COME TO OUR NEXT MEETING!!!

IT'S STILL NOT OVER!  You believed it before and you need to believe it now.   The City and Wings Enterprises will not stop without your help and your continued opposition.

The Concerned Citizens for Crystal City group has been having weekly meetings since we heard of the iron ore smelting plans.  Everyone is welcome, even if you don't live in the area.   Our next meeting is at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 30 at the Festus airport.

There is also another Crystal City Council meeting on Monday, January, 28 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall in Crystal City.   


CITY PASSES ORDINANCE FOR ZONING CHANGE

On Monday, January 14th, City officials passed an ordinance that literally changed the face of Crystal City.  It was also announced that Crystal City intends to annex the Festus Airport.  The annexation will be on a ballot in a special election in April.

Here is the major zoning change that will turn all of the Bill Bradley property and the surrounding area into an industrial zone.  Our group (CCCC) was allowed to view and photograph the planned zoning changes.  These changes are presumably necessary for the planned iron ore smelting facility and supporting barge port facility.

The major changes are illustrated in the picture to the right.  You can click on the picture to view a larger version of it.  The area outlined in blue is the area that was previously zoned M2.   It is the old PPG property being leased to Wings Enterprises.  The zoning classification of M2, General Industrial, is the most permissive of the two industrial zonings.  The other industrial zoning classification is M1, Light Industrial.  

The area outlined in red is the new area zoned as M2.  There are two exceptions.   They are the areas that surround Hugs Landing Road (including the Plattin Rock Boat Club) and Howard Dohack Drive. This entire area is currently zoned as RC, Conservation District.  Permitted uses of RC zones include agricultural activity, parks, parkways, scenic areas, wildlife refuges, golf courses, cemeteries, picnic grounds and boat docks.  

We took a picture of the old and new zoning maps that are on display in City Hall.  The picture can be found here.  It is hard to discern the differences in the colors.   But the biggest change is that the large chunk of land that was zoned RC, Conservation, is now proposed to be zoned M2, General Industrial.  This is changing the zoning from the most restrictive classification to the most permissive classification.   And the new map shows that there will be no RC (Conservation) zoning.  RC is not even on the legend anymore.


DUE DILIGENCE

Due Diligence is the phrase that everyone is focusing on now.  The City claims that it has done it's due diligence by investigating all of their options.  Our group has obtained some very credible documents that argue otherwise.

Here is a testimony from Nick Frey of Stinson Morrison Hecker law firm stating that Christine O'Keefe of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) said it would take at least 8 years to build a smelter and they would need an air permit.  Considering that the lease agreement with Wings Enterprises dictates that they have 5 years to build a successful smelter, you have to wonder if anyone asked the MDNR if building a smelter was feasible.

Then there is the letter that Mel Kosanchick, professional engineer that has been involved with thousands of real estate projects, personally presented to the City Council on November 12.  It suggests that "Purchasing land without a comprehensive 'Due Diligence' Report can lead to bankruptcy".

How about the presentation that Roger Baker, a seasoned mechanical engineer from Crystal City, developed after contacting Jim Kennedy (owner of Wings Enterprises) and simply "doing the math"?  It concludes that "the stated income is less than the Capital cost amortization, labor cost, and operating costs".

Also, a letter from Tom Kerr, local resident and owner of Crystal City Underground, outlines eight serious environmental issues with regard to the PPG property that were uncovered in the process of developing his project.

Finally, distinguished Crystal City residents Bill and Debbie McKenna let us know how they feel about Crystal City's due diligence in a recent advertisement in the local Leader newspaper.


VIDEOS

What better way to spend a holiday than to sit down with your family and watch the latest videos about the Crystal City Smelter Controversy. Here are the latest videos.

IF YOU ONLY HAVE TIME TO WATCH ONE SET OF OUR VIDEOS - THIS IS IT!

Speechless - Part 1

Speechless - Part 2

THE STORY SO FAR

We have been through so much in the last few months that we thought it would be good to stop and recap what has happened so far.  

  1. On Wednesday, September 5th, there was a public meeting held where Mayor Tom Schilly announced that agreements had been made, in principle, to put an iron ore smelter on the old PPG property in Crystal City.  The city would buy the property from PPG and then lease it to Wings Enterprises.

  2. On Monday, September 10th, the City Council voted 7-0 in favor of giving Mayor Schilly the authority to sign the sales and lease agreements.  The Mayor signed those agreements that same night.

  3. On Monday, October 8th, an overflow crowd came to City Hall for the City Council meeting.  The City Council voted 6-2 in favor of slowing down the closing of the sales and lease agreements in order to review the agreements and to review other options.

  4. On Monday, October 15th, the City Council met with Wings Enterprises and their associates in a closed session.

  5. On Monday, October 22nd, the City Council voted 5-3 in favor of continuing the purchase and lease agreements as planned.

  6. On Sunday, November 11th, the Concerned Citizens for Crystal City announce their intention to take legal action.

  7. On Monday, November 12th, the City Council voted 4-3 in favor of continuing the purchase and lease agreements as planned.   Mayor Schilly announces intention to have a public meeting before closing on the PPG land.

  8. On Monday, November 19th, the City Council voted to extend the due diligence period for the closing on the PPG land by two weeks and to cancel the special City Council meeting they scheduled for the next day, Tuesday, November 20th.

