2026-10-07 - Public Infrastructure and Utilities Committee

00:04Good afternoon. This is the public

00:06infrastructure and utilities committee

00:08meeting. It is Wednesday, October 7th,

00:12at 3:30 p.m. Madame Clerk, please call

00:14roll.

00:16>> Alderwoman Boyd,

00:21>> Chair Clark Hubard,

00:22>> I'm sorry, woman cubert

00:26>> here.

00:28Vice Chair Schwitzer

00:29>> present.

00:31>> Alderman Devote

00:32>> here. Thank you.

00:34>> Alderwoman Cox Santo

00:35>> present.

00:36>> Chair Brownie

00:38>> present.

00:39>> Alderwoman Boyd we have five present. We

00:42have a quum.

00:44>> Thank you. With that uh we will move on

00:46to the next item in our agenda which is

00:48approval of the minutes. I'll accept a

00:49motion to approve the minutes from our

00:51meeting that was held on Wednesday,

00:53October 30th, 26.

00:57I move to approve the minutes from

00:59Wednesday, October 30th, 2026.

01:01>> It's moved by the other one from the

01:031st.

01:03>> September 30th, rather.

01:05>> Yeah, it should be September 30th.

01:07Sorry, I said October 30th because

01:08that's what's on the page here, but it

01:10is actually September 30th. It's moved

01:11by the Alderwoman from the 1, seconded

01:13by the Alderwoman from the ETH. Madame

01:15clerk, please call roll.

01:17>> Alderwoman Boyd.

01:20>> Alderwoman Clark Hubard.

01:22>> Hi.

01:23>> Vice Chair Schwitzer.

01:24>> Hi.

01:26Alderman Devotey. Hi,

01:28>> Alderwoman Coxi.

01:30>> Hi,

01:31>> Chair Browning.

01:32>> I, Alderwoman Boyd, we have five eye

01:35votes.

01:36>> Thank you. With that, we've approved the

01:38minutes. Uh, we don't have any board

01:40bills for review today or resolutions

01:42for review. We're actually here for the

01:44committee discussions, which uh we have

01:47one discussion in front of us today,

01:48which is the issue of the train horns

01:51that are being sounded in the quiet

01:53zones in our city. uh something that

01:55started in midepptember and continues to

01:58this day. Uh we have special guests with

02:01us today. Uh Ben Johnson uh the chief

02:05operating officer uh from the mayor's

02:07office as well as Len Etham, our uh

02:10traffic and lighting commissioner. And

02:12they're going to give us an update on

02:15the steps that are being taken to

02:17address this. Uh we are very grateful

02:19that they've been open to coming today

02:21and discussing this. The entire goal of

02:24this meeting is to share information

02:25with people so that they have that

02:27information about what is being done and

02:30allow the committee to ask some

02:31questions. The way we're going to do

02:33this meeting is we're going to have the

02:36presentation first. Uh then we'll do

02:38committee discussion uh and ask

02:41questions and then we'll hear from the

02:43public. And I'm not putting the public

02:45last uh because they're not important.

02:47I'm putting the public glass because I

02:49want the information to be heard first

02:51so that we can have a substantive

02:52discussion. Uh we definitely want people

02:55to hear what's happening and I really

02:56appreciate the transparency that's been

02:58brought today uh by the mayor's office

03:01and our streets department. So without

03:03further ado, uh Ben Johnson and you are

03:08both recognized uh on your presentation

03:11on the uh train horns in the quiet

03:12zones.

03:29How's that?

03:30>> All right. Thank you, Chair Browning,

03:32Vice Chair Schwitzer, members of the

03:34committee. Again, my name is Ben

03:36Johnson. I am Mayor Spencer's chief

03:38operating officer joined today by our as

03:41you mentioned our traffic and lighting

03:43commissioner Len Effam and uh also our

03:46city lead for this that we appointed

03:48immediately upon finding out about the

03:51suspension in the may um from the

03:53mayor's office. We appointed our

03:55director streets James Jackson as the

03:57lead uh for the city in response to it.

04:00Unfortunately, he had an emergency in

04:02the last 24 hours uh for which um he had

04:06to be excused from this. I deemed that

04:08it was more important to continue

04:10without him uh so that we could get the

04:12updates here today. Uh but just so you

04:15know, he is the lead for the city and uh

04:18uh would be here if not for the

04:19emergency and will be a part of future

04:21updates. In fact, he's been emailing um

04:24himself from his own email many of our

04:27constituents who have been writing about

04:30uh what they're hearing. I'd like to

04:31begin before I get into the particulars

04:35of the presentation with a portion of

04:39the mayor's letter from last night that

04:41went out to members of the community and

04:44um that I know our our older persons are

04:47familiar with, but I think it would be

04:48important for the public to hear from

04:50the mayor's perspective um just prior to

04:53this briefing

04:56[clears throat] what we're doing about

04:57this urgent problem.

04:59So again, this was sent from the mayor

05:02uh yesterday evening.

05:04If you live or work near a rail line in

05:07St. Louis, you have heard the change

05:09this past month. Trains horn sounding

05:12day and night at crossings that have

05:13been quiet for years. Sleep is cut

05:16short. Children awoken. Conversations on

05:19the porch stopped in mid-sentence.

05:22I hear you. I share your frustration.

05:25And I want you to know exactly where

05:26things stand and what we're doing about

05:28it. Here's the short version. The

05:31pavement work is finished. Uh that's

05:34that grinding. That's my insert there.

05:36The new signs should arrive next week

05:39and the Federal Railroad Administration

05:41has agreed to let us restore quiet zones

05:44corridor by corridor as each one is

05:47completed. That means we now have a path

05:49to providing relief to begin in your

05:52neighborhood without waiting for every

05:54crossing in the city to be done. What

05:57happened on September 10th, 2026? The

06:00FRA, that's our Federal Railroad

06:02Administration acronym, notified the

06:05city that it had suspended every quiet

06:07zone within city limits. Since then, as

06:10we know, the train engineers have been

06:13required to sound their horns at all 187

06:16railroad crossings in the city. More

06:19which is more than the 88 crossings

06:21first reported. The suspension came from

06:24two gaps. Required safety upgrades had

06:27not been made. Replacing 30-in advanced

06:30warning signs with 36in signs. Removing

06:34obsolete stop bars and painting new

06:36pavement stop bars. and recurring

06:39paperwork affirmations the FRA requires

06:42had gone unfiled for more than 18 years.

06:46We later learned that the FRA notices

06:48had been going to the email address of

06:51the former director of operations. It's

06:53my predecessor uh who left the city

06:55government 16 months ago. Um but we

06:59acknowledge and I'm sure it'll come up

07:00today the parenthetical for me that that

07:03did not exclude uh anyone in the city

07:06knowing. So, we do know that it had uh

07:09that I'm specifically referring here to

07:11the mayor's office. That's when we found

07:13out uh that we didn't know about that

07:15problem until the suspension notice

07:17arrived. So, it's it's an explanation.

07:20It's not an excuse uh because we know

07:22it's our job to keep the crossings

07:24compliant as the city government and we

07:27take that seriously and that's why we

07:29mobilized the way we did uh from the

07:31mayor's office when we did. Okay. Um,

07:37let's go to the next slide. I'm going to

07:39put this slide up while I read the next

07:40portion of the mayor's letter.

07:43The moment we learned of the suspension,

07:46we treated it as an emergency. Within 24

07:49hours, I convened department leaders,

07:52named our street department director,

07:54James Jackson, as the city lead. So, one

07:56person is accountable for getting this

07:59done. We went straight to the FRA within

08:02hours after receiving the FRA's notice.

08:04Our chief operating officer contacted

08:06the FRA leadership to press for relief

08:10and arranged a joint field assessment of

08:12every crossing with the FRA inspectors.

08:15Our crews hit the street right away.

08:17Street department crews started

08:19grounding out the outdated pavement

08:20markings and prepared every crossing for

08:23new paint.

08:25Uh that grinding work is done. The old

08:27pavement markings are all removed at the

08:30start of this week and new pavement stop

08:32bar markings should be complete by the

08:34end of this week.

08:36Uh we re prioritized existing traffic

08:39division funds.

08:41Uh we identified available traffic

08:43division funds to support both needed

08:45supplies as well as the staff to shift

08:48to make these repairs the priority. And

08:51we will replace those funds through the

08:52board of estimate and aortionment

08:54through a future funds transfer.

08:56The signs are on their way. We expedited

08:59the purchase of every required 36-inch

09:02sign, which are shipping this week,

09:05should arrive early next week, and our

09:07crews are ready to install them the

09:08moment they arrive. [clears throat]

09:10The Federal Railroad Administration has

09:12agreed to provide quicker relief. Uh we

09:15asked and they confirmed that they will

09:17res reinstate quiet zones as repairs are

09:20completed in the corridors.

09:23All right, I'm going to pause there. But

09:25let me just actually let me uh before I

09:28depart the letter, let me come to the

09:29end of it because I think it's important

09:31for our uh elected body here and also

09:34the public to hear this that the

09:36frustration is completely valid. It is

09:39reasonable to expect the city government

09:41to track and meet federal safety

09:43standards

09:45and in this case we fell short.

09:48Uh we are sorry for the disruption that

09:50has brought to homes and to daily lives

09:52in St. Louis

09:54and we also want to give thanks to our

09:56city employees who have stepped up to

09:58fix it especially the men and women in

10:00the streets department.

10:02Uh they have been at the crossings

10:04across the city and worked uh quickly

10:06and I've seen them in person doing it uh

10:08carefully bringing back uh our our

10:11crossings and our neighborhoods into

10:14compliance.

10:16So, it has the mayor's personal

10:17attention and it will and it will and it

10:21will keep it until every quiet zone in

10:23St. Louis is res.

10:26What you see on um the presentation now

10:30switching gears is

10:33um the same information but distri but

10:36displayed uh according to scope of

10:39impact the specific safety gaps

10:43um and the administrative gaps. So, we

10:46talked about the citywide impact when we

10:48specifically learned about the

10:51suspension which was September 10th and

10:54I'm sure if u we can talk a little bit

10:57more about previous communication prior

10:59to that uh during the your questions.

11:03Uh we discussed the upgrades that are

11:06needed. Uh essentially we're grinding

11:08out those big X markers that lead up to

11:11the railroad crossings.

11:14uh painting a new stop bar at the

11:16correct distance from the crossing arm

11:20and then installing the 36inch signs in

11:23place of the 30-in signs which are the f

11:24new federal standard. So those are the

11:27three major structural changes that are

11:30being made at all the crossings. Uh and

11:33I'll defer to commissioner to talk

11:36through they're a little different at

11:39each crossing as you could imagine over

11:41time. Um and then

11:45another key component is the paperwork

11:48and the affirmations that we have to do

11:50to meet the federal compliance. So there

11:52are the structural things we need to do,

11:54but then there is the paperwork that is

11:58required that goes along with the

12:00inspection. And he'll get into a few

12:02more details about that, but it includes

12:04things like traffic counts um and other

12:08infrastructure that was previously

12:11uh included in the original

12:13certification that needs to still be

12:15there.

