Happy Holidays from St. Charles County!

We hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! View a special greeting from our family to yours.

New Exhibit Showcases "Our Sporting Heritage," Features State-of-the-Art Hunting Simulator

St. Charles County residents and visitors alike won’t want to miss the Heritage Museum’s new exhibit, “Our Sporting Heritage.” The exhibit features a Marksman Hunting Simulator donated to the Parks Department by August Busch III. The simulator allows visitors to test their skills on a state-of-the-art simulated hunting game that takes them on a realistic virtual duck hunt. The exhibit opened this month and is one of only three of its kind in the United States.

The main exhibit, which includes the simulator, showcases the history of hunting and fishing in St. Charles County and throughout Missouri, from prehistoric times to the modern era. In addition, a St. Charles County Amateur Sports Hall of Fame exhibit featuring amateur sports in the county is on display. The High School Athletics exhibit is being finalized and will open in early 2017.

The Museum and all County Parks are funded by a dedicated tax approved by voters in 1997. Research for the exhibit was conducted by Heritage Museum staff, and the text and banner displays throughout the exhibit were edited and printed in-house by the County’s Communications Department and Print Shop.

The Heritage Museum is located at 1630 Heritage Landing in St. Charles. Entrance to the museum, the exhibits and trying out the simulator is free! For more information call 636-949-7535 or visit the St. Charles County Parks Department’s website.

Important End-of-Year Reminders

Personal property and real estate taxes are due Saturday, Dec. 31. Michelle McBride, Collector of Revenue, recommends planning ahead as County offices will be closed that day. For more information about 2016’s tax bills, including ways to pay and partial payments, check out our latest press release. Visit the Collector’s tax payment website to view or pay your bill online.

It’s not too late to get your flu shot! The Department of Public Health’s Immunization Clinic offers this and other vaccinations on an appointment basis. Visit the clinic’s webpage to learn more (Please note that the clinic will be closed from Dec. 19 - Jan. 2).

In addition to getting a flu shot, there are other ways you can try to stay well and help others do the same. Be sure to cover your mouth and nose during sneezing and coughing and wash your hands frequently and properly. Most importantly, STAY HOME if you are sick. For more tips and information, visit Public Health’s website.

If you haven’t already, it’s time to prepare for winter! Visit the Division of Emergency Management’s Winter Preparedness webpage for tips on how to prepare your family, home and vehicle for the cold days ahead.

Have you wondered how the St. Charles County Highway Department handles snow removal? The same crew that performs street construction and repair is hitting the streets when icy precipitation is forecasted. Check out this month’s Inside the Buzz segment on SCCMO-TV’s County Buzz to learn more.

When winter weather arrives this season, if possible, please move vehicles off the street to help County, state and municipal highway and street crews clear the roads.

Instead of trashing your natural tree after Christmas, recycle it as one last holiday gift that will enhance our environment. The Division of Environmental Health and Protection partners with several area municipalities to present a FREE tree collection at various locations throughout our community, including the County-operated Recycle Works locations in St. Charles and Wentzville. Before bringing natural trees to any of the locations, residents must be sure to remove the tree stand, all decorations and any plastic bags or coverings. For dates. locations, hours and more information, please see our latest press release.

As you finish up your holiday purchases, don’t forget to shop local! When you shop in St. Charles County, your sales tax dollars work for you by funding public safety, courts, health services, transportation, County parks projects and more throughout the community! Learn more on our website about various Shop Local programs throughout St. Charles County.

The Star Between the Rivers Sheriff History Book

The Perfect Gift for the Historian in Your Life!

Copies of "The Star Between the Rivers: A History of the St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department, 1805-2015" still are available – and make the perfect holiday gifts! Filled with photos, the book chronicles the journey of the department from the appointment of the first sheriff following the Louisiana Purchase, to the creation of a separate county police department after voters approved a charter change. Published by St. Charles County, the book costs $20 and has received rave reviews. For more information, including locations to purchase a copy, visit our website!

A Map of Possibilities – County Launches New GIS Mapping Service, Open Data Portal

St. Charles County’s Information Systems Department has launched a redesigned Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Mapping Service and a new Geospatial Open Data Portal to better serve the needs of residents. Both services were developed in-house by GIS technicians in the Information Systems Department and enable users to access map-based data and research information about the county.

The County’s GIS Mapping Service can be used in a variety of ways, including:

Viewing county and municipal boundaries and jurisdictions, along with roads and other thoroughfares.
Accessing assessment and parcel data, as well as exploring the latest photos of an area with the service’s new Google Street View widget.
Learning more about the county through the various selections available under the “Layers” option on the mapping service. Available data includes voting districts, County Council districts, boundaries for school districts and utility service providers, zoning information, park trails, physical features and topography, and more. Maps with selected data can also be printed at home or work.

