2020 Annual Report

2020

ANNUAL REPORT

WWW.STLOUISCOUNTYMO.GOV 314.615.5000

CONTENTS 01

Part One: The Pandemic Response

03 06 25 30 35 39

The Plan Save Lives Helping Residents Meet Their Basic Needs Revive the Local Economy Adapting Government Through Innovation Keeping the Public Informed

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Timeline

59 60 61 68 70 76 79 83 86 88 95 99 104 108 116 118

Part Two: Departmental Reports Introduction Administration County Counselor’s Office Human Services Information Technology Judicial Administration/St. Louis County Circuit Court Justice Services Municipal Court Parks and Recreation Planning Police Public Health Public Works/Transportation Department of Revenue Spirit of St. Louis Airport

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Appendix

ST. LOUIS COUNTY GOVERNMENTWWW.STLOUISCOUNTYMO.GOV

PART ONE: THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE

County Executive Dr. Sam Page’s leadership through the pandemic crisis saved lives while preventing a long-term recession in St. Louis County. As a medical doctor, Dr. Page understood from the beginning the dire health risks County residents faced and he knew how to craft effective policies to limit the spread. As a former business leader, Dr. Page knew the significant tolls that public health policies can take on the local economy, workers, and small businesses.

Based on Dr. Page’s expertise as a doctor and businessman, the County’s pandemic response was crafted with his three priorities in mind: (1) save lives by crafting effective public health policies, ensuring equitable access to testing, distributing personal protective equipment (“PPE”), and performing contact tracing and case investigation; (2) help residents meet their basic needs by ensuring that the most vulnerable communities can survive the health and economic risks; and (3) revive the local economy by making sure public health orders carefully balance small business needs with public health concerns, providing small businesses the financial relief they need, and prioritizing the pandemic response at the County’s economic development agencies.

Throughout the pandemic crisis, Dr. Page has demonstrated the kind of proactive, effective, and resilient leadership that our community needed at this historic time. Thanks to Dr. Page’s leadership, St. Louis County now has a safe and healthy future of long-term regional success.

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Proactive Action: Dr. Page began taking action even before widespread awareness of the pandemic. In early February, Dr. Page began warning County residents of the upcoming coronavirus pandemic.

Before the first positive case in Missouri, the County had already set up a special hotline and website to keep the public informed, and it had already activated its emergency operations center to deal with the upcoming pandemic. Dr. Page led the St. Louis region to act proactively. In fact, when St. Louis County issued its Stay-at-Home order, only one state— California—had a Stay-at-Home order in effect. That order saved lives and protected the longterm health of the local economy.

Effective Policies: In the age of “fake news,” Dr. Page implemented fact-based, science-informed, and data-driven policies to protect the health of St. Louis County. His actions had meaningful, measurable results. Because he implemented effective public health policies proactively, the County avoided situations getting as bad as they did in other areas of the country. And because the County collaborated with the business community to craft policies, Dr. Page was able to keep unemployment claims from growing as much as some expected.

Resilient Leadership: Despite intense criticism from those on the sidelines—some criticizing the policies as too much, too soon, and in effect for too long, and others criticizing them as not enough, too late, and lifted too soon—Dr. Page remained in control. With his steady hand at the helm, the County was able to keep its focus on the priorities of saving lives and reviving a healthy local economy.

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THE PLAN Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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As the situation evolved, a robust public health response was deployed in collaboration with our local health systems and, as the circumstances required, new social distancing policies were implemented that restricted economic and social activity.

These health threats and the necessary policies to guard against those threats, in turn, required federal financial relief of an historic magnitude.

In March, Dr. Page ordered that all non-pandemic costs in county government be frozen. He also directed that county departments implement social distancing measures to protect employees and the public. These social distancing measures included implementing innovative new methods that will save taxpayer funds and make government more efficient in the long run.

In his presentation to the County Council on April 7, Dr. Sam Page briefed the Council about the three priority areas for the County’s pandemic response: Save Lives: saving lives by decreasing the rate and extent of the pandemic’s spread by increasing community awareness, enforcing social distancing requirements, ensuring the equitable availability of testing, and preventing the spread; Help Residents Meet Basic Needs: helping residents meet their basic needs like food, housing, safety, and health, as well as the special needs of vulnerable populations like children, seniors, the disabled, and the unhoused; and Revive the Local Economy: reviving the economy by lifting the economic restrictions, helping non-essential businesses re-open, helping restaurants return to dine-in service, and pushing the local economy forward.

As part of that relief, Congress adopted, and the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). Title V of the CARES Act created the Relief Fund (“CRF”) by appropriating $150 billion designated for the states and local governments to the United States Department of Treasury. St. Louis County received about $173 million from the CRF that may be used to pay for expenditures incurred between March 1 and December 30 in response to the pandemic that were not in the 2020 budget.

On April 28, 2020, the St. Louis County Council adopted Ordinance No. 27,772, which accepted the CRF funds and appropriated them to be spent in accordance with applicable federal law and regulations.

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100 percent of these funds have already been budgeted for projects.

Under the CRF budget, $24 million has been devoted to meeting the basic needs of County residents such as food, housing, safety, health, and addressing vulnerable populations such as children, seniors, the disabled, and the unhoused. Another $24 million has been allocated to reviving the County’s economy, including lifting economic restrictions, helping non-essential businesses re-open, helping restaurants return to dine-in service, and pushing the local economy forward. And over $50 million has gone to decreasing the rate and extent of the pandemic’s spread by increasing community awareness, enforcing social distancing requirements, ensuring the equitable availability of testing, supplying residents with masks and essential PPE, and other preventative measures.

In addition, Dr. Page approved of $47 million in CRF for the Municipal Relief Program. This program reimburses municipalities for public health and safety expenses incurred through their pandemic mitigation efforts.

And to ensure that the CRF program is transparent and above-board, Dr. Page initiated the creation of a public dashboard that would allow for all program expenditures to be tracked and posted online for easy public consumption. This transparency portal on the stlcorona.com site lets constituents see a breakdown of actual or committed spending by department or by vendor, look at individual expenditures, and even download a spreadsheet of the spending data. The County’s CARES spending is subject to a federal audit at year’s end to ensure that funds were used only for related expenses.

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SAVE LIVES St. Louis County’s public health approach is designed to limit the spread of the pandemic with targeted actions and tools for individuals, businesses, and the community. This approach is possible because the spread of disease has been slowed by community-wide health policies and wide scale adoption of social distancing practices.

The public health plans are formulated with the following priorities: save lives by implementing effective public health policies focus resources on vulnerable populations obtain necessary equipment that limits the spread perform contact tracing and case investigation provide equitable access to health services and resources serve our community with dignity and respect operate in an ethical, transparent, and fiscally responsible manner make decisions based on science and data prevent the spread through meaningful public education prepare for the next pandemic

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1. Crafting Effective Public Health Policies Stay-at-home policies Isolation and quarantine policies Once cases and contacts were identified and asked to isolate (cases) and quarantine (contacts), the containment of illness required cases and contacts to follow all isolation/quarantine instructions. All residents asked to isolate or quarantine needed to be able to access public health monitoring, telemedicine options, and social service supports at their isolation/quarantine location.

At-risk communities and populations may not have had ready access to the supports needed to effectively isolate or quarantine. This was particularly important for unhoused patients, who may have required wrap-around services in addition to supports exclusively related to pandemic isolation requirements. Jurisdictions needed to sustain pathways for unhoused and vulnerable patients to be connected to safe housing options and supplies to self-manage pandemic symptoms.

There were similar isolation and quarantine orders and instructions across the region with a primary focus on isolation and quarantine at home. All residents needing housing support to safely isolate were offered housing, social service supports, and food at an area hotel, with a priority given to unhoused residents. A first responder hotline was operated 24/7 to determine if responders with pandemic exposures needed a location for safe quarantine.

DPH utilized surveillance to identify patterns of disease and to support the identification and monitoring of vulnerable economic sectors, geographic areas, and populations that bore disproportionate burdens. DPH strengthened existing surveillance systems and built new ways to better describe the scope of the pandemic in the region, who was affected, and how trends were changing over time.

Of note was the County’s response to the pandemic at the Justice Center. By implementing a plan to conduct tests several times a week, enhance social distancing, limit movement and quarantine new admissions, all expectations to limit the spread of the outbreak in the County jail were exceeded. By the end of the year, as some local community hospitals were pushed to capacity and one jail in the area reported 40 percent of its inmates had tested positive for the virus, only one of the 924 residents at the Justice Center tested positive.

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Pandemic Response Timeline March 13, Dr. Page issued an executive order declaring a State of Emergency in relation to the pandemic and limited gathering size to 250 people. That same day, he met with the Chief Medical Officers at BJC Health, Mercy Hospital, and SSM Health.

March 15, Dr. Page issued an executive order limiting gathering size to 50 in accordance with the new CDC recommendations.

March 16, the County issued new guidelines for County employees impacted by the pandemic.

March 17, Dr. Page announced that dine-in service at restaurants would be limited.

March 18, gathering size was further limited to 10 people.

March 21, issued a stay at home order. At the time, only one state – California – had issued a stay-at-home order. It was issued even before community transmission was proven.

March 26, Dr. Page called on healthcare workers to volunteer.

March 31, the Department of Public Health (DPH) issued its rapid notification order, requiring healthcare providers to report their testing results right away. On the same day, Dr. Page met with the community and health system leaders to discuss forming the Pandemic Task Force.

April 10, Dr. Page asked the Secretary of State to allow absentee voting by mail.

April 16, Dr. Page extended the Stay-at-Home order through mid-May and held meetings with area business leaders.

April 23, Dr. Pages announced a Loss of Life order establishing procedures for funeral directors, medical transport and crematories for handling pandemic decedents.

April 24, Dr. Page announced that the County would begin hiring 100 more people to help with contact tracing.

April 28, Dr. Page announces plan to reopen County parks.

May 4, Dr. Page announced that the County's Stay At Home orders would remain in effect, despite expiration of state order.

May 5, Dr. Page announced “slow, deliberate and measured” reductions of the County’s public health restrictions would begin on May 18.

May 11, Dr. Page announced formal operating protocols for retail, offices, hotels, commercial buildings, personal services, construction industry, transportation, and restaurants.

May 11, DPH announced guidance on masks for children who might not be able to avoid staying six feet away from others.

May 15, Dr. Page announced a plan to administer pandemic tests to all staff and inmates at the Justice Center.

May 19, Dr. Page announced that summer camps and public pools could reopen in early June.

May 21, Dr. Page announced details for distribution of 250,000 masks throughout the County.

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Pandemic Response Timeline Continued May 25, Dr. Page ordered a travel advisory as some who ignored social distancing began returning to workplaces in the County.

May 27, Dr. Page ordered the DPH to distribute 100,000 KN-95 masks to the St. Louis Clergy Coalition.

May 28, DPH issued Public Water Recreation Facilities Guidelines.

May 29, the federal government recognized St. Louis County's system for monitoring and dealing with the pandemic in long-term health facilities as the model for the nation.

June 1, Dr. Page advises protesters who did not practice social distancing to self-isolate for 14 days. Additionally, protesters experiencing any symptoms of the pandemic were advised to immediately contact the Department of Public Health for testing.

June 5, DPH issued additional reopening guidelines for a variety of businesses and venues, including banquet and conference centers, and entertainment venues.

June 8, Dr. Page announces enhancement of Behavioral Health services by calling 211.

June 15, Dr. Page reopened gyms, pools, casinos, and banquet halls at 25% capacity.

July 1, Dr. Page announced that, beginning July 3, masks were to be mandatory in indoor facilities and outside where social distancing is not possible.

July 1, Dr. Page held a briefing with leaders of the Hispanic community to discuss jump in pandemic cases among Hispanics and work by the work to stem this trend.

July 10, Dr. Page announced that DPH had released a set of indicators which provided a data-driven, standardized framework for considering policy decisions about easing/strengthening restrictions.

July 27, Dr. Page announced new pandemic implementations affecting size of crowds, occupancy rules for businesses, bar closing hours, and safe quarantine spaces for teachers.

July 30, as infection rates continued to climb, Dr. Page discussed the pandemic's effect on schools, and a formal recommendation from the Department of Public Health, as requested by superintendents.

Aug. 4, a new report showed that cases of the pandemic and deaths from the virus were sharply down in long-term care facilities in St. Louis County.

Aug. 10, Dr. Page announced a DPH partnership with Washington University to survey 5,000 County residents and offer pandemic testing to gauge the prevalence of and risk factors for the illness.

Sept. 3, Dr. Page met with DeAnn Aull, the executive director of the Missouri National Education Association, to discuss pandemic issues as related to County school districts, and other issues.

Sept. 9, DPH began to more closely track new cases of the pandemic among children and teens as recent data indicated a steady increase in cases among those 15 to 19 years old.

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Pandemic Response Timeline Continued Sept. 24, Dr. Page announced that the County would allow, for both indoor and outdoor youth sports, two parents or spectators per athlete to attend games, with an overall capacity of 50. This occupancy limit was not to separate parents or children, but to limit crowds where the pandemic could spread. The county would also allow businesses to let more customers inside, up to 50% of their capacities, effective Oct. 7.

Oct. 7, Dr. Page announced the allocation of $3 million to help County schools pay for critical personal protective equipment during this pandemic.

Oct. 26, Dr. Page vetoed two bills passed the previous week by the County Council that would have curbed the authority of his office and DPH during a pandemic. On Nov. 4, in Dr. Page’s first interview with the media since the election, he stressed that the health and safety of County residents would continue to be his top priority heading into 2021.

Nov. 13, in response to the latest surge in the pandemic and increased strain on the region's healthcare system, Dr. Page issued new public health orders that were to go into effect on Nov. 17. For four weeks, people in St. Louis County would only be able to leave home to go to work or school, to exercise, seek medical care or shop for goods or supplies.

They must also form social bubbles with 10 or fewer family members or friends and limit all interactions to that group — and could leave home for those interactions.

Nov. 20, as the pandemic surge strained resources of County contact tracers, DPH advised residents to self-isolate and self-quarantine.

Nov. 23, DPH began using RAVE, an emergency text alert system, to send important messages to people who had contracted the pandemic.

In early November, DPH began issuing a Thanksgiving health advisory to restrict travel and limit holiday gatherings to those in the household.

Dec. 1, Dr. Page sent health inspectors to shut down four businesses for violating the countywide health order banning inside services at restaurants and bars.

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2. Ensuring Testing is Available The opportunity to have access to know one’s health status allowed an individual to make informed health decisions. The County prioritized testing resource allocation for residents who were most likely to suffer morbidity and mortality related to pandemic infection. Testing information was also critical to contain further disease transmission and build an understanding of population health status.

While testing needed to be broadly available in the community, vulnerable populations and communities required additional testing and a significant reduction in barriers to access that may have included transportation, availability in timing, concerns about privacy and trust, and that they must have been accompanied to access care and additional resources.

There were multiple facilities operating hospital and community-based testing collection sites across the region - DPH operated two such sites at our clinics in Berkeley and South County.

The sites were operated independently with varying testing criteria and test types. DPH was engaged with partners to identify supply chains and validate testing types.

In addition to community-wide testing, the High-Risk Task Force was focused on testing in long term care facilities, psychiatric facilities, detention centers, jails, and other congregate living facilities at high risk for transmission and poor outcomes. A fast track testing pathway connected first responders to testing.

DPH: Continued to expand testing capacity at our current sites with the intent to also expand testing criteria Supported additional testing access to uninsured patients, DPH funded over $200,000 worth of testing through the Regional Health Commission and has provided PPE to additional community-based testing collection sites in order to sustain operations Continued to supply testing to the High-Risk Task Force for all facility testing and utilize EMS partnerships for timely collection Provided additional testing materials and PPE to other sites that operated in areas of highest need, as sufficient supplies were received Delivered rapid notifications of positive and negative results with complete information Maintained sufficient supply of tests to rapidly test all persons in County jail and juvenile detention facilities

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DPH Testing Continued: Continued to analyze tests that become available on the market with regional experts in order to continue to inform reliability of available testing modalities Increased the equitable availability of pandemic testing Provided free on-line mechanisms to testing screening Response Timeline: March 24, Dr. Page requested that the County Council approve funding for pandemic testing for uninsured people and announced testing locations in North, South, West, and Mid- County.

March 29, Dr. Page announced that a new dashboard was available on stlcorona.com to follow pandemic cases.

March 30, the County unveiled its dashboard for monitoring health statistics about the pandemic outbreak March 31, the Department of Public Health issued its rapid notification order, requiring healthcare providers to report their testing results right away.

April 21, Dr. Page joined the Urban League in announcing new drive-by testing facility.

May 12, Dr. Page participated in announcing drive-through pandemic testing at North Oaks Plaza sponsored by the NAACP. May 16, St. Louis County began testing high-risk asymptomatic County employees in the criminal justice system.

May 27, DPH began adding testing data to the stlcorona.com site.

June 15, Dr. Page announced the expansion of criteria for public pandemic testing, allowing for anyone who had frequent or close contact with people outside of their household to get a test, including those who had no symptoms of the pandemic and no known exposure.

June 17, DPH developed a sign-up tool for residents to schedule their own appointments for testing.

July 28, Dr. Page met with the media to announce an increase in the supply of tests, expansion of access to testing throughout the county, quicker test results to patients, and improved reporting time for test administrators.

Aug. 3, Dr. Page announced that a DPH partnership with community health centers to increase pandemic testing in north St. Louis County.

Oct. 9, DPH applied for and received an award from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to expand the capacity of the County’s environmental laboratory to perform pandemic tests.

Oct. 13, DPH announced all 289 pandemic tests of incarcerated individuals at the criminal justice center collected on Oct. 9 had come back negative, indicating no additional cases had been recorded at the facility since an outbreak there the week of Oct. 5.

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DPH Testing Continued: Nov. 23, DPH announced that at least one out of every 100 St. Louis County adult residents had an active pandemic infection earlier this fall, while about five out of every 100 adults had contracted the disease at some earlier point, according to test results of a representative sample of county residents.

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3. Focus Resources on Vulnerable Populations Protecting Seniors April 2, the Department of Public Health issued an order on residential living facilities.

May 7, Dr. Page announced the County’s new initiatives to protect seniors from the pandemic, including providing PPE to nursing homes, creating a High-Risk Task Force, and creating a Quick Reaction Team.

May 18, Dr. Page announced that the St. Louis County Department of Public Health had received national recognition for its system of monitoring and dealing with the pandemic in long-term health facilities as the model for the nation.

July 28, Dr. Page joined leaders of Cool Down St. Louis to discuss utility assistance during pandemic.

Oct. 15, Dr. Page attended the opening of A Caring Plus Foundation, an organization dedicated to ensuring quality housing for seniors and other vulnerable populations in north St. Louis County.

Protecting Kids April 9, Dr. Page announced emergency grants from the Children’s Service Fund.

May 11, DPH announced guidance on masks for children who might not be able to avoid staying six feet away from others.

May 21, DPH announced additional childcare program guidance, and posted it to the stlcorona.com site.

May 22, the Department of Public Health published new guidelines to allow summer camps to reopen safely.

Sept. 24, Dr. Page announced that the County would allow, for both indoor and outdoor youth sports, two parents or spectators per athlete to attend games, with an overall capacity of 50.

Oct. 9, DPH announced that it was closely tracking new cases of the pandemic among children and teens as recent data indicated a steady increase in cases among those 15 to 19 years old.

Oct. 21, St. Louis County Library and Operation Food Search marked a major milestone: distribution of over 1 million meals to children during the pandemic. During the course of the pandemic, the library also distributed thousands of emergency diapers and period supply kits from the St. Louis Alliance for Period Supplies.

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Protecting First Responders In May, the County rented the Hawthorne Suites hotel at Westport Plaza as an optional quarantine location for first responders exposed to the virus.

May 7, DPH coordinated with SSM and the Cleveland Institute to ensure antibody tests are available to first responders.

Sept. 28, Dr. Page announced streamlined process for delivering $47 million in CRF for the Municipal Relief Program. This program reimburses municipalities for first-responder costs, and other public health and safety expenses incurred through their pandemic mitigation efforts.

Protecting the Unhoused Populations In May, Dr. Page directed the Human Services and Parks departments to convert the North County Recreation Complex into a temporary shelter for the unhoused. Parks provided security, Justice Services provided meals, and Human Services connected clients to community resources. (As the Parks reopened, St. Patrick Center took over the care of these residents).

June 5, Dr. Page announced an additional $5 million in federal funds for home needs for residents. This included but was not limited to funding to help the unhoused, those in need of additional support to keep families together and safe, rental assistance and mortgage assistance for low-and middle-income residents.

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4. Obtain Necessary Equipment May 22, Dr. Page announced at a press conference the distribution of over 400,000 masks throughout the community including: 138,000 masks to high-risk neighborhoods through PrepareSTL and the Regional Response Team 16,000 masks to businesses in North County through North County, Inc. 100,000 masks to the community through churches organized by the Clergy Coalition 150,000 masks distribute to other community partners.

By July 7, the County had distributed 1.5 million masks throughout the community.

By Dec. 8, the total number of masks distributed by the County exceeded 3.3 million.

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5. Perform Contact Tracing and Case Investigation The process of investigating new cases, tracing contacts, and monitoring cases and contacts enabled DPH to give isolation/quarantine instructions, which helped limit disease transmission. DPH aimed to trace contacts and give quarantine instructions within 24 to 48 hours of being notified of a new case.

Departments hired surge staff who were representative of the broader community and paid a living wage to compensate fairly for the value of the work being done.

All staff were trained on cultural competency, privacy and security issues, and motivational interviewing strategies.

Over 300 people are involved in current case investigation, contact tracing, and case monitoring efforts. DPH custom-built an electronic data management and monitoring system.

Remote work capabilities were considered Performance indicators were set for ongoing workflow monitoring and quality improvement Electronic system was put in place that included testing result notifications and reporting systems New software made contact tracing more efficient April 24, the County began hiring 100 more contact tracers.

