I took the opportunity Friday to explain why I could not support Mr. McKee’s proposal. Watch that video here:

In addition, I submitted the following statement for the official record of the Board of Aldermen:

Under Rule 47 of the Board of Aldermen Rules, Mr. French explains his vote with the following:

Alderman French voted NAY on Board Bills 218CS and 219CS because of the particular developer’s treatment of the community in the five years he has been assembling land in poor neighborhoods. With much respect to the co-sponsors of these bills, Alderwomen Griffin, Triplett, Young, and Davis, and Alderman Bosley, who have crafted a very good redevelopment deal with many new safeguards to protect the community moving forward and makes requirements of the developer to finally force him to be a responsible partner, Alderman French stated in his remarks on the floor that the unanimous passage of these bills would send the wrong message to future developers also planning projects on a similar scale. It is Alderman French’s position that the manner in which this developer has acquired and not maintained his hundreds of parcels actually does more to damage communities in the short run.

I was also interviewed on KMOX radio on Friday to discuss my vote. You can listen to that interview right here: Listen to Alderman French’s KMOX interview.

“The St. Louis Public School District, the Special Administrative Board and its appointees to the City of St. Louis Tax Increment Financing Commission fully recognize the importance of major economic development projects, including the proposal being discussed today, to the future of the City and the entire St. Louis region. We know that projects of this magnitude stimulate the local economy during development and after completion.

This project, specifically, will require a significant investment in public infrastructure – streets, sidewalks, sewer, water and school buildings. Renovated or newly constructed school buildings will be a necessary part of the public infrastructure investment for this project. This project will attract new families to the area, and their children will need schools. For this reason, the St. Louis Public Schools, the Special Administrative Board and its appointees to the City of St. Louis Tax Increment Financing Commission encourage this commission to fully support the use of infrastructure funds within the TIF Zone for renovation or new construction of St. Louis Public School District facilities. We encourage this Commission to recommend that an agreement between the St. Louis Public Schools and the developer for new construction or substantial renovation of school buildings be a part of the Commission’s final project plan before it is submitted to the Board of Aldermen for approval.”

McKee is asking for the largest TIF in the history of the City of St. Louis for his project. But that in itself is not the most alarming thing about McKee’s request. McKee is pushing for city taxpayers to guarantee — effectively co-sign — his risky bank loans. To the tune of $200 million dollars.

From the Post-Dispatch:

They’ve only backed three other TIFs in recent years, and wound up on the hook each time. And with a tight budget and pension obligations looming, there isn’t much room to pay down bonds if new tax revenue from NorthSide can’t.

Even if Mayor Francis Slay’s office agrees, it’s not clear that there are enough votes on the Board of Aldermen.

“I’m not more of a financial expert than the banks that are looking at this,” said Alderman Antonio French. “If they’re still passing on it, who are we to say it’s a good deal?”

Listen as McKee’s pitbulls attack French for pointing out the risk to city taxpayers.

CLICK TO LISTEN: Paul McKee’s pitbulls attack Alderman French

In these times when civility in public debate seems to be eroding by the hour, and the investment of every tax dollar should be thoroughly examined, make a donation today to show your support for Alderman French.

“The recovery funds not only will restore historic buildings on these campuses but also will provide a boost to individuals and companies performing the repairs, college communities and related local economies,” Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said today.

The National Park Service invited all HBCUs to submit grant applications for grants to repair and preserve historic buildings on their campuses. The buildings selected for this apportionment of grant funds were assessed as being the most architecturally and historically significant buildings on these HBCU campuses, and as needing essential repairs to preserve them and make them useable.

These much needed repairs will address issues such as termite and wood rot damage, leaking roofs and water damage, asbestos and lead paint removal, masonry work, electrical rewiring, heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems and achieving accessibility for disabled persons.

The full list of the funding amounts made available to HBCU projects follows. For additional information regarding HBCU grants programs, contact Linda Hall, National Park Service, Southeast Regional Office at (404) 507-5779.

Here’s the story by Audrey Spalding of the Show-Me Institute…

David Jackson says he has been asked to resign from the city commission that will consider developer Paul McKee’s proposed $8.1 billion development in north Saint Louis and whether to award McKee $398 million in tax increment financing (TIF) money. Jackson is one of 11 members, and has served on the commission for a number of years.

Jackson, who is also on the Saint Louis Public School District’s Board of Education, said that a member of the district’s Special Administrative Board (SAB) asked him to step down. He wouldn’t specify who.

This news is controversial because Jackson is seen as more sympathetic to critics of the proposed north side development. In August, he spoke at a TIF workshop held by the North Side Community Benefits Alliance, a group that has opposed provisions of the proposed development. In that same month, he also voted to move the commission’s hearing of the development to 6 p.m. rather than 8 a.m., a move that might enable more working people to attend the hearing.

“I was just taken aback because one of the things the SAB did when they took over the school district was that they reappointed me to the TIF commission,” Jackson said.

“I had a relationship with two of their members,” he said. “And that it comes a week and a half before the north side renovation TIF meeting.” But Jackson would not say explicitly that the request for his resignation had anything to do with the proposed development.

Alderman Antonio French, who first posted notice that Jackson was being asked to resign, broke it — how else? — through his Twitter profile.

“Backers of McKee’s project are attempting a TIF Commission shake up days before next week’s important meeting,” he wrote. “SAB may replace David Jackson.” French, when reached by phone, said that Jackson had told him personally that he had been asked to resign.

On Sept. 23 at 6 p.m., the TIF Commission will hear McKee’s pitch. Jackson plans to be there as a commissioner, and said he won’t submit a letter of resignation as asked.

Though he can be removed by the SAB, Jackson says there is a state law that says TIF commission members must remain until a TIF project is submitted to its governing body.

In this case, he said it means that “I should remain until the NorthSide Renovation project is submitted to the Board of Aldermen.”

When contacted, Richard Gaines, one of the three members of the SAB, was surprised that any such allegations were made. He said that Jackson had not been asked to resign, and that his review was not related to the development.

“David Jackson, as well as all other commissioners, comes up for review every two years,” he said.

“I called David Jackson personally to ask if he wanted to stay,” Gaines said.

“This sounds like some diabolical scheme,” he said. “And I resent that.”.