12:18Um

12:20I mentioned that

12:23paperwork piece was an important piece

12:25of what lapsed. I'm coming to the

12:28administrative gaps here column on the

12:30presentation

12:32and that um

12:34and I mentioned where some of those

12:36communications went in terms of the

12:37mayor's office that uh has been fixed by

12:41appointing the new director of streets

12:44as the point of contact. Obviously, I've

12:46been in touch now with the FRA

12:48personally. Um, I spoke with them on

12:51September 11th and I spoke with them on

12:52October 5th,

12:54both times with a focus on how quickly

12:58could we get back into compliance. The

12:59first time I spoke with them, I

13:01specifically asked them to stay the

13:03suspension

13:05um as we just got it and um was denied.

13:10So we made the case that hey you know

13:14this administration have you have to

13:17give us a chance to make this right as

13:18quickly as we could and um unfortunately

13:21we we didn't get that opportunity but

13:23the reality is we didn't meet federal

13:26standards and um there is a safety

13:28component to this right and that those

13:30standards are based on um keeping our

13:33city safe and so that's why those trains

13:36are uh horns are sounding as disruptive

13:39as they are and We want um we want those

13:43quiet zones to be reinstituted as

13:44quickly as possible, but until we meet

13:46those those federal standards, um those

13:49strains are sounding to keep our

13:50community safe.

13:52All right, next slide.

13:59I uh referenced our the mayor's

14:02appointment of director Jackson as that

14:05single point of accountability

14:07leading our efforts across the city.

14:10Um,

14:13and I already talked here just about our

14:16direct engagement with the Federal

14:17Railroad Administration and even our

14:20team's work with the FRA who were in

14:23town the following week and uh the

14:26face-to-face communication we had with

14:28them at some of our sites to make sure

14:32we understood exactly what needed to be

14:33done in order to be in comp in

14:36compliance as quickly as possible. And

14:38we made those funds available to get

14:40that work done by shifting them

14:41internally uh immediately. So that did

14:44not slow down the work.

14:47Next slide.

14:50At this point, I'm going to invite uh

14:52Len to join me here and talk a little

14:54bit about the work itself and the crew

14:58and the personnel that have been out

14:59there getting it done.

15:05Good afternoon, Len Etham, traffic

15:07commissioner. Um, I would like to talk

15:09about the physical infrastructure

15:11progress that we have made up this

15:13point. Um, as Ben said, we we have

15:16completed all of our obsolete pavement

15:19marking, grinding, and removal that was

15:22completed by the week of October 6th.

15:24uh we have are in the process of our

15:27stop bar installation and we feel that

15:30we will be completed with that either by

15:32the end of today or tomorrow. So all of

15:35the striping and grinding will be

15:36completed this week. The warning signs

15:39have been ordered uh expedited. Um, we

15:44have been assured by the manufacturer

15:46that they will be shipped out by the end

15:47of this week and we hope to have them in

15:51hand by Monday to be able to actually

15:54put crews out on the street to start

15:56installing them. We have allocated 20

15:59employees from the traffic division to

16:01work um for this task, which is nearly

16:05half of my allotted workforce that I

16:08have currently on my table of

16:09organization. Um, we hope to have all of

16:12the signs installed within two weeks

16:15once we have them in hand. Next slide,

16:18please.

16:22This slide shows a uh picture of an

16:25interactive map that we have online on

16:28our street department uh railroad site.

16:32Um, this will be updated in real time.

16:35It shows the corridors throughout the

16:37city as well as the individual

16:39crossings. Um,

16:43as things get completed, the the color

16:45at each crossing will change from red to

16:47yellow to green to blue, I believe, are

16:49the four different levels that we have.

16:52So, that will be updated in real time

16:54through our office as work is

16:58Next slide, please.

17:02>> Sure. If you can go back, please. I'm

17:04sorry.

17:07So, these four corridors, corridor is is

17:11interchangeable with with um

17:14rail line route basically. So, we've got

17:16Burlington Northern, Santa Fe, Union

17:18Pacific, Terminal Railroad, and North

17:21Fork Southern are the four um main uh

17:24operators throughout the city. So, they

17:26are colorcoded. The corridor and the

17:29rail rail operator are basically the

17:31same. They're they're interchangeable.

17:34So,

17:36as we complete work on these corridors,

17:40we will change them on the map and it

17:42will be real time. Next slide, please.

17:49So, we asked the FRA not to make

17:51neighborhoods wait until all 187

17:54crossings are complete. Um, on September

17:5630th, we received written approval from

17:58FRA that they would re reinstate the

18:01quiet zones corridor by corridor. And

18:04once again on October 5th, we confirmed

18:06verbally in a conference call with FRA

18:09officials as to how the corridor by

18:11corridor approach would be achieved. We

18:15are pri prioritizing corridors with high

18:17residential density and high occupancy

18:19to provide relief where noise affects

18:21the most people. So where we have the

18:24most citizens are are prioritized and

18:27we'll work our way down. There are some

18:29lines that run along the river basically

18:32um in industrial areas that will be the

18:35last ones that we we address.

18:38>> There is a three-step corridor approval

18:40process as as Ben alluded to earlier. Uh

18:42the physical repairs, the paperwork

18:45submission, and the FRA inspection. Uh

18:48we are currently in the middle of the

18:51um physical repairs. As I stated, all of

18:53the striping and grinding is completed.

18:56Hopefully uh signs will be in hand next

18:58week and we will be installing those.

19:01Hopefully two weeks we should be

19:03completed with that. The paperwork

19:04submission and the FRA inspection can go

19:07concurrently. So as we are filling out

19:10the paperwork, they can be out there

19:12doing the inspections as well. They just

19:14have to have the paperwork in hand uh in

19:17order to reinstate the quiet zone.

19:20I have, as been talked about earlier,

19:24the paperwork does include multiple

19:25things. It's basically a um inventory of

19:28the signage that's out there, the

19:30striping that's out there. It also

19:32includes it requires every three years a

19:35count

19:37>> uh at each crossing. I [clears throat]

19:39have um

19:42instigated an emergency work

19:43authorization with the traffic

19:44engineering company to do the counts for

19:47us. Um they are starting that

19:51hopefully Friday if not Friday, Monday

19:53they will be out there actually with the

19:54counts starting. Uh they have assured me

19:57that they will have the counts and the

19:58paperwork completed by the end of

20:01say and and I believe um

20:05the inspectors are going to be here by

20:06the end of the month as well. So it will

20:08be going on at the same time.

20:11Um we are committed to public

20:13transparency. Uh the street park

20:15department is posting weekly updates and

20:17has added a live crossing map that I

20:19showed earlier on the website that's

20:21shown on the slide. Uh citizens can go

20:23there at any given time to see uh

20:26real-time updates. They can also email

20:28the street department directly andor

20:30call us directly at the number provided.

20:34And that is our presentation. We'll open

20:36it up for committee questions.

20:42>> Sure.

20:44>> Thank you both for uh the information.

20:47Uh I think I speak for probably not just

20:51myself when I say that I think the

20:55response by the mayor's office uh is

20:59really good. Uh leaves

21:03almost nothing on the table. uh it seems

21:05like you're putting a lot of resources

21:07and uh trying to provide a lot of

21:09transparency around this effort. Uh and

21:12I certainly appreciate that. Uh I find

21:15many city residents accepting of the

21:17noise. It's it's part of living in the

21:19city. Yet train horns in the early

21:21morning hours can be quite disruptive

21:23and I it sounds like you understand that

21:25and are working hard to make sure and

21:28return peace and quiet to our

21:29neighborhoods soon. Um, I'm very

21:32grateful to hear the quick response by

21:35uh Mayor Spencer's administration, by uh

21:38the street department, and just by

21:40everybody that's really jumped on top of

21:42this to try to get this back to uh the

21:44way it used to be. Um,

21:48but I do have additional questions about

21:50the failures that have led to this

21:53situation in the first place. Uh

21:57the Federal Railroad Administration has

21:59been sending emails to the city for 18

22:03years since 2008

22:06warning us that our railroad crossings

22:08were non-compliant

22:10and that would need to lead to the need

22:12for the trains to start blowing their

22:14horns day and night to they were

22:16approaching as you mentioned for for

22:17safety reasons.

22:19uh in an STL magazine article dated

22:23September 16th by uh Ryan Croll, there

22:26was um

22:29some information that the emails have

22:30been sent to each administration since

22:32the Sway administration.

22:34Uh I'm curious

22:37if you're aware of what led to this not

22:40being addressed in previous

22:42administrations despite the years of

22:44warnings.

22:52You know, I think you're going to have

22:54to bring some of those folks in who who

22:58could uh clearly articulate to you kind

23:01of what their thinking was at that time.

23:04It's hard for me to to really know. Um I

23:08have, you know, some of the emails that

23:11the FRA had, you know, provided with the

23:13suspension are really more recent. um to

23:172024 and 2025.

23:20Uh at that time there was some initial

23:23work done uh on some cost estimates. Um

23:28but it you know it basically

23:31uh stopped you know the execution of any

23:34planning of uh failed to follow through.

23:39So I don't have a a solid answer for you

23:41on

23:43what the decision making was and you

23:45know I if there if those um personnel

23:48who were involved in those at the time

23:50in those appointed positions would

23:52comment on it, you know, we'd welcome

23:54that discussion.

23:56>> And and you're right that the article

23:58did say since 2024, um Kent Flake, our

24:01streets commissioner, said he had been

24:03copied on those emails since 2024. Uh he

24:06did report at the time that there was an

24:07issue finding the money. about $750,000

24:10is what he had identified when this

24:14administration took over. Was there any

24:16notification made that this was a

24:19pending request uh work that needed to

24:21be done or was I think you stated the

24:24first you learned of it was when the the

24:26horn started blowing.

24:28>> Correct. Yeah, those that was the first

24:30we heard of it. So, no, there was not a

24:33a handoff of the issue uh per se.

24:37what steps are being taken to ensure

24:40that that lack of communication doesn't

24:42happen again. I I find it strange in

24:44this in you know 2026 that we're in a

24:47spot where we're like well that

24:48knowledge was lost to the the winds of

24:50time you know when when a mar

24:52administration switches over. It feels

24:54like operational issues like this should

24:56not be dropped between uh switches in

25:00leadership. This isn't really a

25:01political issue. It's it's an issue that

25:03affects people no matter what their you

25:05know how they voted or who they voted

25:07for. Um is there you know and I

25:12appreciate similar to how this

25:14administration responded after the

25:15tornado there's failures that happened

25:17before but the effort has been to clean

25:20things up and fix things and that's

25:22really what matters. Uh but it's also

25:26good to look back and understand what

25:28led to this situation in the first place

25:29and how we can avoid this becoming an

25:31issue with anything else. Uh so is there

25:34anything that you've identified in terms

25:36of the communication structure that

25:39might help prevent uh this kind of

25:41miscommunication in the first in in the

25:44future?

25:45>> Well, Chair Brownie, I first want to say

25:48I totally agree with you. I mean, this

25:51it's unacceptable that we can't keep

25:53track of an issue like this as a city.

