An Ameren utility pole located on Kennerly Road in Sunset Hills has reportedly been clipped in multiple traffic incidents due to its closeness to the roadway. The issue was raised at the Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen meeting on Aug. 12, when aldermen estimated that the pole was only six to twelve inches away from traffic.

In conversations with a driver who was involved in a traffic incident that clipped the pole, Ward 4 Alderman Fred Daues was told that, if another driver merges dangerously, there is nowhere else to go in the right lane except into the pole. 

“It’s inches — not feet, inches — off of the street,” said Ward 3 Alderman Cathy Friedmann. “Cars keep clipping it, in such a way that it’s whittling away. Ameren put in a new pole because the old one was going to go, and they put it closer to the street. It’s been hit a couple times already.”

Mayor Pat Fribis says that the city had a meeting with Ameren representatives and neighbors “well over a year ago” to discuss the issue, where they tried to move the pole, but no neighbors were willing to give an easement. When a Kennerly Road resident eventually said they would be willing to give an easement, Ameren — at that time — said they would not move the pole due to their electrical lines and a transformer’s placement.

“For those that didn’t see the pole, it’s, like, six inches off the roadway,” Ward 2 Alderman Casey Wong said. “It’s bizarrely close to the roadway. It’s no wonder this is a lightning rod for accidents.”

According to Friedmann, the homeowner on Kennerly Road still does not want the pole moved further back into their yard, which has produced stalls in how to proceed between Ameren and the city. 

“It is a problem that we just cannot seem to get beyond,” Friedmann said.

City administrator Brittany Gillett says that Sunset Hills has heard back from Ameren and is planning a sit-down meeting with “all of the players,” which includes Gillett, Fribis and a group of Ameren representatives. An invitation has also been extended to Daues, who has been in touch with neighbors on Kennerly Road about the issue. The pole is in Daues’ ward.

Fribis says that she has contacted another neighbor next to the pole’s location, who may be willing to give an easement to Ameren to relocate the pole and set it back on her property. That option will be discussed in the city’s meeting with Ameren.

“This has been a problem for a number of years now,” Daues said. “I think there’s a commitment to see this through and get this fixed before something further happens.”