One 'disgruntled' man's crusade
Cedar Hill man hopes to disband Byrnes Mill
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| Andrew Jansen Photo Don Robinson holds up a list of the signatures he needs to get for his effort to disincorporate the city of Byrnes Mill. |
Robinson, who lives in Cedar Hill, is paying people $1 for each signature gathered to put an issue on the November ballot that would allow voters to decide whether to disincorporate Byrnes Mill.
"They don't provide any service and are of no use to anybody," he said. "They're just something that shouldn't be."Jefferson County Clerk Wes Wagner said Robinson would need around 867 signatures by Aug. 26 to get the issue on the November ballot.
"That does not mean he comes in that afternoon with the signatures," he said. "He must turn that in in advance. I gave him an Aug. 15 deadline to make sure we can get the signatures counted and verified before the Aug. 26 deadline."
Robinson has a history of discontent with the city of Byrnes Mill, and more specifically, its police department. In 2003 he bought a series of commercial advertisements on local television stations to voice his outrage over a speeding ticket he received on Route W that he alleges was "unfair" because the speed limit was set too low.
"Since then we've had the speed limit raised from 35 to 45," he said.
Robinson blasted the Byrnes Mill police, accusing them of being "road bandits" in a town that "ranks in the Top 10 of the worst speed traps in the United States."
Byrnes Mill City Administrator Bill Sehie said Robinson's complaints are unjustified and said that Robinson is just "disgruntled."
"He's not even a resident," Sehie said. "We're the only incorporated city with amenities on this side of the county. I don't know if people have a problem with that."
Sehie said that being an incorporated city is what attracts people to Byrnes Mill and he doubts a majority of the town's citizens would favor disbanding the city.
"People move to Byrnes Mill for three reasons: planning and zoning, security from police and clear roads," he said. "That's the principal reason people go to an area. They want to feel safe."
Rep. Mike Frame, D-Eureka, said when he first came into office he was immediately bombarded with complaints about the Byrnes Mill police being overzealous and he called a town hall meeting in June 2007 to address some of the issues.
"The mayor agreed to meet with a committee and they came up with seven steps to alleviate some of the complaints," he said. "I believe they adopted five of those steps."
Frame said to ensure police were treating people fairly the city installed cameras and microphones in the squad cars and removed the window tinting from the police chief's car. They also addressed their towing policy and increased the speed limit on Route W, which had previously dropped from 55 to 35 just inside city limits.
"I've been out knocking on doors since then and folks agree change has occurred," he said. "Officers aren't as zealous and there's definitely an improvement."
According to 2007 racial profiling data from the Missouri Attorney General's Office, Byrnes Mill, with a population of 2,050, initiated 906 traffic stops and issued 832 citations. The city of Hillsboro, a similar city with a population of 1,490, initiated 2,093 traffic stops and issued 1,628 citations. Both cities are located along state highways, where most of the tickets were issued.
Robinson said that in order to gather the number of needed signatures, he needs to get started right away. For more information, call Robinson at 636-274-2424.