25:56We don't have a there's no excuse for

25:57that. So, I I agree with you. Um, and it

26:01is alarming, right? Uh, and and Mayor

26:03Spencer has asked me to task all of our

26:07departments, you know, like, okay, what

26:09what else might there be from a previous

26:12email thread that someone has that is

26:15going to affect the daily lives of our

26:16residents, infrastructure and services

26:19perspective? And so we are planning to

26:23task them on Friday to you know with a

26:26specific uh due out back to hey any

26:29outstanding issue that is not currently

26:32being addressed you know whether it's

26:35because we don't know about it or

26:36because it hasn't been raised um or

26:39raised recently you know this is the

26:41time to bring all of those forward so we

26:43can have everything on the table and not

26:45be surprised by anything.

26:47>> I appreciate that. I think, you know, we

26:49can only set ourselves up for better

26:51action in the future. And hopefully, you

26:53know, this will this will never be an

26:55issue again because we're going to get a

26:56compliant, but it's always and I I have

26:59sympathy for every mayor because it

27:01feels like you always have a fire every

27:04day that you've got to put out. Uh and

27:06it makes it hard to work on the

27:07long-term problems. But if this city is

27:10going to move forward and become, you

27:12know, a great city again, uh, we've got

27:15to be able to handle issues big and

27:18small and not let, you know, failures of

27:21communication lead to to situations like

27:23this. Uh, one other concern I had is you

27:27said that money was rerouted from other

27:29traffic projects over to this. uh what

27:33ended up being the cost to

27:37>> do this work and uh switch over and and

27:39fix these crossings.

27:41>> So, I believe I I don't have an exact

27:43number, but I can certainly get to get

27:45it to you. Um the engineering consultant

27:48is going to be about $55,000

27:50through the counts and the and the

27:52paperwork. Um the signage is roughly

27:55around five 50,000, I'm sorry. So for a

27:58total of 105,000 with all of the work

28:00being done in house,

28:04>> 50k for signage, and then there's just

28:05the the paint and the

28:07>> paint's a minimal cost. Uh it's just

28:09coming out of my everyday paint cost.

28:12>> So not not the $750,000 number that was

28:15reported.

28:16>> No, sir.

28:17>> Okay. So that ended up being a lot

28:18easier to fix than than originally

28:21thought. And

28:22>> yes,

28:23>> you know, again, I'm not interested in

28:26in dragging out the past mistakes, but

28:29when we were spending $500 million of

28:32American Rescue Plan Act money, spending

28:35$300 million of RAM settlement money,

28:38and I never once heard that this was an

28:40issue that we needed money for, and it,

28:42you know, $ 105,000 would have been a

28:45rounding error in some of that money.

28:47So, I I hope that um that's another

28:50reason I think it's just really

28:51important to get all the issues on the

28:54table so that when we do find ourselves

28:56having money, we can make sure we're

28:57addressing some needs so that uh when we

29:01don't have money, we're not scrging and

29:03searching in the couch cushions to to

29:05figure us out. But I I do appreciate

29:08again the transparency that's being

29:09brought today. Um I I'll I'll let the

29:12rest of the committee ask questions. Uh,

29:14but I do appreciate you letting me take

29:16uh the lead here and just getting those

29:18out of the way. Um, so we'll start with

29:20Alderwoman Clark Hubard if she's online

29:23still.

29:24>> No questions. Thank you.

29:26>> Thank you, Alderwoman. And uh, Alderman

29:29Ryan, I did see you online, too. So, if

29:31you have questions, we'll I'll get to

29:33you as soon as we get through the

29:34committee here. Um, all

29:39>> thank you, Chair Browning. I appreciate

29:41you calling this meeting and having this

29:43special conversation. I really

29:44appreciate both of you coming to answer

29:46questions. There's a lot of questions

29:48we're getting daily from our community

29:50and and people just want to know. So,

29:51having these uh public forums is just

29:53part of our job and important to do. I

29:56appreciate what you said, Director

29:57Johnson, about having other departments,

29:59you know, say no one's going to get in

30:01trouble, but bring out anything that

30:04needs to be talked about. I sort of um

30:06in my mind thought of the Montipython

30:07line, you know, bring out your dead.

30:09That's kind of what it seems like right

30:10now. It's just like these are the things

30:13that the city can't let slip. You know,

30:15it just it can't it ends up disrupting

30:17people. It could have been fixed. 18

30:19years is certainly a very long time to

30:21have a department know about a problem

30:22and not fix it. Um so I I shudder to

30:27think of other things that could be

30:29happening. Uh so, you know, I

30:32[clears throat] I appreciate that that

30:34that's going to be the the motto of the

30:35mayor's mayor's office for this. Um, you

30:38know, one of the things that I think

30:39Alderman Cox Antie and I immediately uh

30:42are, you know, hunches went up a little

30:44bit when we talked about the areas along

30:46the riverfront being industrial and not

30:48residential.

30:49I have gotten so many complaints from

30:51the patch and neighborhoods who are

30:54along the riverfront along that not

30:56residential area and they are

30:58residential. They're the people live

30:59there. um and they already are dealing

31:01with so many issues with traffic noise

31:03on the highway and Broadway and I'm sure

31:05we could go on and on about all the

31:07things that our residents are dealing

31:08with. Um and then there's a train and

31:10when you look at the map there is you

31:13know a dozen plus stoppings with the

31:16stops within the patch area that are

31:19going to be deemed industrial and it's

31:21just it is but it isn't. So that brings

31:24me a lot of concern for my my residents.

31:27I I completely hear you and I completely

31:29agree with you and and I maybe I

31:30misspoke and and maybe was misunderstood

31:34when I said that I was talking more

31:35about the industrial areas on North City

31:37north of downtown. There's a lot of of

31:40running through you know Monsanto and

31:42and those sort of areas. That is what I

31:45was referring to. We certainly

31:46understand that there are residents in

31:48your area. It is going to be a priority

31:50of ours. Um in reality all of them will

31:54be addressed within two weeks.

31:56>> Within two weeks is a great

31:58>> that is our goal.

31:59>> That is a good goal. Um you know

32:03regarding the specific corridors and I'm

32:05looking at the map and of course you

32:06know the the union

32:10alderoman if Alderwoman Boyd's here she

32:12might have her honchoes up when she

32:13heard Nor City doesn't have the

32:14residents there. We'll see. Um so uh you

32:17know I'm looking at the different lines.

32:19Um, of course the the Union Pacific line

32:22seems to be the biggest uh with the

32:25potentially the most or is the Norfolk

32:28Southern have the most?

32:30Um, if you let me grab another

32:36>> I appreciate

32:38you using the map which is great and I

32:41we want all of our residents to be

32:43checking out those updates and you can

32:45and in fact I believe if you're looking

32:47at it right now you'll see some of them

32:49are now orange getting some of that

32:52>> the striping is compliant

32:53>> done. Yeah.

32:54>> Yes.

32:54>> Um yes.

32:55>> So thank you for pointing that out. It's

32:57a good demonstration of the way in which

32:59we're trying to be transparent about the

33:01progress. And

33:03>> to answer your question, the the North

33:05or the Union Pacific is largest by

33:08>> um the other ones are all about the

33:10same. Um

33:12>> so will Union Pacific be the first to be

33:14addressed or are you getting the smaller

33:16ones done first or how are you making

33:18those choices?

33:18>> We we looked at the map and made a

33:21judgment call within the department as

33:23to where the most residents were. Can

33:25you make sure to speak in the mic?

33:27Sorry. Sorry. Uh, we made a judgment

33:29call as to where the most residents in

33:31our eyes from looking at the map. So,

33:34uh, we do have an order. Um, it's it's

33:38not by size, it's by what we deem the

33:41most dense with residents.

33:45>> Okay. Um

33:48the one uh [clears throat]

33:51while I while I understand that um

33:54you're choosing you know by by residents

33:55by um by all those pieces um it does

33:59seem like the Union Pacific line will

34:01take the the longest time to to get to

34:03get done and that if you're saying

34:04that's a corridor there's a lot of

34:06different neighborhoods that that would

34:08run through. Um that entire line is the

34:11corridor. So along the river is the

34:13corridor as much as it is through the

34:15central part of the city.

34:16>> Yes.

34:16>> The river won't be if the river's done,

34:18it's not done until the central part of

34:19the city is done.

34:20>> So the the way that the FRA defines a

34:22corridor by the quiet zones which it

34:26which is synonymous with the rail line.

34:29>> Okay.

34:30>> So the entire rail line has to be

34:32completed, brought up to um compliance,

34:35paperwork turned in, inspected and then

34:38the quiet zone will be lifted.

34:39>> Okay. Um, you know, I understand on

34:42September 11th when you talk to them why

34:44they might not say, "Oh, it's been 18

34:46years. We'll give you another, you know,

34:48they I I get why they might have ma

34:49might have made that decision at the

34:51time." Um, but since then, significant

34:53progress has been made. Has that

34:55question been asked again?

34:57>> Um, yes. Um, and it continues to be

35:01asked. So, every opportunity that we

35:03have and the mayor has uh both with

35:06Congressman Bell's office and Senator

35:08Schmidt's office to ask for their

35:10advocacy and they have both offices have

35:13um communicated with us and in fact they

35:16were uh involved in the call on Monday.

35:18That's what we're asking for. U and

35:21we're going to continue to ask for uh

35:23particularly if uh we're in a scenario

35:26where there is some component like

35:28traffic counts that becomes something

35:30we're waiting for if everything else if

35:33the infrastructure is compliant with

35:35federal standards. We don't want to have

35:38to wait for that. We don't want our

35:39residents to have to wait for that. So,

35:40we're continuing to push for that.

35:41>> And I appreciate that. I think that the

35:44the as often as that can be asked, the

35:46more you know that a plan can be

35:48produced and that things can be checked

35:50off that list and maybe that trust can

35:52be rebuilt because I I understand that

35:54if the trust was lost over 18 years of

35:56non-compliance that that they might not

35:58be willing to go back to the quiet zones

36:01until it's completely restored. but uh

36:03in the last few weeks a significant

36:05amount of progress towards what of

36:07course we're finding out now is maybe a

36:09smaller project than the city thought it

36:11might have been at first. Uh so I

36:12appreciate you know continuing to ask

36:14that and documenting that ask for

36:16residents. Um I think residents want to

36:19know that the city's continuing to make

36:21that that ask uh and that you know why

36:24the why the Federal Railroad

36:25administration is saying saying no. um

36:28or if they give us a or if they give the

36:30city a new bar to hit or if it's really

36:32just that it's you know

36:35corridor by corridor is as good as we

36:37can get that that could be true but

36:39perhaps they would be be willing to to

36:42you know have a plan submitted and a

36:45budget submitted and all those things

36:46and and make a different determination.

36:50Um go ahead.