PLEASE DONATE TO OUR CAUSE!!

We are now accepting donations.   If you would like to mail a donation to us please make your checks out to "Concerned Citizens for Crystal City" and address it to one of the two following addresses:

Concerned Citizens for Crystal City
c/o Jack Ginnever
24 Mississippi Ave.
Crystal City, MO 63019 		Concerned Citizens for Crystal City
c/o Theresa Adams
P.O. Box 692
Festus, MO 63028

BRADLEY FARM MYSTERY REVEALED!!

It's more than just a rumor.  Former New Jersey senator and presidential candidate Bill Bradley's farm in Crystal City is an integral part of the entire smelter project.   Check here for the details.

SO WHAT CAN I DO?

Stay in touch with this website.  Click here to add it to your favorites.  We can use your help in our cause to be heard.  There are three areas where you can help:

  1. Public Awareness - we have multiple activities in process to bring information to the people.  Contact Theresa to see how you can help.
  2. Research - to get answers we need research. We've done a lot already but there's much more to be done.   Contact Melody to contribute to our research.  The normal process is that research findings will be checked and verified by another member of the group before it is posted on the main site.
  3. Legal - we're interpreting legal documents and need help understanding them.  Contact Andrew to help.

Write a letter.  Here is a great sample letter supplied by a member of our group in either Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat formats.

INFORMATION THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS!!

Here's a quick subset of the information in the forum. Below is the model iron ore smelting facility for the new technology proposed for the Crystal City plant.   This facility is owned by Samarco Mineracao and is located Ponta Ubu, Brazil which is North of Rio De Janeiro.  The buildings for the facility are to the upper left of the red circled area.



The red circled area is actually the waste product from the smelting process called a "slag pile".  For a perspective of scale, notice the yellow circled area.  That is a 1000 foot barge.

In comparison, the picture below (scaled to compare to the Brazil facility) is the Crystal City area.  The red circled area is the PPG property.  Of that area about 1/3 of it is unusable because of contamination.  Where will the slag pile be located?  Our best guess is the Bill Bradley farm directly to the North of the PPG property.  And, according to our calculations, the Crystal City plant could produce as much as 100 tons of slag per day.


Notice the population center in Crystal City compared to that of the Brazil plant.  It appears that Brazil is more concerned for the welfare of their people than we are!

TO THE PEOPLE OF CRYSTAL CITY AND SURROUNDING AREAS:

Thank you for taking an interest in Crystal City's recent actions regarding the PPG site.  You probably have a lot of unanswered questions about what the smelter deal means to Crystal City, Festus and the surrounding areas.  Frankly, we have a lot of questions too.  But we also have a lot of answers.   And we're getting more answers daily that we'd like to share with you.

We know that an agreement has been signed between the city of Crystal City, PPG and Wings Enterprises.  But it is not too late.

We are a growing group of concerned citizens that just want to be sure that our voices are heard.  Our goal is to stop the smelter.  We are not anti-jobs and we are not anti-city.  We are not sponsored by any other organization.

Our justification for our actions is that the smelter will change the very complexion of our community for generations to come and that this very important decision should not be made by a few in secret.  Let your voice be heard!

If you disagree with this objective you still owe it to yourself and your children to stay informed.  There is a forum for open discussion.  All opinions are welcome.

Why Are We Here?

Hopefully you have found this site because you are concerned about the future of the cities of Crystal City and Festus, Missouri.  As you may or may not know, plans are underway to allow an iron ore smelting facility to occupy the PPG land in Crystal City.

It is our opinion, and hopefully yours, that this is a short sited strategy for the future of Crystal City - short sited because it will, in the short term, provide jobs and expand the revenue base of the surrounding area.  But in the long term, Crystal City will ride a roller coaster of economic trends that could leave this 'gem of Jefferson County' a wasteland in the future.

You may or may not also know that there is competition for the PPG land.  The developer of Crystal City Underground has also expressed interest in the PPG property.

Who Are You?

We are a group of concerned citizens from the Crystal City area.  We are not associated with the city government or any development firm.  This site was started by Jack Ginnever.  Here are Jack's initial comments when he started this site:

My name is Jack Ginnever and I own the old PPG hospital.  I have enjoyed what used to be the site of the old glass factory.   I am not a life long Crystal City resident.  I moved here from St. Charles County because I believe that this is the absolute best community within reach of the St. Louis area.  In my short three year stay here I have witnessed a large influx of independent economic interest in this community.

I bought the old PPG hospital with the intention of preserving it as an historic landmark for future generations to see.  It is one of two buildings that are the sole remnants of the old glass factory that gave Crystal City it's name.  Look here for a brief history of Crystal City.  Now I fear that the city's plans are not taking this historical perspective and may force me, and many others, to leave because of economic reasons.

The new industrial complex that is being promoted by the city of Crystal City is literally in my backyard.  I know that I do not have control over that property.  And, if I knew that the citizens of Crystal City could make an informed decision about their future, I would understand this course of action even though I firmly oppose it.   Until I'm convinced that the people have a say in this matter, I will not rest.

I can tell you that the old PPG property has the potential to put Crystal City on the map.  We, all of us, have to be diligent enough to make sure that our community is put on the map for the right reason and that it attracts people to our area for generations to come.