 million for land acquisition and relocation costs. $10 million for a new interchange with Interstate 44 for the mall.

$6.9 million for sanitary sewers and water system improvements. $1 million for demolition of structures. $500,000 each for landscaping, public safety and construction of a station for a commuter rail line. $150,000 for professional services, such as for a financial adviser, planners and lawyers. From page one on the northwest corner of the interchange of Interstate 44 and Allenton-Six Flags Road.

The NesDor Group, based in Peoria, 111., wants the city to issue $56.25 million in notes for the $277.72 million project. If the notes later are converted into bonds, an additional $10 million will be needed to cover financing costs. Under tax-increment financing, Eureka would issue notes or bonds for its share of the project. They would be retired within 23 years using revenue generated by the MegaMall. Property-tax revenue from the development would go into a separate fund.

The tax jurisdictions would receive payments equal to 25 percent of the tax revenue they would have received, Berry said. A city redevelopment plan and documents NesDor circulated to investors say the company wants to build a mall with 2 million square feet of retail space on about 250 acres along the south side of Interstate 44 on both sides of the interchange with Allenton Six-Flags Road. The mall would consist of major stores in MetroLink 7 They expect the boats to generate 4,500 jobs and draw as many as 11 million visitors a year to the Maryland Heights-St. Charles area, the letter says. "With this level of investment, as well as user and employment activity, we want to ensure there is a recognition of the level of development occurring in this part of the region," the letter said.

Among organizations represented at the supporters' meeting on Tuesday were Coeur, Maryland Heights, Olivette, the Creve Coeur-Olivette and Maryland Heights chambers of commerce, the Creve Coeur Fire Protection District and the Creve Coeur Transit Management Association. from their jobs in the West Port and Riverport area, he said. The extension, he continued, would provide access to medical facilities in the area. The extension also has drawn support from riverboat gambling interests. The Missouri Riverboat Gaming Association and the owners of Casino St.

Charles of St. Charles and Harrah's St. Louis-Riverport, soon to open in Maryland Heights, on Oct. 29 sent a letter to Gateway. The extension "would have a significant impact on stimulating and stabilizing the economic activity of this area," the letter said.

The owners of the two gaming facilities will have invested more than $500 million in their facilities by the end of next year, the letter says. From page one The proposal is for a nine-mile loop that would go southeast from roughly the Missouri River and Interstate 70 to include stops near Riverport, West Port Plaza and the federal Records Center before turning north to Lambert Field. Stan Mengwasser, a businessman from Olivette who heads the group of supporters, said the region needed the line to stay competitive. It would serve a fast-growing business and entertainment area and would carry thousands of workers from all parts of the region to and Jerry Naunheim Jr.Post-Dispatch Mark Davis, a music specialist at Barbara Jordan School, puts on the crown he wears as a village chief in Gomoa Obuasi in Ghana. His wife, Evia, also is dressed in African robes.

Chief Meacham money helped pay to begin building a clinic to provide prenatal care for pregnant women. "When boxes of supplies were brought to the they began to sing, clap and jump," Davis said. "It was touching to see their enthusiasm for things we take for granted." This year, Barbara Jordan students had a raffle and a candy drive to raise money. Juanester Russell, the school's principal, said the effort had helped bridge the gap in cultures. Next summer, Davis wants to try to find a grinder, or milling machine, to take to the village.

He also wants to collect flip-flops, or sandals, for the village children. "When children here learn about folks elsewhere in the world and help others, they learn to take better care of themselves," he said. yellow, green and brown double-woy-en cloth called kente cloth that villagers had made for him. He showed the children his crown of ornamental gold; his sword; his ring in the shape of a turtle, a symbol of long life; his necklaces and sandals all given by the people of Gomoa Obuasi. Last year, children at Barbara Jordan helped the Davises start the Ak-waaba Foundation by raising more than $50 in pennies.

The address of the foundation is the Davis address at 939 Dalkeith Lane, St. Louis, Mo. 63132. This past summer, the Davises and their children, Nicole, 17, and Mark, 13, took 1,000 pencils, folders, games, toys, clothing and shoes to the 900 schoolchildren in the village. They also brought $1,250 the equivalent of about 2 million cedis, the currency used in the village.

The From page one "Me du wo," they said, meaning "I love you." Davis told the children about Gomoa Obuasi, a farming village of about 20,000 people. The village is about 100 miles north of Accra, Ghana's capital. Davis was introduced to the leaders of Gomoa Obuasi by a friend, who had friends in a neighboring village. On Aug. 4, 1995, the villagers held a daylong ceremony to make Mark Davis a chief and Evia Davis a queen mother.

They called Mark Davis Nana Ekow Entsie Davis II and Evia Davis Nana Adjua Ahema Davis I. Mark Davis showed the students a approved changes allowing multi-family use and drive-through restaurants with outdoor seating in areas with the same zoning that the DESCO plan needs. Those uses would apply to similar areas throughout Kirkwood. DESCO is not including multi-family housing in its plans for Meacham Park, but restaurants may be included later. writing.

A few other residents supported the plan, including Charles Thornton, president of the Club 44 youth organization. Unlike previous hearings, however, the session ended rather quickly. A DESCO spokesman said the plan might be ready for final consideration by the council in December. In a related matter, the council From page one Attorney Arlene Zirembka and Harriet Patton, a neighborhood leader in Meacham Park, challenged that plan. They said the TIF ordinance needed to be redone and noted that DfcSCO promises were not in i mrrrrxnnnnTra rm rnrmTrnnr? 1 1 DID YOUR CHILD'S REPORT CARD CATCH YOU BY SURPRISE? Your child may need help with weak study skills or poor reading or math skills.

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