Recently, a discussion began about the future of Green Park. In particular, should we reach out to nearby unincorporated areas about annexing into the city?

The discussion went nowhere, I believe, because present leadership sees expansion of the city as something far in the future.

Our future is every moment past right now. County services are going to get worse and budgets tighten, but the city will likely not feel as much pain if we are prudent in spending. Offering once-a-week trash pickup at no cost and better street repairs might bring the votes in from unincorporated areas that are getting reduced county services.

Why come into the city? The corridor on Lindbergh Boulevard between Highway 21 and Interstate 55 is going to change in the future. With the city on only one side of Lindbergh, the other side is subject to unmanaged changes overseen only by Clayton, which does not have the nearby residents’ best interest at heart.

Economists say there are too many auto dealerships now. Some are going to disappear. The ones that survive are going to have more traffic coming to them.

Either way, this impacts the Lindbergh corridor. The residents nearby will want to have input to the future.

The argument that there are matters in the city that preclude a discussion of the city boundaries is a false one.

What matters more than the city’s future?

The “big” issues are not moving anyway.

The business license went nowhere. The present officials just let it die on the vine.

The Green Park Road improvement hasn’t moved in years, except it will now cost more than ever before.

We have housing standards now, but no real enforcement. Resident-owned properties next to rental properties are the victims of neglect as their property value suffers.

With the paralysis in administration, it’s no wonder that a topic like the future is deemed unworthy of even discussion.

But if the present officials don’t look forward, why return them to office?

If the mayor has a long list of “more important” issues, he should present it to the people. I ask the mayor what his list has on it?

What about our future?

Fred Hoehn

Green Park

Editor’s note: Mr. Hoehn, a former Green Park alderman, led the city’s incorporation effort in 1995.