Hanley House Event - December 17th

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Haunted Hanley House - Children's Event - October 30th and 31st

Haunted Hanley House Event Flyer

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Save the date: 9/16/09 - ANNUAL OLD TOWN CLAYTON NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETING

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

7:00 PM

St. Joseph Parish Hall

WE THANK THE FOLLOWING DONORS FOR ATTENDANCE PRIZES!

ALMONDS RESTAURANT
CITY COFFEE
HANLEY HOUSE EVENT
HARRY AND DAVIDS
JENNIFERS PHARMACY AND SODA SHOP
JORDANS AUTO SERVICE
PASTA PLUS RESTAURANT
ROXANNE RESTAURANT
ST. LOUIS ZOO
STRAUBS GROCERY

Mark your calendars now to attend our informative and free annual neighborhood meeting. St. Joseph's Parish Hall is located at N. Meramec and Maryland in Old Town. Our program includes brief remarks from Clayton Mayor Linda Goldstein...City Manager Craig Owens... Ward III Aldermen, Alex Berger and Steve Lichtenfeld...Police Chief Tom Byrne....and Fire Chief Mark Thorp. There will also be presentations from Sarah Umlauf regarding Historic Hanley House events. A representative from the newly formed Clayton Century Foundation will also give a brief presentation. There will be time allotted for questions following all presentations.

You and your family are encouraged to attend this special event to hear news about Clayton and our Old Town Clayton neighborhood. We expect a record turnout this year. Attendance prizes will be awarded to some lucky attendees, so plan now to attend and bring your neighbors!

Hike into History with Esley Hamilton

The Wydown-Forsyth National Historic District

Saturday, September 26, 2009

9:00 am to 11:00 am

Site of the Philippine exhibit at the World's Fair, this neighborhood was intended by Robert Brookings and Thomas Skinker to provide a worthy setting for Washington University. The distinguished architect-designed houses have attracted many outstanding residents over the past century. Group will meet at the north door of the Church of St. Michael and St. George on Ellenwood at Wydown. Wear comfortable walking shoes. Pre-registration is required.


Cost $5.00 To Register, call 290-8500 and refer to Program # 9092 or visit http://www.centerofclayton.com/ and search for program Code # 9092

Wydown Tomorrow - A letter to the Clayton community

Dear Old Town Clayton Neighborhood Association,

I have been asked to share the letter below with you regarding the future of Wydown Middle School by Kristin Redington, a Clayton resident and Co-Chair of Wydown Tomorrow. More information can be found at http://www.wydowntomorrow.org

Feel free to share this post with other Clayton neighbors and friends.

Thanks and Regards,

Cheryl Verde
President, Old Town Clayton Neighbrhood Association
Website http://www.oldtownclayton.org/
Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oldtownclayton

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Friday August 28th, from 5:00 pm - 10 pm

The inaugural PARTY ON THE POINT event is scheduled on the grounds of St. Joseph Church which is located in Old Town. PARTY ON THE POINT is a fundraiser to support primarily Habitat for Humanity. For young adults and young at heart, PARTY ON THE POINT will bring together friends, neighbors, and fellow parishioners for music, great food, and lots of fun on the parking lots of the church. You must be 21 or older to attend.

Information and tickets are available via http://www.partyonthepoint.com . Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the last day to purchase advance tickets for $25.00 online, or at the parish rectory! The price will be $35.00 at the door on the day of the event.

PARTY ON THE POINT - Ticket information on new website

http://partyonthepoint.com

PARTY ON THE POINT - Event Announcement - Call for Volunteers

The inaugural PARTY ON THE POINT event has been announced by St. Joseph's Church. Slated for Friday August 28th, from 5:00 pm - 10 pm., PARTY ON THE POINT will be a fundraiser to support outreach missions of St. Joseph Church, primarily Habitat for Humanity, in this first year of the event. For young adults and young at heart, PARTY ON THE POINT will bring together friends, neighbors, and fellow parishioners for music, great food, and lots of fun on the parking lots of the church. Information on ticket sales will be available next month.

