Aldermen Welcome Zoltek to St. Peters

The Zoltek Corporation is coming to St. Peters.

The St. Louis-based carbon fiber manufacturing company was approved to receive industrial revenue bonds to finance a project in St. Peters. The company plans to open a manufacturing and research and development building in the city. Zoltek’s new base of operations should bring 125 jobs to the city.

Zoltek makes a variety of carbon fiber products, but lately business has been booming thanks to wind power. Many of the carbon fiber products produced by Zoltek have been turned into wind blades for wind energy farms. The corporations has headquarters in Maryland Heights, but has sites in Utah, Texas, Mexico, Hungary, India, China and Japan.

Zoltek's plans for St. Peters are to build  a composite intermediate manufacturing and tech center. Zoltek said the Midwest, affectionately known as the wind belt, is similar to the Middle East for oil companies. With the abundance of wind in the area, companies are flocking to the Midwest to open up shop and Zoltek wanted another building near its corporate headquarters in Bridgeton.  

At Thursday's Board of Aldermen meeting, Zoltek said it hopes the St. Peters location can serve as a showcase site for clients because it will have the latest technologies.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the tax abatement of 12.5 percent to bring Zoltek to St. Peters. Because the city believes Zoltek will spur the city economically, the city will give bonds up to a maximum of $20,000,000 to the corporation. The bonds must be paid back to the city and can be cancelled if Zoltek decides to not pursue the project.

Water Line Insurance Moves Closer to Approval

Coming up at the November Board of Aldermen meeting, which will take place on Nov. 17, the Board will vote on an ordinance to place an item on the ballot for the 2012 April General Election. The issue at hand is a water line insurance program.

For the cost of a dollar a month, residents will be able to insure the water lines on their property. The city would collect the money on residential property. The money would be used to  repair or replace of water lines extending from the water main to a residential dwelling due to failure of the line. 

The Board discussed the issue during the Work Session and was eager to move things ahead. Board President Tommy Roberts brought the idea up originally and has seen the issue move to Jefferson City. 

If the ordinance is approved next month, residents would vote on the issue at the April election. 

Other Notes

• All items of new business pass unanimously.
• The city heard a report on the 2011 Celebrate St. Peters event. St. Peters plans on doing the event again in 2012, with some change. Instead of a three-day celebration, plans are to scale things back to two days. The city is also looking at booking a bigger named band to headline the festivities. Other proposed changes include: selling of barbecue sauces and rubs at the Que-topia event, more games for kids, more things aimed at older kids and a revised kayak race. 
• The Board approved the filing dates for the April election. At 8 a.m. on Dec. 13, applicants can file for office. The last time to file is at 5 p.m. on Jan. 17, 2012. Mayor Len Pagano, Ward 1 Alderman Rocky Reitmeyer, Ward 2 Alderman Jerry Hollingsworth, Ward 3 Alderman Tommy Roberts and Ward 4 Alderman Patrick Barclay are all up for re-election. Pagano and Hollingsworth have to run again.