NEWS

On December 4th, prepare yourselves for touring. Comfortable clothes and walking shoes are the order for the day because you won’t want to miss the 2016 FERGUSON CHRISTMAS TWILIGHT HOUSE TOUR. The Ferguson Caring League is featuring seven beautiful homes on the tour this year. These private residences represent a variety of architectural styles and the halls are completely decked with boughs of holly. The tour runs from 3:00 until 7:00 pm, and weather permitting, is bike friendly. Tickets go on sale November 1st and can be purchased at Paul’s Market, Corner Coffee House or Ferguson City Hall. Tickets may also be purchased on December 4th at Pearce Neikirk and Partners Realtors, LLC at 427 South Florissant Road from 1:00 until 4:00 pm. All proceeds go to the Ferguson Caring League to conduct their good work in and around Ferguson. Many of Ferguson’s restaurants, cafes and shops will be open and offering tour specials as well. Get a group of friends together and get touring!

An introduction is in order for one of our newer businesses on CityWalk. Straw Hat Aquaponics, located at 258 So. Florissant Road (in the former Gaga’s for Gifts Shop) is the brain child of a group of excited and talented entrepreneurs, Tom Bortz, Alex Limpert, Tim Hydar, J.P. Knoblach, Rick Evers and Dan Bortz, Tom’s brother. They all have a common denominator which is the passion for growing, and best of all, eating, fresh vegetables. Straw Hat is a farm without tractors and combines. The science is as cutting edge as what you will find in the Silicon Valley (well almost). While the operation is focused on wholesale growth and sales of greens and lettuces for restaurants and retailing to the Ferguson Farmers Market, a retail outlet may be coming soon. Visit them on facebook or at strawhataquaponics.com. I will be looking for their IPO.

Well, there you have it; another month enjoying the quality of life found in Bedrod Falls . . . or as we all know it . . . FERG!

September was a busy month! Our Citywalk Concert Series at Plaza 501 featured three local bands for the last concert of the season, delicious late summer produce was available at the Farmers Market, and the month ended at Victorian Plaza rocking to the diverse music of six different bands.

We also said goodbye to Toni Roper, who has been the public “face” for Citywalk events and promotions the past three years. We will miss her huge smile and seemingly unending energy! We wish her well in her new position at the family business, Roper’s Ribs.

Some new businesses opened in September on Citywalk. One of those is the Community Birth and Wellness Center at #8 Church Street in the historic Bindbeutel Building. They are staffed with certified nurse midwives and offer complete prenatal, birth and postpartum care, as well as breastfeeding support.

October will bring some good reasons to get out and enjoy the (hopefully) nice Fall weather on the Citywalk. Shepherding Images Gallery has the photography of Henry Chaney, entitled The Awakening, on exhibit until October 8th. FYI has some of the painted boards on display until October 30th as part of the multi-venue Outside In/Paint for Peace exhibit and they will also have a Slam arts event for teens on Friday, October 7th. Local authors, including Ferguson resident Braxton DeGarmo and Immanuel Church’s pastor Jimmy Watson will be at Corners Frameshop & Gallery also on Friday evening, October 7th. Weekend nights usually brings live music to be heard at various restaurants and bars on the walk, and October is the last month to shop at the award-winning outdoor Ferguson Farmers Market on Saturday mornings.

Next month we’ll have wonderful November events to talk about, but it is not too early to plan your float for the Northern Lights parade! This year’s theme is Favorite Holiday Movies. Watch this paper for details and entry applications. Till next month, see you on the walk!

The column below was previously published in the February, 2016 Ferguson Times. At that time, the City was struggling with how to balance the budget for the City’s General Fund. Since then, two tax increases have been passed in order to shore up the General Fund. The downtown business district continues to operate as noted below without using funds from the General Fund.

Budgets, budgets, and more budgets! There’s been lots of talk about budgets in the City during the last few months. One good thing that has come out of these conversations is that more and more residents have become knowledgeable about where the City gets its money and what the City spends it on.

Maybe you’ve wondered where the downtown business district (also referred to as “CityWalk”, or “FSBD”, or just “S. Florissant”) gets its money from and what it spends it on.

What the downtown business district spends its money on is easier to answer because the results of that spending are very visible. Downtown events such as the Farmers Market, the Concert Series at 501, Streetfest, Northern Lights, and the Christmas Glow Carriage Rides are all funded, some completely and some partly, by the downtown business district. Most of the advertising for these events, so people far and wide know about them, is also paid for by the downtown business district. In addition, the downtown lighting, trashcans, benches, and public landscaping and art are all paid for by the downtown business district.

So where does the downtown business district get its money from? There are two funding sources: a special tax that downtown businesses pay when they renew their business licenses; and the proceeds from the downtown TIF district. (Explaining how a TIF district works is beyond the scope of this column, but google “TIF” if you want to learn more.)

There you have it. Money flows into two funds that the City has setup for the downtown business district, and that money is spent on the things you see and the events you enjoy along the downtown corridor.