36:53as

36:54>> I want to also um be clear about my

36:57comments too. So we asked for the

37:00we asked for them not to put to lift the

37:03suspension you know to stay that um we

37:06asked for the corridor by corridor

37:09u approach which they initially said

37:11they would do then they said they didn't

37:12have the authority to do and then

37:14ultimately on September 30th they put in

37:16writing that they would do. We again

37:19walked through that with them on the 5th

37:21on Monday of this week to understand

37:24okay exactly how that would work and

37:25what those requirements specifically

37:27would be to make sure we could get

37:29cleared by those corridors. And then um

37:33through a a meeting that the mayor had

37:35here today, we asked for some additional

37:40um leniency with the timeline so that we

37:43could get them uh up so we could get the

37:46quiet zone reinstituted. and we're

37:48continue to look for opportunities if

37:49there's anything that's elongating the

37:51process.

37:52>> Okay. Uh, you know, I think I'm

37:56impressed by what city staff have been

37:58able to do, but when I've talked to

38:00residents and people who really care

38:02about this issue, they're wondering why

38:04the city isn't hiring people to do this

38:06more quickly. What would you say to

38:07that?

38:10>> Yeah, I we were given that option to get

38:13that done. Um, we we felt that we could

38:16do it in house. We felt that we could do

38:18it quicker inhouse because we wouldn't

38:19have to hold a contractor's hand as far

38:23as locations, placement,

38:26and and of of each stop bar of each

38:29sign. We would have had been out there

38:30with them telling them what to do. Um

38:34the fact of the matter is is there was

38:35no reason to hire a contractor to

38:37install. We didn't have signs and we

38:40still don't have signs. I have 20 people

38:42that I have dedicated to install signs

38:44starting month

38:46>> and um we feel that we will have that

38:49installed and completed within less than

38:51two weeks and I feel that we could not

38:54speed that up anymore by hiring an

38:56outside contractor.

38:58>> Right.

38:58>> We are spending money to hire the

39:00engineering consultant to do the counts

39:02to help us with the paperwork. That was

39:04the

39:04>> So the things that the city staff

39:06wouldn't be able to do as quickly as a

39:09contractor, the city or sorry the the

39:11city is contracting out the things that

39:12it cannot do quickly.

39:14>> That's correct.

39:14>> It is doing the things that it can do

39:16quickly.

39:17>> That is correct.

39:17>> Does that feel like a fair Okay.

39:18>> Yes.

39:19>> Um

39:22uh you know half of the staff being

39:25dedicated to this is great for this

39:26issue, but it's not as great for

39:28everything else in the state. I'm

39:30concerned about that. There's so many

39:32things that need to get done. So many

39:34crosswalks in my ward that are submitted

39:36for re, you know, um, for to be

39:39repainted, stop signs that are broken in

39:40half. I mean, all of those things are

39:43public safety issues, too.

39:44>> Absolutely. And we are committed to

39:47emergency issues during this time. So,

39:50missing stop signs, broken stop signs,

39:52knock down light poles, knock down

39:54signals, malfunctioning signals. We will

39:56have people dedicated to take care of

39:58that. restriping existing crosswalks,

40:01that sort of stuff is going to take a a

40:02backseat to this until this is

40:04completed.

40:05>> Okay. Um, so, you know, I know the email

40:08that was given at the end was the

40:10streets department email. Uh, when I

40:12when that came up, I I

40:15had a little bit of an internal chuckle

40:16because I don't think one time in my

40:18entire time as older person has anyone

40:20responded to that email address. Anytime

40:22they've been CCed. I went through my

40:24email and did the, you know, the from

40:25search. I was right. Not a single time

40:27that any of my constituents have re

40:29reached out to that email address. Has

40:31anyone ever responded? So, please tell

40:33me someone if I sent them an email right

40:35now, I'd get a response.

40:38>> It is my understanding that the director

40:40Jackson has assigned somebody to.

40:43>> Okay? Because the last thing we want to

40:44do is give people an email to reach out

40:47to and then it's not being responded to.

40:49And that is something that we deal with

40:50a lot as alderman. Our job ends up being

40:53respond if a department doesn't. and

40:55agree.

40:55>> That's part of our job is what we're

40:56paid for. I'm happy to do it, but it's I

40:58don't want to give someone an email to

41:00be like, "Really, you're gonna give this

41:01email address?" No. Um, so I appreciate

41:04that. Uh, I'm gonna test this for my not

41:06my city email. Get ready. Um, uh, one of

41:11my last questions is more of like just a

41:13nitpicking thing for the map. Uh, the

41:17colors coding is is great. um except

41:21you know it has striping compliant,

41:23signage compliant or different colors.

41:25So

41:27and then it has compliant. So it doesn't

41:28necessarily have like a

41:31timeline to compliant. So if something

41:33is both striping compliant and signage

41:36compliant, it should just be marked as

41:39signage compliant and we'll know that

41:40it's both striping and signage compliant

41:42at this point

41:45because it would be yellow because so

41:47everything so right now, you know, as

41:48things move into the process, most of

41:50these are or almost all of them it looks

41:52like are orange. So striping compliant

41:54and then when they turn yellow, we know

41:55they've hit that next step and then the

41:58next thing is full compliance. We're

42:00actually planning to add a portion of

42:02this that has the inspection and

42:04paperwork submission. So this is uh the

42:07first iteration of it and we also

42:10recognize

42:12um some of these colors overlap a little

42:14too much. So we will refine that to make

42:16it

42:16>> yeah I would say for just readability

42:18that it would be helpful if it said more

42:20broken into phases like you know

42:22non-compliant phase one striping

42:24compliant phase two signage compliant

42:26phase three sign you know striping

42:28signage and paperwork phase four fully

42:30compliant you know

42:31>> let me add to that I sure believe what

42:34Ben said that the next iteration it

42:36doesn't say striping compliant and then

42:38signage compliant it says striping

42:40compliant and then the next one is

42:41striping signage compliant so will

42:44clarify that both

42:46>> okay that that's not what the map says

42:48but I I appreciate that that's what it

42:49should say because that you're

42:51absolutely right it makes it a lot

42:52easier to understand where things are

42:54>> was the first iteration and that that

42:56change has already been

42:57>> well you all have done an incredible

42:58amount um in the last few weeks I think

43:01one of the things that

43:04is always you know the best thing that

43:06can come out of an emergency is when you

43:08see how much people can get done when

43:11they really focus and put their mind to

43:13something and put all of their attention

43:15to it. So, you know, um, Commissioner,

43:18you should be really proud of your team

43:19for all that you all have accomplished

43:21in a short time. And, and I know

43:22Director Johnson, um, has your back and

43:25is working with you and you, Director

43:27Johnson, you've been such a such a

43:28pleasure to work with. So, I appreciate

43:29all that you do well. And these are the

43:31times when we deserve to be yelled at.

43:34The city needs to do a better job when

43:36these things happen. Um, and so

43:40showing up and and being here and taking

43:42these questions and knowing that there's

43:44a lot of anger in the community, but

43:46being willing to hear it and to to um

43:49listen to it and take it in and take

43:51take it back and and do even a better

43:53job, I think is the goal. I think that's

43:55people want to see is that the city can

43:56learn and do better. So, thank you for

43:58your time for your time and I'll yield

43:59the floor.

44:01>> Thank you. And before I pass it to

44:03Alderman Devote, um I do have one follow

44:05question because it came up uh during

44:07all Schwitzer's questioning. So the city

44:11has not produced its own signs since

44:142022 to my understanding when the the

44:18sign shop flooded during the 2022

44:20floods.

44:21>> That is correct. Yes. And it's this is

44:24an issue I brought up before um that a

44:27city our size deserves to have a sign

44:29shop and our lack of a sign shop can

44:33delay

44:35uh signs being put out to you know

44:38increase safety or warnings or anything

44:41else. Um, is it the case that if we had

44:45been able to print our own signs, this

44:48would have been able to be solved a

44:50little faster?

44:53>> I I don't believe so. I don't believe

44:55that we would have been able to

44:58manufacture the amount of signs that are

45:00being manufactured. We ordered over 600

45:03signs for this project. Um,

45:07you know, at at at our best time, we

45:10were making five to six signs a day when

45:12we had a shop. It cost more for us to

45:15make a sign than it does for us to buy a

45:17sign from a from a manufacturer. Um,

45:19that is why we decided not to pursue

45:22reinstating a sign shop at that time.

45:24And uh, I I would say that the answer to

45:27that is no.

45:28>> I I hope the technology has improved

45:30from the our previous sign shop as well.

45:32Um, but it's something I'd like us to

45:34continue to look into because it can

45:36allow us to be more responsive to the

45:38needs of the city. Um, when I need a

45:40sign replaced, I sometimes have to wait

45:42weeks to get that sign and it doesn't

45:45do, you know, the the public any good

45:47when we're missing those those signs.

45:49>> Sure. And let me let me state as well,

45:51it it's not just technology that was our

45:53drawback. It was the fact that we could

45:55not staff that sign shop. At when I

45:58started with the city, we had five

46:00people in that sign shop. by the time we

46:02closed it, we had one.

46:03>> And that's something I'm hoping our city

46:05can, especially as we make a transition

46:07to a department of transportation, I

46:09hope we can see better staffing for the

46:10streets department. It's, in my opinion,

46:13one of the most important departments in

46:14the city. So, I echo all Schwitzer and

46:17thanking you for the excellent work

46:18that's being done here. I mean, I I have

46:20no complaints about our workers and the

46:23people that have responded to this and

46:25ex with exactly the urgency they need

46:27to. Uh but my complaints do lie where

46:31the the events that led up to this and

46:34um and I think this that we need to uh

46:38be held accountable and I think I

46:40appreciate that you're here today

46:42questions. So uh thank you uh alderman

46:45Devote.

46:48>> Thank you chair. I do have a a handful

46:50of questions and followup.

46:52Uh,

46:54Colonel Johnson, you mentioned that at

46:56one point the work on this particular

46:58project uh, ceased in 2024, which would

47:02have been the prior administration. Uh,

47:04I I assume some of the base work, the

47:07base research was done by the street

47:09commissioner. Why why did work stop? Has

47:12your investigation revealed why whatever

47:16was done was not carried through to a

47:19conclusion?

47:21So, uh, thanks Alderman Devote. The what

47:25the email traffic, um, that actually is

47:29a part of the the record here of what

47:31the Federal Railroad Administration sent

47:34to us. It it shows the there was

47:37communication uh with the city about

47:39this 2024 inspection and then there are

47:41emails that go up through March of 2025,

47:43a few. And there was discussion about um

47:48what we were the city would do to

47:50address those in that that inspection.

47:53Uh Chair Browning mentioned the quote

47:56which um

47:59there's some speculation here but that

48:01that is a contract you know quote if all

48:03this work was contracted. Um, and then

48:06there was a discussion at that point. It

48:09was between the then director uh of

48:12operations, my predecessor, some

48:14discussions about where this would be

48:16funded. Some meetings that are alluded

48:18to, but no, there's no clarity there on

48:22what point that all stopped or who

48:24dropped the ball specifically. Correct.

48:27Um, there was there was mention that

48:29we're going to install through this

48:31process about 600 signs. When were those

48:34signs ordered?

