51黑料

Even if Page and the County Council could agree on a plan 鈥� and they appear nowhere close 鈥� there鈥檚 not enough time for the county to mount a campaign before the November election, he said.

鈥淭hat window really passed last month,鈥� Page said Tuesday following a contentious exchange at the weekly council meeting. 鈥淲e might have been able to sprint and get something done if the council had taken a position tonight, but I don鈥檛 think they鈥檙e ready to make a decision or to really even talk about it.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檒l be waiting awhile.鈥�

County elected officials have been debating for years how to meet a 2028 deadline to either install fire sprinklers at their downtown Clayton building as required by city code or move. But talks have fallen apart yet again over the past few months.

Meanwhile, more than 650 county employees and thousands of visitors use the 54-year-old Lawrence K. Roos building that public works staffers say is crumbling, laden with asbestos and unsafe: Only the street level of the 10-story high-rise has fire sprinklers.

Page wanted to hire a consultant to 鈥渆ducate鈥� voters on a tax increase that would pay for whatever option the county chose. But the deadline for getting a question on the November ballot is Aug. 27, and there鈥檚 not enough time for a campaign now, Page said.

Experts aren鈥檛 so sure.

Gregg Keller, a 51黑料 County-based conservative political operative, said there鈥檚 still plenty of time to launch a campaign. Selling a tax increase when people are still feeling the pain of inflation would be tough, he said, but if the campaign started a few months before the Nov. 5 election, it could work.

鈥淭he overall economic atmospherics are not good for (Page),鈥� said Keller, who has worked on prominent Republican campaigns for 25 years. 鈥淐an it be overcome? Yes, of course it can. Campaigns do it all the time.鈥�

But it could make sense to wait for an election where the county wouldn鈥檛 be competing with a big presidential contest and other races, said David Kimball, chair of the political science department at the University of Missouri-51黑料.

鈥淚 can understand the logic of maybe waiting and putting it on the ballot next year when there would be many fewer things on the ballot,鈥� Kimball said.

County Council members running for reelection this year probably don鈥檛 have much of an incentive to move quickly either, he added.

鈥淭hey may not want to be on the ballot with a county tax increase,鈥� Kimball said.

鈥榊ou can ask him directly鈥�

The county has known about Clayton鈥檚 fire code since the city updated it in 2016 to require sprinklers in high-rises. The county began collecting cost estimates for different solutions that year and has done so off and on since but never settled on what to do.

The initiative, dubbed Project Cornerstone internally, resurfaced in February 2023, when the county approved a $5.5 million contract with consulting firm WSP to come up with ideas. WSP presented its ideas last summer.

But those don鈥檛 appear to be going anywhere.

Last week, Democratic Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, of Maplewood, introduced four symbolic resolutions urging the council to take action. Votes on the resolutions highlighted council divides.

A minority supported them: Clancy; Republican Councilman Ernie Trakas, of unincorporated South County; and Democratic Councilwoman Kelli Dunaway, of Chesterfield.

Republican councilmen Dennis Hancock, of Fenton, and Mark Harder, of Ballwin; Democratic Councilwoman Rita Heard Days, of Bel-Nor; and Democratic Chair Shalonda Webb, of unincorporated North County, voted against the resolutions.

Webb said she鈥檚 waiting for more information from Page on a bill she introduced last fall that would give the county more flexibility on the project.

But Webb鈥檚 statement turned into a testy exchange.

鈥淵our bill has been on the agenda for months,鈥� Trakas said. 鈥淗ave you called a hearing on it? No, you haven鈥檛, have you? The idea that this council is waiting on information is completely disingenuous.鈥�

Webb told Trakas that Page hasn鈥檛 cooperated.

鈥淵ou talk to him more than I do these days, although my phone number hasn鈥檛 changed,鈥� Webb said. 鈥淵ou can ask him directly because he knows I鈥檝e talked to him, and I鈥檝e asked for this several times.鈥�

Page said after the meeting Webb has recently been unable to attend their scheduled meetings. He hopes they can meet soon.

3 council seats up for election

The county has already run out of time for at least two options, Page said.

To renovate or build new, the county would have to get a question on this year鈥檚 ballot. The only option left, in Page鈥檚 view, is to find an existing space to retrofit and rent until county leaders find a permanent solution.

Hancock, the councilman from Fenton, said there鈥檚 still plenty of time to do the minimum: install sprinklers throughout Roos, without cleaning up asbestos. The county hasn鈥檛 seriously pursued that option, which would likely be the least expensive and take less time, he said.

鈥淚 believe we can get this done in three years,鈥� Hancock said.

Because the building already has some fire sprinkler infrastructure, the county could see 鈥渁 huge cost savings鈥� for installation, said Dave Kurasz, a director with the National Fire Sprinkler Association.

But in many cases, asbestos does need to be cleaned up before installing sprinklers, said KJ Spurlock, Missouri state coordinator for the sprinkler association. renovation and installations in buildings where asbestos is present, Spurlock said.

This year鈥檚 elections could break the council stalemate.

Three council seats are up for election, including that of Webb, the council chair.

A longtime Page ally, Rochelle Walton Gray, is running in a rematch against Webb, to whom she lost in 2020. If Walton Gray wins, she could tip the balance and hand Page a policy win. She did not respond to a request for comment.

If Page gained an ally there, he could still end up without a majority behind him.

One reliable Page supporter, Democrat Kelli Dunaway, of Chesterfield, isn鈥檛 running for reelection.

And Trakas, another frequent Page ally, faces reelection challengers.

This story was updated Monday afternoon to correct which levels of the Roos building have fire sprinklers. Only the street level has sprinklers.