Nov. 20, DPH advised residents to self-isolate and self-quarantine as the pandemic surge strained resources of County contact tracers.

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6. Providing Equitable Access to Health Services and Resources All aspects of the County’s activities recognized existing disparities and prioritized the wellbeing of our most marginalized community members.

To make progress towards health and racial equity, we centered community voices through transparent and participatory decision-making. Embodying the principles of partnership, power-sharing, and unflinching conversations about data, access, resources, and funding enabled us to implement interventions tailored for and designed by communities most impacted.

Access to Care and Treatment St. Louis County prioritized access to affordable and available care in all settings where it was needed while also providing treatment for underlying chronic health conditions that made treatment and recovery more difficult. Coordination of preventative, primary care, and acute care needs for the pandemic and co-occurring conditions was needed.

The underlying health conditions that make individuals more vulnerable are often the result of systemic and structural racism. Treatment and care were paired with efforts to address social and structural determinants of health like economic opportunities, safe housing, transportation, and education.

Community Health Centers (i.e., FQHCs and DPH Clinics) continued to provide primary care and preventative care services. Major health systems formed the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force to coordinate their management of the pandemic. Members of the Task Force worked together on coordination of supplies, hospital beds and other critical assets. The Regional Response Team regularly convened organizations to identify pathways to provide social services and connectivity to other needs. This resulted in the development of pandemic At-Home Support Kits that included education and resources to support caring for pandemic cases at home (i.e., PPE, cleaning supplies, thermometers, medical supplies, food, access to social service and housing support, telehealth for medical and social support).

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Other highlights of Providing Equitable Access to Health Services and Resources: DPH developed a DPH telehealth system through WebEx. March 24, Dr. Page requested that the County Council approve funding for pandemic testing for uninsured people and announced testing locations in North, South, West, and Mid- County.

Dr. Page helped to create and coordinate with the Pandemic Task Force to ensure the availability of health system resources (including hospital beds, ICU beds, medical personnel, and equipment like ventilators).

In March, Dr. Page coordinated with the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Guard, and FEMA to build a temporary hospital facility in St. Louis in order to expand capacity enough to meet demand.

March 26, Dr. Page asked doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers who had recently retired or were in a non-clinical role to volunteer their time.

April 8, Dr. Page toured a Florissant hotel with Governor Mike Parson and Dr. Alex Garza that, in June, become the first overflow hospital for pandemic patients.

April 21, DPH began offering drive-by testing for the pandemic in north St. Louis County.

Aug. 3, Dr. Page announced that the County had partnered with community health centers to increase pandemic testing in north St. Louis County.

Sept. 28, DPH began offering free flu vaccines.

Oct. 7, Dr. Page announced the allocation of $3 million in CRF funding to help County schools pay for critical personal protective equipment during the pandemic.

Oct. 9, DPH applied for and received an award from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to expand the capacity of the DPH environmental laboratory to perform pandemic tests.

Oct. 28, DPH awarded $2.3 million in CRF to St. Louis County public school districts, to reimburse them for expenses made to fight the spread of the pandemic. This $2.3 million is on top of the $4 million in CRF issued to enhance student online learning.

Nov. 18, Dr. Page announced a second round of food security funding in the amount of $3.5 million through the CRF. The funds were awarded to four community partners working to connect food with families struggling during the pandemic crisis. HOSCO Shift, Inc. and St. Louis County NAACP are new partners in the program.

Operation Food Search and St. Louis Area Food Bank, both recipients in May, received a second round of funding.

Nov. 23, DPH begins using RAVE, an emergency text alert system, to share important information with people who have contracted the pandemic.

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Participatory Decision Making Collaboration with community residents and organizations for shared decision making and the development of solutions and policies was essential. Through intentional inclusion, engagement, and empowerment, we fostered a culture of equity that respects and values the contributions of those most impacted. This included the goals of the Regional Response Team to identify and prioritize solutions for the needs of vulnerable populations, to share solutions and approaches between organizations and providers, to deploy resources in an efficient and coordinated manor, and to engage in tough conversations on funding and resources.

Disaggregate Data Data-driven responses were key to reopening and recovery and considered factors that impacted the health of segments of our community including differences in age, race and ethnicity, gender, income, and geographic location. Consideration of these differences provided the ability for our response to be intentional and accountable. We were committed to a transparent, data-driven process including community feedback, actionable data review, and evolving priorities that resulted in measurable improvements and outcomes.

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7. Make Decisions Based on Science and Data Throughout the response, it was critical to monitor the health status of the population and the capacity of public health care to meet the community’s needs. Public health and healthcare stakeholders continuously informed community leaders of the status of each of the following metrics. Relevant metrics included those monitored on the County’s statistics page and those presented regularly by the Pandemic Task Force. These included trends in cases requiring hospitalization, hospital admissions data, mortality trends, and metrics about health care capacity, testing capacity, and public health capacity.

Additional public health data was used to contextualize factors associated with disease patterns and evaluate the impacts of interventions. The collection and analysis of data prioritized community voice and perspective. It also had a systems framework that included social and structural determinants of health data, and disaggregated available data that shaped an intentional and accountable response. The community board of stakeholders shaped approaches to how data was collected, analyzed, and contextualized.

DPH issued a Rapid Notification Order to require reporting for test results, hospitalizations and deaths of individuals affected with the pandemic. This data allowed DPH to initiate timely case investigations and informed policies and interventions. DPH maintained a public-facing dashboard that shared regular data updates that included disaggregated counts and rates by sex, age, and race/ethnicity for cases and deaths. DPH and regional partners collaborated with Saint Louis University, the University of Missouri- St. Louis, and Washington University of St. Louis to align efforts and share expertise and capacity.

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8. Involving Public Health Experts March 13, Dr. Page met with the Chief Medical Officers at BJC Health, Mercy Hospital, and SSM Health.

March 15, Dr. Page named a group of experts to assist the Public Health Department including Rob Gatter, a professor of health management and policy at St. Louis University March 26, Dr. Page called on healthcare workers to volunteer.

March 31, Dr. Page met with the community and health system leaders to discuss forming the Pandemic Taskforce.

April 2, Dr. Page again met with the area community and health system leaders to discuss the formation of the Pandemic Task Force.

April 4, Dr. Page and other regional leaders announced the creation of the Pandemic Task Force.

May 6, Dr. Page announced the appointment of Dr. Vetta Sanders Thompson to the County’s Health and Hospital Advisory Board.

Dr. Page met with the Pandemic Task Force on May 12, 19 and 26; June 2, 9, and 30; July 7; Oct. 13; Nov. 17 and 24; and Dec. 1.

Dr. Page met separately with Dr. Alexander Garza, head of the Pandemic Task Force, on April 6 and 26; and Nov. 3.

From the very outbreak of the pandemic, Dr. Page has held daily meetings with DPH CoDirectors Spring Schmidt and Dr. Emily Doucette.

Aug 19, Dr. Page met with Dr. Paul Hintze, St. Louis County Senior Advisor for Public Health Response, to discuss pandemic response.

Sept. 16, Dr. Page met with Amadou Yattassaye, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri and HealthLink Inc., to discuss pandemic response.

Nov. 20, Dr. Page met with Dr. Randall Williams, Director of the Missouri Department of Public Health, and Gov. Parson to discuss pandemic response.

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9. Public Education The County provided up-to-date information about the pandemic and how residents could protect themselves and their families. Efforts focused on building community understanding of and support for the sustained behavior change needed to minimize morbidity and mortality. The County shared information about preventive measures and helped supply personal protective equipment (PPE) to those who needed it focusing on vulnerable communities, healthcare workers, first responders, other essential workers, long-term care facilities, and essential businesses.

The County focused on disseminating information to vulnerable communities. St. Louis County added or continued to supply appropriate PPE for social service agencies serving high need populations and grocery stores and other essential businesses that provided critical access to care and services in underserved areas of the County.

The County hosted information on stlcorona.com, published daily media advisories with updated guidance, and created educational materials via an Education Task Force. It also operated a 24/7 hotline to answer resident questions. The County prioritized outreach to vulnerable communities by mailing educational materials directly to households in high-need ZIP codes and collaborated with PrepareSTL and the Pandemic Regional Response Team to provide educational materials, resource information, and PPE to underserved residents.

DPH added over $2 million in additional PPE for distribution in high need communities. The County distributed PPE and temperature screening kits to stakeholders including first responders, long term care facilities, funeral homes, grocery stores, school districts providing food distribution, and community organizations supporting high-risk populations. The Safety Team provided guidance for all operations.

The County also partnered with subject matter experts to center community voice to create targeted messages for behavior changes for specific populations. And County staff engaged PrepareSTL and the Rapid Response Team to deploy PPE and other supplies to communities in need.

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10. Prepare for the Next Pandemic As we continued to work on limiting the spread of the pandemic, we began looking at how we could be even better prepared next time. Some of these efforts included a DPH-specific internal disaster preparedness plan to ensure that DPH used existing and new partnerships to provide just-in-time assistance; maintained timely communications with stakeholder groups, such as hospital systems, long-term care facilities, school districts, faithbased organizations and others; understood surge equipment, supply, financial and human resources needs; had a working list of needed internal policies, public health, and executive orders; and partnered efficiently with the Emergency Operation Center and other parts of St. Louis County Government. In addition, DPH updated its community Pandemic Response Plan to be responsive to the latest CDC guidelines.

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HELPING RESIDENTS MEET THEIR BASIC NEEDS Slowing the spread of the pandemic required adoption of public health orders like enforcing social distancing by restricting non-essential businesses, dine-in services at restaurants, and use of parks. The pandemic also necessitated closing public and private schools, a decision that left children across the region without reliable access to food or educational resources. These dynamics, taken together, led to a humanitarian crisis.

Accordingly, the second priority of County Cares was to invest in helping residents meet their basic needs.

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The basic needs of County residents were met in a comprehensive way: Seniors March 27, Dr. Page issued guidance to protect elderly people from scams and bullying.

April 10, Dr. Page asked the Secretary of State to allow absentee voting by mail.

May 18, Dr. Page announced that the St. Louis County Department of Public Health had received national recognition for its system of monitoring and dealing with the pandemic in long-term health facilities as the model for the nation.

Aug. 4, a new report showed that cases of the pandemic and deaths from the virus were sharply down in long-term care facilities in St. Louis County.

Oct. 9, DPH applied for and received an award from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to expand the capacity of the DPH environmental laboratory to perform pandemic tests.

Oct. 15, Dr. Page attended the opening of A Caring Plus Foundation, an organization dedicated to ensuring decent housing for seniors and other vulnerable populations in north St. Louis County.

Children March 15, Dr. Page met with superintendents and other school representatives from public and private schools throughout the region to discuss the public health orders and whether they should remain open.

April 9, Dr. Page announced emergency grants from the Children’s Service Fund.

May 11, the County issued detailed guidance for children wearing masks.

May 21, DPH announced additional childcare program guidance, and posted it to the stlcorona.com site.

May 22, the Department of Public Health published new guidelines to allow summer camps to reopen safely.

Sept. 24, Dr. Page announced that the County would allow, for both indoor and outdoor youth sports, two parents or spectators per athlete to attend games, with an overall capacity of 50.

Oct. 9, DPH announced that it was closely tracking new cases of the pandemic among children and teens as recent data indicated a steady increase in cases among those 15 to 19 years old.

Oct. 21, St. Louis County Library and Operation Food Search marked a major milestone: distribution of over 1 million meals to children during the pandemic.

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Food Security March 21, Dr. Page announced delivery restrictions are lifted for grocery stores and pharmacies.

March 30, Dr. Page participated in a food distribution sponsored by the St. Louis County Library and Operation Food Search.

May 2, Dr. Page joined the Urban League for a food and toiletries distribution at Jamestown Mall.

May 12, Dr. Page conducted a phone survey of area charities and non-profits to determine food security needs in the County.

May 13, Dr. Page announced $2.6 million in food security grants.

May 15, Dr. Page participated in a St. Louis County Library distribution of meals and masks.

May 16, Dr. Page joined the Urban League for another food and toiletries distribution event at Jamestown Mall.

June 28, Dr. Page participated in the distribution of $250,000 in food, toiletries and PPE at the St. Louis Community College Florissant Valley campus.

Oct. 21, St. Louis County Library and @OPFoodSearch marked a major milestone: the distribution of over one million meals to children during the pandemic.

Nov. 18, Dr. Page announced a second round of food security funding in the amount of $3.5 million through the CRF. The funds were awarded to four community partners working to connect food with families struggling during the pandemic crisis. HOSCO Shift, Inc. and St. Louis County NAACP are new partners in the program. Operation Food Search and St. Louis Area Food Bank, both recipients in May, received a second round of funding.

Housing and Homeless March 14, Dr. Page announced that Spire, Missouri-American Water, and Ameren UE would keep utilities on for struggling County residents.

March 20, Dr. Page worked with the Circuit Court to protect renters from eviction during the pandemic crisis.

March 20, the County Executive’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion started providing personal care kits to families together with Project Homeless Connect.

March 21, Dr. Page announced effort to suspend enforcement of evictions.

June 5, Dr. Page announced an additional $5 million in federal funds for residents for needs at home. This included but was not limited to the unhoused, those in need of additional support to keep families together and safe, rental assistance, and mortgage assistance for low-and middle-income residents.

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Sept. 4, a developer was selected to work with the City of Wellston to rehab nearly 200 housing units the federal government was going to tear down before Dr. Page intervened.

Oct. 15, Dr. Page attended the opening of A Caring Plus Foundation, an organization dedicated to ensuring decent housing for seniors and other vulnerable populations in north St. Louis County.

Domestic Violence April 24, Dr. Page announced that domestic violence victims can now file orders of protection online.

Hate Crimes May 6, Dr. Page denounced hate crimes associated with the pandemic.

Regional Engagement and Collaboration March 14, Dr. Page named a group of experts to assist the Public Health Department including Jason Purnell, a professor at Washington University’s Brown School.

March 15, Dr. Page met with officials from regional public and private schools to discuss closures.

March 23, Dr. Page met with the NAACP to discuss how to make sure the pandemic response was equitable.

March 23, Dr. Page met with the Municipal League of Metro St. Louis to discuss the pandemic’s impact in incorporated areas. Dr. Page would also meet with the Muni League on April 1 and 27; May 13 and 26; June 3 and 18; and July 6. Members of Dr. Page’s staff also attended regular Muni League meetings to share strategic information on the County’s pandemic response and to gather feedback from city leaders.

March 30, Dr. Page met with the St. Louis Clergy Coalition to share details and gather feedback on the County’s pandemic response.

April 4, Dr. Page joined regional medical partners, elected leaders in announcing Metropolitan Pandemic Taskforce.

April 6, Dr. Page sought the public’s help in getting masks and other PPE to distribute to those most in need, including health care workers, first responders and vulnerable residents.

April 20 and July 13, Dr. Page participated in a discussion with the 24:1 mayors on pandemic response and other issues.

April 27 and May 27, Dr. Page met with representatives of the County’s international community to share details and gather feedback on the pandemic response.

May 18, Dr. Page met with the Jewish Community Relations Council to discuss the County’s pandemic response.

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June 20, Dr. Page participated in the March For Justice in north St. Louis County.

June 25, Dr. Page announced a program to allow residents in areas most impacted by the pandemic to decide how $7 million in CRF is spent on their community healthcare services.

July 1, Dr. Page held a briefing with leaders of the Hispanic community to discuss the surge in pandemic cases in that population and DPH work to stem the trend.

July 11, Dr. Page joined with Kinloch officials and residents for a clean-up event in the city.

July 28, Dr. Page joined with leaders of Cool Down St. Louis to discuss utility assistance for vulnerable residents during pandemic.

Aug. 10, Dr. Page announced a DPH partnership with Washington University to survey 5,000 County residents and offer pandemic testing to gauge the prevalence of and risk factors for the illness.

Sept. 11, Dr. Page met with the Lafayette Area Mayors Organization to discuss pandemic response and relief work.

Sept. 11, Dr. Page attended the Drive to Silence the Violence rally at Buzz Westfall Plaza in Jennings.

Sept. 18, Dr. Page met with the North County Inc. group to discuss the County’s pandemic response strategy.

Oct. 15, Dr. Page attended the opening of A Caring Plus Foundation, an organization dedicated to ensuring decent housing for seniors and other vulnerable populations in north St. Louis County.

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REVIVE THE LOCAL ECONOMY The spread of the pandemic also required severe restrictions on local economic activity, resulting in many people being unemployed or underemployed, businesses without the financial stability needed to survive, and local governments lagging in productivity.

Indeed, the local economy would need special attention to come back to life. Reviving the local economy is, therefore, a priority of County Cares. To meet this challenge required supporting workers, as well as the businesses - large and small – that employed them, collaborating with the business community to develop industry-specific guidance for lifting economic restrictions and reopening, and joining forces with the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership.

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The investments of County Cares in reviving the local economy focused on: Support Workers March 21, Dr. Page met with grocery store workers and owners to ensure that stores remained open and the supply chain kept running.

April 4, Dr. Page called on customers in grocery stores, pharmacies, and other retail businesses to wear face coverings while shopping.

May 1, Dr. Page announced a $17.5 million Small Business Relief Program.

May 13, Dr. Page announced $2.6 Million in Food Security Community Grants.

May 15, Dr. Page extended the deadline for Small Business Relief Program applications to May 31.

June 3, Dr. Page announced $24 million in CRF allocation for child care and humanitarian services.

June 5, Dr. Page announced an additional $5 million in federal funds for residents for needs at home. This included the unhoused, those in need of additional support to keep families together and safe, rental assistance and mortgage assistance for low-and middleincome residents.

June 17, Dr. Page extended the deadline to apply for CRF Child Care Relief Program to July 14. From June 17-19, the St. Louis County Department of Workforce Development hosted a virtual job fair.

June 24, Dr. Page's Economic Rescue Team recommended ways to use pandemic relief funds to boost the economy and to help businesses to operate more efficiently.

June 25, Dr. Page met with labor leaders to discuss the County’s pandemic response and economic revitalization programs.

Aug. 7, Dr. Page participated in a Women’s Foundation of St. Louis panel discussion with topics including women’s role in the economic recovery and increasing Missouri’s minimum wage.

Aug. 10, Dr. Page met with Colette Holt & Associates to discuss issues related to Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise programs.

Aug. 13, Dr. Page met with Bruce Katz of New Localism Associates to discuss St. Louis regional economic planning in the face of the pandemic.

Aug. 17, Dr. Page met with District 9 Machinists to discuss economic issues related to the pandemic.

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Sept. 9, Dr. Page met with Rodney Crim, Executive Director of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, for update on pandemic relief efforts on behalf of County businesses.

Nov. 19, Dr. Page announced that more than $3 million in CRF funds will be distributed to small businesses and restaurants in the County’s continued response to the pandemic.

The county earlier this year had awarded $19.7 million to more than 1,600 small businesses and restaurants.

Nov. 25, Dr. Page met with Michael K. Holmes, Regional Vice President of Economic Development, Workforce Development and Strategic Partnerships with the Urban League, to discuss pandemic response and economic issues facing minorities in the St. Louis region.

Support Small Businesses March 23, Dr. Page announced an Economic Rescue Team (ERT).

March 24, Dr. Page announced a Small Business Resource Program including a hotline and zero interest loans through the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership.

April 9, the County Port Authority allocated $1 million to the Small Business Resource Program.

April 16, a Small Business Resource Fund was announced for County businesses.

May 1, Dr. Page announced the Small Business Relief Program.

May 15, Dr. Page extended the deadline for County Small Business Relief grant applications to May 31.

June 24, Dr. Page’s Economic Rescue Team recommended ways to use pandemic relief funds to boost the economy, and to help businesses to operate more efficiently.

Nov. 19, Dr. Page announced that more than $3 million in additional CRF funds would be distributed to small businesses and restaurants in the County’s continued response to the pandemic.

Prioritized Businesses Dealing with The Pandemic March 18, gathering size was further limited to 10 people. On the same day, Dr. Page requested the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership to make helping businesses impacted by the pandemic a priority.

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Collaboration with Business Community March 17, Dr. Page conducted web conferences with regional chambers of commerce, businesses, and restaurant owners on the new restrictions, and joined regional leaders for a briefing.

April 29, Dr. Page announced an initiative to partner with the business community in preparing industry-specific guidance for implementing new social distancing orders upon reopening.

May 8, Dr. Page announced additional re-opening guidelines for businesses and individuals.

May 11, the County announced formal operating protocols for retail, offices, hotels, commercial buildings, personal services, construction, transportation, and restaurants. On the same day, the County issued detailed guidance for children wearing masks.

May 15, Dr. Page met with members of the West County Chamber of Commerce to update them on pandemic response and a reopening plan.

May 19, Dr. Page held a virtual meeting with the St. Louis Regional Chamber of Commerce for an update on reopening efforts.

May 20, Dr. Page held a WebEx call with health club owners on the County’s reopening plan and pandemic policy.

May 21, Dr. Page met with numerous groups to discuss the County’s reopening plan and pandemic policy, including the Regional Business Council, labor leaders and faith groups, and chambers of commerce from throughout the region.

June 4, Dr. Page met with Civic Progress leadership to discuss pandemic policy and reopening efforts.

June 16, Dr. Page again met with Civic Progress, as well as with Sen. Roy Blunt, to discuss pandemic policy and reopening efforts.

From June 17-19, the St. Louis County Department of Workforce Development, in collaboration with the local business community, hosted a virtual job fair.

June 18, Dr. Page held his third meeting of the month with Civic Progress leadership to discuss pandemic policy and reopening efforts.

June 22, Dr. Page addressed a Civic Progress membership meeting on the topic of pandemic policy.

June 30, Dr. Page announced that St. Louis County had received high financial ratings from MoodysInvSvc, FitchRatings and SPGlobal.

July 16, Dr. Page met with the Regional Business Council to discuss pandemic response and economic concerns related to the pandemic.

July 27, Dr. Page met with Civic Progress leadership to discuss pandemic policy and reopening efforts.

