We know that ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County Executive Steve Stenger likes to help his friends. We saw an of his loyalty in January when he wrote a federal judge to plead for leniency for a friend’s nephew enmeshed in a criminal drug gang.
That makes the most recent demonstration of his allegiance — in this case to political donors and friends who redeveloped Northwest Plaza — unsurprising. Still, it raises eyebrows and undermines public trust.
Stenger plans to move the , the Division of Workplace Development and a satellite county assessor’s office from their current location in Maplewood to the early next year.
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He and Democratic County Councilman , whose district includes the Crossings, say the move will save the county at least $10 million over 20 years. The Post-Dispatch’s Steve Giegerich reported that the Crossings’ developers, David and Bob Glarner, last year contributed $75,000 to the 2018 Stenger re-election effort through their Givco LLC holding company.
The Glarners individually contributed a total of $5,000 to Page this year. Stenger says the move is not a quid pro quo for the campaign donations.
That assurance doesn’t satisfy G.T. Cozad III, property manager for the space in Sunnen Business Park that houses the elections board. Cozad found out the county was ending its 23-year relationship with the company he represents when he heard it on the news.
Cozad would have liked an opportunity to bid competitively on the lease that could net developers and owners of the Crossings site $40 million to $50 million over 20 years.
Stenger says the county never seeks bids to lease space in a commercial development and is unaware of any jurisdictions that do. He cited factors like fluctuating property values and highway and public transportation access as the reason bidding is a lousy idea.
Page says the county’s 20-year agreement with the Crossings’ developers includes leasing 126,000 square feet for $12.98 a foot. Sunquad, the company Cozad represents, currently leases 42,000 square feet to the elections board for $18.37 a square foot. Could the county have negotiated a better deal with Cozad and saved moving expenses? We’ll never know.
Saving taxpayers money should be the goal, but the process must be fair and transparent to remove any hint of suspicion.
Taxpayers already have contributed to the Northwest Plaza redevelopment, through millions in tax incentives from the state, the municipality of St. Ann, the county and the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Economic Development Partnership.
Good ideas and savings aside, it is unsettling for a top political office holder to give the appearance that he may be rewarding supporters. The council will vote on final approval for the move July 12. We urge a delay until it’s certain this is the best deal for taxpayers, not Stenger’s friends.