48:38>> They were ordered the week um that we

48:41were made aware of this, the 11th of

48:43September.

48:43>> Okay. So, immediately afterwards.

48:45>> Yes, sir.

48:46>> Understood. Okay. Um you know, there

48:49there is no doubt that this is annoying.

48:54uh representing two neighborhoods that

48:56are

48:58hounded on both sides by these uh

49:02particular routes. Uh the hill and

49:05southwest garden are I mean it's they

49:09are sandwiched the two neighborhoods are

49:11between two of the the eight routes that

49:13cut through the city. There are times

49:16over the last handful of weeks where I'm

49:18up at 2:30 in the morning and it's like

49:20a pingpong ball that on the front of my

49:23house I hear the the line along

49:25Manchester Road and then within about 15

49:28minutes I hear the line along Southwest

49:30Avenue and for about an hour hour and a

49:33half it's back and forth and back and

49:36forth. But beyond the annoyance, I think

49:41and and Colonel, you made mention to a a

49:44a system failure, I I think is how you

49:47described it, and I would absolutely

49:49agree. But behind the annoyance, I

49:51think, is the very basic safety issue.

49:55It you you made reference to the idea

49:57that the reason these items exist are

50:01because of federal regulation. I would

50:04think that both the signage and the

50:07painting, the markings, etc. exist for

50:10safety reasons. In other words,

50:13municipality, we're going to let you

50:15have a quiet zone in these areas, but

50:19we've got to make sure that certain

50:22certain things are done to protect the

50:24public, to provide them with a warning

50:26of what's going on.

50:28>> [clears throat]

50:28>> And I think at end of day beyond the

50:31annoyance, it's the it's the 18 years of

50:36frankly letting down our residents from

50:38a safety perspective or not just our

50:41residents, but really anybody that

50:42traverses these these intersections.

50:45Uh I know that this administration's

50:48only

50:49been in place for a year and a half and

50:51I understand that. But if if there is a

50:55failure here, it it really is with

50:57respect to safety and and we've

51:01discussed other issues are outside of

51:03the bounds of this conversation today,

51:06but but I think this is a call to real

51:09action that when this city is faced with

51:12a a public safety issue, whether it's

51:15markings at railroad crossings or

51:18insufficient ambulances or not having

51:20enough paramedics on our on our med

51:23units. We got to deal with it because

51:26the next issue is just around the

51:28corner. So, I appreciate the action.

51:30Commissioner, you know, I think the

51:32world of you and your crews, but I I

51:35this is a wakeup call. I mean, it it's

51:39pretty I I've handled a couple grade

51:41crossing, man. When when a train hits an

51:44automobile, there's a clear loser. And

51:48it's it's we need to have our eyes open

51:52across the board and and I know you do.

51:54But I think that's really what's most

51:57disappointing to me about all of this.

51:59Uh Commissioner, over the the last year

52:02and a half, two years, you have done a

52:04lot of education to me over the

52:07different kinds of paints we use,

52:09thermoplastic versus water-based. And

52:12alderman, if you if you use water-based

52:14at these intersections, within two to

52:16three years, the paint will be gone and

52:19will be back out here again. But

52:21alderman, if you use thermoplastic

52:23paints, uh it's the process is harder.

52:26It's more expensive, but won't be back

52:28here for to 10 years. So, what kind of

52:31paint are we using for these hundred

52:35whatever intersections?

52:37>> We are using water-based paint. That is

52:39what our crews install throughout the

52:41city. Um we do not have the capability

52:44to install thermoplastic. The only time

52:46we install thermoplastic throughout the

52:48city is tractor. That is one of the main

52:52reasons for the discrepancy in the cost.

52:54I believe that number of 750,000

52:58included thermoplastic and for

53:01contractors to do the work.

53:03>> Okay. So so correct me because I want to

53:05make sure I get the facts right. When we

53:07use water-based paint, the life of that

53:10paint on the pavement is about two to

53:13three years. Correct.

53:15>> Depending on the pavement, yes. And

53:16depending on the

53:18>> Yes.

53:19>> how robustly the paint was put down. It

53:22it depends on multiple things, but yes,

53:24that's that's about the normal average

53:25for it. So, so as part of this process,

53:29[clears throat] and I should know this,

53:31187 intersections, we're putting

53:34water-based paint at at each of these

53:37intersections over a fairly short period

53:39of time, over the course of 3 to four

53:41weeks. Um, we are going to have the FRA

53:45on our tail end probably within the next

53:48three years, if I understand. They they

53:51relook at this.

53:52>> Yes. So that's about the same time that

53:55all of this water-based paint is going

53:56to need placed. Have we looked at the

54:00plan or have we considered a plan for

54:03the next step so that in 2020

54:0830 31 etc. We're not out of compliance

54:12again 187 times.

54:14>> Absolutely. And it's not 187 times. Uh

54:18stop bars are not required at every

54:19single location. It depends on the

54:21crossing. It depends on whether or not

54:23there are gates, whether or not there

54:25are flashing lights. There's multiple

54:26things that dictate that. Um, we have

54:30talked internally about putting this on

54:33a a two-year um process where we go out

54:36and refresh the paint every two years.

54:40One of the reasons we are removing all

54:42of those RXRs

54:44that were on the pavement, we were told

54:47by FRA that that was up to us whether or

54:49not the city would require those at the

54:52at the crossings. For your exact

54:55statement that you made, we made the

54:57decision to remove them so we will not

55:00have to

55:02um repaint them every two years.

55:05Understood. And that makes sense. And I

55:06noticed that wondering about it. Thank

55:08you for the clarification.

55:09>> Yes.

55:10>> Uh I know as we look ahead and you

55:12mentioned that in-house we don't have

55:13the ability to put down thermoplastic

55:15paint. Of course it lasts longer. Um it

55:18is also extremely more expensive to do.

55:21>> Yes. Um o along that line uh I know

55:25within the within the last month all

55:29three branches the mayor's office the

55:32comproller as the treasurer all put out

55:36announcements about a $46 million budget

55:40surplus

55:41>> which resulted in 50% of that or just

55:44short of 23 million going to the the

55:47capital fund if I'm remembering the

55:50announcement correctly.

55:52Man, oh man. I mean, we got 23 million

55:57just put into the capital fund. My

55:59reading of title four, I think, is that

56:03the the president of the board of public

56:06service has the ability through

56:08emergency power to commission the use of

56:10capital to take care of projects that

56:12need to be done. Has there been any

56:15consideration knowing the timing,

56:17knowing the issue we just confronted,

56:19knowing the limitations on this paint,

56:22while we're doing it to do it right, to

56:26direct the president of the the board of

56:28public service to issue the emergency

56:30order to use some of that nearly $23

56:33million to commission contractors to put

56:36down thermal plastic paint at whatever

56:39intersections we need to do. So we're

56:41not dealing with this again three years

56:44or at least we can then stagger how

56:46we're taking care of the down the line.

56:48Has there been any discussion?

56:50>> Let me let me just say that the city has

56:53uh embarked on an awful lot of

56:56thermoplastic paint being installed on

56:58all of our ARPA routes. So Jefferson

57:01Grand, multiple routes that have been

57:03repaved with ARPA money. We did

57:06stipulate that all of the pavement

57:08markings go in as thermoplastic. So that

57:12is going to take a a big burden off of

57:15the traffic division's back moving

57:17forward because we're not going to have

57:18to touch that for 10 years. Regarding

57:21the the additional money, I'll I'll let

57:23Ben speak to that.

57:24>> Yeah, Alderman Devote, it's a great

57:26suggestion. Um, as you know, we also

57:29have $400 million in cap critical

57:33capital needs that are not being

57:34addressed. Um, and so we will absolutely

57:38take that into the capital committee and

57:40consider where, you know, where does

57:42that rack and stack, you know, our

57:44priority right now is to get in

57:46compliance as as quickly as possible.

57:48But I think you make a great point, you

57:50know, we don't want to be in the same

57:51position uh three years from now.

57:53>> Sure. Sure. Okay. Um there was a

57:57reference to our congressional

57:58delegation.

58:00Uh can you describe for us the role of

58:03Senator Schmidt and Senator Holly? Uh

58:06our two Republicans that represent the

58:08state of M and what aid uh they both

58:13provided to assist your office with the

58:16federal government with the FRA. Well,

58:19in this instance, both uh offices, both

58:22Congressman Bell and Senator Schmidt's

58:24office uh connected with the mayor's

58:27office. They clearly were hearing from

58:29their constituents and wanted to know

58:31what they could do to be helpful and we

58:34laid out for both of those offices. You

58:36know, this is what we've requested at

58:39this at that time. We did not have the

58:41corridor by corridor approval formalized

58:44and we thought that was the most

58:45important ask. Um specifically Senator

58:48Schmidt's office um helped convene a

58:52this meeting we had on Monday with um

58:55higher level officials from the FRA uh

58:58and so had that facilitated discussion

59:01through their office.

59:02>> The meeting that happened on September

59:0430th.

59:05>> No, I'm sorry. Uh October 5th.

59:08>> The meet Senator Schmidt helped

59:11facilitate the meeting that happened on

59:12October 5th.

59:14>> His office did. Yes,

59:15>> his office did. Yes. Okay. Um,

59:21uh, Commissioner, um, of course, last

59:25night was National Night Out, right? Um,

59:27I had a handful of black parties in the

59:30Southwest Garden neighborhood. As you

59:32might imagine, there wasn't one party

59:35that I went to where this subject didn't

59:37come up. Mhm.

59:38>> Um, is it fair to say,

59:41well, how safe is it for me to report

59:44back to my residents that if we have

59:48signs in hand by the end of next week,

59:52so by October 16, let's say, at the

59:55latest, how safe is it for me to

59:58represent to residents of the fifth ward

1:00:02that the signs will be up no later than

1:00:06Halloween?

1:00:09I feel extremely confident that you can

1:00:11tell your constituents that the case.

1:00:13>> Okay. And at that point then the last

1:00:15base to step on is is the the process of

1:00:19having the FRA come out and do the

1:00:22intersectional evaluations. Is that

1:00:24fair?

1:00:25>> There are two more steps.

1:00:26>> Yes, sir. Please.

1:00:26>> The the inspection from FRA and the

1:00:29paperwork that the city, the mayor's

1:00:30office, and the street department has to

1:00:33submit to FRA. That includes the traffic

1:00:38counts that I am paying a traffic

1:00:39engineering firm to do for me.

1:00:41>> Yes sir. That's right. Thank you for for

1:00:43straight

1:00:43>> and I have been commit I

1:00:46the firm is CBB. They are the ones doing

1:00:48the work for me. They have committed to

1:00:50me that they will have those traffic

1:00:51counts done by the end of the month as

1:00:53well.

1:00:53>> So assuming the traffic counts are done

1:00:56by Halloween,

1:00:58when can we expect some relief? What

1:01:01what should I be telling residents when

1:01:03I have my fifth word town hall on

1:01:06October 14, next Wednesday night?

1:01:09Because we all know they're going to be

1:01:10all asking about this.

