Despite a rainy, cold night on Oct. 25, an informational meeting about the proposal to build a Love’s truck stop in Herculaneum brought out dozens of people, many of whom have been protesting the project at Board of Aldermen meetings.
Love’s Travel Stops’ company representative Steve Walters gave a presentation about the project and answered questions at the meeting, but it appeared most of those who opposed the project were not swayed.
Still, City Administrator Jim Kasten said he felt positive about the meeting because of all the information that was shared there.
He estimated that 75 to 80 people attended the meeting, which was held at the Herculaneum High School theater and had been scheduled for one hour but stretched to two when Walters agreed to continue answering questions.
Kasten had requested that questions be submitted to Herculaneum officials or the spokespeople for Providence subdivision, which is near the proposed site for the Love’s truck stop.
The subdivision also has been the base of protests against the Love’s project.
Walters not only answered questions that had been submitted in advance, but also from members of the audience.
“There was good attendance and I was pleased we were able to accommodate the residents,” Kasten said. “I was pleased all the questions provided to us got a response. I was pleased with the PowerPoint presentation by (Walters) and our moderator, Alex Schwent.”
Love’s Travel Stops company has proposed building a gas station, convenience store and truck stop on 28 acres west of I-55 and north of the roundabout at McNutt Street and Providence Way.
Walters, a real estate project manager for Love’s, said the target for opening the site would be “late 2023 to early 2024 at the earliest.”
At the meeting, Walters said he finds sites around the country for his company’s developments, and he was attempting to answer the public’s questions as honestly as possible.
“We have nothing to hide, because everything is public record,” he said. “All the information we supply to the city is public record.”
Many of the questions asked at the meeting hammered at the same topics, including concerns about increased traffic and crime in the area. The following is a list of complaints against the proposal and comments from Walters.
■ The truck stop would make traffic at the entrance to Providence subdivision, that includes a roundabout, even worse than it is.
Walters said he did not believe the development would make entering and exiting the subdivision more dangerous with increased traffic from the truck stop.
“The roundabout was designed with extra traffic considered,” he said.
■ The truck stop would increase crime in town, particularly drug-related crimes and sex trafficking.
Walters said Love’s representatives have checked with local law enforcement officials about the arrival of the large QT gas station and convenience store years ago on McNutt Street near the proposed Love’s truck stop, and they did not find evidence of a significant increase in crime related to the development, and there is no indication the Love’s would be any different.
As to sex trafficking, he said the Love’s company partners with Truckers Against Trafficking, a nonprofit group that works against human trafficking.
He also said depending on the location of a particular Love’s truck stop, the company sometimes provides security guards.
“If we need to, we put armed security guards in our stores,” Walters said.
The Herculaneum site would not be a store requiring armed security guards, he said.
■ The truck stop would pose various health risks to the nearby neighborhood caused by air pollution from diesel exhaust, noise pollution and other factors.
Walters said Love’s adheres to all federal, state and local requirements involving such issues.
“We operate in a highly regulated industry,” he said.
He said that the company is including features in its plan for the development to mitigate potential noise problems, such as creating a berm between the facility and the neighboring homes.
■ The truck stop would hurt Providence subdivision property values.
Walters said Love’s representatives have spoken to real estate agents from areas where other Love’s truck stops are located, and he heard no evidence that property values for nearby homes were negatively affected.
Another question involved hotels built at Love’s sites, but Walters said the company no longer builds hotels at its truck stops.
Crowd responses during the session and a sampling of people leaving the meeting indicated the majority of attendees remained against the project.
Scott Siegel, a Providence subdivision resident who has served as a group spokesman, said the proposed location remains the group’s complaint, not a truck stop in town, per se.
“It comes down to the location,” he said. “We’re going to keep fighting it. There’s a lot of people talking about putting their homes up for sale.”
Another Providence subdivision resident, Keith Roesch, said he believes the giant corporation is steamrolling local citizens.
“I hope (Walters) has a conscience,” Roesch said. “But, business is business. They’re going to do what they want to do. We will continue to protest.”
Andy Sutter of Providence subdivision said the presentation did not convince him to support the project.
“Seeing the drawings made me feel a little better,” Sutter said. “But, I do not support this. I do not want it in my back yard.”
One Providence subdivision resident, Terry Armbruster, said he felt better after the presentation.
“I feel a lot better seeing their plan,” he said.
