Alderman Don Aytes Can't Stop Serving Residents

Don Aytes sees his age as an asset to the St. Peters Board of Aldermen, despite the rumblings he has heard to the contrary. He said he has the wisdom of many years on the board, and in his words he has, “Seen it all.”

Aytes spent 18 years on the Board of Aldermen from 1984 through 2002. He retired in 2002 only to run—and get re-elected—in 2007.

Aytes thinks that St. Peters is a wonderful place to live. He said the Mayor Len Pagano likes to have people he can depend on. The current Board fits that bill, he said.

“St. Peters is one of the only cities in St. Charles County operating in the black,” Aytes said.

In recent years, St. Peters has constructed close to $25 million in city buildings with no tax increases to the citizens. The recently remodeled Senior Center is a bustling hub of activity that adds to the quality of life for older residents in St. Peters.

“Besides the Senior Center, St. Peters has also constructed the new justice center, arts building and a new garage for the city’s fleet of trash trucks,” Aytes said listing things that have been accomplish while he has been on the Board.

He said that previously, the trucks were all parked outside. The automated trucks were subject to rusting at a faster rate sitting outside, because even dew was an impact. The new garage should prolong the life of the trucks.

He is proud of the fact that the city has not had to lay off workers even during difficult economic times. There have been several retirements within the city, but the spots were filled with existing workers. Aytes credits St. Peter’s positive economic situation to the fact that the Board is very fiscally responsible—even with a nearly $90 million budget.

“We’re penny pinchers,” he said.

Aytes is running for re-election as Ward 4 Alderman this spring because he would like to see St. Peters continue on its current path.

“I would like to see the city grow," he said. "We fight for new businesses."

Ayetes pointed out that national chains are drawn to St. Peters. CVS Pharmacy based in Rhode Island, is currently building two stores in St. Peters. CVS isn't the only business coming to town.

“The Electric Cowboy went in over between Cave Springs and Jungermann," Aytes said. "They are drawing crowds from St. Louis County.”

Aytes is looking forward to another new project in St. Peters this summer.

“We are putting in new sidewalks, curbing and street surfaces from [Interstate] 70 to Mexico Road on Mid Rivers this year,” he said.

Aytes said he first retired in 2002 because things on the Board were running smoothly at that point. He also said his health had been slowing him down a bit at that point.

“A short time after that, they discovered it was just food allergies giving me trouble,” he said.

Even after his retirement from the Board, he continued to attend board meetings. After a few years, he noticed the meetings appeared to run less smoothly than they once had, so he decided to run again.

“There were people at the meetings standing up and yelling at each other,” Aytes said.

That was enough to push him to return from retirement and run again in 2007. He said his family and friends told him they didn’t know why he retired in the first place. Aytes said his health is not a factor in him performing his job as an alderman.

“I am in better health right now than I was in my 50s and 60s,” said the 81-year-old Aytes. “I feel right now as a candidate, I am stronger than I have ever been.”

Aytes takes a simple approach to his job as an Alderman. He loves helping people get things done and loves helping to solve their problems. He said he does not mind the calls he gets each week from residents outside of his ward.

“I’m the one—you call me and I will get the job done for you,” he said as he displayed a stack of thank you notes from residents all over St. Peters.

Aytes prefers helping residents over writing ordinances and his philosophy on government leans toward less intrusion.

“Every time you write an ordinance, you are restricting somebody. Of course, you have to live together, so you have to have some ordinances,” he said.

In his free time, Aytes and his wife Delores enjoy traveling to see their children and grandchildren in Texas and on the east coast.

They have also been volunteers for the Meals on Wheels program based out of the St. Peters Senior Center for the past 14 years. Each week, Aytes picks up day-old bakery goods from Costco in St. Peters for the Meals on Wheels program. Every week, he also has a delivery route, delivering meals to homebound residents. He said it is an important way to give back to the community that he loves so much.

“I have a soft heart,” Aytes said.