1:01:12>> Yeah, Alderman Devote, that's

1:01:15it's a it's the question everyone's

1:01:17asking. Uh, you know, based on our

1:01:19initial projection, that's why we were

1:01:21saying December because we, you know,

1:01:24there's still fair amount of unknowns,

1:01:25uncontrollables here. And you know, one

1:01:28thing that I've learned as a as a leader

1:01:30in my mantra is you you underpromise and

1:01:35overd deliver. And if we can do that

1:01:37across the city, you know, that's what

1:01:39we always want to do is overd deliver

1:01:41and not make a promise that we can't

1:01:43keep um to our residents.

1:01:46>> So as fast as possible, we're providing

1:01:48weekly updates through the website. Um

1:01:51and we intend to beat our projection.

1:01:55>> Uh I love that. It's it is so accurate.

1:01:59Um, but it doesn't stop folks from keep

1:02:02asking. But but I do appreciate it. Uh,

1:02:04last question, last subject. I can I can

1:02:06see the chair wiggling in his seat. That

1:02:08means I'm going on too long here.

1:02:11>> Um,

1:02:13you know, we we started this by talking

1:02:15about email correspondence. Um, you

1:02:19know, what one of the the beauties about

1:02:21public service that I've already seen is

1:02:23that we are essentially stewards of the

1:02:26chair that we're standing in. Uh, there

1:02:28will be the next guy just like we

1:02:30followed somebody in our position

1:02:32sometime sooner rather than later.

1:02:35>> From the from the standpoint of

1:02:38communication and alderman older woman

1:02:40Schweitzer made mention of the the

1:02:42streets email. What what is the thought

1:02:45moving forward with respect to making

1:02:48sure that that that the other agencies

1:02:51or governments we know when there is a a

1:02:55transition

1:02:57in in play whatever it might be whether

1:02:59it's this the street director or or

1:03:01whomever a mayor a have we had any

1:03:05thought about

1:03:06how do we make how do we even know I

1:03:10mean to I'm almost overwhelmed thinking

1:03:12about who do we even communicate with as

1:03:14a city right outside of this building.

1:03:19What what is what is the plan for

1:03:21setting up a protocol, a system to make

1:03:24sure there isn't this break somewhere

1:03:26else in the future?

1:03:28>> Yeah, Alderman Devote, it's a great

1:03:30point. It's a great question. I've been

1:03:32a part of several transitions in my uh

1:03:36former career as well in the military to

1:03:38include working uh for political

1:03:40appointees and watching how those

1:03:42transitions happen in the Pentagon. And

1:03:45there are elaborate changeover

1:03:49um binders and briefings and handoffs

1:03:52and people involved in trying to make

1:03:54sure that issues don't get dropped. And

1:03:56it's it's incredibly complex because the

1:03:58people do come and go to include a lot

1:04:00of the people around the the principal

1:04:02or in this case the elected official. Uh

1:04:04it it's not easily done. I think you do

1:04:07have to put a lot of the onus on um

1:04:11those those cabinet leaders who do stay,

1:04:13you know, to be able to be part of that

1:04:15transition and that uh continuity of

1:04:18government. Uh but it also it's a

1:04:20two-way street. I mean, the reality is

1:04:23no one was writing back to the FRA from

1:04:25the mayor's office. And I my personal

1:04:28opinion is that the FRA should recognize

1:04:30that, you know, and recognize and have

1:04:32this is a two-way relationship here with

1:04:34the city of St. Louis. So, I think

1:04:36there's some responsibility there as

1:04:37well. It doesn't excuse us. We have to

1:04:39make sure we are meeting standards and

1:04:41we need to do our level best to not let

1:04:43any issue drop like that. I I don't I

1:04:46don't think there's any doubt about that

1:04:47because we've all been on the receiving

1:04:49end of an email that says so and so is

1:04:51no longer this position

1:04:53>> which then begs the question of isn't it

1:04:55incumbent upon us to pick up a telephone

1:04:57and figure it out. So I I absolutely

1:04:59agree with that. Um I don't have any

1:05:01other questions. My my last comment is

1:05:04um I I have been probably one of your

1:05:07biggest thorns over the last month or at

1:05:09least the administration's thorn. Um,

1:05:12uh, Commissioner Flake isn't here, but

1:05:14but I think he has done as well as he

1:05:17could do in communicating information to

1:05:20me that I could then pass on. So

1:05:22certainly I'd like to pass that on. And

1:05:25then also, Colonel, uh, to the

1:05:26administration, whether whether it's you

1:05:28or or Mr. Gunther or um or uh Chief

1:05:33Milberg. I I think the administration

1:05:35has done what it can to communicate as

1:05:38specific as information as possible over

1:05:41the last month and and you everybody has

1:05:44my thank you for that.

1:05:47>> Thank you

1:05:50Cox.

1:05:53>> Thank you Mr. Chairman and thank you

1:05:55Lieutenant Johnson and Commissioner for

1:05:56appearing here before us today. Um, I

1:05:59want to begin by saying, you know, my

1:06:01senior colleagues have asked a lot of

1:06:02the great questions that I had for you.

1:06:04So, I only have a couple more. Um, but I

1:06:06do want to start with saying thank you

1:06:07for being here for preparing this

1:06:10presentation so quickly on the ask of

1:06:12our chair. I think we all agree and have

1:06:14been hearing from our constituents over

1:06:15the last few weeks about this

1:06:17repeatedly. Um, mostly because as

1:06:19Alderman Devote said so well, it is

1:06:22annoying, but it's also a major concern

1:06:24to to the safety that we have. So, I

1:06:26think the urgency of this is an urgency

1:06:27that all of our residents have been

1:06:29feeling, we've been feeling and trying

1:06:31to get their questions answered. And so,

1:06:33having this information, I think now

1:06:35shared with the public um will hopefully

1:06:37alleviate a lot of concerns which have

1:06:39just the public has not been hearing

1:06:41answers on this issue, but they've been

1:06:42hearing the horn sounding day in and day

1:06:44out. Um, so I thank you guys for quickly

1:06:46responding and and quickly making sure

1:06:48that we have now answers to some of

1:06:50these questions to take back to our

1:06:52residents. Um, a couple of things you

1:06:54you highlighted in your presentation I

1:06:56just want to make sure I have for

1:06:57clarity as I'm answering questions. Um,

1:07:00specifically as it relates to um, the

1:07:02corridor by corridor repairs. you know,

1:07:04when I was field fielding emails from my

1:07:06constituents and going to neighborhood

1:07:08meetings, you know, I had a lot of them

1:07:09that were looking up this issue on

1:07:12online trying to, you know, figure out

1:07:13these answers and and they heard as what

1:07:16was shared from the mayor's office

1:07:17initially um about you guys asking for

1:07:19the stay and then initially being told

1:07:22no and then asking for the corridor by

1:07:24corridor and being yes but not no. And

1:07:26so, um, now that we've have the yes,

1:07:29which I think is a testament to the

1:07:31advocacy from so many of our community

1:07:33members and our colleagues up here

1:07:34asking for this relief, um, we we now

1:07:37have a win in that case with the

1:07:39corridor by corridor repairs, which I

1:07:41think is going to be a lot of great

1:07:42relief for a lot of our residents that

1:07:44will hear that after this meeting. Um,

1:07:46but I think they will ask again, as you

1:07:48noted, what does that mean? And I know

1:07:49you shared, you guys were figuring out

1:07:51in the Monday. Um, looking at the map,

1:07:53which thank you for the map. uh there

1:07:55are a lot of overlaps on those corridors

1:07:58that you described and in my ward uh I

1:08:01have the entire riverfront area that I

1:08:03share with alderwoman Schweitzer but

1:08:05then a lot of those interchanges between

1:08:07Pacific Terminal Railroad and so if

1:08:09we're repairing corridor by corridor

1:08:11what does that mean for the interchange

1:08:13when there's two rail lines that are

1:08:14moving together do both have to be

1:08:16repaired for the crossing to count as

1:08:18repaired

1:08:21>> that that individual crossing

1:08:24has to be repaired within that zone

1:08:27slashcorridor. So whether it's the one

1:08:29that's running north south or the one

1:08:31that's running east west, everything on

1:08:33either one of those would have to be

1:08:35repaired and brought into compliance

1:08:38before we can ask for that quiet zone to

1:08:39be reinstated.

1:08:41>> Okay, that is very helpful because I

1:08:43will be passing this map out to my

1:08:44residents. So I want to make sure they

1:08:46know what they're looking at when they

1:08:48see multiple colored lines overlapping

1:08:50and and understanding what that means.

1:08:51But I can understand certainly the

1:08:53crossing is the most important thing and

1:08:55it has to have everything up um looking

1:08:58at that map and I and I know you talked

1:09:00a little bit about sort of prioritizing

1:09:01the residential areas. Um again I I

1:09:03completely think that's great. Um I I

1:09:06know in Alderman Devote's ward and many

1:09:07areas of my ward you know where we have

1:09:09those dense residents those train sounds

1:09:11echo. Um, but I do also have the the

1:09:14industrial zones where um maybe we don't

1:09:16have as many houses, but we have

1:09:17workers, right? We have a lot of people

1:09:19that are crossing those every day to get

1:09:21to the factories, to get to the truck

1:09:23lines where they're working. Um, and I

1:09:25think as Alderman Devote shared, you

1:09:26know, the reason for this, the horn

1:09:29sounding in the first place is so that

1:09:30people know the trains are coming when

1:09:32we don't have the signals up to speed.

1:09:34And so there are people that are putting

1:09:35their lines their lives on the lines

1:09:37every day in unsafe crossings just

1:09:40trying to get to work. Um, so I just

1:09:42want to say, you know, while I

1:09:43appreciate putting the residential zones

1:09:44first, I also am grateful to hear that

1:09:46we're trying to get this done as quickly

1:09:48as possible across the city within that

1:09:50two-week time frame because there are

1:09:52people that are crossing these crossings

1:09:53every day to get the work. And I think

1:09:55just as much as we want to emphasize in

1:09:57the South City area, I do represent a

1:09:58lot of that near north riverfront area

1:10:00where we have our vital ports and very

1:10:02important workers and so their lives

1:10:04deserve to be prioritized as well. So, I

1:10:06wanted to make sure you guys know and

1:10:07understand that and I know you are,

1:10:08which is why you're working as quickly

1:10:10as you can to get this done across the

1:10:11city.

1:10:12>> Absolutely.

1:10:13>> Um, the last thing I'll I'll say and and

1:10:16uh we talked a little bit about the the

1:10:18dollar difference, which my ears were

1:10:20perking as well, Alderman Devote,

1:10:21between the 150 and the 750. Um, I do

1:10:24think it's important to recognize um,

1:10:26even though we're saving a lot of money

1:10:27with um, using maybe not as much of the

1:10:30efficient paints as you described for

1:10:31for various reasons um, to to have a

1:10:34plan on what to do next. I think

1:10:36Alderman Bod's line of questioning was

1:10:38really important and I want to echo that

1:10:39because that stood out to me as well.