Volunteers are needed for many jobs such as ticket sales, gates and supplies. Volunteering is a great way to meet people., make friends, have fun and serve a worthy cause. All volunteers will receive a reduced admission to the event and a t-shirt. If you are interested in becoming an event sponsor, please contact Meg Shuff at (312) 953-5973 or meg@eageninc.com for more information.

Tonight - Important BOE Meeting - 7 pm

Details:
School District of Clayton
Monday, June 15, 2009 - 07:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Board of Education Meeting-CHS Library
Regular Business Meeting
Location:
Administrative Center
Contact Information:
Phone: 854-6017

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Dear Old Town Clayton Neighbors,

The Clayton Board of Education has an agenda item to vote on at their upcoming meeting tonight - Monday, June 15, 2009 to declare the Maryland School property surplus and place it on the market for development. The following email was forwarded to me with an attachment. I have been asked to share this document with the Old Town residents for their review.

Lastly, if you know of any good potential candidates to elect to the School Board in the Old Town/Hanley Place/Clayton Gardens area, please let me know so I can pass that information along.

Thanks and Regards,

Cheryl Verde
President, Old Town Clayton Neighborhood Association


Dear Friends and Neighbors:

It appears that I have become an unofficial spokesman for a portion of Clayton due to my efforts to help preserve a much needed green space over the past year or so and due to the recent success of the Clayton Community Garden on the Maryland School site. The Board of Education has an agenda item to vote at their upcoming meeting on Monday, June 15, 2009 to declare this property surplus and place it on the market for development.

A group of approximately 40 Clayton residents provided insight and advice at a meeting earlier this week. The attached document represents their collective thoughts on the topic.

WE ASK THAT YOU REVIEW THE ATTACHED DOCUMENT, PRINT IT OUT , SIGN IT AND SEND IT VIA MAIL OR EMAIL TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO EXPRESS CONCERN ABOUT THE POSSIBLE SALE OF THIS PROPERTY. PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND THE BOE MEETING ON MONDAY, JUNE 15 TO VOICE YOUR CONCERN AS WELL.

We also ask that you forward this attachment to other Clayton residents you know who are interested in preserving green and historic space within the City of Clayton. We will never get back land like this if it is sold and we urge you to help in our efforts to ask the Board of Education to review this proposal more closely.

Thanks for your time and interest.

Steven Rosenblum

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The attachment:

Clayton Citizens for the Preservation of Neighborhood Schools

As residents of the City of Clayton we feel that a discussion regarding the sale of the Maryland and Bracken Buildings is premature and should be reviewed further before a vote is cast. We respectfully submit a request that the Board of Education members vote to table this proposed agenda item for the following reasons:

1) There needs to be a well conceived updated Master Plan for all of the facilities in the Clayton School District one that takes into account the Wydown and Maryland/Bracken properties in the current economic and political times
2) The economy and real estate markets are much different than they were three years ago when the Highest and Best Use for the Maryland School Property analysis was last done during the height of the real estate bubble as well as even a year and a half ago when the Properties and Partnerships Subcommittee prepared their report
3) There is an identified need for green space and park space within the City of Clayton that is currently met and could be maintained at this site especially considering the fact that it abuts the Historic Hanley House
4) There are numerous innovative educational uses that could be conceived for grades K-12 at this space including the teaching of real life skills such as finances, home economics and agriculture perhaps in conjunction with Hanley House
5) There may very well be a need for additional schools in the future as demographics change as evidenced by the current need to repurchase land in Ladue and other places around the country where properties which were deemed surplus at the time are now needed to house students
6) The buildings themselves have much historic value as prime examples of William Ittner’s work considering more than 35 of his schools are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
7) For more than 160 years this land has been an integral part of Clayton history first as part of the Hanley Farm then as a gift to the City 132 years ago and next as part of a land deal with the School District of Clayton 118 years ago and has housed a school on Maryland Avenue for 92 years
8) The field space, basketball courts and other athletic amenities at the site could and should be used by the School District
9) There is a continued threat of encroachment and erosion of this space by Washington University and other commercial uses into the neighborhoods of Clayton that is feared throughout the City
10) The Board of Education has a responsibility to represent the needs of this quadrant of Clayton by involving the neighbors in decision making regarding this property which predated the City and the neighborhood
11) Maryland Elementary School is a neighborhood school (defined as being within a child's walking distance, +/- 1/2 mile, from the home) just as are all the other Clayton elementary schools. Neighborhood school is one of the core concepts of the Clayton master plan. To eliminate the future access to and ownership of this facility in Old Town/Hanley Place/Clayton Garden would be a great and permanent loss for the whole City

