Two new members were recently named to two transportation development district board of directors in Arnold to create more separation between the city and the two entities.
Dena McCaffrey, Jefferson College president, and Justin Price, who owns the Wesley Rogers Steak and Buffet restaurant in Arnold, were elected on Aug. 25 to the Triangle TDD board.
McCaffrey was named chairwoman for the Triangle TDD board, which automatically made her the chairwoman of the Arnold Retail Corridor TDD board. Price was named the Triangle TDD board’s representative on the ARC TDD board.
The ARC TDD was formed in September 2007 by Arnold and the Triangle TDD, which was formed in 2006, for the development of the Arnold Commons complex and the redevelopment of the Arnold Crossroads.
McCaffrey and Price replaced former Ward 4 Councilman Gary Plunk, who lost his bid for reelection in April to Brad Cary, and Arnold Finance Director Bill Lehmann on the boards.
Plunk resigned from the TDD boards in February. Lehmann resigned his seats on the TDD boards, but he will be the two boards’ executive director, which is an officer position that does not vote on TDD actions.
McCaffrey replaced Plunk as the chair of the two boards. Price took over Lehmann’s position as a director on both of the boards.
Arnold Mayor Bill Moritz, who by law is a member of both TDD boards as the mayor, said the appointments of McCaffrey and Price to the boards accomplished one of the changes he and city officials said would be made after a Missouri State Auditor’s Office said in a scathing audit report in April that there was not enough separation between the TDDs and city.
“We would put people who are not associated with the city government on the boards,” Moritz said. “There were six things I said we would do back in May, and this is part of it.”
The other Triangle TDD board members are Dan Kroupa, who was Arnold’s treasurer but did not seek reelection in April, and Judy Wagner, who works part-time for Arnold as a project engineer after previously serving as the city Public Works director. Kroupa also is a member of the ARC TDD.
In May, Moritz said Arnold will take the following steps to address issues raised in the audit report, which gave Arnold, the ARC TDD and Triangle TDD the lowest possible rating of “poor” and claimed there were numerous conflicts of interest and a lack of transparency.
■ Arnold will make sure all TIF (Tax Increment Financing) status reports are current. The audit said the city had not properly submitted annual TIF reports since 2018.
■ Arnold will review all TDD board oversight procedures.
■ Arnold will review the TDD board composition.
■ Arnold will remind retailers in the district of their obligation to display the TDD sales tax rate. The audit report said the 1-cent sales tax that the TDD collects is not properly displayed.
■ Arnold will recommend to the TDD board that they hire an independent firm to handle all of the TDD’s financial transactions and bookkeeping to create greater separation between the TDD and the city.
■ Arnold will implement stronger policies around public engagement and outreach, especially for major projects.
McCaffrey, who lives in Arnold, said joining the TDD boards allows her to help support positive growth in the community.
“I appreciate the city of Arnold is taking to heart what came from the audit,” she said. “I just want to make sure there is transparency, that the law is followed and it is done with integrity.”
Price, who is a member of the Arnold Tourism Commission, said being a member of the TDD boards provides him with another opportunity to serve the city where he operates a business.
“I have always enjoyed tourism, and I enjoy serving,” he said. “I want to make sure that it is done properly. That we go through the right channels. That we do things that right way. That there is full transparency, full communication and there are no compliance issues.”
The existence of the TDDs and the 1-cent sales tax that the ARC TDD collects drew criticism after Arnold announced and abandoned a proposed 2-mile, two-lane road between Hwy. 141 and Richardson Road, which was to be called the Arnold Parkway, in 2024.
The road project was projected to cost about $75 million, including the cost to acquire 38 homes in the Key West Estates subdivision, multiple businesses and a portion of the Water Tower Place Shopping Center. Residents attempted to gather enough signatures to force recall elections for all Arnold elected officials, and the owners of the Water Tower shopping plaza filed a lawsuit to stop the road project and to dissolve the ARC TDD following the road projects announcement.
Debbie Rush of Thompson Coburn LLP, the law firm that represents the TDDs, previously said the sales tax remains in place because a portion of the money is used to pay off bonds issued by the Arnold Crossroads and Arnold Commons tax increment finance (TIF) districts.
The ARC TDD also has not completed three of the eight projects that were planned when it was created.
Arnold officials said the three remaining projects include building a connector road between Hwy. 141 and Michigan Avenue; landscaping and beautification at the I-55/Highway 141 intersection; and a broad category of roadway, parking and access improvements benefiting the district.
Price said he supports building a road connecting Hwy. 141 to Michigan Avenue, and he understands why residents were upset when the proposed Arnold Parkway project was announced. He said he believes the connecting road would help alleviate traffic congestion at the intersection of Hwy. 141 and Jeffco Boulevard.
“I see the viability of the connector road,” he said. “It just has to be done transparently. The biggest thing people were concerned about was how (the proposed Arnold Parkway project) was handled.
“I think the big aspects (of the TDDs) are being handled well with transparency, separating conflicts of interest and doing things in a compliant manner.”
ARC TDD projects
On Aug. 25, Moritz announced four projects paid for by the ARC TDD are expected to be done later this year.
He said a high-wind concrete screen will be installed along Church Road behind Lowe’s, 920 Arnold Commons Drive; a traffic study analyzing northbound traffic from Old Lemay Ferry Road to the intersection of Church Road will be performed; landscaping will be improved at the intersection of I-55 and Hwy. 141; and work will be done on the traffic signal where the Arnold Commons shopping plaza intersects with Old Lemay Ferry Road.
“One of the most visible will be the Lowe’s,” Moritz said of the proposed projects. “The fence is damaged. When it was first mentioned to me, I started noticing just how unattractive that looks. I figured that would be a good addition, so everybody doesn’t see the Lowe’s inventory that is sitting out there.”
The ARC TDD also continues to purchase homes in the Key West Estates subdivision, which is made up of Harrys Lane, Christy Drive, Big Bill Road, Ridge Drive and Lone Star Drive, in order to build the connector road.
Homeowners in the area had received letters from the ARC TDD offering $225,000 for their houses in 2024.
In May, Lehmann said the ARC TDD had paid $7,420,464.57 for 27 properties to owners who wanted to sell their land to the TDD.
On Aug. 25, ARC TDD and city officials said there were still five or six homes that are in the process of being purchased. The officials said the purchases may be completed in the next six months.
After all homes are bought from those who want to sell their property, the ARC TDD will begin the process of demolishing the vacant houses, officials said.