First Alert Forward: St. Louis residents weigh in on $230 million Rams settlement spending plan

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:02]Tonight forward starts outside the Armory in Midtown, St. Louis. This once entertainment complex is now slated to serve a new purpose as what's being called an innovation district that includes a data center and office space.

[00:00:14]Good evening. I'm Cory Stark. And I'm Nathan Vickers and data centers have become a hot topic around the St. Louis region. The city says this project in particular has the ability to generate a lot of revenue, especially at a time when the city is also thinking about how to use its RAM settlement funds.

[00:00:28]>> And as St. Louis is facing infrastructure failures and working to rebuild the northside, the city says this is revenue that can help shape St. Louis's future and move our region forward.

[00:00:38]>> the thing a lot of residents have been thinking about, too. Today was their first chance to formally weigh in in front of the city Board of Aldermen as they narrow down what to do with the RAM settlement funds.

[00:00:48]First, let's take a look at the current proposal on the table. This bill would spend $230 million of the RAM settlement funds, leaving $25 million in reserves.

[00:00:57]$110 million of that would go toward rebuilding the city's northside, which includes tornado recovery and neighborhood implementation plans. $65 million would go toward citywide infrastructure improvements like water, streets, and sidewalks. $55 million would go toward downtown revitalization, including vacant buildings, infrastructure, and investments on the riverfront. That money would also see a one-to-one match from the downtown business community. Mayor Krewson Spencer says she expects the bill to have a strong consensus among the Board of Aldermen after months of work.

[00:01:27]>> Compromise has been the key here. Um you know, we all recognize that uh we can't fill all of the $700 million of needs of the water department and we can't uh fill uh the $2 billion hole that the tornado carved, let alone the decades of disinvestment on either side of the tornado in North St. Louis. We can't do all things with these dollars, but we can make um cr- very, very sizable investments, critical investments, um and catalytic investments um in some key priority areas, and that's what we're aiming to do here with this bill.

[00:01:58]Greater St. Louis Inc. supports the direction of this legislation.

[00:02:01]>> Public comments today brought dozens to City Hall, including many from the downtown business community in favor of the bill. A more active downtown means more residents, more visitors, more sales tax, property tax, and earnings tax that flow back into the city's coffers. Let's take a closer look at that downtown money. $15 million would go towards strategic capital projects like acquiring vacant properties.

[00:02:24]Another $15 million goes to a riverfront fund for improving attractions on the Mississippi. Downtown infrastructure would also get $15 million for projects like sidewalks, streetscaping, and lighting. It would also include 7 and 1/2 million for retail and restaurant activation, and 2.5 million for event attraction.

[00:02:40]>> When downtown is healthy, the whole city has more to work with. When it's struggling, the ripple effects are felt far beyond its borders. We want to keep developing, but we can't keep doing it alone. We are so appreciative that the riverfront is on this bill finally.

[00:02:55]Downtown drives the economy of not just the city, but our region and our state.

[00:03:04]Investment in downtown supports growth, activity, and long-term revenue.

[00:03:09]But some believe tornado-damaged areas in the city should receive more funds.

[00:03:13]>> The money is there. We need it. A large group from The People's Response, a citizens group working on storm recovery, showed up to advocate for 150 million to spend on the north side, which they say is the minimum needed to stabilize damaged neighborhoods.

[00:03:27]>> Allocating $40 million less than necessary means that a large number of those applicants may never recover. The north side cannot remain in the state that it's in. We've we've got a When it comes to the population of St. Louis, we've got a tornado-size hole at the bottom of that bucket. There is a way to fund all of these buckets while still fully prioritizing north city recovery, if the desire actually exists. Some aldermen agreed. Rasheen Aldridge, who represents both downtown and neighborhoods impacted by the tornado, plans to propose an amendment that would add some of the reserve funds to North Side recovery.

[00:04:01]>> If we're going to use RAMS money, I'm of the opinion now that I think we need to spend it all. There's too many critical needs from water to North Side to actually tap into the reserves. We heard from you as well. Monique Norfolk says funds should be used to help North St. Louis recover from the tornado. But Daniel Halford wrote that it shouldn't be used to fix personal residential homes. And many comments, like Marvin Schilling, emphasized infrastructure.