Shop Clayton Shops on June 26th

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Letter to Neighbors living near Bracken/Maryland Buildings

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The official letter above was mailed on Friday, May 29th to the neighbors that live around the Maryland School and Bracken Buildings. The letter let them know that the Board of Education will be discussing, and likely voting, on the issue of declaring those two properties surplus and making them available for sale at the June 15th Board of Education meeting. The Board wants to make sure that no one feels like this meeting topic was a surprise.

This information was sent to Old Town Clayton Neighborhood Association from:

Chris Tennill, APR
Chief Communications Officer
School District of Clayton
#2 Mark Twain Circle
Clayton, MO 63105
(314) 854-6015 Direct Line
(314) 803-8268 Cell Phone
(314) 854-6093 Fax

Old Town Events - June 6th and June 13th

Note from Sarah Umlauf to the Old Town Clayton Neighborhood Association:

Dear Friends,

I hope that many of you are planning on attending the History Hike with Esley Hamilton this coming Saturday, June 6th at 9 AM. We will meet at the east corner of Westmoreland and Jackson in Old Town. You may register for the tour by calling or going to the front desk at the Center of Clayton or you may also register online at:
http://online.activecommunities.com/Clayton/Activities/ActivitiesDetails.asp?ProcessWait=N&aid=690

Also, please plan on attending the Hanley House Ice Cream Social scheduled for Saturday, June 13th from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Attached you will find a flyer for the event. Please forward the flyer to your friends, family and coworkers. Who doesn't love ice cream on a Saturday afternoon?

If you are interested in volunteering for the event, we could use tour guides (the museum will be open for tours but no food or drink will be allowed) as well as helpers with our children's games and crafts.

If you would like to volunteer, please let me know what you would like to do and what times you would like help and I will send you either tour information or craft and game instructions.

Thank you everyone for your extra special support!!

Sarah Umlauf,
Community Resource Coordinator
City of Clayton
50 Gay Avenue
Clayton, MO 63105
314-226-9893
Keeping History Alive!

Extension request for RJ York project

Announcement.....

"RJ York has submitted a request to be on the June 9th Board of Aldermen agenda to extend the approvals associated with the development of the project at Maryland and Central. As you know it has been difficult to secure financing and developers have not been able to start their projects within the year time limit. The City has already approved 2 other extensions but wanted to let the Old Town Neighborhood Association know about this request because of proximity to the Old Town area."

Source: Email sent by Catherine Powers, Director of Clayton Planning & Development on 5/22/09

Upcoming Event Announcements

Saturday, May 2nd - Herb Sale and Tea Service:
Come to Hanley Park on Saturday, May 2nd to purchase your herbs for 2009 - herbs will be sold for $3 each. While you are in Hanley Park stay and enjoy a very special Tea Service on the grounds of the Historic Martin Franklin Hanley House. Tea service will begin on the hour from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon - what a wonderful event for grandmothers, mothers, and daughters! Limited seating available for the Tea Service and advanced reservations required. To reserve your space for the Tea Service, please pre-register at the Center of Clayton, call 290-8500 and refer to course code 8510 (9:00am), 8511 (10:00am), or 8512 (11:00am) or register on-line at http://online.activecommunities.com/clayton/Activities/ActivitiesDetails.asp?ProcessWait=N&aid=689
- the cost is $5 for residents and $7 for non-residents.

