Message From The Creve Coeur Mayor: On Changing Seasons and Coffee

Creve Coeur Mayor Barry Glantz's monthly column in the City of Creve Coeur's newsletter is republished here with permission:

“If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies.”

I found this quote (author unknown) particularly poignant, as I’ve always enjoyed the Labor Day holiday and the unofficial transition from summer to fall. Don’t get me wrong, summer is a great time of year for outdoor recreation, travel and relaxing by the pool with friends and family – but there is something about that first, brisk autumn evening (or based on the heat this summer, at least the anticipation)...

My wife, Sheri, and I are also experiencing a number of personal transitions. Earlier this year, our oldest son, Evan, graduated from the Journalism School at Mizzou, and is now gainfully employed. Our youngest daughter, Marissa, just started high school and we recently returned from dropping off our middle son, Corey, for his freshman year at Indiana University. 

For the City of Creve Coeur, the summer was also an opportunity for us to begin a number of our capital improvement projects. Each year, the City Council approves contracts for street and sidewalk repair and maintenance (a large portion of our Capital Improvement Program budget) and you should be seeing some of those projects take place throughout the City.  

Our Community Development/Planning Department is also starting to receive a number of applications for new projects proposed in the city. Some will go through our rigorous staff and Planning and Zoning Commission review process with little or no controversy – others will need to be thoroughly vetted by a wide array of interested stakeholders in the community…but all will be given careful and thorough consideration to ensure that the quality of life that we enjoy in Creve Coeur is maintained or improved.  

As a means to promote dialogue (in addition to structured city meetings) and talk more informally about change and transition in the city, on the first Thursday morning of each month. While this is short notice for September, our first coffee will be held in the main lobby of the Government Center on Thursday, September 6, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. There will be no set agenda, but rather an informal chance for me (and our City Administrator Mark Perkins) to listen to the thoughts of residents (and business leaders).

The many transitions we encounter in our daily lives afford us the opportunity to grow. As summer evolves into fall, the caterpillar into the butterfly – our city shall continue to flourish as well.

The rest of the City of Creve Coeur's monthly newsletter can be found here.