Two New Guest Houses Planned for South Main

Buildings were formerly antique shops that had been boarded up for 15 years.

Less than a year after Matt and Audrey Gorski opened The Old Town Guesthouse in St. Charles, the couple has had guests from 28 states, Canada, Mexico and South Korea.  "It's going great," said Audrey Gorski.  So well, in fact, that the pair hope to open two other vacation rentals in historic St. Charles this spring.  The couple, who live in Old Monroe, bought the property at 420-422 South Main Street, two small brick buildings with green shutters facing Main Street, and another brick building that faces South Riverside Drive.  They plan to sell the building at 420 South Main Street and convert the other two buildings into guest houses.  The properties previously were owned by Bernadine Wesling, who ran an antique shop there more than 15 …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)

St. Charles Collects Photos of Military Men, Women for 4th of July Display

Send photos via mail or email to tourism department.

St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau is collecting photos of military men and women from St. Charles for a display which will be shown during the annual Riverfest celebration. Staff members plan to salute local military men and women with the photo display at the Katy Depot which is being organized with the help of Main Street Church. Send photos via email to Karen Godfrey at kgodfrey@historicstcharles.com or via mail at 230 South Main Street, St. Charles, MO 63301. The submission deadline is June 13. Photos will be on display during the Riverfest celebration on Wed., July 4.

• Photos (1)

Council Member Questions 1% Tourism Tax

Councilman Dave Beckering asks the council to look at the money the city spends on tourism with the dedicated 1 percent tourism tax.

The 1 percent annual tourism tax that owners of restaurants, hotels, and motel operators pay is under scrutiny by the City Council. Council Vice President Dave Beckering, Ward-7, raised the issue at the April 10 work session. He said he wants to examine whether the tax could be put to better use. Voters approved the tourism license tax in 1984. Restaurants, hotels and motels throughout the city pay 1 percent of gross receipts to the city. In the first year, the tax generated $323,325. In 2010, the tax generated more than $2 million which is spent by the Greater St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau on tourism efforts. “It’s really a matter of how much is enough?” he said. “You started with $300,000 in 1984, now we’re spending over $2 …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Council Approves Combining Economic Development, Tourism Director Jobs

St. Charles City Council voted 9-2 to combine the positions, for a savings of between $65,000-$80,000.

David Leezer will be the head of both the Economic Development department and the Greater St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau. The City Council on Tuesday voted 7-2 to combine the positions, over concerns raised by residents, business owners and the St. Charles Convention Center Authority. Council members Jerry Reese, Ward 6 and Mike Weller, Ward 5, voted against the plan. Councilman Dave Beckering, Ward 7, was absent. Reese said he works in the economic development world and said he doesn't believe that one person can do both jobs effectively. On his first official day in the combined post, Leezer said he plans to meet with Missouri Director of Tourism Katie Steele Danner about how they can collaborate. He said the department of …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (2)

Kalen Ponche

8:56 am on Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Good point Carol. Thanks for adding that!   more ›

City Council To Discuss Rising Cost of Retiree Medical Benefits

Work session also will include discussion organization of the economic development department and convention and visitor's bureau under one director.

The city's payments for retiree medical benefits are expected to grow substantially between 2012 and 2019 from $873,400 to $1.54 million. The actuarial firm Milliman Company prepared a packet of information for the city council detailing the cost of all benefits for current retirees and employees who will eventually retire. See the full packet here. The city council is expected to discuss the other post employment benefit program at the work session scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.  The council will also hear a presentation about the proposal to make David Leezer director of both the economic development department and the Greater St. Charles Convention and Visitor's Bureau. The former director of the convention and visitor's bureau, David…

• Photos (1)

St. Charles Looks to Combine Tourism, Economic Development Departments

David Leezer will be new director of a combined Economic Development, Convention and Visitors Bureau and Tourism Departments.

St. Charles may combine the economic development and tourism departments, Mayor Sally Faith announced on Friday. Current Director of Economic Development David Leezer would run the combined department. Martha Little, who has served as interim tourism director and applied for the tourism director position, would take the role of assistant tourism director and remain sales director for the Greater St. Charles Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. The city had been searching for a new tourism director since David Rosenwasser stepped down in May and took a job teaching at Lindenwood University. By late September the city had hired Claudia Vecchio for the position, and even negotiated terms and conditions for her employment. Then days before she was…

• Photos (3)

Grant Will Fund Historic Areas Survey

Effort will focus on Midtown and Commons areas in the city.

St. Charles is famous for its rich history, and a recent financial boost may contribute to an effort to make it even more so. A $20,000 grant has been awarded to the city to fund a continuing effort to catalogue historic buildings in the area. The money, a joint award from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the National Park Service, will support a survey of structures in the Midtown and Commons areas. An informational meeting is set for May 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the St. Charles City Council chambers to answer questions from residents and speak to them about the impact of the funds. “We’re holding this public meeting with property owners to make them aware of what we are doing,” said Brenda Rubach, the city’s preservation …

• Photos (7)

PatchCast

Daily PatchCast: Student Named National Player of the Year, a New Tourism Study Sheds Light on St. Charles and More

A roundup of St. Louis news headlines for Monday, April 4.

Here are the top stories from St. Louis Patch:

• Videos (1)