Grantwood Village Has New Official Website

 by  Char Mason, Editor

  When Will Larson was elected to the Grantwood Village Board of Trustees position of Village Clerk, he was given the task of managing the Village’s official website. However, Larson told a small audience of Village residents at the May 15, 2012 meeting of the Board that because the site was hosted and managed by “a friend of the Forand family” it was difficult to gain access to the codes and the information for the site.”

  Nevertheless, Larson, with the help of Board Chairman Mark Kienstra, managed to do an end run around the difficulties and has now created a new, user friendly website for residents.

  At the meeting, the Board approved the expenditure of $700 to be paid to St. Louis University student Sam Chambers who has done the heavy lifting on the site construction and who has agreed to teach all board members how to manage the site as well as provide a method of instruction for future Board members.

  “This will really be a good thing for the Village,” Larson said, “for us to take ownership of it.”

   The new site is up and running but will continue to be improved as new information and features are added to it.

   Chambers promises to make the site interactive, providing an ongoing calendar, active forms for permits and city stickers, and access to members of the Board. Larson also said the site will be linked to other social and professional media, such as LinkedIn and facebook in order to “connect the Village so that everyone knows what is going on.”

VISIT the NEW SITE

Grantwood Village Crime

Rate Results in

Lower Police Costs

by  Char Mason, Editor

   In its first complete session the new,  Grantwood Village Board of Trustees gave unanimous approval to a three year contract with the St. Louis County Police Department for police services in the village at  a savings of almost  $5,000 over the next three years.

  Newly elected Board Chairman Mark Kienstra introduced Lieutenant Bryan Ludwig, Commander Municipal Services Unit,  who presented both a one year and a three year contract option for police protection in the Village. Ludwig  explained that the proposals were based on a valued partnership which has been forged between the county and the Village.

  Grantwood was the first of several municipalities to enter into an agreement with the county and has enjoyed effective police coverage since 1956 due to that partnership.

   The county offered a three year contract at an annual rate even lower than this year’s current contract due to the incredibly low crime rate in Grantwood Village.

   “It is the lowest I’ve ever seen,” he commented. In fact, Ludwig said the last burglary reported in the Village was in 2009  (knock on an oak tree). Lt. Ludwig strongly praised the residents of the Village for their vigilance in protecting themselves and their property. He gave much of the credit to the Neighborhood Watch Program led by Genny Webelhuth with the help of her husband, Ron. As always, Webelhuth gave credit to the Watch captains and island watchers who work together as the eyes and ears of the police.

   Third Precinct Sgt. Sergeant Raymond Absolon, Neighborhood Policing Supervisor Affton Southwest Precinct, also praised Webelhuth and described her as possibly the best Neighborhood Watch Commander in South St. Louis County.