Friday, April 26, 2013
On Thursday, Mike Polizzi replaced long-time Fenton Mayor Dennis Hancock in the city's top leadership post.
Thursday night, the transition from one Fenton mayor to the next was a simple matter. There were no brass bands or inaugural speeches. There was no elaborate installation ceremony or a procession by a College of Cardinals. When it was time to make the leadership change, Fenton business owner Mike Polizzi merely moved from a chair in the audience to take a seat in the mayor's chair with the other members of the city's Board of Aldermen. He had been sitting with his wife and a granddaughter, Savannah. Longtime Fenton mayor Dennis Hancock (he served six, two-year terms as the leader of the city) reversed the process, taking a seat in the audience with his wife and a granddaughter after vacating the mayor's chair on the aldermanic panel. It …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Current Fenton Mayor Dennis Hancock makes an endorsement in the Apr. 2 mayoral election.
To the Editor: As my time in office comes to an end, a lot of you have asked me who I think is the best candidate to be our next mayor. For me, the choice is an easy one - I'll be voting for Mike Polizzi for mayor. I've known Mike Polizzi for almost 15 years. Mike successfully built his business from the ground up. Having that perspective is critical as we begin the arduous task of redeveloping the Chrysler site. Mike also has a proven record as a community leader. In addition to his eight years serving on the Board of Aldermen, he is past president of the Fenton area Chamber of Commerce. He also spent several years as a member of the St. Louis County Police Reserve. And, under his leadership, the Fenton Community Charitable Association …
Monday, January 21, 2013
Longtime mayor of Fenton calls it a career after 12 years at the helm of the city.
The first thing Dennis Hancock did 12 years ago when he first won election as the mayor of Fenton was to establish an open door policy for his office - literally. Today, the unhinged door still leans against a wall at the entrance to Hancock's office. Hancock decided last spring that his sixth term in the city's top job would be his last. He made the surprise announcement last spring as he was welcoming newly elected members of the Fenton Board of Aldermen to their first meeting. Although six terms as mayor puts him second in tenure to long-time mayor Garrett Hitzert, who served seven terms as the city's chief, Hancock's first run for the job ended in defeat. It was in 1999 that Hancock ran for mayor and lost, seeking the post as the …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Few challengers sign up for April elections.
With the election filing deadline still a couple of weeks away, only one candidate who has placed his name on the ballot for the Fenton mayor's seat. Paul Seemayer was at Fenton City Hall early on the opening day of filing in December, in order to sign up to run for mayor of Fenton. No one else has stepped up yet as a second contender. The filing period ends Jan. 15. Regardless of whether there are any other mayoral contenders, there will be a new Fenton mayor for the next two years as long-time incumbent Mayor Dennis Hancock has already announced he won't seek re-election to a seventh term in the city's top position. Hancock took himself out of the running last spring, deciding to call it quits after 12 years in the city's top job. He …
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Hancock will not seek re-election in 2013; has held the mayor's seat since April 2001.
In a surprise announcement at Fenton's Board of Aldermen meeting Thursday night, Dennis Hancock announced he would not seek a 7th term as the city's mayor. The announcement came during the normally routine part of the aldermanic agenda under "mayor's comments." It was a surprise to everyone in the room. Hancock said his wife was the only one who knew of his intention to not seek re-election next April. Hancock has served as Fenton's mayor since April 2001, making him the second longest serving mayor since the 1950s, an observation he made during his remarks. During Hancock's tenure, the City of Fenton has seen some ups and downs. On the up side, the construction of the massive Gravois Bluffs shopping development has brought thousands of …
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
A proposal by Rep. Mike Leara "won't happen this year," he said.
State Rep. Mike Leara (R-St. Louis County) told a group at a Fenton Area Chamber of Commerce legislative update meeting that a bill he sponsored to rework St. Louis County's sales tax distribution system is "stalled in the House" and is not expected to be approved this year. Leara's bill would correct the inequities that some see in the way sales taxes are distributed to St. Louis County and to other municipalities in St. Louis County. Fenton Mayor Dennis Hancock has been a big proponent of changing the current method, which he says costs Fenton about $4 million in revenue each year that is sent to a sales tax pool that is split among St. Louis County and other municipalities. Under the current system, originated in 1993, municipalities …
Monday, August 29, 2011
Mayor says the grant project veers away from marketing the former auto manufacturing site and does not benefit the city.
A grant program originally devised to market the former Chrysler plant in Fenton has strayed so far from its original premise that the city no longer wants a part of it. And it wants some of its money back too. The Fenton Board of Aldermen gave preliminary reading Thursday to a bill that would withdraw the city from participation in a Section 209 Economic Adjustment Strategy Grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA). The city joined in the EDA program in 2009 with the St. Louis County Economic Council and the Missouri Department of Economic Development. Just before the bill was to have a vote for final approval, Ward 2 Alderman Joe Maurath requested the bill be held and sent to a committee for …
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
A Memorial Day ceremony at Fenton's Heroes memorial paid homage to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.
Retired Marine Col. Dan R. Mater led nearly 200 people Monday in a remembrance of fallen soldiers at the Fenton Heroes Memorial in Fenton City Park. "Freedom isn't free. There is a tremendous cost involved," Mater said. "We must make sure the youth of Fenton understand the sacrifices of our hometown heroes." His words on Memorial Day both exalted the heroes that America's military has become, but also celebrated the idea that they also were just ordinary citizens. "The many men and women we honor today are no better than any of us, but circumstances chose them," he said. Mater was born and raised in Fenton, attending St. Paul Catholic school, and Eureka High School before moving on to college and a 30-year military career that ended with a…
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Lindbergh voters elect Kienstra, Bee, Englund; Rockwood voters favor Kinder, Smith, Doell. County Assessor nod goes to Zimmerman
Dennis Hancock was easily re-elected Tuesday, receiving 73 percent of the vote to win his sixth term in the Fenton mayor's seat. He was opposed by the Fenton collector, Carol Brennan. Fenton also asked voters to allow it to appoint a city collector in a ballot proposal called Proposition 1. It passed easily. The city was forced to go to the voters to, in effect, abolish the collector's office. The collector has no duties and is paid a salary of $1 In the Lindbergh School District, Kathleen Kienstra and Donald Bee were returned to the board. They will be joined by Vicki Lorenz Englund. Keith Kinder and Stephen Smith retained their seats on the Rockwood School District Board of Education. Newcomer Matt Doell will join them. Jake Zimmerman …
Friday, April 1, 2011
Image of the collector riding the trails to collect town's due is not far from the truth, mayor says.
The tax man no longer cometh on horseback. in Fenton. The office that employed the tax man is still occupied, however, but it no longer carries any official duties and could become a thing of the past in Fenton after April 5. Proposition 1 on that day's election ballot asks voters “Shall the Board of Aldermen of the City of Fenton, Missouri, provide by ordinance for the appointment of a Collector as provided for by the Statutes of the State of Missouri?” A simple majority is required for approval. No one has filed for the collector's office, which currently occupied by Carol Brennan. Brennan has not filed for reelection to the office and has instead filed as a mayoral candidate. The position, which used to pay $1,000 per year but now …
Chris Michael Hampton
2:16 pm on Monday, December 24, 2012
Thank You For Serving the People Across The City Of Fenton,Mo. As Well, and Thank You For ReBuilding the Old Gravois Bridge Over The Meramec River Near Denny Dennis Sporting Goods Store OVer The MEramec River And You Did An Excellent Job For The City Of Fenton,Mo. and I'll Miss You and The People Across The City Of Fenton,Mo. Will Miss You And Let's Get The Chrysler Plant Open And Operating To … more ›