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Aug. 13, Dr. Page met with Bruce Katz of New Localism Associates to discuss St. Louis regional economic planning in the face of the pandemic.

Sept. 10, Dr. Page meets with Rodney Crim, Executive Director of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, for an update on pandemic relief efforts and aid to small businesses.

Sept. 21, Dr. Page met with Vicki Boyer of the St. Louis Hotel Association to discuss pandemic response and economic relief efforts.

Oct. 2, Dr. Page met with Andrew Taylor, Executive Chairman of Enterprise Holdings, for an update on regional business activities during the pandemic.

Oct. 14, Dr. Page met with leaders of regional chambers of commerce to discuss pandemic response and economic relief efforts.

Nov. 19, Dr. Page met with representatives of the Regional Business Council for an update on pandemic response and economic recovery.

Nov. 23, Dr. Page met with Civic Progress leadership to discuss pandemic policy and reopening efforts.

Ensure Supply Chain is Protected On March 20, Dr. Page lifted delivery restrictions on grocery stores and pharmacies.

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ADAPTING GOVERNMENT THROUGH INNOVATION Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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March 16, the County issued new guidelines for County employees impacted by the pandemic.

May 23, Dr. Page created a new agency to help plan for an economic recovery after the pandemic response ends. The St. Louis County Economic Rescue Team will help advise the county on stabilizing the local economy and adopting new laws and policies that aid in a rapid recovery. The team will coordinate with similar teams that may be created in surrounding jurisdictions, existing regional economic development partners, and other political subdivisions.

March 23, Dr. Page also met with the NAACP to discuss how to make sure that the pandemic response is equitable.

From June 17-19, the St. Louis County Department of Workforce Development hosted a virtual job fair.

County Departments developed a drop box system that allowed for continuing County services through the stay-at-home order. The drop box, installed on March 23 and located on the street level of the Administration building, allows customers to drop off and pick up documents. The Department of Public Health also utilized this system for the Vital Records Office and Environmental Services, implementing the system fulltime.

A separate drop box, also located on the street level of the Administration building, allows customers to drop off and pick up permits and plans. Staff typically review the plans within 10 business days. Customers can arrange by phone to pick up their plans. This system has proven so successful that it will continue beyond the pandemic.

Leveraging a specific configuration of WebEx, our IT Department enabled telehealth services for Public Health, in both the clinics and corrections medicine. Human Services also began using the new telehealth service system.

During the stay at home order, the County Council worked with the Municipal Court to share a plexiglass window station and continue providing notary services. Notary commissions are now available, by appointment only, in both Clayton and South County.

Human Services and Justice Services continued case management and client check-ins virtually throughout the stay-at-home order. Justice Services serves over 5,000 people through their community case management.

Human Services provides a variety of support resources (telehealth, food stamp, LIHEAAP funds, and more) to customers via the County Older Resident Program and Youth Center.

The Parks Department staff implemented split shifts, dividing crews into two teams and working alternate days in the field and office sites. The department also re-opened some of its satellite maintenance facilities that were previously used for storing of equipment.

This greatly enhanced social distancing and allowed staff to work more comfortably in their workplaces.

The County’s Animal Care & Control staff set up a drive-through adoption system. And our Environmental Services agency opened a mobile field office for its inspectors.

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Once parks began to re-open on April 28, the department provided training to staff to act as park ambassadors who would greet the public and remind them about social distancing and park rules. Park staff wore masks to set an example for others and were there to help answer any questions from park visitors. The park ambassadors also served as extra sets of eyes to help notify park rangers of any potential problems.

Parks Department workers created 33 one-way loop trails in 21 of our parks to enhance social distancing efforts. These trails were marked with arrows on the trail surface and directional signage was placed at the trail heads, along the trails and at intersections to help guide park visitors.

Our Administration and the IT department worked together to implement DocuSign across all St. Louis County agencies. With this system, contracts, and the required signatures, are now all processed electronically.

The IT department and the Children’s Service Fund began deploying Web-based as the primary means of gathering the information needed to process grant allotments to small businesses, humanitarian organizations, and other groups. These electronic forms allow customers to fill out and submit information via multiple devices, including computers, smartphones and tablets.

The IT department also developed an online appointment scheduling platform that all St. Louis County agencies and departments now use. Customers may make appointments online in order to conduct County business and to access services.

In order to facilitate virtual public meetings, two forms of virtual meeting technology were deployed to meet the demands of County agencies.

WebEx Teams allows for meetings, collaboration and information sharing with a remote workforce.

WebEx Events allows access to public meetings such as County Council sessions, committee sessions and board meetings via computer or telephone while maintaining social distancing and adhering to stay-at-home orders.

In order to allow access of attorneys to their clients during the pandemic crisis while remaining in compliance with CDC guidelines, our Justice Services department developed three access options: Attorneys are permitted non-contact visits via the inmate visiting booths. The visiting areas are cleaned frequently.

Attorneys may conduct scheduling conferences and contact clients by telephone.

These calls are free.

Attorneys are granted virtual access via tablets. All equipment used to facilitate these meetings is cleaned frequently.

At Dr. Page’s request, our IT department equipped our municipal courts with cameras and microphones to allow for virtual hearings and other functions.

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The Personnel Division within the Department of Administration implemented teleinterviews for open job positions at St. Louis County. Preliminary interviews by Personnel as well as Departmental interviews with candidates are conducted via the WebEx Teams platform.

Meanwhile, the Program Services staff in our Parks Department developed virtual recreation programs and educational videos to entertain and instruct children and adults while parks were closed, and children were out of school.

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KEEPING THE PUBLIC INFORMED Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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By February 18, County Executive Dr. Sam Page briefed the County Council on the threat that St. Louis County faced from the pandemic.

February 28, Dr. Page announced that the County had set up a coronavirus hotline to provide the public information about the pandemic.

March 3, Dr. Page announced that the County had set up a special website, stlcorona.com, to provide the public information about the pandemic.

March 20, Dr. Page introduced a new text message alert feature, lifted delivery restrictions on grocery stores, and worked with the Circuit Court to protect renters from eviction during the pandemic crisis.

March 23, had a web conference with NAACP leaders.

March 29, Dr. Page announced that a new dashboard was available on stlcorona.com to follow pandemic cases. On March 30, Page also had meetings with the St. Louis Clergy Coalition and Governor Parson.

March 31, Dr. Page met with the community and health system leaders to discuss forming the Pandemic Task Force.

April 4, Dr. Page and other regional leaders announced the creation of the Pandemic Task Force.

April 6, Dr. Page held a meeting with the County’s legislative delegation in Jefferson City.

April 13, Dr. Page held his first M/W/F briefing.

April 15, Dr. Page laid out his plan for CARES Act funding at a County Council meeting.

April 20, Dr. Page participated in a discussion with the 24:1 mayors.

April 21, Dr. Page joined the Urban League in announcing new drive-by testing facility.

April 22, Dr. Page had a call with religious leaders, Lemay, Affton, and South County Chambers of Commerce.

April 23, the County unveiled a transparency portal allowing the public to track CARES Act spending.

May 2, Dr. Page held a townhall meeting on the pandemic response.

May 18, Dr. Page met with the Jewish Community Relations Council to discuss the County’s pandemic response.

June 25, Dr. Page announced a program to allow residents in areas most impacted by the pandemic to decide how $7 million in CRF is spent on their community healthcare services.

July 1, Dr. Page held a briefing with leaders of the Hispanic community to discuss the surge in pandemic cases in that population and DPH work to stem the trend.

July 28, Dr. Page joined with leaders of Cool Down St. Louis to discuss utility assistance for vulnerable residents during pandemic.

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Aug. 10, Dr. Page announced a DPH partnership with Washington University to survey 5,000 County residents and offer pandemic testing to gauge the prevalence of and risk factors for the illness.

Sept. 11, Dr. Page met with the Lafayette Area Mayors Organization to discuss pandemic response and relief work.

Sept. 18, Dr. Page met with North County Inc. to discuss the County’s pandemic response strategy.

Sept. 28, Dr. Page announced streamlined process for delivering $47 million in pandemic funds to County municipalities.

Sept. 29, Dr. Page met virtually with Governor Parson and county executives from throughout the state to discuss pandemic response work.

Nov. 4, during his first interview with the media since the election, County Executive Page stressed that the health and safety of County residents will continue to be his top priority heading into 2021.

Nov. 20, Dr. Page met with Gov. Parson and Dr. Randall Williams, Director of the Missouri Department of Public Health, to discuss pandemic response.

Nov. 20, as the pandemic surge strained resources of County contact tracers, DPH advised residents to self-isolate and self-quarantine.

Nov. 23, DPH began using RAVE, an emergency text alert system to share important messages.

Nov. 25, Dr. Page met with Michael K. Holmes, Regional Vice President of Economic Development, Workforce Development and Strategic Partnerships with the Urban League, to discuss pandemic response and economic issues facing minorities in the St. Louis region.

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TIMELINE St. Louis County began preparing for the pandemic’s arrival long before it came to the St. Louis region. The County Executive began warning the public about the pandemic when early reports started to emerge from China.

January 24, the County developed its first set of informational briefings for the community on the threat of the pandemic.

January 25, the County began to update its SARS and Pandemic Flu response plans for dealing with the pandemic. On the same day, the County’s health leaders met with health department leaders from across the state to discuss local plans.

January 27, County personnel participated in a pandemic training session with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”). On the same day, the Department of Public Health and the County Counselor’s office began preparing quarantine and isolation policies and Spirit Airport began to prepare for implementing the new quarantine rules for travelers.

January 29, the County began daily pandemic meetings of the Communicable Disease Division of the Department of Public Health and participated in training with the CDC regarding persons under investigation for pandemic infection.

January 30, the County published a set of online pandemic resources for the public and developed new phone scripts for call center staff when receiving constituent calls about the pandemic.

February 5, the first traveler to St. Louis identified by the CDC was transferred to the County’s oversight for quarantine.

February 6, County personnel participated in CDC training on traveler procedures.

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February 8, the County began to circulate drafts of the Pandemic Response Plan for comment and input.

February 11, the County met with the Anti-Defamation League to discuss what could be done to prevent a social stigma on Chinese Americans in St. Louis region relating to the pandemic.

February 12, the County’s Department of Public Health held a webinar for the Chinese American community.

February 14, the County began planning meetings with school superintendents to discuss the impact of the pandemic on schools.

By February 18, County Executive Dr. Sam Page briefed the County Council on the threat that St. Louis County faced from the pandemic.

February 19, the County prepared to stand up the Emergency Operations Center to deal with the pandemic.

February 25, the County began to prepare a plan to provide isolated housing to first responders and for those experiencing homelessness to protect families and the community at large from people with the pandemic.

February 27, the County began a social media and infographics campaign to provide basic information on the pandemic to the community.

February 28, Dr. Page announced that the County had set up a coronavirus hotline to provide the public information about the pandemic. As he outlined in a press conference, the County’s Department of Public Health’s role in the outbreak was to prepare, educate, and respond to the crisis in a science-informed, professional manner. To prepare, the County began monitoring the outbreak’s spread; coordinating with federal, state, and local governments, the region’s health care institutions, and public health experts; and planning for the response. To educate the public, the County provided regular, reliable information in press briefings, on the County’s website, and through social media. To respond, the County was ready to mobilize by strategically activating resources when needed, collaborating with regional partners, and quickly delivering resources where they are needed most. Dr. Page and the Public Health Department emphasized that prevention is the key, and is made possible by washing hands often, using hand sanitizer, avoiding touching your eyes, nose, or mouth, covering your mouth when you cough, and staying home when you are sick.

March 2, Dr. Page provided a coronavirus update to the public via his YouTube channel.

March 3, Dr. Page announced that the County had set up a special website, stlcorona.com, to provide the public information about the pandemic. Dr. Page also provided a message to County employees about the pandemic. The County’s Department of Public Health participated in a State Emergency Management meeting to coordinate the County’s response to the pandemic with the state’s plans.

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March 5, Dr. Page activated the County’s Emergency Operations Center to strengthen preparations further.

March 6, Dr. Page appeared on KSDK to answer questions from viewers about the pandemic.

March 7, a test confirmed that the first positive in the State of Missouri was in St. Louis County. Dr. Page held a press conference with Governor Mike Parson.

March 8, Dr. Page held a press conference from the County’s Emergency Operations Center.

March 10, the Office of Emergency Management presented an update to the County Council and the public.

March 13, Dr. Page issued an executive order declaring a State of Emergency in relation to the pandemic and limited gathering size to 250 people. That same day, he met with the Chief Medical Officers at BJC Health, Mercy Hospital, and SSM Health. Dr. Page explained the executive order to the public with an explanation on his YouTube channel.

March 14, Dr. Page named a group of experts to assist the Public Health Department including Rob Gatter, a professor of health management and policy at St. Louis University, and Jason Purnell, a professor at Washington University’s Brown School. Dr. Page announced that Spire, Missouri-American Water, and AmerenUE to keep utilities on for struggling County residents. Dr. Page met with medical directors from BJC Healthcare, Mercy, and SSMHealth.

March 15, Dr. Page issued an executive order limiting gathering size to 50 in accordance with the new CDC recommendations. Dr. Page met with superintendents and other school representatives from public and private schools throughout the region to discuss the public health orders and whether they should remain open. Dr. Page met with the leaders of the City of St. Louis, St. Charles County, St. Clair County, and Madison County.

March 16, the County issued new guidelines for County employees impacted by the pandemic.

March 17, Dr. Page announced that dine-in service at restaurants would be limited, conducted web conferences with regional chambers of commerce, businesses, and restaurant owners on the new restrictions, and joined regional leaders for a briefing. Dr. Page provided the public an updated explanation on why restaurants and bars would be closed to dine-in service on his YouTube channel.

March 18, gathering size was further limited to 10 people. On the same day, Dr. Page requested the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership to make helping businesses impacted by the pandemic a priority.

March 19, Dr. Page announced that the county offices would be closed.

March 20, Dr. Page introduced a new text message alert feature. Dr. Page and County Counselor Beth Orwick worked closely with the Circuit Court to craft a policy that would protect renters from eviction during the pandemic crisis. Also that day, Dr. Page promoted

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local restaurants in a video on his YouTube channel that features Balkan Treat Box in Webster Groves. The County Executive’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion started providing personal care kits to families together with Project Homeless Connect. Dr. Page announced delivery restrictions are lifted for grocery stores and pharmacies. Dr. Page also ordered that the County suspend expenditures that are not essential to the County’s pandemic response or to protect the community, cancel or defer capital projects where possible, and stop filling vacant positions unless necessary.

March 21, Dr. Page issued a stay at home order. At the time, only one state – California – had a stay-at-home order in effect. It was issued even before community transmission was proven. Dr. Page explained the stay at home order to the public in a YouTube video. Dr. Page announced an effort to suspend enforcement of evictions. Dr. Page announced guidance for the stay at home order.

May 23, Dr. Page created a new agency to help plan for an economic recovery after the pandemic response ends. The St. Louis County Economic Rescue Team has helped advise the county on stabilizing the local economy and adopting new laws and policies that aid in a rapid recovery. The team has coordinated with similar teams that may be created in surrounding jurisdictions, existing regional economic development partners, and other political subdivisions.

March 23, Dr. Page also met with the NAACP to discuss how to make sure that the pandemic response is equitable.

March 24, Dr. Page requested that the County Council approve funding for pandemic testing for uninsured people and announced testing locations in North, South, West, and Mid- County. Dr. Page gave the County Council an update on the outbreak of the pandemic in St. Louis County. Dr. Page announced a Small Business Resource Program including a hotline and zero interest loans through the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership.

March 25, Dr. Page spoke with the Missouri Congressional delegation to ensure that St. Louis County got its fair share of CARES Act funding.

March 26, Dr. Page called on healthcare workers to volunteer. Dr. Page announced a partnership with DDI Media to provide free public service announcements on billboards throughout St. Louis County.

March 27, Dr. Page announced millions in new CARES Act funding, issued guidance to protect elderly people from scams and bullying, and met with the Corps of Engineers to discuss building overflow healthcare facilities in our region.

March 29, Dr. Page announced that a new dashboard was available on stlcorona.com to follow pandemic cases. Joined by his wife, Dr. Jenny Page, Dr. Page offered the public an update on how St. Louis County was fighting the pandemic.

March 30, the County unveiled its dashboard for monitoring health statistics about the pandemic outbreak. Dr. Page also had meetings with the St. Louis Clergy Coalition and Governor Parson. Dr. Page participated in a food distribution event sponsored by the Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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St. Louis County Library and Operation Food Search.

March 31, the Department of Public Health issued its rapid notification order, requiring healthcare providers to report their testing results right away. On the same day, Dr. Page met with the community and health system leaders to discuss forming the Pandemic Task Force. Dr. Jenny Page extended a message about social distancing on Dr. Page’s YouTube page. On the same day, County Executive Page briefed the County Council about the pandemic.

April 1, Dr. Page met with mayors from the municipalities in the Municipal League, Dr. Purnell, and Professor Ross.

April 2, Dr. Page met with the area community and health system leaders to discuss the formation of the Pandemic Task Force. On the same day, the Department of Public Health issued an order on residential living facilities.

April 4, Dr. Page and other regional leaders announced the creation of the Pandemic Task Force.

April 6, Dr. Page held a meeting with the County’s legislative delegation in Jefferson City.

April 7, Dr. Page briefed the County Council about the pandemic, and outlined his plan to prioritize CARES Act funds along three priority areas.

April 8, Dr. Page toured a Florissant hotel with Governor Mike Parson and Dr. Alex Garza that will become the first overflow hospital. Dr. Page announced the County was participating in efforts funded by the Missouri Foundation for Health to increase social distancing education. Dr. Page also called on customers in grocery stores and other retail businesses to wear face coverings while shopping.

April 9, Dr. Page announced emergency grants from the Children’s Service Fund. In addition, the County Port Authority allocated $1 million to the Small Business Resource Program.

April 10, Dr. Page asked the Secretary of State to allow absentee voting by mail. On the same day, Dr. Page promoted the One Million Masks Drive with a video on his YouTube channel and opened the County Administrative building at 41 South Central Avenue in Clayton as a collection site.

April 14, Dr. Page requested that the County create a fund for CARES Act funding that includes transparency portal. In his request to the council, Dr. Page asked that, when spending the federal funds, special emphasis be placed on addressing the needs of vulnerable and underserved populations, including African American communities, where the highest percentage of pandemic cases are occurring. Dr. Page participated in a Virtual Town Hall sponsored by the NAACP. April 15, Dr. Page announced at a press conference that orders to shelter in place were likely to be extended into May. April 16, Dr. Page extended the Stay-at-Home order through mid-May and held meetings with area business leaders. In addition, a Small Business Resource Fund was announced for County businesses.

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April 17, Dr. Page introduced Cindy Brinkley as the new lead of the County Cares initiative.

April 20, Dr. Page participated in a discussion with the 24:1 mayors. At a press conference, Dr. Page cautioned against reopening too soon.

April 21, Dr. Page joined the Urban League in announcing new drive-by testing facility.

April 22, Dr. Page had a call with religious leaders, and with the Lemay, Affton, and South County Chambers of Commerce. On the same day, the Dignified Transfer Center received its first decedent. At a press conference, Dr. Page announced that he had met with the mayors of 65 County municipalities and many business leaders to discuss the possible easing of stay-at-home orders once the pandemic had been brought under control.

April 23, the County unveiled a transparency portal allowing the public to track CARES Act spending. Dr. Page announced the domestic violence victims can now file orders of protection online. Dr. Page announced that the County had received its CARES Act funding.

April 24, the County began hiring 100 more contact tracers and became the first county in Missouri to let domestic violence survivors file requests for orders of protection online.

At a press conference, Dr. Page announced that the stay-at-home order had helped to flatten the pandemic’s curve.

April 25, Dr. Page announced that 1,000 pandemic patients had been discharged.

April 27, at a press conference, Dr. Page announced that maintaining social distancing and following the models of the Pandemic Task Force would stay in effect until a pandemic vaccine was developed.

In addition, Dr. Page announced that three new advisors would join the County Cares team to focus on the three areas of the County’s response to the pandemic: public health, humanitarian relief, and economic recovery. These advisors are: Dr. Paul Hintze, Senior Advisor for Public Health Response, has more than four decades of experience as an internist and doctor of Rheumatology in St. Louis. He is most recently retired as Chief Medical Officer of Mercy Hospital. Dr. Hintze graduated from University of Utah School of Medicine and completed a residency at Barnes Jewish Hospital.

Deb Patterson, Senior Advisor for Humanitarian Relief, has a deep background in community services and grantmaking. As President of the Monsanto Fund, she helped allocate funding of tens of millions of dollars each year. Prior to Monsanto, she was CEO of American Red Cross of Eastern Missouri and has served on the board of directors of Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Delta Dental of Missouri, and the United Way of Greater St. Louis.

Kathy Rehmer, Senior Advisor for Compliance, has managed compliance operations for some of the St. Louis region’s largest employers and economic powerhouses. As Chief Compliance and Data Privacy Officer for Energizer Holdings, Ms. Rehmer was responsible for corporate compliance policies and implementation. Prior to Energizer, Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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she was the Vice President of Compliance at AT&T for nearly a decade.

In addition on April 27, Dr. Page participated in the Rise up for Heroes event.

April 28, Dr. Page announced a plan to re-open St. Louis County parks.

April 28, the St. Louis County Council adopted Ordinance No. 27,772, which accepted the CRF funds and appropriated them to be spent in accordance with applicable federal law and regulations. Dr. Page responded by saying: “Now we can invest the federal funds in the tests, PPE, and contact tracing that our residents need. . . . I remain committed to collaborating with each Council member as we provide our community the necessary supports and get our economy back on its feet.”

April 29, Dr. Page announced a new initiative through St. Louis County’s Department of Public Health to help businesses prepare for reopening the St. Louis County economy. As part of the initiative, the County will provide businesses with science-based guidance so that every industry and sector of the local economy will be ready to implement new social distancing practices when they reopen.