1:10:41Um, making sure that if we are going to

1:10:43be back here again in two to three

1:10:45years, um, we have the resource prepared

1:10:47to tackle it and take that on. So, I

1:10:49would also be curious to hear as we're

1:10:51having these conversations about

1:10:52resources what we're going to do when

1:10:54the FRA is back on our door again.

1:10:58>> Absolutely. We are committed to, as I

1:11:00stated before, um every two years going

1:11:02out and revisiting these sites, re

1:11:05repainting all of the stop bars, um

1:11:07reinstalling any signs that may have

1:11:09been knocked down, vandalized, uh

1:11:12whatever the case may be. But we are

1:11:15dedicated to staying on top of this

1:11:17going forward. Okay, great. Thank you.

1:11:19And no further questions for me.

1:11:20>> Thank you.

1:11:22>> Thank you. And uh we do have one uh

1:11:25member of the board that's not on the

1:11:26committee, but he's uh here online, and

1:11:29I always want to give our colleagues a

1:11:31chance to ask questions. So, Alderman

1:11:32Nion, do you have any questions?

1:11:34>> Uh thank you, Chairman Browning. Um and

1:11:38and thank you for holding this hearing.

1:11:40I I also want to just make sure that I

1:11:42thank the commissioner and uh Colonel

1:11:44Johnson uh as well as uh Alderman Devote

1:11:47for his line of questioning and

1:11:49alderwoman Cox. I know that she's

1:11:51dealing with the the same issues that I

1:11:53am in the fourth ward. Um

1:11:57and I don't want to seem like I'm

1:11:59pointing a finger here because this is

1:12:01something that has existed for longer

1:12:04than any of us in the committee have

1:12:07been here for. But th this is a top-down

1:12:11failure. Th this is something that maybe

1:12:15the feds could have handled better.

1:12:16Maybe previous administrations could

1:12:18have handled better. M maybe we could

1:12:20have handled better. I I I would have

1:12:22loved to uh put ARPA money towards this

1:12:25or RAM's money towards this. The same

1:12:27way we had a discussion about uh water

1:12:31infrastructure. Uh I I agree with uh

1:12:34Chairman Browning's comments on uh on

1:12:37just the the the flow of communications

1:12:40over over the years and you know if if

1:12:43if things break down that's everyone

1:12:46suffers. Um I guess my my my first

1:12:50question would be and this is for

1:12:52whoever could could answer it. Um this

1:12:55seems to be a moving target to me. uh

1:12:59when when when I first heard something

1:13:02um it was 88 ground level crossings I

1:13:05want to say and now we're looking at um

1:13:09at I I want to say 138 ground level

1:13:12crossings. Um could could anyone weigh

1:13:14in on that?

1:13:16>> Sure. Um so the the 88 number comes from

1:13:20the last inspection done by the FRA.

1:13:22Those were the number of crossings that

1:13:25they determined were out of compliance

1:13:28back at the last inspection time. When

1:13:31they came into town this year, last

1:13:34month, they saw that nothing was done to

1:13:36those 88 crossings and they went ahead

1:13:39and told us that all 187 had to be

1:13:42upgraded before they would even come

1:13:43back to look at them. So, that is this

1:13:46the discrepancy between the two numbers.

1:13:49>> Okay. And I I get that. Um, and again,

1:13:52not not not pointing any fingers at at

1:13:55at you, uh, Commissioner. Um, so

1:14:01what's the effect on the rest of the

1:14:03streets department while while this

1:14:04happens?

1:14:07>> Well,

1:14:09as I stated before, um, you know,

1:14:11crosswalks throughout the city are not

1:14:13getting painted. Um, street name signs

1:14:16are not getting installed starting next

1:14:18week when we actually have the signs. So

1:14:20there are certain things that are

1:14:22getting put on the back burner, not

1:14:24emergency issues. Um we will still take

1:14:26care of down stop signs, oneways, um

1:14:30light poles, traffic signals, that sort

1:14:32of stuff. Um I don't know if you heard

1:14:34me earlier. I did say that we are

1:14:36dedicating 20 of my employees to this.

1:14:39>> I did hear that. Yeah. No, and I

1:14:40appreciate that. Yeah, absolutely.

1:14:42>> But that leaves about 24 employees to

1:14:44handle the rest of the stuff throughout

1:14:46the city that comes up.

1:14:49It it it is so I imagine it'll affect um

1:14:52pa paving as we come into the end of the

1:14:55the the repaving cycle I guess.

1:14:58>> So I am not using any uh paving crews or

1:15:00anything like that for this work. It's

1:15:02all traffic division employees not

1:15:04street division.

1:15:06>> Okay. Thank you for that. Um,

1:15:09and do do we have a plan for uh uh one

1:15:15one of the asks that I've heard over and

1:15:17over from uh my constituency is uh dates

1:15:22on when things are going to be done. And

1:15:23I understand that, you know, things have

1:15:26to come in from wherever they come in

1:15:28from and, you know, you have to assign

1:15:29crews and so on and so forth, but is is

1:15:33there something I is the website that's

1:15:35that that is currently set up going to

1:15:38have date by date when people can expect

1:15:42crews to be out there and doing the

1:15:44work?

1:15:46>> Well, it it will be updated daily in a

1:15:49real-time situation. Um,

1:15:52constituents can expect employees to be

1:15:55out there starting Monday morning,

1:15:58you know, assuming that the signs are

1:15:59delivered. I have no control.

1:16:01>> Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I understand

1:16:03that's out of your control. Yeah.

1:16:04>> Right. Once the signs are here, we are

1:16:05dedicated to be out on the street unless

1:16:07it's absolutely torrential downpour that

1:16:10they can't work in. We will be out there

1:16:12until the work is completed. Our

1:16:14estimate is within two weeks we should

1:16:16have all the signs installed.

1:16:20>> And then um I guess my my my last

1:16:22question would be for uh the colonel

1:16:25because I think um my colleagues have

1:16:28done a great job asking questions. Um,

1:16:31Colonel, if if if you could please uh uh

1:16:35tell me just anything about I the the

1:16:38army is a massive institution and uh

1:16:41there's constant turnover there. Uh when

1:16:46when when someone backfills someone

1:16:47else, how does that work out with

1:16:49communications?

1:16:53>> Well,

1:16:55you're right. The army is a massive

1:16:57institution, Alderman Ryan. And u I was

1:16:59in a slightly smaller institution, air

1:17:02force, but

1:17:03>> oh, excuse me. Pardon me. Pardon me.

1:17:05>> But still very large institution. And

1:17:09you know, changes of command are as you

1:17:11said routine

1:17:14uh and yet they do present communication

1:17:16challenges. So every time uh that the

1:17:20guidon is passed from one leader to

1:17:23another leader uh there is a passing

1:17:26also of information but uh even in those

1:17:30circumstances

1:17:32uh not to reduce anyone's confidence in

1:17:33our great American military which is the

1:17:36best in the world uh there are times

1:17:39when you you only can hand off the top

1:17:41top issues and sometimes you know you

1:17:44you discover issues later it's happened

1:17:46to me as a military leader. Uh you never

1:17:50want that to happen with something that

1:17:51affects safety and that and that's the

1:17:54situation we're in here. So um it is a

1:17:57challenge in I would say probably every

1:17:59institution when you talk about turnover

1:18:01of leaders teams but uh it's incumbent

1:18:05on both those who are departing and

1:18:06those who are coming in and then the

1:18:08teams that are the continuity to make

1:18:10sure the most important issues don't get

1:18:12dropped.

1:18:13Are are there best practices from your

1:18:16experience that we could adopt?

1:18:19>> I will take that for action. I would I

1:18:22will spend more time thinking about

1:18:23that. I think there certainly are. Thank

1:18:25you, Alderman.

1:18:27>> Absolutely. Uh no, and I I'm not trying

1:18:29to grill you here. I And thank you. And

1:18:32I I I apologize for getting your uh your

1:18:35branch wrong. Um, but uh you know the I

1:18:38I think that

1:18:40>> what we're doing here is uh important

1:18:43and uh you you have some real

1:18:45situational experience that I think we

1:18:47could

1:18:49uh benefit from and I would I would like

1:18:51to uh to to pick your brain on how we

1:18:55could do this better in the future.

1:18:57>> Thank you. Thank you, Alderman Ryan.

1:18:59>> And with that uh I will yield my time.

1:19:01Thank you.

1:19:04>> Thank you, Alderman. Um, and thank you

1:19:07uh both one and and Ben uh to just the

1:19:13transparency, the openness today. Um,

1:19:15we're going to hear from the public

1:19:16next. So, if you'd like to take a seat,

1:19:18uh, well, I don't see too many people

1:19:21here and and not too many people, so um,

1:19:23I don't think too much longer, but I do

1:19:25appreciate the public's patience as we

1:19:27asked questions and got bottom of this.

1:19:30Uh, I think it's really important that

1:19:32we got the information out that we got

1:19:34today. It's it's been very helpful. The

1:19:37website is a fantastic resource. So, uh

1:19:40to those people who are wondering how

1:19:42they can follow along in the future

1:19:43without having to watch committee

1:19:44hearing, I think that's the best source

1:19:46you could go to. And uh I think we'll

1:19:49know when this issue is finally over

1:19:52with because it'll be quiet. So, we're

1:19:55looking forward to this. Um and that

1:19:57we're going to go ahead and move to

1:19:58public testimony unless you have any

1:19:59final comments to make.

1:20:01>> Um thank you, Chair Browning. Thanks to

1:20:04the members of the committee. Um, thank

1:20:06you also to the members of the public

1:20:07who have been communicating, you know,

1:20:10directly with you all with the with the

1:20:12mayor's office and uh providing feedback

1:20:15on what they needed to hear and what,

1:20:18you know, how disturbing uh what a

1:20:20disturbance the horns were and the kinds

1:20:22of information that would be most

1:20:23helpful and that certainly informed uh

1:20:26our website approach. Thank you.

1:20:29>> Thank you. With that, Madam Clerk, do we

1:20:31have anyone signed up to testify?

1:20:36>> We have [clears throat] we have two

1:20:38people in the room and I just asked

1:20:41if you're online and like to speak,

1:20:42please raise your hand. So, we'll start

1:20:45with Kim Good.

1:20:50You have three minutes.

1:20:51>> Good afternoon. I am a Dogtown resident

1:20:54and until last Wednesday, I'd had a

1:20:57headache for three weeks and I couldn't

1:20:59really figure out why. I knew I was

1:21:01waking up several times a night, but I

1:21:05didn't realize that when you don't fully

1:21:07wake up, you can still your sleep

1:21:10pattern is disturbed. And I own and

1:21:13operate my own small business and sleep

1:21:16deprivation is really not great. I have

1:21:19been a walking zombie. I found an app

1:21:22online on last Wednesday called White

1:21:25Noise, Black Screen and I turn it all

1:21:28the way up on my phone and I listen to

1:21:30this horrible noise all night that

1:21:31sounds like a fan falling into the

1:21:33ocean,

1:21:34>> but I am not hearing the trains and I am

1:21:37sleeping a little bit better. So, I'm

1:21:39not as much of a zombie. I appreciate

1:21:42everyone's attention to this. All of my

1:21:46questions have been answered today that

1:21:48I had. Um, I've gotten emails back from

1:21:52everyone that I have contacted and I

1:21:54appreciate that as a citizen. Um, I my

1:21:58last question is a selfish one. Where is

1:22:03Dogtown on that priority list? Like is

1:22:06we say we have a priority list of

1:22:08residential sections. Um, I I'm hearing

1:22:12whatever the green line is and the

1:22:14purple line and I haven't been able to

1:22:16distinguish Burlington, Northern, Santa

1:22:19Fe,

1:22:21whatever. So, I don't know if you can

1:22:23tell me that, but I would love to hear

1:22:26that maybe.