Saturday, June 6th - Old Town Walking Tour:
Hike Into History Walking Tour with Esley Hamilton - Old Town Clayton. County Historian, Esley Hamilton, will lead this walking tour on Saturday, June 6th from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. While the turn-of-the century houses in Clayton north of Maryland are fast being replaced, similar houses in University City are being preserved in the Linden Avenue and Maryland Terrace historic districts. This tour looks at these distinguished houses plus the venerable Hanley House and some of the good new residential work by architect Louis Saur. Group will meet on Westmoreland Drive east of Jackson. If you would like to join this tour, please pre-register at the Center of Clayton, call 290-8500 and refer to course code 8514 or register on-line at http://online.activecommunities.com/clayton/Activities/ActivitiesCourseDetails.asp?aid=690&cid=8621
- the cost is $5.

Saturday, June 13th - Ice Cream Social:
Come and enjoy an Ice Cream Social on the grounds of Hanley Park. The Friends of the Historic Hanley House will host an Ice Cream Social on Saturday, June 13th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. We will be celebrating the newly restored Hanley House Privy and Herb Garden. Children will enjoy creating their own traditional 19th century crafts with the help of costumed interpreters. You will also have the chance to listen to live readings of original Hanley family letters by Hanley House interpreters. Come by Hanley Park and enjoy some ice cream, fun crafts, and historic readings with your family and friends. Ice Cream served at a cost of $5 each.

MEETING CANCELLATION NOTICE

Dear Old Town Clayton Neighborhood Association,

Please review the following email from Mr. Mosher informing me that Wednesday's meeting has been cancelled. Please inform anyone that might not be on our email distribution list. For those we can't reach, there will be a note posted on the Parish Hall door. As more information becomes available from Conrad Properties' developers, I will keep you informed.

In other news, thanks to donations to our association, I have ordered 10 all-weather red and yellow signs for future neighborhood meetings. The signs will be posted around the neighborhood to alert you to visit our website for meeting details. See photo below. This is a visual improvement over our previously hand scrawled posters! The signs can be re-used so this is a green effort as well!

Thanks and Regards,
Cheryl Verde
President, Old Town Clayton Neighborhood Association


Dear Ms. Verde,

I am very sorry to report that due to market conditions, we are putting this plan on hold. We will try to keep you in the loop as we determine our best course of action regarding the site.

Thank you so much for your time.

Bryce Mosher Project Manager Conrad Properties Corporation bryce@conradprop.com165 N Meramec Ave, Suite 400 Clayton, MO 63105 www.conradprop.com 314 721 3202 d 314 446 3023 f 314 721 2154

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT: Save-the-Date Wednesday April 29th, 7 pm, St. Joseph Parish Hall

The meeting place was confirmed today and it will be held at St. Joseph Parish Hall.

Bryce Mosher, the Project Manager for Conrad Properties Corporation, will be hosting a presentation regarding the proposed Meramec Place Development, to be located at N. Meramec and Pershing. Mr. Mosher requested this meeting as a response to the comments received from the City Planning staff, Planning Commission, and area residents. They have made several modifications and they want to present their changes, and answer any questions that the residents might have, prior to their formal submittal to the City Planning Commission.

All residents and interested parties are invited and encouraged to attend this brief presentation on April 29th. St. Joseph Parish Hall is located at N. Meramec and Maryland in the lower level basement. Please enter through the north door located behind the church. Handicap access is available at the south door located on the Maryland Avenue side.

Save-the-Date! Wed. April 29th 7 pm - Meramec Place Presentation

Recently I received the following email from Bryce Mosher, the Project Manager for Conrad Properties Corporation:

"In response to the comments we received from the planning staff, commission, and residents; we have made several modifications to the proposed Meramec Place Development. I am writing to request a meeting with the neighborhood association so that we may present the changes, and answer any questions that the residents might have, prior to our formal submittal to the Plan Commission. Please let me know of an appropriate meeting location as well as a couple of dates and times that would work well for you in the next two weeks. Thank you very much for your time." - Bryce Mosher


I encourage each of you to discuss this with your neighbors, and plan on attending this brief presentation. Mark your calendars. Your input on this proposed Old Town development is welcome and important.