May 1, Dr. Page announced the Small Business Relief Program.

May 2, Dr. Page held a townhall meeting on the pandemic response. Dr. Page also participated in a food distribution at Jamestown Mall sponsored by the Urban League.

May 4, at a press conference, Dr. Page announced that the public’s cooperation during the stay-at-home order had placed the County in a better position to gradually and safely reopen.

May 5, Dr. Page announced that public health restrictions in the County would be reduced starting on May 18. Dr. Page also announced that Pfizer would be producing a vaccine in St. Louis County.

May 6, Dr. Page announced additional details about the slow, deliberate, and measured reopening process. In an online broadcast that day, he also denounced hate crimes associated with the pandemic. On the same day, Dr. Page announced the appointment of Dr. Vetta Sanders Thompson to the County’s Health and Hospital Advisory Board. In a press conference, Dr. Page noted that the St. Louis region accounted for more than half of the pandemic cases in the entire state. Dr. Page said that he had stressed in a meeting with Gov. Parson that the St. Louis region’s unique situation in regard to the pandemic required that it have the flexibility to react differently to it than the rest of the state.

May 7, Dr. Page announced the County’s new initiatives to protect seniors from the pandemic, including providing PPE to nursing homes, creating a High-Risk Task Force, and creating a Quick Reaction Team.

May 8, Dr. Page announced additional re-opening guidelines for individuals and businesses.

May 11, the County announced formal operating protocols for retail, offices, hotels, commercial buildings, personal services, construction, transportation, and restaurants. On the same day, the County issued detailed guidance for children wearing masks. Dr. Page

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also participated in a St. Louis County Library distribution of free books and a drive-thru meal service.

May 12, Dr. Page participated in announcing drive-through pandemic testing at North Oaks Plaza sponsored by the NAACP. There were over 100 cars in line when it opened.

May 13, Dr. Page announced $2.6 million in food security grants at a press conference.

Those grants provided the following: Operation Food Search offered free meals weekly at distribution sites at 10 public schools and 10 libraries within St. Louis County between June 1 and the start of school in late August.

The St. Louis Area Foodbank distributed an additional 40,000 to 60,000 meals per week through mobile distribution events in St. Louis County. An additional 45,304 meals per week were distributed through a network of 80 partner agencies and community programs.

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis conducted events to distribute food and household goods to needy families during 7 events at the Old Jamestown Mall in May through August. It also distributed food and toiletries to seniors and the disabled community weekly through the end of December.

Link Market set up four pop-up weekly grocery markets within St. Louis County that offered access to healthy, affordable food in food deserts between May and December. The funding also sponsored 400 vouchers of $25 each and a 50%-off discount for customers using SNAP. Potbangerz served over 1,650 well-balanced meals to unhoused families and delivered two weeks’ worth of groceries and other essentials to approximately four families per week.

May 14, Dr. Page announced that the remaining parks would be reopened on May 18.

Also on May 14, the County delivered 2,500 gloves, 1,500 masks and 200 face shields to the People’s Health Center in North County, which is currently testing County residents for the pandemic.

May 15, Dr. Page announced at a press conference that a slow reopening of the County based on data and guidance from the Pandemic Task Force would begin on May 18. In addition, Dr. Page said announced plans for extra pandemic tests in the County, including for asymptomatic people in high-risk populations such as those living in nursing homes.

That afternoon, Dr. Page extended the deadline to apply for Small Business Relief Program grants. The Department of Public Health began distributing masks to schools that provide free meal programs.

Also on May 15, Dr. Page announced that the County will begin testing all staff and residents at the County Justice Center and Juvenile Detention Center for the virus.

May 16, St. Louis County began testing high-risk asymptomatic County employees in criminal justice system. On the same day, Dr. Page participated in a St. Louis County Library distribution of meals and masks.

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May 18, Dr. Page announced that St. Louis County had been recognized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) for the County’s work to protect nursing home residents during the pandemic. CMS cites St. Louis County’s work twice in its May 2020 publication, Toolkit on State Actions to Mitigate COVID-19 Prevalence in Nursing Homes.

In particular, the report cited the County’s establishment of a High-Risk Task Force, composed of volunteer doctors and registered nurses.

May 20, Dr. Page announced at a press conference that additional reopening guidelines would be coming soon for gyms, summer camps and swimming pools. He held a call with 20 fourth graders from school districts across St. Louis County via WebEx. May 21, Dr. Page held calls with numerous faith leaders regarding the pandemic response.

The Economic Rescue Team steering committee was appointed to bring together working groups of County residents from different business sectors, including: Rick Stevens, President of Christian Hospital; Frank Jacobs, Business Manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local One; Veta Jeffrey, Executive Director of Heartland St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce; Kellie McCoy, former Chief of Staff to the CEO of Starbucks; and Jeff Pittman, Chancellor of St. Louis Community College.

May 22, Dr. Page announced at a press conference the distribution of over 400,000 masks throughout the community including: 138,000 masks to high-risk neighborhoods through PrepareSTL and the Regional Response Team; 16,000 masks to businesses in North County through North County, Inc.; and 150,000 masks to distribute to other community partners. The Department of Public Health published new guidelines to allow summer camps to reopen safely.

May 25, the Department of Public Health issued a travel advisory concerning violations of social distancing practices over the Memorial Day weekend.

May 26, Dr. Page asked the County Council to expedite approval of Bill No. 119, which would allow the Department of Transportation and Public Works and the Department of Public Health to suspend enforcement of county laws that restrict restaurants while reopening. Also on May 26, the County allocated up to $47 million in funding to support municipalities.

May 27, Dr. Page announced that St. Louis County was providing testing at its DPH facilities based on symptoms alone. Previously, testing was available to high risk people or people who were exposed to COVID-positive person. In addition to the new testing criteria, Dr. Page announced that the Department of Public Health was re-releasing an invitation for bids so that we can continue identifying low-cost options for buying our own tests. Dr. Page also announced a new testing dashboard, which will increase transparency by allowing the public to monitor the average daily tests, the average positivity rate, the number of tests administered, as well as the positive and negative tests. It also allowed for tracking the trends over time, as testing expands.

May 27, Dr. Page also announced that St. Louis County will distribute 100,000 KN-95 masks today to the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition.

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May 28, Cliff Cave Library of the St. Louis County Public Library was added to the nine library branches that provided meals for children 18 and under on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10am-noon.

On May 28, Dr. Page published advice on how to talk to children about the pandemic, including: Remain calm. Remember that children will react to both what/how you say it.

Reassure children that they are safe and it is okay if they feel upset. Share with them how you deal with your own stress so that they can learn how to cope from you.

Make yourself available to listen and to talk. Let children know they can come to you when they have questions.

Avoid language that might blame others and lead to stigma.

Pay attention to what children see or hear on television, radio, or online.

Provide information that is truthful and appropriate for the age and developmental level of the child. Talk about how some stories may be inaccurate. Children may misinterpret what they hear about something they do not understand.

Teach children everyday actions to reduce the spread of germs such as hand washing.

May 29, Dr. Page was joined by Governor Mike Parson to announce that St. Louis County’s approach to controlling the spread of the pandemic in nursing homes and long-term care facilities would be adopted by other jurisdictions around the state. The State Emergency Management Agency and the State Department of Health and Senior Services are working to replicate the model. On that same day, Dr. Page also announced that, in the interests of public health and transparency, St. Louis County will become the first in the State of Missouri to identify the nursing homes and other long-term care facilities with confirmed pandemic infections among residents or staff.

May 30, Dr. Page declared racism a public health emergency.

June 1, Dr. Page advised protesters who did not practice social distancing to self-isolate for 14 days. Additionally, protesters experiencing any symptoms of the pandemic should immediately contact the Department of Public Health for testing.

June 2, Dr. Page briefed the County Council concerning the pandemic in his weekly County Executive Report. Also that day, a broad array of reopening guidelines was published including: Hotels, in crafting recommendations, input was sought from a working group of hotel executives with deep hospitality experience, including Lodging Hospitality Management, St. Louis Marriott Grand, Live! by Loews, Chase Park Plaza and Midas Hospitality.

Business offices.

Restaurants, in drafting recommendations, the County sought input from more than two dozen chefs/operators, including representatives from Niche Food Group, Bailey’s Restaurants, Hamilton Restaurant Group, Vicia/Winslow’s Table, Sugarfire/High Point, Sidney Street Café and Nudo House.

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Construction, Manufacturing, and Repair .

Transportation services . With input from a working group including representatives from St. Louis Lambert International Airport, St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission, Amtrak, Enterprise, Lyft, Vandalia Bus Lines and Bi-State Development.

Personal services .

Retail, including input from a key group of industry leaders, including representatives from Schnucks, DowntownSTL, Saint Louis Galleria, Jefferson National Parks Association and Delmar Loop Retailers.

June 3, the St. Louis County Library announced it would begin curbside checkout. To use the service, residents place library material on hold and choose any branch as their pickup location.

June 3, Dr. Page announced that $15.4 million would be set aside for child care centers and humanitarian relief to help residents meet their basic needs, including: $5.9 million in grants to child care centers that need help operating safely $2.5 million for temporary housing assistance $2.3 million for homeless prevention $1 million for senior and homebound programs $1 million for technology to help isolated people stay connected to family $500,000 for social and emotional wellness of children $250,000 for housing stabilization $250,000 for legal advocacy and support for households who are at risk for homelessness, eviction or foreclosure In addition, on June 3, the County delivered 1,000 air conditioning units to vulnerable residents and Dr. Page announced a grant of $500,000 to Cool Down St. Louis.

June 5, Dr. Page announced the allocation of a $5 million to be spent on homelessness prevention and $3 million to be spent on rental and mortgage assistance programs. This additional investment in housing stabilization is crucial to keeping some of our most vulnerable residents safe and healthy.

Also by June 5, the County was testing 1,200 people every day. In addition, Dr. Page announced that the County had now distributed more than 600,000 masks including: 200,000 masks to vulnerable families in our community through Catholic Charities; 138,000 masks to be distributed in underserved communities by Prepare STL; 100,000 masks given to the Clergy Coalition for use by congregants; 30,000 masks provided to nursing homes; 22,000 masks to children at summer camps; over 16,000 masks North County Inc. for use by businesses; and 1,500 masks to People’s Health Center in North County.

June 7, St. Louis County parks reopened, including restrooms and campgrounds.

June 8, Dr. Page announced a new behavioral health service available through the County’s 2-1-1 hotline. Dialing 2-1-1 and selecting Option 1 now connects individuals with a mental health professional trained in crisis and counseling services. The health Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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professional on the other end of the line puts individuals in touch with the help and resources needed.

Also on June 8, the County provided an Application Webinar for child care providers to help them understand the County Cares funding available to them.

June 10, Dr. Page held a press conference to discuss the impact of the pandemic on the opioid epidemic.

June 12, Dr. Page announced additional easing of restrictions.

June 15, the St. Louis Department of Public Health reopened all medical, mental health, and substance use services at John C. Murphy Health Center. All clinics will accept new patients and provide telehealth.

June 16, Dr. Page declares Juneteenth (June 19) as a County holiday. Dr. Page meets by phone with Civic Progress and Senator Roy Blunt to discuss the pandemic June 17, DPH develops a sign-up tool for residents to schedule their own appointments for testing. That day, Dr. Page extends the deadline to apply for CARES Child Care Relief Program to July 14.

June 17-19, the County Department of Workforce Development hosts a virtual job fair.

June 18, Dr. Page meets with Civic Progress leadership to give update on the pandemic and reopening efforts. Dr. Page meets with Muni League leadership to discuss the pandemic and municipal funding concerns.

June 20, Dr. Page participates in the March for Justice in north St. Louis County June 24, Dr. Page's Economic Rescue Team recommends ways to use pandemic relief funds to boost economy, help businesses to operate more efficiently.

June 25, Dr. Page announces program to allow residents in area's most impacted by the pandemic to decide how $7 million in CARES funds are spent on their community healthcare services. Dr. Page meets with labor leaders for pandemic update June 28, Dr. Page joins in the distribution of $250,000 in food, toiletries and PPE at Florissant Valley Community College.

June 30, Dr. Page meets with the Pandemic Task Force.

July 1, Dr. Page announces that, beginning July 3, wearing masks is to be mandatory in indoor facilities and outside where social distancing is not possible. Dr. Page holds briefing with leaders of Hispanic community to discuss jump in pandemic cases among Hispanics and DPH work to stem this trend.

July 6, Dr. Page meets with Muni League leadership to discuss pandemic update and municipal funding concerns.

July 7, St. Louis County announces total distribution of 1.5 million masks. Dr. Page meets with Pandemic Task Force.

July 10, Dr. Page announces that DPH has released a set of indicators which provide a data-driven, standardized framework for considering policy decisions about easing/strengthening restrictions.

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July 13, Dr. Page participated in a discussion with the 24:1 mayors on pandemic response and other issues.

July 16, Dr. Page discusses awarding of $9.6 million in CARES Act funds for humanitarian efforts. Dr. Page meets with Regional Business Council to discuss pandemic response and economic concerns related to pandemic. Dr. Page discusses pandemic crisis with representatives from Community Health Centers.

July 20, Dr. Page discusses St. Louis County's pandemic response strategy in interview with NBC news.

July 21, Dr. Page discusses St. Louis County's pandemic response strategy for high school sports in interview with ESPN. July 22, County reaches two million mark in mask distribution.

July 7, Dr. Page announces that $4 million in CARES Act funds will go to technology, including mobile hotspots and tablets, to ensure that all parents who want a virtual learning option for their children have access to it.

July 24, Dr. Page announces $1 million in CARES Act funds will go to domestic violence programs.

July 27, Dr. Page announces new pandemic implementations affecting size of crowds, occupancy rules for businesses, bar closing hours, safe quarantine spaces for teachers. Dr. Page meets with Civic Progress leadership for update on pandemic response.

July 28, Dr. Page discusses the status of testing in the county including increasing the supply of tests, expanding access to testing throughout the county, ensuring timely results to patients and improving reporting time for test administrators. Dr. Page joins leaders of Cool Down St. Louis to discuss utility assistance during pandemic.

July 30, As infection rates continue to climb, Dr. Page discusses schools and a formal recommendation from the Department of Public Health, as requested by superintendents.

Aug. 1, Dr. Page participates in mask and PPE distribution at New Community Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

Aug. 3, Dr. Page announces that the county is partnering with community health centers to increase pandemic testing in north St. Louis County.

Aug. 4, cases of pandemic and deaths from the virus are sharply down in long-term care facilities in St. Louis County, a new report shows.

Aug. 10, Dr. Page announces DPH partnership with Washington University to survey 5,000 County residents and offer pandemic testing to gauge the prevalence of and risk factors for the illness.

Aug. 13, Dr. Page meets with Bruce Katz to discuss St. Louis regional economic planning in the face of the pandemic.

Aug. 17, Dr. Page attends meeting at Machinists District 9 to discuss economic issues related to pandemic.

Aug. 19, Dr. Page announces numerous appointees to County government, including Gerard Hollins as Director of Revenue, Chuck Henderson as Director of IT, Courtney Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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Whiteside as Director of the Municipal Courts, Kenny Murdoch as Acting Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Nate Adams as Acting Director of the M/WBE Program. Dr. Page meets with Dr. Paul Hintze for pandemic response update.

Aug. 25, Dr. Page begins daily pandemic update calls with DPH leadership Aug. 28, 225,000 mark reached in pandemic tests conducted in St. Louis County. Testing is crucial to efforts to contain the spread of the virus and is a major factor in understanding the patterns of its spread.

Sept. 3, Dr. Page meets with DeAnn Aull, the executive director of the Missouri National Education Association, to discuss pandemic issues as related to County school districts, and other issues.

Sept. 9, DPH is closely tracking new cases of the pandemic among children and teens as recent data indicates a steady increase in cases among those 15 to 19 years old.

Sept. 10, Dr. Page meets with Rodney Crim, Executive Director of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, for update on pandemic relief efforts on behalf of County businesses.

Sept. 11, Dr. Page meets with Lafayette Area Mayors Organization to discuss pandemic response and relief work. Dr. Page attends Drive to Silence the Violence rally at Buzz Westfall Plaza in Jennings.

Sept. 16, Dr. Page appoints Douglas W. Burris, former Chief Probation Officer for the Eastern District of Missouri, as Acting Director of Justice Services. Dr. Page meets with Amadou Yattassaye, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri and HealthLink Inc., to discuss pandemic response.

Sept. 17, Dr. Page attends event for hotspot distribution to Hazelwood School District students at County Library HQ. Sept. 18, Dr. Page discusses pandemic response work at North County Inc.'s Annual Leadership Breakfast.

Sept. 21, Dr. Page announces that nearly $1.8 million has been awarded from the County's CARES Act grant to expand access to mental and behavioral health services for residents living in historically underserved communities. Dr. Page meets with Vicki Boyer of the St. Louis Hotel Association to discuss pandemic response and economic relief efforts.

Sept. 23, Dr. Page announces that data allows for schools to offer additional in-person learning for middle schoolers. The most recent data, available on stlcorona.com, shows that cases of the pandemic are decreasing collectively among young people. Specifically, as shown in the last two weeks, there is a pronounced drop in the rate of new cases among adolescents aged 15-19. The rate of new cases in that age group is still higher than that of younger children, but it's heading in the right direction.

Sept. 24, Dr. Page announces County will allow, for both indoor and outdoor youth sports, two parents or spectators per athlete to attend games, with an overall capacity of 50. This occupancy limit is not to separate parents or children, but to limit crowds where the pandemic can spread. The county will also allow businesses to allow more customers Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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inside, up to 50% of their capacities, effective Oct. 7.

Sept. 25, Dr. Page's daily pandemic update call with DPH officials continues.

Sept. 28, Dr. Page announces streamlined process for delivering $47 million in pandemic funds to County municipalities. County begins offering free flu vaccines are available through the St. Louis County Department of Public Health.

Sept. 29, Dr. Page meets virtually with Gov. Parson and county executives from throughout the state to discuss pandemic response work.

Oct. 2, Dr. Page meets with Andrew Taylor, Executive Chairman of Enterprise Holdings, for update on regional business activities in face of the pandemic.

Oct. 6, Dr. Page recommends a balanced 2021 budget to the County Council for approval that includes $4.3 million to resume an annual merit pay program. Fair compensation for our employees is essential to retaining and recruiting top workers for St. Louis County.

Oct. 7, Dr. Page announces allocation of $3 million to help County schools pay for critical personal protective equipment during this pandemic. Public school districts are eligible to apply for funding, which will allow them to obtain matching funds from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

Oct. 9, DPH applies for and receives award from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to expand the capacity of the DPH environmental laboratory to perform pandemic tests.

On Oct. 13, 12 incarcerated individuals at the Buzz Westfall Justice Center test positive for the virus, bringing the total number of inmate cases to 32 in October. (By year’s end, thanks to aggressive testing and other responses by DPH staff, only one of the 924 incarcerated individuals at the jail tested positive for the virus).

Oct. 14, Dr. Page meets with leaders of regional chambers of commerce to discuss pandemic response and economic relief efforts.

Oct. 15, Dr. Page attends ribbon cutting for A Caring Plus Foundation, group dedicated to housing for seniors and other vulnerable populations in north St. Louis County.

Oct. 20, following September’s announcement that federal CARES Act funds were cleared for distribution to St. Louis County municipalities, the County CARES team makes the first nine payments to local communities.

Oct. 21, St. Louis County Library and Operation Food Search mark major milestone: distribution of over 1 million meals to children during the pandemic.

Oct. 26, County Executive Page vetoes two bills passed by the County Council that would curb the authority of his office and the county health department during a pandemic.

Oct. 28, DPH awarded $2.3 million in federal CARES Act funding to St. Louis County public school districts, to reimburse them for expenses made to fight the spread of pandemic. This $2.3 million is on top of the $4 million in CARES Act funds issued to enhance student online learning.

Nov. 2, the St. Louis County Board of Elections has taken precautions to keep voters safe during the election, including offering four methods to vote, sending designated teams to Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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hospitals and homes and keeping the polls clean.

Nov. 4, during first interview with the media since his election victory, Dr. Page stresses that the health and safety of County residents will continue to be his top priority going into 2021.

Nov. 9, cases of pandemic continue to rise sharply in St. Louis County, where the daily new case average is approaching 500, or more than double what it was one month ago.

Hospitals are filling up and the state of Missouri is setting new records every day.

Nov. 13, in response to latest surge in pandemic cases and increased strain on the region's healthcare system, County Executive Page issues new public health effective on Nov. 17.

For at least four weeks, people in St. Louis County will only be able to leave home to go to work or school, to exercise, seek medical care or shop for goods or supplies. They must also form social bubbles with 10 or fewer family members or friends and limit all interactions to that group — and can leave home for those interactions.

Nov. 16, for the first time, St. Louis County records more than 1,000 new pandemic cases in a day, with 1,061 individuals identified since Nov. 15 as having contracted the virus.

Nov. 17, Dr. Page meets with Pandemic Task Force.

Nov. 19, Dr. Page announces that more than $3 million in CARES Act funds will be distributed to small businesses and restaurants in the County’s continued response to the pandemic. The county earlier this year awarded $19.7 million to more than 1,600 small businesses and restaurants. The additional funds come at the recommendation of the Economic Rescue Team. Dr. Page meets with representatives of the Regional Business Council for update on pandemic response and economic recovery.

Nov. 20, Dr. Page meets with Gov. Parson and Dr. Randall Williams, Director of the Missouri Department of Public Health, to discuss pandemic response.

Nov. 23, Dr. Page meets with Civic Progress leadership to discuss pandemic response and other issues.

Nov. 24, Dr. Page meets with Pandemic Task Force.

Nov. 25, Dr. Page meets with Michael K. Holmes, Regional Vice President of Economic Development, Workforce Development and Strategic Partnerships with the Urban League, to discuss pandemic response and economic issues facing minorities in the St. Louis region.

Dec. 1, Dr. Page meets with Pandemic Task Force.

