VINITA PARK • Two small communities in north St. Louis County are tying the knot in a marriage made at the ballot box in November.
Residents voted in November to dissolve tiny Vinita Terrace and merge it into neighboring Vinita Park. A small ceremony Wednesday marked the consolidation.
The two communities already shared names drawn from Vinita Station, a turn-of-the-last-century electric rail terminal. They also share a school and law enforcement services.
“By becoming part of Vinita Park, Vinita Terrace residents will keep the local representation they desire and obtain new professional, full-time services,†Vinita Park’s mayor, James W. McGee, said in a statement.
Founded in 1940, Vinita Terrace spans just under 40 acres. Incorporated a year later, Vinita Park is spread across 460 acres.
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Vinita Terrace has just under 300 residents; 87 percent of voters there approved of the consolidation in November. Vinita Park has about 1,900 residents, and more than 76 percent of voters supported the merger.
The merger was to some degree the result of Missouri Senate Bill 5, post-Ferguson legislation that caps the amount of operating revenue a municipality can pull from court fines at 12.5 percent. The law, which has been appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court, puts financial pressure on communities that relied on such income to stay solvent.
The consolidation leaves St. Louis County with 89 municipalities.
Vinita Park has a small industrial base generating taxes. Vinita Terrace primarily depended on income generated from a small cluster of commercial businesses at the intersection of North Hanley Road and Page Avenue.
“This is going to be good for our residents,†Vinita Terrace Chairman Dan Clasby said. “A lot of thought and time went into planning this merge,r and it would not have been possible without the help of Vinita Park and the St. Louis County boundary commission.â€
The North County Police Cooperative will move into the former Vinita Terrace Village Hall at 8027 Page Avenue.
