It was all about the timing for Mike Graham, who said he will soon close CDM Lawn and Garden Equipment in Arnold, after more than three decades in business.
Graham, 59, of Herculaneum said he started the lawncare equipment supply and repair business at 1555 Missouri State Road 34 years ago because it was the right time, and he just sold the property to the city of Arnold because it was the right time.
City Administrator Bryan Richison and Public Works Director Judy Wagner said Arnold will use the land, located at Missouri State and Lonedell roads, to improve the intersection, although that project won’t begin for some time.
Graham said he will continue to operate CDM through the end of July and possibly during the first week of August, if he has not sold out of inventory. He also said he is not repairing equipment anymore.
“I am selling everything I have left at cost,” he said. “Once that is over, I will take whatever is left and auction it off. I will liquidate it all the way.”
Graham said he has agreed to sell the property land to Arnold for $320,000 and anticipates the deal will be completed in September.
“I am lucky everything came together at the right time, and I am happy,” Graham said.
Arnold city officials already have plans to widen and resurface Lonedell Road between Pomme and Missouri State roads, and the intersection project would start after that work is completed.
Wagner said the city is considering installing a roundabout at that intersection, but no plans have been finalized.
She said the intersection needs to be reworked to improve safety in the area.
“Right now, people on Missouri State going eastbound tend to go up that hill really fast, so people making turns in and out of Lonedell always feel in danger,” she said. “We listened to the residents who said how dangerous it is there. We are looking at potential intersection improvements.”
She said the city would seek grant funding for a roundabout if one is to be constructed there.
CDM
Graham said he and his late father, Carl Graham, who had retired from General Motors, opened the business in May 1989.
“I was still living at home and worked at an auto parts store. I walked into our house one day and he said, ‘If I sit on this couch for one more day, I’m going to die.’”
Graham said his father already was selling lawn mowers at flea markets and had rented a portion of the building that became the CDM store.
Graham also said he needed to find a new job because the auto parts store he was working at was closing, so with his father wanting something to keep him busy and Graham needing a new job, the time was right to open CDM.
“I came to him and asked if he wanted to start a lawn mower shop for real, and he looked at me and said, ‘That is exactly what I want to do,’” Graham said. “We moved in here and started the business. It worked out.”
Graham said his father died in 1998.
He said his son, Kalib Graham, 27, started working at CDM about seven years ago and plans to find a new profession after the store closes.
Graham said he always treated his customers the way he would want to be treated.
“I didn’t get rich, but I made a living,” he said. “I am a firm believer that if you treat people the way you want to be treated, then people will come around. I never really advertised. It has all been word of mouth. I would say after the second year, it sustained itself pretty easily for a seasonal business.”
Graham said he planned to retire in about three years, but when he got the opportunity to sell his business for what he thought was a fair price, he didn’t want to pass up the chance.
“I said, ‘I want a decent price for my building, give me what it appraises for and I will be happy,’” Graham said. “That is pretty much what they did.
Graham said he also is happy the deal will help out the city.
“It will be better. This intersection is a nightmare. People try to cut this corner, and that is when there is trouble. There has been plenty of wrecks here and close calls with screeching tires. It will be good for the city and residents. It will take a couple of years to get there, but it will be good.”
Graham said he may find another job after closing CDM, but he is not sure what he might do.
He also said he and his wife, Karen Graham, the director of the De Soto Public Library, would like to move to Florida to be near their daughter, Lauren Graham, 22.
“My daughter lives in Florida at Fort Walton Beach, and we will eventually live down there,” he said.
Graham said he will miss his customers after CDM closes.
“I want to thank everyone for supporting me for 34 years,” he said. “I have a lot of people who are customers and friends, and I am going to miss them. But it is good timing.”
Nearby road improvements
Wagner said the city received a Surface Transportation Block Grant from the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council of Governments, which coordinates road projects in the St. Louis region, to help fund the Lonedell Road-widening project, which will cost an estimated $2 million.
She said the city will pay about $637,000 for the work and the grant is expected to cover the remaining costs.
Wagner said improvements would include widening the lanes from 9 1/2 feet wide to 11 feet wide; resurfacing the roadway; putting in stormwater pipes and enclosing the open drainage ditches along the side of the road; installing curbing gutters with inlets to collect water to filter through the pipes to a nearby creek; building a 6-foot sidewalk on one of side of the road; completing work on sharp hills to reduce blind spots; and posting signs reminding drivers to share the road with bicyclists.
She said the Lonedell Road improvements are necessary because of the increased number of residents using the road.
“Traffic has increased because of the increase of houses in Henley Woods (a new subdivision at the intersection of Lonedell and Pomme roads) and in the unincorporated part of Jefferson County over there,” Wagner said.
Wagner said Cochran Engineering of Fenton has been paid $163,277 to design the improvements, and the city will pay Cochran $122,458 to provide construction administration services.
She said Arnold will seek bids from construction companies to perform the work, which she expects to start in summer 2024.
After that project is completed, the city will look at improving the intersection at Missouri State and Lonedell roads, Wagner said.