Dec. 4, the Centers for Disease Control provides latest pandemic guidance. The agency stressed that indoor venues where distancing is not maintained and consistent use of face masks is not possible -- such as restaurant dining -- are particularly high risk. Transmission also can be reduced by promoting working from home as well as reducing the size of gatherings, which St. Louis County currently restricts to 10. That day, Dr. Page discussed the County's pandemic response as guest speaker at the holiday meeting of the Medical Society Alliance.

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Dec. 7, Dr. Page announces that more than 850 applications were received for the Small Business Rapid Deployment Fund (RDF) when it closed on that day. The Small Business Rapid Deployment Fund is a second round of emergency funding to assist businesses impacted by COVID-19.

Dec. 8, Dr. Page meets with the Pandemic Task Force.

Dec. 11, the Missouri Court of Appeals sided with St. Louis County in a lawsuit challenging the County’s indoor dining protocols. The County’s indoor dining protocols were designed to limit the spread of COVID-19 while still allowing restaurants to serve customers through outdoors, carry-out, curbside, or delivery services. Also that day, DPH compiles a new report showing growing spread of the pandemic in long-term care facilities. The trend points to an ongoing emergency affecting some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.

Dec. 14, Dr. Page meets with representatives of Civic Progress for pandemic update and other economic development matters.

Dec. 15, DPH published an indoor dining brief on stlcorona.com as part of its goal of sharing scientific knowledge about spread of the disease with the community. The document summarizes studies and other data on indoor airflow and how the virus that causes the pandemic is spread when people dine indoors with others outside their immediate household. Dr. Page meets with Pandemic Task Force.

Dec. 16, Dr. Page meets with Gov. Parson to discuss pandemic response.

Dec. 21, DPH announced that in the fall, St. Louis County experienced a meteoric rise in pandemic cases. The average of new cases per day went from 140 at the beginning of October to 804 on Nov. 17, when DPH instituted its Safer at Home order. That order includes a ban on indoor dining in restaurants, bars and other public establishments.

Dec. 22, DPH meets with the department’s informal restaurant working group. The meeting was productive and served as a good starting point to complete a plan to reopen some form of indoor dining in restaurants and other food establishments. Dr. Page meets with Pandemic Task Force.

Dec. 29, Dr. Page meets with Pandemic Task Force.

Dec. 30, Dr. Page announces that indoor dining will return to St. Louis County restaurants on Jan. 4, 2021, along with new protocols aimed at mitigating risks. The health department, working with an informal group of restaurant owners, instituted the following protocols: Occupancy at restaurants will be limited to 25% of their fire code capacity or the total number of diners sitting at tables spaced at six feet apart, whichever is lower. This includes banquet facilities, also limited in their occupancy to 25% or 50 people max.

The new mask protocols will be in place to protect restaurant workers better.

Restaurants and bars will be required to close by 10 PM. Some bars will need to install physical barriers such as plastic dividers or plexiglass.

Restaurants and bars will record the names and contact information for patrons to assist with contact tracing and case investigation if that proves necessary.

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Part II: Departmental Reports

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Introduction While 2020 was a year like no other, the demands on County staff to keep government functioning properly were the same as any other year.

Even as a deadly virus swept through our region, ebbing and flowing in intensity, County employees adapted operations and continued to provide excellent service to residents. They worked to ensure that equity, inclusion and social justice remained at the forefront of all we do. That our operations were efficient, effective and customer friendly. And that we continued to raise ethical standards and to conduct our work transparently, openly and honestly.

The adjustments we made to continue functioning at a high level during the pandemic, and the lessons we learned in the process, made us a better government in 2020 and ready to surmount the challenges we will face in 2021.

This report documents many of the notable ways in which County departments and their employees kept our government up and running during the pandemic.

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ADMINISTRATION The Department of Administration promotes the vision and values of St. Louis County government by facilitating the effective delivery of services and providing leadership and support to county departments while ensuring prudent use of resources for the constituents of the county.

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Work and project highlights of the Divisions of Administration in 2020 included: General Services: Continued all mail and courier services through the pandemic.

Mailroom processed 594,190 pieces of mail at an average cost of .540 down from 2019 volume of 648,963 pieces average cost of .546.

Courier services logged over 150,000 miles with just two minor accidents.

Receiving department received and unloaded 1,833 shipments at the central receiving dock.

Made 5,367 deliveries made to departments within government center.

Received 21,102 parcels in 2020.

General Services also collected and shipped 55 pallets of computer surplus to be recycled in an environmentally safe manner.

Center For Advanced Professional Studies: Migrated MUNIS system (MUNIS, TCM, Cashiering) to Tyler Cloud SaaS infrastructure.

Entered into new five-year agreement for Time Management system – NOVATime.

Started last rollouts of NOVATime to various departments – Parks, Health, Transportation & Public Works.

Created new Job Classifications for ERP/CAPS staff that are better aligned to actual job functions performed.

Added a team member and provided on-going training.

Began the process of converting Crystal Reports to SSRS. Began the Tyler Content Manager (TCM) retention/purge project.

Completed the Financial audit with Tyler that began in 2019.

Completed the Payroll/HR audit with Tyler.

Performance Management & Budget: Produced the County’s first annual business plan (converted from the former budget document) to draw a clearer connection between the work that departments do, how those activities are funded, and how effective they are at serving the residents of St. Louis County.

Received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for the 15th consecutive year.

Affirmed the County’s AAA bond rating.

Successfully completed a bond sale (2020 GO Bonds and 2020AB Special Obligation Bonds) to refund $138.1 million of existing debt and issue $13.7 million of new debt. The refinancing produced total debt service savings of $22.4 million for county taxpayers.

Launched an Open Finance website to provide users with data on revenues, expenditures, vendor payments, and payroll.

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Drafted County’s first Open Data Policy and spearheaded Open Government Initiative.

In conjunction with the Department of Information Technology, developed and maintained an expenditure transparency site for the County’s pandemic response.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Successfully transitioned to new DEI division structure.

Led in the community with by attending Municipality Equity Commissions.

Facilitated LinkedIn Learning training for County Executive staff.

Assisted departments by training on inclusion and creation of WebEx facilitations.

Created programs for county government on Bias, Inclusion, Culturally Competent Communication.

Designed and established the process for the Cultural Review Committee to assess county properties.

Worked with the Human Relations Commission on issues of hiring and inclusion.

Procurement: Implemented charter 12.020.

Implemented DocuSign for execution of contracts.

Established a Procurement fraud hotline.

Joined Amazon Business Prime which will provide a significant cost savings to the County.

Modified the sole source process to make it easier for departments.

Updated paper forms to electronic forms for ease of use and to reduce resource use.

Moved procurement functions to a virtual environment.

Produced a Procurement Policy Manual.

Enacted an immense emergency response to issue pandemic-related contracts and purchases.

Records Center: The Records Center implemented new barcode technology using iPads that provides immediate access to the Versatile Records Management software. This is a new efficiency that allows real-time access to the software in the record stack areas to scan and process new or returned records, without walking back and forth to the workstations up to 300 feet away to upload the data. The iPads will eliminate unnecessary time spent on a daily basis writing down index information, walking to workstations to upload the information, then repeating the process.

73 Record Retention Schedules updated for County Divisions.

2,435 Records were processed in the Records Center for customer requests. Requests are completed within two or less days.

445,778 documents were digitally scanned in the Imaging Services Lab. Standard Operating Procedures were updated for Records Management and Imaging Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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Services operations.

Fiscal Management: Created a stand-alone fund and numerous department accounts within MUNIS to track all eligible expenses and payroll costs as it relates to the CARES Act funding.

Received the Government Finance Officers Association’s (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Award for the 2018 Current Year Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) marking the 36th consecutive year that St. Louis County has received this award.

Repaid the County’s Tax Anticipation Note Borrowing Notes early on 12/1/20 which resulted in a savings of approximately $14,000.

Created multiple new Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) pay codes within County departments to record FFCRA costs and monitored the accuracy of the reporting of costs in these accounts.

Moved all employee direct deposit notifications to Employee Self Service site (paperless).

This is both a savings of time and dollars within the department.

With the assistance of Central Bank, Fiscal Management was able to move 196 vendors in 2020 from paper checks to electronic payments, which saves the County on ink, check stock, envelopes, and postage.

Fiscal Management closed several departments’ outside bank accounts and initiated setting up petty cash accounts for these departments to use in the future for these types of expenses. This improves the County’s overall internal control on County funds.

Fiscal implemented a change to the vendor vetting process eliminating some of the unnecessary workflow within MUNIS which has assisted in faster vendor set-ups. Also, have pushed vendors to use the County’s VSS (Vendor Self Service) system to register as a vendor of the County which has reduced the time needed from departments in setting-up new vendors.

Implemented new Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards, in particular, GASB 84, which required significant time and analysis to accurately report the changes in the County’s CAFR. Adopted and implemented a change in St. Louis County’s Capital Asset Policy threshold from $1,000 to $5,000. This change aligns the County’s policy with GFOA best practices and with the County’s contemporaries, as well as creates operational efficiencies throughout the organization. The County added approximately 400 fixed assets in 2020 which was less than half of what has been entered in the past fiscal years.

Assisted with 2019 year-end external audits to ensure timely submission of the CAFR and the County Employee Retirement Plan. Both successfully completed on time during pandemic working restrictions.

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Prepared, coordinated and evaluated Request for Proposal for the County’s P-Card and AP Card programs. Recommended to award the contract to Central Bank who provided the highest revenue and least cost to the County.

Created the County’s 2019 Popular Annual Financial Reporting (PAFR) to provide financial information in an easy to understand manner that is transparent to St. Louis County residents, taxpayers, policy leaders, and County management.

Developed the Internal Control Self-Assessment Questionnaire that was released in 2020. The intention is to help Departments identify opportunities for increased effectiveness and efficiency, possible weaknesses in internal control, or possible noncompliance with County policies, Federal laws, regulations, and program compliance requirements.

Reviewed Collector turnover process and identified changes regarding data imports into MUNIS. Fixed asset inventory and spot audits were completed timely. Implemented necessary process changes to accommodate pandemic restrictions.

Treasury: Successfully invested $169.0 million of CARES funds in a laddered short-term investment strategy.

Set-up banking for Show-Me-Courts.

Successfully contracted with Bank of America for commercial banking services under a no fee, interest bearing account structure.

Significant changes made from paper files to electronic at the Clayton office as well as the two satellite offices, greatly reducing paper file storage and greater accessibility.

Increased satellite change funds which reduced the frequency and, thus, expense of armored car cash/change requirements.

Risk Management: Provided Risk Management support to Emergency Operations Center (EOC)Logistics/Finance during the pandemic: claims, insurance for leases; workers compensation insurance; volunteers; daycare; safety; HIPAA; warehouse; etc.

Provided safety support to EOC: EOC Safety Plan for COVID-19 Response, inspections of buildings being utilized for the response, review of EOC Safety Guidelines.

Facilitated workers compensation insurance coverage (payroll and medical care) for first responders, per the Governor’s Order – 217 incidents, to date.

Implemented process for review of all significant claims on a quarterly basis.

Continued to work with insurance broker to streamline insurance and loss control processes.

Continued to work with third party administrator on opportunities to streamline claim reporting processes.

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Customer Service: Transitioned 311 Customer Service to become a fully functional work from home contact center. Handled an approximately 40% increase in call and email volume during this time period.

311 Contact Customer Service went above and beyond to provide citizens with numerous resources related to COVID prior to the stlcorona.com website.

Participated in design and implementation of the customer service center on the street level of the administration building.

Personnel: Reduced insulin co-pay for staff covered by the health plan to $25/month Implemented two weeks of Paid Family leave.

Selected as an honoree in the Women's Foundation of Greater St. Louis' third annual "Women in the Workplace: Employment Scorecard," recognizing St. Louis County Government as a top place for women to work in the St. Louis area.

Implemented $13 minimum wage for permanent jobs.

Updated the Temporary Assignment Pay Policy.

Moved to online distribution of new hire release forms.

Implemented special leave policy covering pandemic-related absences. Created and distributed monthly employee newsletter.

Created PTO/Vacation Accrual Policy Exception for 2020.

Received the American Heart Association Gold Level Workplace Health Achievement rating for the third year in a row. This award recognizes the County's success improving the health of our workplace and our workforce.

Received the American Heart Association Gold Level Workplace Health Achievement rating for the third year in a row. This award recognizes the County's success in improving the health of our workplace and workforce.

Rolled out VOYA as our deferred compensation provider, resulting in decreased fees to employees and retirees who utilize our 457 plan. The County also provided additional services with this new provider.

Implemented online New Employee Orientation.

Successfully conducted Requests for Financial Proposals for Medical and Pharmacy. The Benefits office was able to negotiate the costs which resulted in no impact to employee premiums, or plan design changes for the new plan year which started 10/1/20.

Implemented FFCRA countywide, providing pandemic-related time off for more than 425 employees.

Worked with Information Technologies to ensure that the new website is accessible to people with disabilities.

Hosted, for the very first time, virtual open enrollment meetings. These gave employees and retirees the flexibility to listen to recordings at any time.

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Concluded the 2020 wellness incentive with a great participation rate of 723 employees and spouses. This resulted in a pay out in November of $393,601.

Offered flu shots to employees. A total of 878 Flu vaccines were administered by St. Luke’s with onsite clinics.

Added a new benefit, the Safety Glasses program, through our Vision Provider VBA. Updated the Telework Policy.

Addressed accessibility issues in Council Chambers for dais renovation, seating and ramp, update of signage to identify accessible entrances in Clayton complex.

Resolved several difficult Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) employment situations, and Certification of ADA Coordinator.

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COUNTY COUNSELOR'S OFFICE The County Counselor is the County’s Attorney and Counselor at Law. She has charge of and conducts all of the civil law business of the county, its departments, divisions, offices, officers, boards and commissions.

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Highlights from the Counselor's Office in 2020 included: Creating Workflow Efficiencies: The County Counselor’s Office created numerous efficiencies in its workflow.

Here are notable examples: County contracts were previously routed and entered by hand in our office. With the use of DocuSign, we have eliminated the need for the old tracking system.

The creation and publication of legislation is now completely electronic.

An email address was set up to receive and send communications and recommendations on municipal court cases, instead of relying on paper mail.

Worked with IT to develop and implement the new Sunshine Law software.

Working Groups Expanded: In 2019, the Counselor’s Office established an in-house Sunshine Law Working Group which allowed staff to gather input, implement best practices, and provide guidance on open records matters. In 2020, the Counselor’s Office built on the success of this group and added three working groups. The office now has a Domestic Violence Working Group, Litigation Strategy Working Group, Board and Commissions Working Group, and is working to develop and implement an oral argument workshop and coaching program.

Continuing Education: The Counselor’s Office developed a robust in-house continuing legal education (CLE) series.

The office has 23 attorneys who are required by the Missouri Supreme Court to attend 15 hours of CLE classes per year which is 345 attorney hours per year, or the equivalent of almost eight weeks per year based on a 40-hour work week. CLEs are important to professional development but are often expensive. Since the Counselor’s Office last presented to the budget committee last year, it has hosted 10 CLE programs. It has provided enough CLE so that the County was not charged for any CLEs in order to meet the Missouri Bar requirements. These programs were taught by staff counselors and on two occasions guest speakers presented. Several members of the office presented on the following topics: Implicit Bias and Debiasing in the Practice of Law; Legal Negotiation Tips & Techniques; Property Assessed Clean Energy; Civil Rights and Other Liability for Individuals and their Supervisors and the Qualified Immunity Defense; the Families First Coronavirus Response Act; Sunshine and Meetings of Public Governmental Bodies; Domestic Violence Related Concerns and Ordinance Enforcement; Representing Public Governmental Bodies in a Virtual World; and Effectively Representing Boards and Commissions.

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HUMAN SERVICES The St. Louis County Department of Human Services is committed to providing the support, service and resources that help individuals of all ages live safely, productively, and independently.

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The department’s work last year included: Job Center Services: After a brief closure in the spring, the Job Center at Northwest Crossings, as well as satellite offices throughout the County, continued to serve customers by developing career readiness workshops that focused on marketable skills in logistics, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, construction, and information technology. Over 100 people have enrolled in training programs at County Job Centers since they re-opened in July. These centers also help people who need to file for unemployment, and connect vulnerable individuals and families to vital community resources.

Breaking Down Housing Barriers: The St. Louis County HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) is the largest Federal block grant to state and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing for lower-income households. The intent of the HOME Program is to: Provide decent affordable housing to lower-income households.

Expand the capacity of nonprofit housing providers.

Strengthen the ability of state and local governments to provide housing.

Leverage private-sector participation.

St. Louis County’s FY2020 allocation of HOME funds was $3,622,353. HOME funds are typically used for: 1) housing production program for the acquisition, rehabilitation &/or construction of new affordable housing units; 2) down payment assistance program to provide down payment and closing cost assistance to income-qualified first-time homebuyers; and 3) Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) operating support to provide those organizations using HOME funds to partially finance the rehabilitation &/or construction of new affordable housing.

Regional Collaboration: Also in 2020, the HOME Consortium began conducting an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice. The study identifies barriers to equal access to housing and neighborhood opportunities and proposes strategies to overcome those barriers. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, more commonly known as the Fair Housing Act, ensures protection of housing opportunity by prohibiting discrimination in the sale or rental of housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, and was amended in 1988 to include familial status and disability. Grantees receiving funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program are required to complete a fair housing study, known as an AI, to ensure that housing and urban development programs are being administered in a way that furthers fair housing for these protected classes. Since St. Louis, St. Charles, and Jefferson counties, as well as the cities of Florissant Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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and O’Fallon, participate together in a consortium to access federal affordable housing funds under HUD’s Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), the consortium members sought to jointly conduct this AI to provide a streamlined regional approach to fair housing and to identify and address impediments to fair housing choice that often do not strictly follow jurisdictional boundaries. This study will look at whether everyone in the three-county region has similar choices for housing regardless of their race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, religion, whether they have children, or whether they have a disability. It will also outline a plan to address any fair housing issues in the region.

Five-Year Housing Plan: In 2020, Community Development and Homeless Services Office staff partnered with personnel from the County Executive’s Office and the Office of Performance Management and Budget to draft a strategic plan for housing and homeless investments. This plan provides a roadmap for federal and locally funded investments over the next five years.

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG): The federally funded Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program provides annual funding on a formula basis to entitled cities and counties to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment and by expanding economic opportunities principally for low- to moderate-income persons. All activities funded by CDBG must meet at least one of the following National Objectives: Primarily benefit low- and moderate-income residents.

Eliminate slums and blight.

Address an urgent community need.

St. Louis County’s FY2020 allocation of CDBG funds was $5,665,449. CDBG funds were awarded to 1) municipalities in order to undertake eligible activities such as street and sidewalk improvements, demolition of dangerous structures, ADA enhancements, park improvements, home repairs, public services and more; and 2) nonprofits and local governments through the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), a competitive application process.

Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program: The Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program provides financing for large-scale community and economic development projects. It is an effective tool to leverage other community investments. In 2020, the Office of Community Development closed one loan to fund the construction of Pagedale Town Center II, a commercial building project located in the City of Pagedale.

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Lead Hazard Control Grant Program: Since the first Lead Paint Hazard Control Grant in 1995, St. Louis County’s Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Program has made over 1,700 homes “lead safe.” In December 2018, St. Louis County was awarded its eighth Lead Hazard Control Grant. The $2.6 million grant was officially released in July 2019 and has begun serving the 200 homes as specified in the grant. The grant will provide lead and healthy homes education to over 7,000 residents of St. Louis County, and provide 20 homes with health and safety related repairs in addition to the lead hazard control improvements.

Shelter For Women and Children: The Kathy J. Weinman Shelter for Victims of Domestic Violence, Inc., continued its mission to help vulnerable women and children during the pandemic. In 2020, the County-operated shelter served 139 women and 111 children. Total safe bed nights provided were 7,839, in addition to more than 2,588 case management hours provided, and 722 crisis hotline calls answered. In 2020, the Weinman Shelter helped 28 women transition to permanent or transitional housing.

County Youth Program: CYP has been addressing food insecurity in the County for years through the federal Summer Food Service Program and the At-Risk After School Meal Program at The Center for Youth on the Rise in Spanish Lake. When the pandemic started CYP knew the dangerous impact on children and families this would have on disenfranchised and economically depressed North County Communities that already face limited access to healthy and quality foods. CYP, in partnership with Operation Food Search, was able to implement a contactless drive-through meal service starting the second week of the pandemic shutdown. Initially CYP was able to distribute meals provided by Operation Food Search for children and youth under the age of 18 that contained two breakfast and two lunch meals. When the STL County CARES Act funding was awarded to Operation Food Search, additional meal options were added to the distribution including shelf stable protein boxes, emergency meal kits, fresh produce, and most recently meal boxes designed to provide a family of four enough meals to cover a weekend. CYP also partnered with the County Health Department to provide masks to the community through the drive-through.

Total Meal Distribution: Meals to children and youth 18 & under: 42,000 Fresh produce boxes to County residents:17,250 CARES Act Shelf Stable boxes to County Residents: 30,000 CARES Act Family Food boxes to County Residents: 6,000 Masks to County Residents: 20,000

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Despite the circumstances, CYP used this opportunity to increase the awareness and profile of the Youth Center. CYP staff had more contact with the general public through this effort than would have occurred in normal operations. CYP staff assessed needs and provided referrals to other essential services for residents. The CARES Act boxes prompted an increase in senior adults being able to access healthy and fresh food. CYP staff consistently received positive feedback from residents utilizing the drive-through. Trends in feedback included: gratitude that this resource was available in the Spanish Lake community as transportation is a common barrier; and how much children enjoyed the meals and snacks provided. Several residents reported employment in housekeeping and food service was eliminated early in the pandemic, so the meal distribution was a vital part of not only the wellbeing of children but also stress relief for parents and caregivers.

CYP has been accredited as a Community Youth Development program through the Commission of Accredited Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) since 2017. The program was reaccredited in 2020 after again demonstrating excellence in administrative leadership and service delivery.

