Rice v. Ashcroft

831 S.W.2d 206, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 621, 1991 WL 70431
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 7, 1991
DocketNo. WD 44470
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 831 S.W.2d 206 (Rice v. Ashcroft) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rice v. Ashcroft, 831 S.W.2d 206, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 621, 1991 WL 70431 (Mo. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

LOWENSTEIN, Judge.

This suit involves the proposed construction of a covered stadium and supporting facilities to expand the Cervantes Convention Center in downtown St. Louis City. The State, City, and County have agreed to pay rent as tenants of a domed stadium and expanded convention center to be constructed by a statutorily created regional authority. The plaintiffs, taxpayers of the State of Missouri (State), St. Louis City (City), and St. Louis County (County), filed this action for declaratory and injunctive relief to stop the project. On stipulated facts, the trial court ruled for the defendants, who are state officials, including the governor of Missouri, as well as other City and County officials.

In 1988, the state legislature passed Sections 67.650-67.658, RSMo Cum.Supp.1990, which set up a Regional Convention and Sports Authority (Authority) for St. Louis. In July 1990, the State, the City, the County and an entity called St. Louis NFL Corporation (SLNFL) entered into a “Project Agreement” (Agreement) to finance, build and operate an expanded convention facility, which would hopefully attract a professional football team to replace the Cardinals.

The project calls for the Authority to issue bonds to finance construction. Section 67.653.1(10). Under § 67.653.1(1) the Authority has the specified power to construct and lease “convention centers,” and a “sports stadium.”

Under the Agreement, the State, County, and City agreed to lease the proposed new stadium facility from the Authority for thirty years. The County is obligated to pay one-fourth of the rent and is limited to the money derived from a 2>lk% hotel tax levied in the county. See § 67.657.3 supra. The City is to pay one-fourth, and the State is to pay one-half of the yearly rent. The same percentages hold true for the “asset preservation costs,” which are capped two percent of cost or $4 million a year. None of the State’s, City’s, or County’s obligations are deemed a general obligation or other form of debt. The City, State and County would lease the facilities to another entity, known as the Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC) for management. SLNFL would then sublease the stadium from CVC for football games at a rate of $250,000 per day. Neither the City nor the County submitted the agreement for voter approval. The City and County adopted ordinances allowing the agreement. The lease payments would be used to retire the Authority’s bonds and maintain the stadium.

Appellants present three points on appeal: 1) that the trial court erred in failing to conclude that the Missouri Constitution should be construed to hold that the voters of the City and County have the exclusive power to approve a scheme such as the proposed deal for a multi-purpose covered facility; 2) that the trial court erred in concluding that the City Charter provision regulating public works, which requires that the Board of Public Service complete a recommendation and cost estimate, does not apply to this Agreement because it should apply in that project is still a “city” project even though the County and State are partners in the Agreement; and, 3) the court erred in concluding that the Agreement does not violate Mo. Const. Art. Ill, § 38, which prohibits the general assembly from granting money or lending credit to private persons or corporations, because the bondholders' trustee controls the project, the Authority is an agent for the bondholders, and SLNFL is the beneficiary of the arrangement.

I.

The appellants argue that under Mo. Const. Art. VI, §§ 30(a) and (b) the City and County could not enter into the Agreement without first submitting the project for voter approval. These constitutional provisions give the freeholders and voters of the City and County, with voter approval, the authority to establish metropolitan districts for the functional administration of services common to the area. Appellants relied on State ex rel. Dalton v. [208]*208Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, 365 Mo. 1, 275 S.W.2d 225, 228 (banc 1955), which states:

The apparent intent is to give the freeholders, with the approval of the voters, power to do whatever the Legislature could ordinarily do with respect to the creation, organization and authority of such a district.

Appellants’ argument ignores that the City, County, and State are tenants to a lease. The building and operation of the stadium is run by a separate entity specifically authorized by the legislature in § 67.-650 et seq. Respondents correctly point out that Missouri Statutes set up numerous authorities that act through appointed commissioners. See e.g. § 67.601 et seq. (St. Louis City and County Regional Convention and Visitors Commission).

The County Sports Complex Authority for Jackson County was created under § 64.920-950, RSMo 1986. As does the Authority in the case at bar, the Jackson County Authority operates through statutory guidelines, § 64.930, under duly appointed commissioners. See Waris v. Carnes, 760 S.W.2d 573 (Mo.App.1988). As was discussed in Waris, the Authority is a separate and independent entity from Jackson County. Id. at 575.

The trial court here cited to Cape Motor Lodge v. City of Cape Girardeau, 706 S.W.2d 208 (Mo. banc 1986), in concluding that 30(a) and (b) did not leave those constitutional provisions as the only means of creating metropolitan districts. Cape recognized that under the provisions of enabling legislation contained in § 70.220, a city and a state university could combine to build a “multi-use center.” Id. at 208.

There is no Supreme Court case which has invalidated any statutorily enabled metropolitan district because of non-compliance with a voter approval provision under Art. VI, § 30. This court may not so scuttle §§ 67.650-658. Art. V, § 3, and hold that voter approval by the City or County of this project agreement was required. The first point is denied.

II.

The Appellants argue that the trial court erroneously declared and applied the law by concluding Art. XXII, § 1 of the St. Louis City Charter did not apply here as a condition precedent to the approval of the Project Agreement.

Section 1 of Charter requirement provides:

No ordinance for public work or improvements of any kind, or repairs thereof, shall be adopted, unless prepared and recommended by the board of public service with an estimate of the cost endorsed thereon.

The appellants rely on the following language from Baum v. City of St. Louis, 343 Mo. 738, 123 S.W.2d 48, 49-50 (1938):

[I]t was the design the framers thereof that every kind and character of the public work or improvement, or the reconstruction and repairs thereof, should be under the supervision and control of the board of public improvements and that no work or improvements of that character or any contract for the doing of the same should be valid or binding without authorized by ordinance recommended by said board, after faithfully complying with all charter requirements prerequisite to its action in the premises.

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Bluebook (online)
831 S.W.2d 206, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 621, 1991 WL 70431, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rice-v-ashcroft-moctapp-1991.