Earlier this fall, Information Systems launched a separate new GIS site – the County’s Geospatial Open Data Portal. The portal allows users to access datasets that GIS Services uses to create their online GIS Mapping Service and other maps.

Information Systems encourages the public and business community to provide feedback and suggestions for improvement of these sites by emailing gisservices@sccmo.org. To learn more about the services, see our latest press release.

Road Projects for 2017 and Beyond Improve Capacity, Safety

The St. Charles County Council recently approved the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) for 2017–2019. This plan outlines the projects and funding approved by the County Road Board for road construction throughout the community. The 2017–2019 TIP includes funding for 20 projects within unincorporated St. Charles County and 39 projects within local municipalities. The projects focus on capacity improvements needed to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow, as well as safety improvements needed to reduce the number of crashes and severe and fatal accidents on local roads. View the plan online.

Additionally, in 2017, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) will start much-awaited safety improvements on Route 61 between Peine Road and Route A. This includes a new interchange at Peine and Route P and improvements between Peine Road and Route A. Work will begin in fall 2017, with completion in late 2018. Other projects include:

Signal improvements at Route 61 at Pitman.
Guard cable installation and construction of an emergency responder turn around on Route 364 (Page Extension) between I-64 to Mid Rivers Mall Drive.
Road widening, with the addition of shoulders and left turn lanes, along Route N from Roundtower to Weiss Road.

Several pavement improvement projects also are planned. For more information, see MoDOT’s St. Charles County Construction Map.

Events and Important Dates

Fridays: Stargazing at Broemmelsiek Park
Dec. 17: Deck the Paws at Pet Adoption Center
Dec. 23: Christmas Eve (observed) – County offices closed
Dec. 26: Christmas (observed) – County offices closed
Dec. 26: Christmas tree recycling begins
Dec. 30: Monthly Friday Night Mountain Bike Series
Dec. 31: Final day to submit 2016 tax payments
Jan. 2: New Year’s Day (observed) – County offices closed
Jan. 5: Preschool Nature Program
Jan. 16: Martin Luther King Jr. Day – County offices closed
Feb. 7: Centennial Greenway Preview/Groundbreaking
Feb. 13: Presidents’ Day – County offices closed
Feb. 25: Bald Eagle Winter Watch
March 1: Personal Property Assessment Forms due (forms to be mailed by Assessor to residents by mid-January 2017)

For more events, including Parks activities, Workforce and Business Development/Missouri Job Center classes and recruiting events, and County Council meetings, please see the County Calendar. Also, check out the latest edition of the County Buzz on SCCMO-TV for information on activities and events happening throughout St. Charles County!

A Message from County Executive Steve Ehlmann

St. Charles County is the third largest county in the state in both population and economy, and is one of the top 25 counties in the nation for high-tech job growth. If you didn’t know these impressive statistics before, let the magnitude of them sink in for a minute.

Now, add in the completion of many successful County Government-led projects over the past 12 years, such as the expansion of the County Parks system and completion of the Page Extension. All of this is quite impressive when you consider how little we have expanded the size of County Government. However, with more growth in St. Charles County on the horizon, we need to plan for the future to continue to provide the best services to our citizens...MORE

Council Comments

Joe Cronin, District 1

For the past month, the St. Charles County Council has reviewed the 2017 budget as proposed by County Executive Steve Ehlmann. This is a huge annual project, and Mr. Ehlmann and his staff did a great job. County Government is committed to a balanced budget and healthy reserves, but with the growth of our community and changing demands, this is becoming a challenge. One area the County Council discussed extensively during the budget review process is the needs of law enforcement and how we can continue to provide quality resources for police and prosecutors...MORE

Terry Hollander, District 5

Christmas is a time for giving.

This is a familiar sentiment we’ve all heard, and probably have even said ourselves a time or two. “A time for giving”... what exactly does that mean?

This time of year, we often think of giving as a donation of our time, talent or treasure...MORE

Mike Klinghammer, District 6

The I-70 Fifth Street Interchange Improvements Project deadline was met before Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday shopping season. While there are a few construction and landscaping items to complete by spring 2017, the majority of this massive project is complete – which is amazing considering that construction started in March 2016. Thanks to city, County and state cooperation, this project was accomplished, and the improvements will benefit the area in a number of ways...MORE

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Published by: St. Charles County Department of Communications, 100 N. Third St., St. Charles, MO 63301,
636-949-1864, publicinfo@sccmo.org