Adopt-A-Family: The St. Louis County Adopt a Family Project provided critical help to families during the holidays. The 2020 Adopt a Family Project was modified subject to the pandemic and included a greater focus on minimizing direct contact with households through the use of gift cards.

Additionally, those seeking housing assistance through the Saint Louis County Humanitarian Fund were specifically targeted by the Adopt a Family Project as these households have been suffering significant pandemic-related hardships. There were 134 families in the program, which is a 34% increase from 2019, and all of the 134 families received assistance.

They received toys, clothing, essential items, gift cards, utility assistance and rental assistance.

The County Executive's Office, County Departments, private corporations and private citizens helped make this year's project very special for the households impacted.

Checking on Older Adults: More than 3,500 calls were made to older adults to check on needs they might have and to address concerns of isolation. Resources were provided to address needs through conversation and/or resources being provided to address pandemic-related depression and social isolation.

Virtual Job Fairs: The department has hosted several job fairs since May that allow employers to connect directly to job seekers. Hundreds of job seekers across St. Louis have participated in these virtual opportunities. St. Louis County Workforce Development continues to hold virtual job fairs every month or two utilizing the new stlouiscountymo.gov website, along with social Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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media. These events serve every industry and welcome any external organizations or internal departments to participate at no cost. The typical event reaches around 10-20k unique users on social media and sees several hundred active participants on the day of the event. Our Business Services Group representatives typically gather around 100 participant resumes each event which can be distributed to employers as requested by the participant outside of the event. Post-event surveys are sent to the employers to gather results and free response comments.

Plan For the Unhoused: Community Development and Homeless Services Office staff partnered this year with personnel from the County Executive’s Office and the Office of Performance Management and Budget to draft a strategic plan for housing and homeless investments. This plan provides a roadmap for federal and locally funded investments over the next five years.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY The St. Louis County Department of Information Technology partners with County Departments to improve services through the use of modern Information Technologies, making data-based decisions and providing a customer centric service to all County employees and residents.

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The department’s accomplishments in 2020 included: Emerging From “TechDebt”: Many IT systems have not been replaced and upgraded over the years, leading to a backlog of techdebt that needed to be resolved. The elimination of this techdebt improves our cybersecurity stance, reduces maintenance costs and enables the implementation of new solutions that will be used to improve the services departments can deliver. Some examples of techdebt are the replacement of old firewalls, replacement of old virtual private network hardware, replacement of old storage devices, replacement of old servers and PC operating systems, replacement of old internet browsers, replacement of old tape backup and restore solutions, and expense dedicated telecom circuits.

Mobile Improvements: Mobile friendly communications have become the dominate method in which people communicate and acquire services from businesses and governments. In order to better serve our residents, IT has been implementing a series of mobile-friendly services. These include a new website with an Artificial Intelligence driven search engine and a chatbot. An email subscription system has also been implemented to allow citizens to subscribe to content that interests them.

Easing Access to County Government: New web-based technologies have been implemented to allow for more convenient interaction with County government. These improvements include a new Sunshine Request portal that makes it easier for people to submit and track submitted requests. Our IT Department also put in place a forms engine, and will be converting many paper-based requests to web-based forms. In addition, the department has also implemented new updates that make it easier for the County Council - and soon many boards and commissions – to access meeting agendas, meeting minutes, legislation and video recordings of meetings.

Improving Governmental Efficiency: IT also continued to upgrade County government’s internal processes. These enhancements included the implementation of an e-signature option to eliminate the time consumed with acquiring physical signatures for all purchases. A new IT service management platform is being implemented which will reduce costs and improve the capabilities of IT support. The technology and processes used in the new IT solution will be used to create a county-wide customer management system to improve the ability of all County departments to track citizen requests and ensure that they are resolved in a reasonable time. Meanwhile, new ways for residents and employees to visualize information have been created including an Animal Care and Control application and dashboard; available trustee and post-third sales properties application; County Youth Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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Program activity report dashboard; and a flooded roads location application, among numerous others.

Additional highlights in 2020 from the Information Technology Department included: Developed and deployed an application for performing bottom-up budget creation.

Developed and deployed a product/service evaluation process including a 5-year TCO. Signed a new contract that does not have minimum spend commitments for labor from Regional Justice Information Service (REJIS).

Brought all REJIS services under three contracts managed by IT to eliminate confusion and make sure all services are contracted.

Insourced Desktop Support allowing us to provide superior support for a lower cost.

Developed a set of standards for Website design to ensure consistency and ADA compliance.

Introduced web-based scheduling to allow for constituents to schedule an appointment with Muni-Courts and Collector’s office instead of just waiting in line with no idea how long their visit would take.

Deployed a lobby wait management system with restaurant buzzers to better handle walk-in traffic for the collector.

Implemented touchscreens for the constituent when performing marriage licenses.

Implemented a new agenda management system for the County Council that will soon include a legislation library and voting record for the council. Expanding the solution for all boards and commissions to increase transparency for our constituents.

Implemented with the new web technology the ability for users to have content translated into 159 languages.

Implemented an intelligent search engine that will learn from people’s searches and feedback to better be able to improve search results.

Implemented a text opt-in and opt-out feature so that constituents can receive text alerts.

Eliminated an old storage array that has been out of warranty for several years and was costing a lot of money to maintain.

Eliminated the old tape backup system in favor of a new cloud-based system that will perform backups and recoveries better than the old solution.

Created a standards page for IT purchases to ensure that all equipment meets the standards and is supportable.

Created and deployed a user training solution to improve adoption of IT services.

Created the first IT strategy and IT strategic plan for 2020 and 2021.

Eliminated the old 311 system, which was not sustainable.

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JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION The St. Louis County Department of Judicial Administration/Circuit Court serves the citizens of the County by providing access to a fair, impartial, prompt and costeffective system of justice that ensures all are treated with courtesy and dignity and that fosters the respect and confidence of the public in an independent judicial system.

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Highlights of Judicial Administration/Circuit Court accomplishments in 2020 included: Online filing for Orders of Protection: With the incidence of domestic violence rising sharply during the pandemic, the Court’s IT staff collaborated with judges to create a safe, simple and secure process for victims to file for Orders of Protection entirely online. This eliminates the need to travel to the Courthouse, arrange for childcare or leave work. The 21st Circuit is the only judicial circuit in the state – and one of the few in the nation – where online filing for orders of protection is possible.

Judge on Call to Review Requests for Orders of Protection: The Court established a new domestic violence protocol for judges: one judge is always oncall, exclusively to review requests for Orders of Protection.

Technology Assistance for Incarcerated Individuals: With financial support from the McArthur Foundation, the Court provided remote technology including webcams, polycom units and tablets to incarcerated defendants in the Justice Center, allowing them to participate remotely in Court proceedings.

Remote Hearings in Family Court: Family Court hearings are being conducted remotely. The convenience and safety of remote hearings has significantly increased the participation of family members in Court proceedings.

Remote Dockets: With public access to the Courthouse temporarily restricted, the Courts remained open, using Zoom, WebEx and telephone. They continue to hear thousands of small claims, landlord/tenant, criminal, civil and traffic cases.

Remote Information Desk: Computers placed in the Courthouse lobby allow members of the public to dial a live information specialist, located in a remote office, who can direct them to the appropriate office or Courtroom.

E-Court For Litigants: Because many litigants lack access to secure wi-fi, computers and smartphones, the Court established an E-Court in a secure area on the street level of the Courthouse, and at its new satellite Court facility at the St. Louis County Government Center in St. Ann. Multiple computer kiosks, equipped with disposable headphones and sound barriers, allow litigants to participate remotely in Courtroom proceedings including landlord-tenant and small claims dockets, associate criminal matters, name changes, preliminary family Court proceedings, weddings and Order of Protection hearings. Since the E-Court in Clayton opened in Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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September, it has served more than 1,000 litigants.

Satellite Court at The Crossings at Northwest: The Court completed planning and groundwork for the first full-time satellite location in St. Ann, expanding access to justice for residents of North St. Louis County. The new facility offers numerous benefits for residents, including: Computer kiosks linked to the main Courthouse in Clayton will be available for litigants to participate remotely in Courtroom proceedings including landlord-tenant and small claims dockets, associate criminal matters, name changes, preliminary family Court proceedings, weddings and Order of Protection hearings.

Landlord/tenant mediation services for eviction cases will be available through the St. Louis Mediation Project, coordinated by Washington University School of Law’s Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Program, which also provides free, pre-eviction mediation services in the North County community.

An Office of Adult Abuse will be staffed by Court clerks to assist victims of domestic violence who wish to file for Orders of Protection. Domestic Violence specialists and volunteers will be available to help victims access community resources, such as emergency and long-term housing, counseling and job training.

Staggered Court Dockets: Once the Court is in Operating Phase II and Phase III, allowing greater public access to the building and resumption of in-person hearings and trials, it will institute staggered docketing.

This will allow the Court to limit population density within the building and allow for maintaining social distance.

Flexible Work Hours To Accommodate the Public: Once the Court has moved to Phase II, it expects a flood of new filings, as well as movement on the backlog of filings, trials and matters delayed due to the pandemic. Several options are being explored that will allow Court employees to work flexible hours in order to ensure prompt service and public access to justice.

Zoom and Outdoor Weddings: Zoom weddings are simple and popular. Participants appreciate that they can be home with their families and get married without masks. One Zoom wedding made it possible for family members in China to participate. Weddings are also being held outdoors, reducing the risk of exposure to the virus and accommodating the need for social distance.

Drop Box for Pro Se Litigant Filings: A time-stamped drop box has been placed just inside the Courthouse doors in Clayton, allowing pro se litigants to file paperwork 24/7 without having to enter the building.

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Virtual Town Hall Meetings: The Presiding Judge initiated a series of popular Town Hall meetings for municipal Court officials and for members of the legal community to share information about current and future changes in Court operations and field questions. Nearly one thousand individuals participated.

Juror Notification Services: Jurors will be able to contact the Court the evening before their scheduled service to determine whether they will be needed. Notification is accessible by recorded phone message, website notification, or text message.

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JUSTICE SERVICES The St. Louis County Department of Justice Services is responsible for the overall management, operation, and security of the St. Louis County Jail. The department provides secure custody and supervision to incarcerated individuals through direct supervision. It is also responsible for the necessary guidance for individuals to improve their lives before re-entering the community.

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Highlights from Justice Services in 2020 include: Appointed New Director: Justice Services went through a change in leadership in 2020. In response to a number of staff-filed personnel complaints regarding management of the department, Dr. Page contracted with a firm to examine operations, procedures and staff concerns at the jail, an analysis that continues. Doug Burris, a nationally recognized corrections reformer and former federal court official, was appointed in September to run Justice Services and remains as Director.

Working to Reduce Jail Population: The Justice Center carried on with work begun four years ago to reduce the jail population. In fact, the number of inmates at the jail had dropped 30 percent since 2016. However, this population increased during the pandemic. In response, Population Review Teams were established to identify factors resulting in long stays in jail. Enhanced pretrial reform was established with two case managers that currently provide enhanced pretrial supervision and support, as well as connections with substance abuse and mental health community services.

An evidence-based pretrial assessment is now utilized more accurately to screen, release, and supervise individuals based on evidence-based criteria. Initial appearance representation now provides early defense representation at arraignment and bond reduction hearings for pretrial detainees. Expedited probation now takes place where in-house Missouri probation officers screen individuals awaiting probation violation proceedings to identify the nature of the violation and get them re-connected with probation.

In addition, the Justice Center staff have worked with the St. Louis County Circuit Court, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s office, public defenders, and others to reduce the jail population. This partnership led to numerous inmates being released to the community, a structured living institution, or a treatment facility. Short of this collaboration, the jail population would likely be over capacity. Additionally, County Circuit Court judges twice reviewed those with medical conditions identified by the CDC as high risk for the pandemic, and found ways to safely release some of these individuals to other facilities or the community.

Addressing Disparities at the Justice Center: We have seen a decline in racial disparities in average daily population and length of stay at the jail, but there is still much work to be done. The Department of Justice Services formed an Ethnic and Racial Disparities committee comprised of criminal justice stakeholders, representatives from community advocacy groups, and individuals with lived experiences to help guide our work through the systems change methodology.

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Probation and Pre-Trial Advancements: Probation and pre-trial offices remained productive during the pandemic. They expanded the Department of Justice Services’ role in helping the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Diversion and Deferred Prosecution Program in its effort to reduce criminal justice involvement and recidivism for individuals in need of substance abuse treatment. Meanwhile, Temporary Bail Project guidelines were established allowing for the posting of bonds through the use of phone call interviews and the wiring of funds to the Department of Justice Services Fiscal Unit, thus eliminating the need to enter the facility for that purpose. The probation office also developed and received approval from the Presiding Judge to donate food and supplies to food banks (in lieu of community service for two months), that were in desperate need of donations, especially in light of those suffering financially due to the pandemic. Over $25,000 in food and supplies were collected and donated to the food bank. Probation also arranged for Zoom meetings for DWI alumni groups, the domestic violence panel classes, and the victim impact panel classes. Probation staff attended virtual court hearings and developed processes to continue phone enrollment for those ordered on probation, community service and pretrial. Since implementation of virtual proceedings, the number of clients ordered to participate and placed into the pretrial program increased by 40 percent.

Winter Clothing for Parolees: Justice Center employees joined with the Clark Fox Family Foundation in collecting hundreds of items of winter clothing in 2020. These garments were distributed to parolees who otherwise would have had nothing warm to wear upon release from jail in the dead of winter.

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MUNICIPAL COURT The St. Louis County Municipal Court adjudicates county ordinance violations including driving under the influence; assault; domestic violence; traffic; health; housing; and zoning.

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Highlights of the departments work in 2020 included: New Case Management: The court switched to a new case management system, a move expected to save the County $171,000 per year. The new system (SMC) is owned, developed and managed by the state judiciary at no software cost to St. Louis County. The new system allows the Municipal Court to utilize case.net for all cases, mirroring all other courts in the state and increasing transparency in case management. New system is also more convenient for attorneys.

Meanwhile, self-represented litigants will still be able to file using in-person interactions, fax, mail, and email.

Virtual Hearings: Began offering virtual hearings the Spring of 2020 in light of the pandemic.

In-house Financial Management: The new case management system includes an accounting feature and court funds are required to be kept separate from other government funds. Last year, Municipal Courts opened a court bank account for the collection and disbursement of collected funds monthly.

By taking back the management of court finances, the court will be able to accept payments during night court sessions while also continuing to accept payments electronically and by mail. The court also acquired the services of a third-party credit card vendor under the state judiciary contract at no cost to the court.

Court Relief: A new Court Relief program was made available to individuals with outstanding fines and costs owed, pending cases, and outstanding warrants. Defendants with outstanding fines could speak with the judge virtually to enter into payment plans without threat of warrant or arrest for lack of payment. Likewise, defendants with outstanding warrants may request that their warrant be recalled and resolve their case or be given a court date to address the case.

And defendants with outstanding pending cases may speak virtually with the judge to resolve their case. As with all voluntary virtual hearings, the defendant chooses the appointment time via the appointment scheduler online.

Personnel Development: Municipal Court leadership re-worked job responsibilities to empower supervisors as court leaders and added emphasis on career development and education for court staff.

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PARKS AND RECREATION The St. Louis County Department of Parks and Recreation provides high quality parks, facilities, and recreation services that enhance residents’ lives through responsible and effective management of resources.

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The department’s projects in 2020 included: Winter Wonderland: Parks Department staff again decorated Tilles Park with several million lights as Winter Wonderland marked its 35th anniversary. This year’s display featured dozens of new exhibits.

Winter Wonderland is one of the region’s most popular holiday season attractions, drawing about 150,000 visitors a year. This season, the event was open only to carriages and vehicles in order to maintain social distancing in the midst of the pandemic. Winter Wonderland opened on Nov. 25 and operated through Jan. 2.

Park Ranger Activities: In 2020, Park Rangers made 129,172 public relations contacts, secured 14,306 gates and 15,481 restrooms. Park Rangers assigned to the patrol unit logged 455 hours of foot patrol, 150 hours of bicycle patrol, and 105 hours of ATV/UTV patrols, all in addition to their routine vehicle patrols. Park Rangers issued 1,590 warnings, 865 citations, six courts summons in lieu of arrest, and wrote 152 reports. Park Rangers also managed deer hunts in County parks; 146 deer were harvested in 2020. Park Rangers also staffed and provided security for the Winter Wonderland event. When not enforcing ordinances, the County’s Park Rangers presented more than 80 programs to the public on subjects including geocaching, spelunking, floating, trail riding, fishing, archery, fall colors, animal habits, hiking and other subjects at County parks and other locations throughout the region.

Park Environmental/Natural Resource Projects: Parks workers planted trees, managed land through prescribed burns and treated the parks for invasive species. The work included: Planting 150 trees at Winter Park, 420 trees at Little Creve Coeur Wetland and installing 1,200 willow stakes at Lower Meramec.

Chemically treating over 330 acres of prairie & woodlands for invasive species.

Conducting prescribe burns on 40 acres of parkland.

Prepping 20 acres for 2021 prairie plantings.

Assisting Parks Design and Development Group with Little Creve Coeur Wetland Mitigation Project .

Parks Construction/Maintenance Projects: The parks department staff, which includes numerous skilled trades workers, completed scores of repair, construction and maintenance projects in 2020. Among the jobs by crew: Carpentry: Parks Department carpenters completed 61 work orders and projects in 2020. The work included pouring 185 yards of concrete at various sites.

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Plumbing: Parks plumbers completed 103 work orders/projects, tested 72 backflows and pulled and completed three permits.

Welding: Parks welders completed 55 work orders and projects in 2020.

Sign shop: Crews from the sign shop completed 202 work orders/projects encompassing 1,575 signs and decals.

Grading: Grading crews completed 125 work orders, which involved 580 loads of various material dirt, debris, mulch, salt, asphalt and concrete debris, totaling 10,440 tons. In addition, the crews hauled 3046 tons of rock. Total tonnage of all types of material hauled was 13,486.

Crews also moved 237 pieces of equipment and used 3,507 gallons of diesel fuel to get the work done.

Asphalt: Parks asphalt crews maintained park roads, sidewalks and parking lots throughout the system.

96 asphalt work orders were completed and 1073.49 tons of asphalt were laid.

Electrical: Parks electricians completed 68 work orders in 2020. Two major projects were ball field lighting at Spanish Lake Park and setting up Winter Wonderland in Tilles Park.

Parks Operations/Maintenance: In addition to work performed in County parks, Parks Operation/Maintenance crews also helped other departments throughout the County. Their work included: 45,284 acres mowed.

16,170 restrooms cleaned/sanitized.

6,840 shelters prepared for use.

10,888 miles of asphalt trails maintained.

44,000 55-gallon drums of trash removed.

1,360 playground inspections completed.

1,320 playgrounds sanitized.

Assisting other agencies: Set up two 30-foot by 30-foot tents for Board of Elections in November.

Memorial Park events – Set up tents for weddings, luncheons, and over sidewalks for Revenue, Police, and Administration departments.

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Parks Department Design and Development Group Projects: This division of the Parks and Recreation Department oversees construction projects and renovation work. Highlights from the group’s projects in 2020 included: Bee Tree Park: Initiated design of a new parking lot and ADA-compliant shared use path connections throughout the park.

Creve Coeur Park: Demolished the old Lakeside Center facility, opening up space in the park for the public to enjoy and to allow for future development of the site.

Creve Coeur Park: Developed 21 acres of new wetlands. This new wetland offers park visitors the opportunity to view wildlife and plants in a more natural setting.

Greensfelder Park: Replaced the septic system for the residence and maintenance building.

Jefferson Barracks Park: Completed the installation of an expanded parking lot at the Pavilion at Lemay.

Kinloch Park: Developed a schematic design for park redevelopment.

Lemay Park: Initiated design to renovate the restroom.

Lower Meramec: Performed flood plain study to pave the gravel parking area.

Mathilda-Wehlmering Park: Began a project to replace the restroom and splash fountain, and expand the parking area.

Ohlendorf Park: Connected the existing restroom to public sewer.

Queeny Park: Designed a renovation of the Greensfelder Recreation Complex. The design will address the exterior of the facility along with mechanical, HVAC, roof and interior renovations of the facility. Construction will take place in 2021.

Queeny Park: Worked with Park Foundation on design for playground replacement.

Spanish Lake Park: Installed a replacement restroom next to the O’Mara Shelter.

Spanish Lake Park: Installed a replacement restroom and an expanded parking area by the Manny-Broadway shelter.

Spanish Lake Park: Initiated designs of a new parking lot and ADA-compliant shared use path connections throughout the park.

St. Vincent Park: Resurfaced playground area.

Suson Park: Worked with the Union Sportsmen Alliance to plan for the installation of a new shelter by the rearing pond.

Veterans Memorial Park: Designed, permitted, and purchased an ADA panel to upgrade the monument.

Park Program Services (PPS) Division: The PPS division handles recreation complexes and cultural sites in County parks. Highlights of the division’s general and administrative accomplishments throughout the County’s network of parks in 2020 included:

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Created a Park Ambassadors program on short notice to remind park visitors to follow pandemic guidelines in order to enjoy parks safety as they reopened after the pandemic shutdown. Staff throughout the department filled more than 200 shifts for this initiative.

Created 450-plus cloth face coverings for employees to utilize while masks and other face coverings were extremely hard to find early in the pandemic.

Hosted census employee trainings at eight different locations.

Hosted a number of events during the pandemic. Each of these activities had a pandemic plan reviewed and approved by the St. Louis County Department of Public Health. A total of 4,839 people attended these activities, including cross county meets, sailing races, open water swim training, bike races and paddling events.

More than 170,000 people enjoyed Winter Wonderland -- an all-time record.

Wrote Recreation & Community Center COVID-19 Reopening Guidelines for the Department of Public Health.

Negotiated the framework of a lease for the Jarville House and former Dog Museum in Queeny Park which would save the Parks Department hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses and directly generate $4,396,064.59 in revenue over the course of the 50-year lease. This potential lease now must be approved by the citizens of St. Louis County in an upcoming election.