1:22:28>> So, I will invite the back up after the

1:22:31public testimony to answer any lingering

1:22:33questions because I I think

1:22:35clarification on that would be

1:22:36wonderful. So, we'll invite them back up

1:22:38when

1:22:38>> All right. Great. Uh, thanks everyone.

1:22:42>> Thank you.

1:22:43>> Our final speaker is Tommy Oshanesy.

1:22:49>> I'm Tommy Oanesy, a Dogtown resident and

1:22:52the organizer behind city hall wakeup

1:22:54call.com.

1:22:56I've made my community's frustrations

1:22:58with the city clear. Over 200 people

1:23:00signed my petition who felt the same

1:23:02way. Hundreds of people emailed city

1:23:04hall. Supporters shared their stories of

1:23:06sleep deprivation with the FRA. It is

1:23:09clear that the train horns are

1:23:10disruptive to our lives and the lives of

1:23:12our families. You can visit my website

1:23:14if you want to see grievances aired. So,

1:23:17I actually want to start off with a

1:23:18point of gratitude and extend an olive

1:23:20branch. First off, I want to thank

1:23:23everyone who's working hard behind the

1:23:24scenes on this project. In particular,

1:23:27there are many hardworking men and women

1:23:29grinding off paint, painting lines,

1:23:31hanging signs, and working around the

1:23:33clock for us. Thank you to everyone

1:23:35working to resolve this problem. I'd

1:23:38also like to thank members of city hall

1:23:39who are taking this issue seriously.

1:23:41Thank you to alderman devote in

1:23:43particular for calling me this morning,

1:23:45listening to me this afternoon, and

1:23:47becoming a strong ally in this project.

1:23:49Thank you. It's a beautiful thing to see

1:23:52Dogtown in the Hill, Devote and Oanessy,

1:23:54the Irish and the Italians working

1:23:56together.

1:23:58Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone in my

1:24:00community who brought attention to this

1:24:01issue. From signing petitions to

1:24:03emailing city hall and trying to reach

1:24:05the FRA directly, which we were able to

1:24:07do. I believe bringing light to this

1:24:09issue accelerated the timeline and

1:24:11showed the city how much we care about

1:24:12getting our sleep and our lives back.

1:24:16Getting the ability to get

1:24:17quarterbyquarter access is a critical

1:24:19piece of this project and a step in the

1:24:21right direction. But we aren't done yet.

1:24:24This project isn't done until the Hill

1:24:26and Dogtown quiet zone is reinstated. We

1:24:28have a solid plan in place for every

1:24:30single residential corridor in South St.

1:24:32Louis, in South St. Louis and North St.

1:24:34Louis. It's not just about us. It's

1:24:37about everyone getting that relief from

1:24:39the noise pollution that's plaguing us.

1:24:42I have two statements today. One for my

1:24:44neighborhood and one for everyone in St.

1:24:46Louis impacted by the train.

1:24:49First, I'd like to talk specifically

1:24:51about the strategy to update lines that

1:24:53the traffic coordinator had mentioned.

1:24:55And I want to advocate specifically for

1:24:57the Hill and Dogtown. There is no point

1:24:59in getting a corridor by quarter

1:25:00approval if we approach this problem

1:25:03from a water waterfall perspective or a

1:25:06waterfall workflow. Grinding, paint,

1:25:08signs, paperwork. The point of the

1:25:11quarter by quarter approval is to

1:25:13prioritize the fastest fixes first and

1:25:15get relief. Now, that brings me to Dog

1:25:17Town in the Hill. I learned from the FRA

1:25:20director, the FRA director who revoked

1:25:23our quiet zone status that 12 crossings

1:25:26in the quiet zone THR11477

1:25:30along the Hill and Dogtown corridor were

1:25:32compliant as of April 2024. That's April

1:25:362024, two years ago. I was informed that

1:25:39since then, these crossings have fallen

1:25:41out of compliance. According to the COO,

1:25:43if they were compliant in 2024, then the

1:25:46signs must be 36 in. It just stands to

1:25:48reason, otherwise they wouldn't have

1:25:49passed. It's also reasonable to assume

1:25:52the paint is in a decent shape on most

1:25:54of these crossings because again, this

1:25:55was two years ago that these were

1:25:57compliant. So, this might be as simple

1:25:59as one or two crossings within the

1:26:01corridor falling out of compliance and

1:26:03impacting the entire corridor. I also

1:26:06learned this corridor has one of the

1:26:07smallest quiet zones in all of St. Louis

1:26:10at only 12 crossings, making it an

1:26:12excellent candidate to prioritize.

1:26:14According to the official St. Louis city

1:26:16h train horn web page, paint is

1:26:18scheduled to be done by the end of this

1:26:20week, meaning paperwork will be the only

1:26:22thing remaining for this corridor. My

1:26:24question is, will you make Dogtown in

1:26:26the Hill a priority given the size of

1:26:28the corridor and the ease of the

1:26:30maintenance? Will you share what repairs

1:26:31are needed and give us a due date for

1:26:33when paperwork will be submitted? or

1:26:35will this be another 2024 when paperwork

1:26:38falls through the cracks and citizens

1:26:40pay the price?

1:26:42My second statement, 18 years is too

1:26:44long to go without addressing railroad

1:26:46safety issues. Four consecutive

1:26:47administrations failed to address your

1:26:49time until

1:26:51>> can do you mind if I keep going?

1:26:53>> Just finish your thought if you could.

1:26:55>> Okay. Um basically it's not a failure

1:26:57it's not a failure of individuals. It's

1:26:59a failure of systems. Um and I think

1:27:02this could be a turning point and this

1:27:03administration can lead the charge. So

1:27:05my ask is, will you do what it takes uh

1:27:08to make this happen? What legislative or

1:27:10protections will you put in place so

1:27:12everyday St. Louisans aren't harmed by

1:27:13lack of action? How will you bake

1:27:15accountability into the law? And I'm

1:27:17interested in talking specifics with

1:27:19people um like the alderman over here.

1:27:21Thank you.

1:27:23>> Thank you. And um Director uh Johnson,

1:27:28if you'd like to come back up, I do have

1:27:31one more question for you, which is um a

1:27:34question that was just asked by the

1:27:35public. Uh it would be helpful, I think,

1:27:37to just name the specific corridors that

1:27:40are the priorities so that people can

1:27:43expect. So, when I'm looking at the map,

1:27:46I'm seeing that the two that go by

1:27:48Dogtown and coincidentally also by

1:27:50Forest Park Southeast where I live are

1:27:52the Union Pacific lines and the

1:27:54Burlington Northern Santa Fe lines. Are

1:27:56those the priorities because of the

1:27:59population density?

1:28:01>> Uh, yes, Chair Browning. In fact, the

1:28:03numbers on the website that identify the

1:28:06corridors correspond to the

1:28:08prioritization that we've assigned it

1:28:11based on population density.

1:28:14>> That's a very helpful tip. So, if you

1:28:16look on the website, um number one is

1:28:19the Burlington Northern Santa Fe route.

1:28:21That's the purple line. Uh number two is

1:28:23Union Pacific. That's the slightly

1:28:26mustard colored line. And then uh the

1:28:28blue line terminal railroad association

1:28:31is the blue is the third um and the blue

1:28:34line and then the the last one is the

1:28:37north uh Norfolk Southern which is the

1:28:40line that goes uh up north and mostly

1:28:42along the riverfront. So

1:28:43>> that's a good read back and as uh you

1:28:47heard from the commissioner we you know

1:28:49that was the judgment call based on

1:28:53where when we assessed the map the most

1:28:55neighborhoods were. We recognize there

1:28:58are going to be residents around every

1:28:59single one of these routes, which is why

1:29:01we're moving, excuse me, corridors,

1:29:03slashlines, which is why we're moving as

1:29:06quickly as we can on all of them. But we

1:29:09are prioritizing

1:29:10um those that where we see the most

1:29:13residential impact first. Uh and it does

1:29:16happen to include the ones that you

1:29:18referenced. Um, and I and I do want to

1:29:21make just one other comment too. Um,

1:29:24Alderwoman Coxantu, you mentioned, you

1:29:26know, prioritizing the lives of the

1:29:27workers. And I just want to assure you

1:29:29when we're when we're talking about this

1:29:31prioritization,

1:29:32um, the lives, you know, are what we are

1:29:36pro what are being protected by the

1:29:38horns actually because it's it's making

1:29:41sure people know that what they're

1:29:43approaching until this infrastructure is

1:29:46all updated. So I I agree with you. You

1:29:49know, we're not putting anyone's life uh

1:29:52ahead of another person's life in terms

1:29:54of safety. Uh this is about the

1:29:56infrastructure and reinstituting the

1:29:58quiet zones, which is a an alternative

1:30:01form of safety whereby we don't have to

1:30:03have the the the sirens or excuse me,

1:30:06the train horns to keep us safe.

1:30:08>> Thank you.

1:30:08>> Thank you.

1:30:09>> Thank you for that additional

1:30:10information. Yeah, you cannot miss the

1:30:12train. So uh hopefully everyone's

1:30:15staying safe. Uh, thank you again. I

1:30:17really appreciate the uh, you know, I

1:30:20love hearing when people say all my

1:30:22questions were answered and I feel that

1:30:24way too. So, I hope the rest of the

1:30:26committee feels that way and uh, this

1:30:28has been a reallyformational hearing.

1:30:30So, really appreciate the quick uh,

1:30:33transparency that was brought today and

1:30:36looking forward to the work that

1:30:38continuing until everything is back to

1:30:40the way it was for the last 18 years.

1:30:43So, thank you so much. And uh with that,

1:30:45we're going to close this discussion,

1:30:46but I really appreciate you coming here

1:30:48today.

1:30:48>> Thank you.

1:30:50>> And uh Madame Clerk, do we have any

1:30:53written testimony today?

1:30:56>> We have none.

1:30:57>> Do any members of this committee have

1:30:59any announcements?

1:31:02Seeing none, uh I'd like to excuse the

1:31:05one for the 13th for necessary absence.

1:31:08And with that, I'll accept a motion to

1:31:10adjurnn.

1:31:12Second

1:31:12>> moved by the alderman from the fifth. Uh

1:31:15seconded by the alderman from the

1:31:16eighth. Call for previous role from the

1:31:18alderwoman from the first hearing. No

1:31:20objection. We are adjourned.