The Green Park Board of Aldermen officially approved the hiring of three new city staff members at its Nov. 17 meeting.
Lisa Bailey will take over the deputy city clerk position formerly held by Diane DeLonjay, Matthew Gones will serve as the new code enforcement officer following Bill Dorsey’s departure and Margaret Tyler will work daily in City Hall as its newest administrative assistant, replacing Kelsey Moser. All three were present and introduced at the board’s November meeting.
Ward 3 Alderman Joe Monteleone — the board’s president and current acting mayor, following Tim Thuston’s June resignation — and City Clerk Theresa Pfyl recommended Bailey to the board for the deputy city clerk position. She will start with compensation set at $25.00 per hour, though “any future adjustments (may) be made throughout the budget process” per the ordinance.
As aforementioned, Bailey is taking over the role from Diane DeLonjay, who served as deputy city clerk for 17 years. DeLonjay resigned on June 30 “due to recent events and ongoing circumstances that have made it increasingly difficult for (her) to perform (her) duties in a productive and respectful environment.”
“Lisa’s doing a great job,” Pfyl said at the board’s Nov. 17 meeting. She then went on to introduce Gones, stating, “We are very lucky that Matthew joined our team. He’s been with us for about two weeks now. He’s a great addition to our team. We enjoy having him. He does a wonderful job.”
Gones started his part-time position with the city on Nov. 3 for a rate of $28 per hour, though this may also be adjusted by the board. His duties mainly consist of enforcing the nuisance code, land use codes and building codes throughout Green Park. As of Nov. 17, he has cited 23 code violations, 12 of which were trash violations.
“Of the 12 trash violations cited on Nov. 10, all 12 were in compliance this morning. So that shows that when these letters are sent out, the citizens of Green Park are taking these seriously,” Gomes said.
In addition to speaking about his new role, Gomes took the opportunity to share his background and what led him to become Green Park’s code enforcement officer.
“I was born and raised here in St. Louis. I went to St. Mary’s High School. Right out of high school, I went into the Marine Corps for eight years,” he said. “I came back home in 2015, where I’ve been a police officer ever since, working for St. Louis City Police and the city of Lakeshire.”
It was then announced that the city clerk had recommended Margaret Tyler to fill the vacant administrative assistant position at a rate of $18 per hour; just as the past two ordinances included, this rate, too, may be adjusted by the board.
After being read twice, all three ordinances passed unanimously via roll call vote. It should be noted that Ward 2 Alderman Tammy Witzig was absent from the meeting, making the vote 5-0 as opposed to 6-0.