Affton Community Center Painted the community room, gym, air vents and ducts, and lobby entrance.

Added lobby lighting to improve visibility, and completely redesigned and replanted flower beds in front of the facility.

Trimmed and otherwise maintained trees throughout the park.

Constructed three diversion walls at Moss Shelter to alleviate erosion issues.

Painted Moss Shelter restrooms, restroom and floor of Carriage House, restroom at the maintenance building. and the underground restroom.

Took down old frame, assembled new canopy frame and installed the 30-foot by 30-foot canopy on the Carriage House deck.

Maintained, de-installed and installed several pieces of art in collaboration with the preparator from the non-profit partner organization.

Began working on nature mural for maintenance building.

North County Recreation Complex Prepared facility for Department of Human Services to use as a pandemic quarantine site for homeless individuals and veterans.

Installed portable power panel and new clothes dryer for quarantine site.

Sanitized and cleaned locker room for use of patrons in quarantine site.

Hired 40 seasonal summer staff and new Recreation Facility Coordinator.

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Despite pandemic restrictions, and being closed from mid-March to June, the North County Recreation Center complex had 253 rentals.

Hosted County parks first disc golf tournament at Jefferson Barracks Park, drawing 66 participants and generating almost $1,000 in entrance fee proceeds.

Hosted a summer camp from June 8 to Aug. 7.

Offered weekly senior meetings while following pandemic restrictions.

Operated a pool season from June 20 to Sept. 7 with no major mechanical issues.

St. Vincent Community Center Painted the gymnasium, back hallway and fitness room and the doors to the front and back entrances and restrooms.

Fort Belle Fontaine Hosted Eagle Watch and Trail Hike that drew 300 people in January.

Lone Elk Conservation and trail easements completed next to Lone Elk Park. The easements will allow for future trail development.

Bissell House Replaced dilapidated brick sidewalk with an ADA-compliant stamped concrete walkway.

The new sidewalk matches the color and distressed look of a brick sidewalk.

Removed tree and shrubs adjacent to the historic structure to restore historically accurate appearance and protect building foundation from root damage.

Abated mold issues in the interior hallways.

Hosted an exhibit of Staffordshire Pottery.

Kennedy Recreation Complex Managed Mid-States high school hockey playoff games.

Hosted Sweetheart Open (multi-state figure skating competition).

Held a year end recital for Kennedy Learn to Skate participants that drew 450 attendees.

Painted and re-designed press box in ice rink, re-designed Kennedy Complex lobby, concession stands and complex doors.

Ran nine weeks of Camp Kennedy following pandemic guidelines.

Planted and cared for the community garden.

Provided lifeguards and other summer employees with face coverings made of swimsuit material.

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Faust Park Painted and tuck-pointed Hoch House, Bates House at Thornhill, Made and rebuilt windows on Mertz Bates House.

Replaced and repaired siding on Thornhill barn and machine shed.

Repaired, stripped and cleared St. Louis Carousel gears and cranks and repaired and painted eight St. Louis Carousel horses.

Repaired Governor Bates Trail six times following heavy rains.

Removed 34 truckloads of honeysuckle from the park.

Installed new roofs on wood shed and other out buildings.

Planted and maintained three historic gardens.

Hosted Historic Village and Thornhill open house programs, four themed program events at Village and Thornhill, seven Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce Concerts, and two other events with the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce.

Replaced carpet and fencing and remodeled gift shop in the St. Louis Carousel.

Creve Coeur Park Soccer Complex Transitioned management of the complex from a third party (Vetta Sports) to fully in-house saving more than $200,000 annually going forward.

Installed improved way finding signage for better customer service and safety, including signage on Highway 364 and along Highway 141.

Developed and launched a new website: www.CCParkSoccer.com.

Opened new 360-foot by 345-foot natural grass field space - the “Bluemuda Superpitch.”

Generated more than $500,000 in revenue in spite of a year that was riddled with uncertainty due to the pandemic.

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PLANNING The St. Louis County Planning Department reviews plans and plats affecting land in unincorporated St. Louis County. These may include new projects that require rezoning or re-subdividing or just redevelopment of an existing property. The department staffs the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustment and are the County’s liaison to the Boundary Commission.

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Throughout the year, the Department of Planning reviewed and/or approved the following: 152 applications to the Board of Zoning Adjustment seeking a variance to the zoning requirements.

23 rezoning petitions requiring a public hearing before the Planning Commission.

45 site plans submitted for development.

36 subdivision plats were reviewed.

13 subdivision plats were recorded creating 118 new lots.

2 Boundary Commission matters were reviewed and analyzed.

Financial Details: A part of the land development process is the financial guarantee needed for the proposed improvements. The Planning Department prepares, calculates, collects and then releases after inspection the letter of credit or cash deposit for subdivisions; major land disturbances; and new landscaping. In 2020: Subdivision escrows totaled - $1,532,305.

29 major land disturbance escrows - $549,160.

11 agreements for landscaping - $333,240.

Virtual Meetings: Prior to April 2020, the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustment held their meetings in the Council chambers. Once the Administration building was closed to the public, the Department of Planning pivoted to using the WebEx platform for our public meetings. The public was invited to attend the virtual meetings and participate via their computer or phone.

Instructions were developed to explain the process and also reaffirmed at each meeting. We seamlessly continued our public process for these weekly/monthly meetings.

The Planning staff moved to a remote work model at the end of March. The department developed a rotating schedule so that there was always a planner and administrative staff in the office on a daily basis. This information was posted to the County website and internal customers were alerted. No service was cut, nor were phone calls dropped. In an effort to ease access to our massive paper file inventory, Planning digitized many records: 3,341 Planning Commission reports dating back to 1982.

1,426 Planning Commission Conditional Use Permits dating back to 1965.

YouTube Channel for Planning: In response to the pandemic, the Department of Planning moved all Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustment public meetings to a video conference setting using WebEx. In the spring, the Department of Planning created a YouTube Channel to publish recordings of all public meetings. This increased accessibility by the public as previous public meetings were

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recorded on cassette tape. This meant that members of the public and stakeholders had to come into the Planning Department office to listen to the tape and/or make a copy. With the new system the recordings of all meetings, which now include video of participants and plans/site photos/maps, are easily found and shared.

Action Plan for Walking and Biking- Core Team member: Throughout 2020, the Department of Planning continued its role on the Action Plan for Walking and Biking Core Team. The goal of the Action Plan is to foster a safer, more connected and convenient bicycle and pedestrian network for St. Louis County. In early 2020, the County began to develop initial recommendations for physical, programmatic, and policy recommendations. These draft recommendations were shared with the Core Team and Advisory Committees for initial review and refinement before being shared with the public during the final round of engagement. In-person public participation was disrupted by the pandemic. The engagement approach was moved to online and virtual platforms, including an online mapping tool where residents and stakeholders were able to make over 1,000 comments directly on the map of plan recommendations, an online survey with 438 completions, and a virtual town hall with over 125 participants. The Department of Planning participated in a panel discussion at the virtual town hall in July to speak about the plan’s goals and how walking and biking infrastructure can play a part in creating more opportunities for more St. Louis County residents.

In October of 2020, the Action Plan Core Team installed a temporary bike lane and crosswalk demonstration project on Midland Boulevard adjacent to Heman Park in University City. The temporary installation served two main purposes. First, it provided community residents with an opportunity to experience firsthand the recommended improvements in the Action Plan.

Second, it offered an opportunity for the County to evaluate traffic impacts of and public response to one of the plan’s recommendations for a key corridor on the network. The Department of Planning assisted in gathering traffic speeds before/after the intervention, as well as the actual installation of the bike lane and crosswalk.

With input obtained through a variety of virtual platforms, the County then worked to finalize the Action Plan recommendations and develop implementation strategies to advance the Action Plan’s vision and goals once adopted. The Department of Planning participated in Core Team meetings to review the draft plan document. The Action Plan for Walking and Biking is projected for presentation to the County Council in early 2021.

Boundary Commission: In 2020, the Planning Department continued to act as the County’s primary contact with the St. Louis County Boundary Commission, which is a body created by state statute and charged with reviewing and acting upon requests for annexation and other municipal boundary

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changes in the County. The Boundary Commission is made up of eleven members, with four appointed by the County Executive, four appointed by the Municipal League, and three appointed jointly by the County Executive and Municipal League.

Planning staff shepherded two annexation proposals through County review and Commission approval. The annexation of the Waterford Subdivision by the City of Ballwin was completed in the fall, taking a small unincorporated pocket into the city. The annexation of the Simpson Sand & Gravel site by the City of Valley Park was also concluded in fall. As part of this annexation action, an easement was dedicated to the County to protect the view of motorists along I-44 from the use.

Additionally, staff attended the Boundary Commission’s monthly meetings, compiled information about boundary actions between municipalities, and generally kept abreast of expected municipal boundary change proposals.

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POLICE The St. Louis County Police Department exists to serve the community by protecting life and property; by preventing crime; by enforcing the laws; and by maintaining order for all people.

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Notable achievements by the department in 2020 included: Use of Force Policy Review: In response to a request in June from County Executive Page, the County Police Department and the Board of Police Commissioners began coordinating with two nationally known former police chiefs in a review of the department’s policy and training on use of force and its community policing strategies, with a commitment to make reforms as necessary. This review also will explore the best ways to provide training in cultural, racial and community sensitivity, de-escalation and implicit bias. And it will look into whether other types of professionals, such as nurses or social workers, would be more appropriate to respond to some crises. County police have also held virtual webinars to promote a better understanding of department policies and to gather input for improvement from the public.

Uninterrupted Service: Despite having 163 staff test positive for the pandemic, the St. Louis County Police Department did not experience a drop in services provided and no call went unanswered. This consistent service included County police responding to heavier than normal calls during periods of protests following the death of George Floyd and a case of alleged police brutality in Florissant, which led to weeks of protests in that municipality. (The overwhelming majority of those individuals who contracted the pandemic virus recovered and returned to service in quick fashion.)

Appointment of First Woman as Chief: The St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners selected police Capt. Mary Barton as the ninth chief in the department’s history and the first woman to serve as its leader. Barton had been with the department for more than 41 years. She assumed the top position on May 1. In advance of Barton’s appointment, the department held a series of public “listening sessions” throughout the County and heard from scores of residents about what they expected regarding the process for selecting a new chief.

New Police Commissioner: The Board of Police Commissioners welcomed a new member, Mr. Richard Banks, who fills the position vacated by Dr. LJ Punch. Well-known in the St. Louis Region, Commissioner Banks has been proactively learning about the workings of the Department and visiting precincts and other work units.

CALEA Re-accreditation: The Department was re-accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA). The accrediting organization was created in 1979 as a credentialing authority through the joint efforts of law enforcement’s major executive associations. The CALEA Accreditation program seals are reserved for use by those public safety agencies that have demonstrated compliance with CALEA Standards and have been awarded CALEA Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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Accreditation by the Commission. The certificate of advanced accreditation was received on April 2, 2020.

Coordination with Local, State and Federal Agencies: The County Police Department’s relationships with Federal law enforcement agencies, BiState/Metro Transit, and police departments across the region and state have continued to be very strong. The department investigated 71 homicides in 2020 (up from 66 in 2019), with 54 in unincorporated St. Louis County and areas to which the department provides contracted police services, and 17 in County municipalities. The department’s “clearance rate” for homicides was 87% in 2020.

Meanwhile, the department’s Crime Laboratory received a total of 15,527 requests for forensics testing, with almost half of them coming from municipal agencies, while completing 16,163 requests/case reports in 2020. And the St. Louis Regional Bomb and Arson Unit, a collaboration between the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, cooperated on investigations of 377 fires and arsons throughout the area and handled 65 explosives related incidents. The Department handled approximately 915 aggravated assaults with firearms in 2020. This is a significant increase of approximately 43% over the 639 in 2019. Another significant increase is in the theft of motor vehicles. In 2020, the department handled 1,638 incidents compared to the 1,304 in 2019, a 26% increase.

[Those crimes represent numbers of only the unincorporated areas of St. Louis County and the municipalities that our Department provides full services to. It is not representative of those incidents handled by municipal police departments within St. Louis County.

Local, State, National Campaigns: The department participated in numerous other campaigns on a national, state, and local level.

They included: Telecommunicators Week; Click it or Ticket in May; Saturation Saturday in August; the DEA National Drug Take Back; the Police Officer Tamarris Bohannon Food Drive; and the Blake Snyder Coat Drive. And on Aug. 29, the department participated in Saturation Saturday with 50 police departments throughout Missouri. On Saturation Saturday, police departments statewide step up their visibility and DWI enforcement. Police Recruits: In 2020, the St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy (CMPA) graduated 56 total recruits in two classes, with 41 of them joining our St. Louis County Police Department. We hope to have at least two recruit classes in 2021. Also in 2020, the department had as many as 17 participants at a time in the Cadet program.

Boosting Gender Diversity in Police Ranks: In September, County police held a Women in Policing recruitment and educational event at the Police Academy. The event was filled to capacity, prompting plans to schedule additional events in the near future.

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Officers Honored: In October, four County officers received Back the Blue Awards from Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt. These statewide awards are in recognition of officers whose service has gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Updated Organizational Chart: The organizational chart was updated to result in a more effective and efficient organization.

The updated organizational chart includes the creation of the Bureau of Community Engagement, which is located within the Division of Human Resources. This Bureau will be responsible for ensuring the Department works collaboratively with its employees and community stakeholders to address issues affecting the well-being of all. The Bureau is comprised of the Diversity and Inclusion Unit and the Community Outreach Unit. The Community Outreach Unit is responsible for developing and fostering activities and services within the community through educational, social, and support initiatives, such as the School Resources Officers, Police Athletic League (PAL), the Citizen Police Academy, as well as the Explorer, Career and Pathways through Law Enforcement (CAPLE), and Cadets.

Improved Response to Public Information Requests: Last year, County police coordinated with the County’s IT department to develop a new portal to access and request public information records from the police department. In addition to relaying information more quickly to the public, the new process is expected to save the County about $10,000 a year.

Diaper Bank Donations: Last year, County Police Department staff contributed about 1,200 diapers to the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank’s “Changing Diapers, Changing Lives” fundraiser.

New Unit: These changes also include the newly formed Wellness Unit. It is responsible for ensuring the mental, physical, and emotional health of Department employees. The Unit does this by identifying resources for employees, assisting employees in crisis, providing training, educational seminars, and workshops. The Unit manages all department “Help services,” Including the Peer Support Program, the Police Chaplain Program, and psychological services.

Teneo Report: The County Police Department and the city of St. Louis Police Department were the subjects of a report prepared by New York-based Teneo and funded by Centene Corp. and other major regional corporations. Among other findings, the report called on the chiefs of both departments, their command staffs and specialized task forces to talk with one another almost Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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daily, and to regularly share crime analyses and investigations intelligence. The Teneo report also recommended that the department address “a serious racial divide” within the ranks.

Formulating Crisis Communications Plan: The Public Information Office is currently authoring a crisis communications plan, as recommended by the Teneo group. It will be superior in quality and will serve as a template that can be applied to incidents that include, but are not limited to: critical incidents involving an officer, including the use of deadly force, acts of terrorism, active shooter or mass casualty incident, HAZMAT Event, significant incidents in/around a school, place of worship, or public transportation, significant natural events (flood, tornado, fire, earthquake), protests/demonstrations, civil unrest/riots, in-custody deaths, personnel issues (on or offduty). [Two crises that are especially unique, a line of duty death and lawsuits, whether internal or external, require their own specific approaches.]

Forensic Science Grant: On 10/14/2020, the Department received notification from Attorney General Barr, that the Office of Justice Programs has approved the grant application submitted for an award under the funding opportunity entitled BJA FY 20 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program. The approved award amount is $244,275.

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PUBLIC HEALTH The Saint Louis County Department of Public Health (DPH) strives to keep St. Louis County one of the best places in the region to live, work, or visit. The department accomplishes this through the regular assessment of the health and environment of the County and by responding with sound policies that help assure the availability of high-quality public health services for everyone.

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The department’s achievements in 2020 included: DPH Reorganization: DPH administration instituted several organizational changes in 2020, including the creation of the Office of Communications and the Office of Strategy and Planning. The Office of Communications centralizes DPH’s communications to the public. Previously, the department’s communication functions were spread out among different offices and programs, making strategic planning and work prioritization difficult. The new Office of Strategy and Planning is responsible for the long-term strategic planning, accreditation, and grant-writing functions of the department. Meanwhile, the Office of Human Resources, which previously existed as its own division in DPH, had its functions moved to the DPH Administration Division.

Grant and Contract Compliance Team: DPH Fiscal Services continued building a team in 2020 focused on grants, contracts, and legislation. They have invested hundreds of hours of professional development in overseeing the complicated processes of navigating grants and contracts from state, federal, private, and other County sources while adhering to all applicable laws. The compliance team had been preparing all DPH grants to be able to meet the federal rules for sub-awardees and subcontractors for the last two years, which positioned them well to be able to rapidly monitor compliance on a variety of pandemic- related initiatives, including all CARES spending that went through DPH. Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Look-Alike Status: Department leadership briefed the DPH Advisory Board on plans to seek FQHC Look-Alike status. This status would allow DPH to receive federal funds to provide primary care services in underserved areas. Leadership explained that DPH would realize a significant cost-savings from the discounted cost of pharmaceuticals and that DPH would create a community advisory board, which will include DPH patients.

Securing Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Status: Secured in November, PCMH status required DPH staff to go through an extensive review process of the department’s approach to patient care. PCMH is a model of health care that provides a wide range of services in one place with providers who know patients personally and are focused on addressing all patient health needs using quality evidence-based medicine.

Charter Amendments: Throughout 2020, DPH leadership worked with members of the Charter Commission to update the language capturing DPH’s responsibilities within the County’s Charter. These changes were approved by voters in August, and include the following:

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Changes to the qualifications of Director of DPH. Requirements to assess the health status of the population and environmental status of the community.

Prepare for emergencies affecting the health of the population and participate in deploying public health staff in the event of any emergencies, disasters, or epidemics.

Ensure availability of services, programs, and access to care, including providing direct clinical services.

Inform and educate the population and act as a community resource on health-related topics.

Prescription Drug Monitoring Program and Response to Opioid Crisis: With $3 million in previously obtained federal grants, DPH developed a “Provider Toolbox,” releasing it in January. This Toolbox highlights evidence-based practices and guidelines to help healthcare providers deliver compassionate, clinically appropriate pain management and opioid use disorder treatment. This Toolbox is intended to be a resource for healthcare providers and is not intended to provide medical advice. This resource can be found at stlouisco.com/opioids and is also linked in the PDMP for healthcare providers as part of patient care.

In January, DPH also sent out ‘Prescribing Summaries” to designated physicians, dentists, optometrists, and podiatrists. Prescribing Summaries are meant to be an informative resource, comparing providers’ prescribing information to their peers and highlighting potentially risky prescribing, such as co-prescribing opioids and benzodiazepines.

DPH also launched the Narcan Distribution Program in February, and it is now available for free at all three clinic locations during business hours, with no ID required, and no questions asked. County residents are also eligible to receive a free Narcan rescue kit by mail based on availability.

Corrections Medicine: DPH clinical leadership have reimagined how clinical care is delivered in Corrections Medicine so that the department can continue to adapt to the changing and varied clinical needs of our patients. In May, the clinical care model fully transitioned to one that provides access to around-the-clock care for patients in the Justice Center and the Juvenile Detention Center.

DPH has also partnered with EMS providers to provide additional staff, as DPH continues to work through staffing shortages within the Corrections Medicine program.

Animal Care and Control Impoundment Hearing on Abuse/Neglect: DPH worked with the County Counselor's office to determine an appropriate process by which the enforcement mechanisms in the St. Louis County Animal Codes could be implemented to further protect animals in our jurisdiction. DPH began a formal impoundment process, seizing Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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animals found to be abused or neglected, allowing a due process procedure, and finalizing pathways for seized animals to be rescued or adopted out to improve their lives.

American Public Health Association Excellence in Research Award for Breast Cancer: The Chronic Disease Epidemiology team, led by Dr. Nhial Tutlam, was awarded this prestigious award at the 2020 American Public Health Association meeting. The research looked at the breast cancer disparities present in the African American community in St. Louis.

The team worked with the Siteman Cancer Center and the Washington University Center for the Prevention of Cancer Disparities to analyze the data detailing the study.

Potential Updates to the Food Code: In February, staff presented the DPH Advisory Board with information about potential changes to the Food Code. Currently, the County’s Food Code is outdated; updating it could result in an increase in revenue for DPH and increased food safety for St. Louis County. This project was put on hold due to the onset of the pandemic.

New Advisory Board Appointments: At the end of 2020, current Advisory Board members and two most recent additions to the Advisory Board, Dr. Vetta Thompson and Dr. Karl Shanker, attended a St. Louis County Council Committee of the Whole, during which Council members posed questions to candidates for re-appointment or to the candidates for their first appointment. Shortly thereafter, the County Council approved the re-appointments and appointments before them for the DPH Advisory Board, bringing the Advisory Board to its full strength.

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PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION The Department of Transportation and Public Works is dedicated to promoting the health, safety and wellbeing of St. Louis County residents through an exceptional transportation system, reasonable application of accepted building and property maintenance codes, accommodating building spaces and enhanced public service.

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The department’s achievements in 2020 included: Providing Consistent Service: The Department of Transportation and Public Works continued to provide the vital services necessary for safe construction and maintenance throughout the County, while also continuing to improve and enhance our transportation infrastructure. In 2020, Public Works issued over 54,000 Code Enforcement permits, and performed over 135,000 construction inspections and 13,000 property maintenance inspections. Meanwhile, transportation bid $26 million in major transportation projects and pavement maintenance programs, including $2 million in signal improvements that support MoDOT’s I-270 Design Build project; $9.9 million in road resurfacing on the arterial network; $3.8 million in bridge and culvert repairs; and $3.8 million in concrete replacement. And looking ahead, the department also secured $14.1 million in federal fund support for eight County projects as part of the 2021-2024 Transportation Improvement Program.