Regards,
Cheryl Verde
President, Old Town Clayton Neighborhood Association

Hanley House Dig for Scouts

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The Historic Hanley House will host an archaeological dig on Saturday, April 25th from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The dig will involve Boy Scouts and will fulfill the requirements for an Archaeology Merit Badge. Lead by Hanley House volunteer Tim Dodson, the dig will be an exciting experience for all involved. If you know a Boy Scout that would like to sign up for the Dig please pre-register at the Center of Clayton, call 290-8500 and refer to course code 8593 or register on-line at http://online.activecommunities.com/clayton/Activities/ActivitiesDetails.asp?ProcessWait=N&aid=699 - the cost is $5.

'Meramec Place' - Proposed development in Old Town

There is a City Plan Commission / Architectural Review Board meeting this coming Monday, April 6th at 5:30pm at City Hall, 10 N. Bemiston. Please review the meeting agenda HERE. The agenda includes a conceptual review of the Old Town Clayton proposed development called 'Meramec Place'. Last September, you may recall, there was a conceptual presentation from several Conrad representatives following the annual Old Town Clayton meeting at St. Joseph Parish Hall. The latest plan has changed dramatically from the initial plans presented.

Yesterday, I met with Catherine Powers, our city's Director of Planning and Development Services to discuss and view the new plans for myself. Links to the new documents regarding the landscape plan, elevations, streetscape and the staff memo to Plan Commission can be found HERE off of the city's website.

If you are an interested Old Town resident, please plan to attend the city's Architectural Review Board meeting on Monday. If you can't attend, there are several things you can do. You can contact Catherine Powers to ask questions or voice your opinion at 290-8459 or email her at cpowers@ci.clayton.mo.us I would also encourage you to contact our Ward 3 alderman..... Alex Berger III at home 862-6835 or email him at aberger@ci.clayton.mo.us ....and/or Steve Lichtenfeld at home 727-5476 or email him at slichtenfeld@ci.clayton.mo.us .

In the future, if there are other news or announcements that you want shared with the Old Town Community using our email database or website posting, please contact me at home to discuss at 862-1247, or email me at oldtownclayton@gmail.com .

Thanks and Best Regards,
Cheryl Verde
President, Old Town Clayton Neighborhood Association

P.S. Don't forget to vote on Tuesday, April 7th!

Hanley House - Springtime Events

....More information HERE

Websites regarding Proposition S - Please vote on April 7th!

NOTE * The Old Town Clayton Neighborhood Association has not taken a public stance as a neighborhood organization. In the interest of shared information , the following websites are listed here as a courtesy to residents for their review.

Vote Yes Website - http://www.voteyesons.net/

Vote No Website - http://www.nosplitbond.us/

School District of Clayton - Message from Don Senti

Prop S Vote April 7

Proposition S is a $51 million bond issue that will be placed before Clayton voters Tuesday, April 7, 2009. It will fund improvements, additions and renovations to Clayton High School, Captain Elementary School, Glenridge Elementary School, Meramec Elementary School and the Family Center. Plans for projects at each school were developed by parents, community members students and staff as part of the District’s recently-completed Facilities Master Plan. Though not part of the plan, the Wydown Middle School land swap has been removed from consideration even as a separate issue. Citizens for Clayton Schools has created a website with information.

For details of the plan, click here.

For those who would like to ask questions or get more information on Prop S, there will be an informational meeting at St. Joseph Parish Hall, on Monday, March 16th at 7 pm. Details will be forthcoming.

Clayton Ordinances Available Online

The new Code is now online and accessible to the public. It is maintained online by Sullivan Publications, Inc. The updated Code contains all ordinances supplied by the Municipality through Ordinance Number 6051, enacted December 23, 2008.

The link is HERE.