MARBLE HILL ALDERMEN AGAIN REFUSE NOMINEE OF MAYOR

MARBLE HILL -- Mayor Adrian Shell was visibly irritated after Monday's brief, non-productive board of aldermen meeting. Once again the council refused to approve Shell's nominee to fill the vacancy left by the death in February of alderman F.X. Peters.

Alderman Frank Killian made a motion that the board accept the mayor's nominee, Jim Young. But neither Aldermen Fred Thomas nor Mildred Shell (no relation to the mayor) would second the nomination.

The deadlock centers around the board's fear that a nominee appointed by the mayor would side with Killian on the matter of the city pool versus the city hall, a hotly debated issue that remains unresolved.

Before Shell was elected mayor in April 1992, a decision was made to build a city office complex next to a swimming pool with funds from a trust fund left the city by a St. Louis woman, Larma Wisely, in her will. The will stipulated that the funds be used for construction of a pool and the development and maintenance of the city's park.

Although City Attorney Gary Kamp has previously told the council they can use the money to build a city complex, State Auditor Margaret Kelly in a city audit earlier this year questioned the project's legality. City officials are now seeking a declaratory judgment in circuit court.

Before his death, Peters had been a supporter of the city hall project along with Mildred Shell and Thomas. Mayor Shell and Killian argue that the funds cannot be used for the city offices.

In the case of a tied vote of a board with all its members, the mayor would cast the deciding vote. In the pool's case, the mayor's vote would be for cast in favor of the pool; not the development of a new city complex. That is what Mildred Shell and Thomas fear most, residents believe.

"(Thomas and Mildred Shell) are afraid if the mayor is allowed to appoint someone to the board they will lose their power," said Junior Long of Marble Hill. "This is really getting ridiculous."

After the mayor brought up the issue of Young's appointment to the council, Thomas and Mildred Shell became quiet.

The mayor then asked Young to speak on his own behalf. He said: "I don't know what your problem is -- why you won't accept me -- but I tell you that when it comes time to make a decision I would be fair. I have my own mind and I intend to make decisions based on what I feel is best."

Without acknowledging his statement, Thomas chastised Young for speaking with a Southeast Missourian reporter on the stalemate between the mayor and the board of aldermen.

After a few minutes of silence, the mayor threw up his hands and said, "What can I do?"

For the first time in a board of aldermen meeting, the citizens of Marble Hill were allowed to address the board.

One woman asked, "Mildred Shell, why won't you approve Mr. Young to the board?"

Mildred Shell answered: "I have my own personal reasons for what I do and I don't think it's any of your business."

Thomas said: "When you go to the polls, do you tell people who you're going to vote for? We're not going to open this thing up to the public. As far as I'm concerned, this issue is to its end."

Mayor Shell then brought up a petition signed by 168 residents of Ward I, asking that the board approve Young to fill Peters' vacancy until the April 1994 election.

"When 168 people in your ward request that you do something, how do you think people respond when you don't listen?" asked Mayor Shell. "Ethically, the board of aldermen cannot keep the public's voices from being heard.

"It's not what we wish; it's what they wish," he said. "This is how they voice their opinion. They deserve your attention."

Mildred Shell and Thomas left the meeting without another word.

After the meeting several people who had attended to speak at the meeting stayed late to talk with the mayor.

"These people were voted into office by the people and should do what they want," said David McCormick, a resident of Glen Allen and a business owner in Marble Hill. "There is $632,000 sitting in a bank account accumulating interest every month that the mayor wants to use for a swimming pool."

Lindell Seabaugh, who ran unsuccessfully for the seats of both Thomas and Mildred Shell in the past, said the situation is getting to the point where a recall or lawsuit will become necessary.

"As an alderman, you should feel like you owe people an answer," said Seabaugh. "You should have to face up to your responsibility."

The mayor did announce at the close of the meeting that his newly-appointed six-member park board was deemed legal after a review by the Missouri attorney general's office.

At the June 14 meeting of the board of aldermen, Shell appointed six new members to the park board. Killian and Thomas voted for all of the new members but Mildred Shell voted against them.

The city attorney had previously told Mayor Shell that the board could not be legal without three votes from the board. The state of Missouri feels otherwise.

An Oct. 11 letter from the attorney general states that "a vacancy on a board of trustees can be filled by a two-to-one vote of the remaining members, excluding the chairman."

"That's all the proof I need," said Shell. "I've got it in black and white that this park board is legal."

Chuck Freeman, president of the new park board, said that with the state's confirmation of his group's legality, the park board is ready to get to work.

"I can tell you one thing," Freeman said. "There will be a pool in Marble Hill in operation by May."