Upgrading Permit System: The Department of Transportation and Public Works collaborated with the County’s Information Technology Department to upgrade the Accela permitting system. Accela is a software solution that has provided plan review, permitting and inspection information through automated application. The system also includes a public access portal that allows customers to track and manage permit applications. The upgrade process will continue into the new year. The upgrades, coupled with additional enhancements to the Accela system, will ensure that Accela can continue to meet plan review and permitting requirements while also providing a foundation to support the Electronic Plan Review plug-in. Intergovernmental Collaboration: The Department of Transportation and Public Works partnered with the Missouri Department of Transportation on the I-270 Design Build project, providing MoDOT with $6.3 million to support additional scope-of-work items not originally included in the project but which provided added capacity and a trail network for pedestrians that will benefit County residents. Also, the County committed in 2020 to forward funding $2 million in much needed operational enhancements so that our road network could mitigate traffic issues triggered by MoDOT’s project.

Enhancing Energy Efficiency: The Department of Transportation and Public Works completed additional LED lighting retrofits so that 88 percent of County facilities now have energy efficient lighting; a grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources helped fund this project.

Maintaining Fleet: The Transportation section Fleet division is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the County’s fleet of motorized vehicles, motorized equipment, vehicle procurement, vehicle and equipment liquidation, parking garages, and fueling stations; serving the needs of all County Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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departments.

In 2020, the Transportation section Fleet division maintained over 3,600 vehicles and equipment items; led 22 Fleet technicians to complete 20,000 individual repairs on 10,816 work-orders; validated parts purchases for $1.3 million in parts acquisitions. This work enabled County Departments to travel 14.6 Million miles in 2020.

The Transportation section Fleet division managed the County’s vehicle and equipment acquisitions; reduced administrative burden by taking advantage of State and other cooperative contracts; authored 60 vehicle and equipment specifications, performed extensive market research, coordinated with Department representatives, and purchased 129 vehicles and 134 equipment items for County Departments Despite the pandemic, The Department of Transportation and Public Works continued to generate revenue for the County by selling outdated fleet vehicles via a virtual auction. The sale marked the first such virtual sales event for the County.

The Transportation section Fleet division managed the cleanliness, authorizations, parking assignments, payments, snow removal, and operations of 2,542 parking spaces in two County owned garages and one leased parking garage; surveyed area garages to set annual parking rates; managed parking access and revenue control system; processed 275 parking applications; provided parking spaces for over 300,000 parkers to include the Public and over 2,100 Clayton Complex Employees The Transportation section Fleet division managed fuel billing and fuel storage compliance; maintained 8 fuel dispensing sites and 21 underground fuel and waste oil storage tanks with a total capacity of 228,000 gallons; complied with Department of Natural Resources and Missouri Petroleum Storage Insurance Tank Fund policies, maintenance, and inspection requirements; dispensed over 1.2 million gallons of fuel at stable prices for County Departments and 9 municipalities; ensured an uninterrupted fuel supply for daily operations, emergency response, and key infrastructure; sustained an average of 20% lower cost fuel savings to the County and 30-60 day stabilized monthly fuel prices.

Maintain and Enhance County Facilities: The Public Works section Facilities division completed 20,078 building maintenance work orders, bid numerous contracts for design, repair and improvements to County facilities, facilitated departmental staff relocations, managed property issues, and completed many important facility projects.

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Engineering and Design: The Facilities division procured engineering services utilizing the Qualifications Based Selection Process to facilitate the design of needed improvements. Engineering Consultants were hired to inspect and provide repair documents for the courts garage, develop a facilities master plan aimed at reducing our office space footprint and expenses, design a multimedia center for the Department of Health, design improvements for the interior of the Courts building, design improvements necessary to relocate the Police fingerprint lab, design for major repairs to the water and sewer systems serving the Police crime lab, design for smaller scale improvements at multiple locations.

Bid Work: The Facilities division bid work for the construction of a new dirt shed for Transportation District 3, bid work for the repair of the South County Health Center wall damaged by an errant vehicle, bid a contract to replace the North County parking lot, bid a demolition contract to remove existing structures from the site of the new Police Precinct 3, bid a contract to replace the flooring in the Justice Center Kitchen, bid a contract janitorial services, bid a contract for on-call roofing repairs, bid a contract for on-call maintenance of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems, and procured furniture for County IT. Staff Relocations: The Facilities division assisted with numerous staff relocations; IT staff was moved out of Northwest Crossings to the Administrative building, the Department of Human Services Office of Community Development division was moved from the Administration building to Northwest Crossings in order to collocate Department of Human Services staff, and planned multiple moves designed to consolidate department staffing for the Police and Administration departments.

Multiple Projects: The Facilities division completed numerous projects in 2020. Of particular note, the department completed additional LED lighting retrofits so that 88 percent of County facilities now have energy efficient lighting. In addition, the division completed painting of critical components in the Shaw garage to prevent deterioration, installed new salt hopper racks and completed building column corrosion repairs to the Transportation District #1 maintenance facility, completed urgent repairs to the Met Center exterior wall, completed abatement and carpeting of 30 large courtrooms in the Courts building, and obtained substantial completion of the $1.3 million dollar renovation and exterior waterproofing of the 911 backup facility in Chesterfield.

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Maintain and Enhance the Transportation Network: The Transportation section provides for maintenance of the county transportation network utilizing a combination of County staff and contracted services. Those responsibilities include permitting of work performed on County right-of-way, generating pavement ratings, securing project funding, acquisition of property rights, maintenance and enhancement of the road network, pedestrian facilities, traffic signals, bridges, and culverts, and procurement of engineering services and construction contracts.

The Transportation section’s Civil Plan Review team issued 2,192 Special Use Permits for work in County road right-of-way in 2020. In coordination, the Project Development division reviewed 12 traffic studies related to private development permitting activities. The Transportation section also completed pavement rating for 1,081 miles of roadway pavement.

The Transportation section’s Operations division worked to ensure immediate issues were remedied, roadways were cleared of snow, and system maintenance was performed to the greatest extent practical within limited resources. In 2020, the Transportation Operations division placed 7,548 tons of asphalt; poured 5,451 cubic yards of concrete on County roads, sidewalks, and driveways; applied 2,069 lane-miles of lane-line striping; mowed 2,073 acres of grass; crack sealed 55 miles of County roads; replaced and installed 9,932 street signs; street sweepers swept 2,876 miles of gutter line; and staff responded to 3,877 citizen requests for service across our roadway system. In addition, during the 2019 – 2020 winter season, the Transportation section Operations Division responded to 8 winter storms. During those storms, staff spread 16,800 tons of salt to melt snow and ice on County roads.

The Transportation section’s bridge inspection personnel complete over 350 inspections on County-maintained bridges and culverts in 2020.

Securing Federal Funding: The Transportation section successfully secured $15 million dollars in federal funding participation as part of the 2021 – 2024 Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) and Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP). The funding will enable the County to perform Pavement repairs, resurfacing, and ADA related upgrades to Woodson Rd. Resurfacing from Kempland Ave. to Brown Rd.; Olive Blvd. from Ferguson Ave. to St. Louis City Limits; North Hanley Road from Natural Bridge Rd. to I-70; West Florissant Resurfacing from Lucas-Hunt Rd. to Solway Ave.; Lackland Rd. from Craig Rd. to west of Concourse Dr.; Sulphur Spring Rd. from Manchester Rd. to Big Bend Rd. In addition, we secured funding to construct new sidewalks along Larimore Rd. Sidewalk from Trampe Ave. to Gerona Ave. and along Old Jamestown Road Sidewalk from Hazelwood Central Middle School to Jamestown Elementary School. Finally, we secured funding to reconstruct the South Woods Mill Rd. and Conway Rd. Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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intersection signal and reconstruct the Reavis Barracks Rd. bridge and provide for additional transformative upgrades to the adjacent roadway and trail.

The Transportation section procured engineering services utilizing the Qualifications Based Selection Process to facilitate the design of 17 upcoming Federally funded projects as part of the 2020-2023 TIP, totaling just over $30M of construction projects in 2023 and 2024. These engineering services contracts will enable the County to perform Pavement repairs, resurfacing, and ADA related upgrades to Chesterfield Parkway from Wild Horse Creek Rd. to Clarkson Rd., Kingsland Ave. from Olive Blvd. to Delmar Blvd., Midland Blvd. from Woodson Rd. to North & South Rd., North Elizabeth Ave. from Chambers Rd. to Pershall Rd., New Ballwin Rd. from Twigwood Dr. to Oakleaf Manor Ct., Vernon Ave. from Midland Ave. to Eastgate Ave., Weidman Rd. from Turtle Cove Rd. to Manchester Rd., Big Bend Blvd. from Laclede Station Rd. to East Lockwood, Big Bend Rd. from Kirkwood Rd. to Couch Ave., Craig Rd. from Lackland Rd. to Olive Blvd., McKelvey Rd. from Natural Bridge Rd. to I-270, Midland Blvd. from Page Ave. to Canton Ave., New Florissant Rd. from Lindbergh Blvd. to Washington St., Redman Rd. from Old Halls Ferry to 367. In addition to the scope of improvements contained within the projects previously details, the following projects also provide for the installation of new pedestrian shared use pathways; Mason Rd Resurfacing Trail form Clayton Rd. to S of I-64 with Multi-use path in partnership with the City of Town and Country; Ferguson Ave. Resurfacing from St. Charles Rock Rd. to Page Ave. with shared use path in coordination with Great Rivers Greenway, and finally Paul Ave./Elizabeth Ave. from Bermuda Ave. to Chambers Rd. with a shared use path for southern portion in coordination with Great Rivers Greenway.

Improvement Projects: The Transportation section acquired 50+ parcels of land for scheduled and future Improvement Projects, worked on nine improvement projects and completed 60+ Appraisal Reviews, gathered preliminary appraisal data for 235 property acquisitions scheduled for 2021, pulled over 700 property deeds for current and future Improvement project from the Recorder of Deeds office, and pulled over 200 subdivision plats for current and future Improvement projects.

The Transportation section bid $26 million in major transportation projects and pavement maintenance programs, including $2 million in signal improvements that support MoDOT’s 1270 Design Build project; $9.9 million in road resurfacing on the arterial network; $3.8 million in bridge and culvert repairs; and $3.8 million in concrete replacement.

Transportation section’s Construction division completed 24 projects representing $40 million road & bridge improvements throughout the County; $21 million dollars of which was Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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performed in 2020. In addition, the Construction division’s materials lab performed over $30 thousand dollars in reimbursable testing services under the Municipal Testing Program.

Public Interaction: In 2020, the Department of Public Works and Transportation’s Public Information bureau responded to approximately 300 email and phone requests for information and/or requests for assistance from the public. Inquiry topics were diverse, and included dilapidated properties, defective water main service, potholes, major road construction, renters' complaints about their complex's management, snow plowing, residential and commercial code requirements, defective sidewalks, emergency road closures and road obstructions.

Every Wednesday afternoon, the bureau participated in the St. Louis Post Dispatch's "Road Crew" chat, and fielded hundreds of questions from the traveling public on a wide range of issues relating to the Department of Transportation and its 3,200 lane-mile system of streets and roads.

Additionally, the bureau issued many dozens of tweets on Transportation's Twitter account.

These tweets enabled us to share time-sensitive information with the public re: emergency closures, road re-openings, winter storm response, etc.

In addition, the Transportation section’s Area Engineers respond to, and coordinate with citizens, and political appointees from various agencies regarding all aspects of the County Roadway System. In 2020, the Area Engineers attended 423 meetings and answered over 6400 phone calls and email inquiries.

Generating Revenue Virtually: Despite the pandemic, the Department of Transportation and Public Works continued to generate revenue for the County by selling outdated fleet vehicles via a virtual auction. The sale marked the first such virtual sales event for the County.

Enhanced Pedestrian, Cycling Systems: The Department of Transportation and Public Works completed the County’s first-ever Action Plan for Walking and Biking project that identified areas of deficiency as well as areas of opportunity for integrating multi-modes into the transportation network. The program included a virtual Open House with a “pop-up” demonstration that allowed the public to better understand the proposed system.

Water Line and Sewer Lateral Program: The Water Service Line Repair Program processed 1,456 residential water line applications in 2020. The program facilitated 357 emergency repairs during the year ensuring that the Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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citizens received a high level of service by reacting quickly to the property having a leak or no water to the structure. The program funded $3,017,760.00 in repairs on residential water service lines, this program helps to facilitate the stabilization of neighborhoods.

The Sewer Lateral Repair Program processed 1,157 residential sewer lateral repair applications in 2020. The Sewer program repaired 369 emergency sewer repair during 2020.

The program strived to give the citizens a high level of service while bidding out a majority of these projects to ensure fund stability. The program funded $2,774,737.00 in repairs to defective sewer laterals in the unincorporated areas of the county. The sewer program also facilitated the contract and bidding for 12 contracted municipalities.

Code Enforcement Activities: The Public Works section Code Enforcement Division reviews plans, issues permits and conducts inspections related to the enforcement of land disturbance, building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, commercial and residential property maintenance, zoning and public safety-related codes throughout unincorporated St. Louis County. Code Enforcement Division also provides these full/partial services to 81 of the 88 municipalities.

The Public Works section Code Enforcement Division issued approximately 57,600 construction permits, performs 13,800 initial plan reviews, and conducts 130,000 construction inspections to ensure code compliance in 2020. The Division also handles licensing of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing disciplines.

Staff performs approximately 13,000 inspections of residential properties on both a proactive and reactive basis. In addition to enforcing the county’s Property Maintenance and Housing Code, personnel perform about 10,000 re-occupancy inspections of single-family homes and apartments (in unincorporated St. Louis County and 12 municipalities by contract) every year.

They monitor over 2,000 vacant nuisance properties and, with the Nuisance Abatement Team, clean and mow more than 2,400 vacant lots.

The Business Assistance Center (BAC) within the Code Enforcement Division assists new and expanding businesses in navigating St. Louis County’s plan review, permitting, inspection and licensing processes. BAC identifies and addresses potential pitfalls beforehand through predesign project meetings and acts as a liaison between County departments and business owners throughout their project’s life.

Civil Plan Review reviews site/construction plans, Special Use Permits and flood plain studies pertaining to work in unincorporated St. Louis County or work that involves St. Louis county right-of-way within municipal boundaries.

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REVENUE The Department of Revenue provides quality, customer-centered information and services to taxpayers, licensees and document recipients; obtaining and distributing funding to more than 200 public-serving agencies improving education, public safety, health, infrastructure and economic growth and opportunity in St. Louis County.

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Highlights from the department in 2020 included: New Leadership: In August, County Executive Dr. Sam Page appointed Gerard Hollins, an adjunct professor of public policy at Washington University and finance analyst for the city of St. Louis, as the new director of the Depart of Revenue.

Customer Convenience: The Department of Revenue has begun implementing an electronic “buzzer” notification system at the North County satellite office identical to the one currently in place at government’s headquarters in Clayton. The system is expected to be fully functional in January of 2021. The system notifies customers when it is their turn for service, similar to the buzzer system employed by restaurants.

Customers equipped with buzzers have the option to wait in the comfort of their vehicles rather than queuing outside. Meanwhile, those waiting in the lobby can monitor progress on large, centrally mounted monitors. These monitors also display the approximate wait time for walk-in customers, allowing them to leave the office while waiting without losing their place in the queue.

The system also serves as a valuable management tool as it tracks metric about the length of each appointment and average wait times throughout the day. This permits the department to adjust staffing to meet customer demand.

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SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS AIRPORT Spirit of St. Louis Airport has been one of the Midwest’s premiere business aviation center for more than 50 years. Much more than just a place to land, it is a benefit-packed resource for pilots, passengers, and businesses that use and serve general aviation.

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Among the accomplishments at Spirit in 2020 were: Airport Honored for Education Initiative: The St. Louis County Air Show & STEM Expo was awarded the 2020 Civil Service Award from The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for influencing young people to pursue studies based on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Runway Rehabilitation: A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was submitted for design of the rehabilitation of Spirit’s main parallel (“Alpha”) runway. MoDOT funded the $34,500 budget for the RFQ. New HVAC System: A new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system was installed in the large airport facility at 18250 Edison Avenue building at a cost of $240,642. The work was undertaken to achieve energy efficiency in the building.

New Signage: A total of 80 directional signs/legends were replaced and 80 LED conversion kits were installed at Spirit last year at a cost of $210, 658. The project costs were covered with MoDOT and CARES Act funds. The signs enhance safety and energy efficiency. Airport maintenance staff installed the lights. In addition, LED lighting conversion was done at the Edison Avenue facility parking lot, and on the exterior and interior of the building. Material costs were $3,800. Installation was performed by the airport’s maintenance department.

New Pavement: Concrete pavement was replaced at the airport’s North Fuel Farm and Main Gate driveway.

New Emergency Generator: An Emergency Airfield Lighting Generator was replaced. The generator will provide backup power in the event of a power outage.

Cleared for International Flights: The airport completed the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol clearance facility for international arrivals. The project fulfilled a U.S. Department of Homeland Security facility punch list, allowing the airport to remain one of only five in the state that can accept international flights.

Pavement Repair, Joint Sealing: In 2020, 2,000 linear feet of pavement was repair and joints were sealed on Taxiway Alpha.

Landscaping Work: A 4,831-foot relief ditch was installed at the airport’s Landings at Spirit Saint Louis County Government Annual Report

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Golf Club to prevent water collecting on the site. Project was performed by airport maintenance staff.

Re-marking, sealing, striping work: Airport maintenance staff completed essential airfield re-marking work. Airport maintenance and County Parks Department staff worked together to seal and stripe the Nestle Parking lot.

Mitigating Wildlife Hazard: A 6,000-foot snow fence was installed at the airport by maintenance staff to mitigate wildlife hazards. Cost: $3,000.

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Appendix

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Inaugural Address by St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page - Jan. 12, 2021 “I want to start by thanking everyone who is watching today. A virtual ceremony is certainly a first for county government, but it is not unlike the many firsts we have experienced in the past year.

Thank you to Michael McMillan for emceeing today’s ceremonies. Thank you, Judge Burton, for your time to make the swearing-in possible and thank you to my wife, Jenny, who is here with me today, for your unwavering support.

Every inauguration marks both an end as well as a beginning. The end of what came before, and the beginning of something new. And so it is a time to look back as well as forward.

The past couple of years have required us to take strong stands on hard issues. Our stand with the people of Wellston made sure that our neighbors there have access to stable housing and will for decades to come. Our support for police reform led to a bold plan for the future of public safety, designed to reduce crime in our community. Our strong health protocols have kept the pandemic in check enough, so restaurants can now offer limited indoor dining.

And ensuring that public health experts — and not politicians — were the ones who established the COVID protocols helped to save lives.

We’ve had to think outside the box. To come up with new solutions to old problems. We’ve raised employment standards for women. We’ve created opportunities for minority businesses. We reimagined how county government delivers services from the ground up.

And we’ve opened county government to the public and to independent experts. An audit of our economic development agencies helped clean them up after years of abuse. An outside review of policing has been completed, offering a pathway to safety. An expert analysis of county government will help us rework what we do and how we do it. And county government is now more open and transparent than it’s ever been.

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But challenges remain. The pandemic threatens lives and livelihoods. We continue to lose loved ones every day to the pandemic. It has changed everyday life for all of us. Too many neighborhoods still struggle with crime.

Too many of our neighbors don’t have real opportunities to thrive. Trust in government — federal, state, and local — is still too low. And working together to accomplish big things is far too rare.

These are the challenges we face. Threats to our health and safety. Lack of opportunity. Making government work well for everyone.

We know that local government’s primary duty is to protect the health and safety of all our residents.

Everyone deserves a healthy community. To do that, we will continue our aggressive, science-based approach to the pandemic. We will continue relying on our best researchers and medical experts to craft effective policies.

We will continue asking our residents to take personal responsibility for their health and for the health of our community by wearing masks, social distancing, and following public health protocols. By continuing our strong approach, we will eliminate and eradicate the pandemic from St. Louis County. And, with our continued resolve, we will rebuild a strong economy and get back to our normal day-to-day activities.

Everyone deserves a safe neighborhood. Working with the Board of Police Commissioners, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, police leaders, and other stakeholders, we will make sure the recent expert report is implemented to improve policing, to reduce crime and racial tension, and to rebuild our community’s trust in law enforcement. We will continue reforming our jail, working with a new leader who has the community’s safety and the wellbeing of those who work there, and those who are housed there, firmly in mind.

Everyone deserves an opportunity to thrive. That starts with a familysustaining job. We will continue working with the state, the non-profit sector, educational institutions, labor unions, and other regional partners to expand job opportunities. We will work with our business community to promote inclusive development, and to make sure that no area of St. Louis County is left behind. We will improve the quality of life for everyone, so our children have more reasons to stay here when they grow up.

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And, at its core, government must work well for everyone. We will continue transforming county government by making services better, more effective, and more convenient for residents.

We will look for new places where we can save money by making government more efficient. And we will make decisions based on real-time data, like we have throughout the pandemic.

These will be our priorities — Health and safety. Opportunity. Good government. And our success will be measured by whether everyone — everyone — is included.

These will be the goals that drive us.

We know it will not be easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is.

People will try to stop us from making progress. Some will try to keep us stuck in the past. To pull us back into old arguments. To contest elections that have already been decided.

And there are some who will try to divide us.

In recent years, our nation has been divided by hatred, hostility, and ignorance. And, last week, that division almost tore us apart.

Let us learn from that dark moment. Let us put the dark days of division behind us. Let us put an end to the bitter politics of the past.

Now, we must come together.

We must stand strong, anchored by common values and guided by clear priorities. And we must work together toward our shared goals.

I invite each of you to join us in this endeavor. Only together can we make St. Louis County a place of health, safety, and opportunity for everyone.

Thank you.”

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