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By Carol Arnett

The Florissant City Council met in an executive session before the regular council meeting Monday night to discuss several issues.

The first item on the agenda was saggy pants. This is the fashion in which young men and teenagers where their pants far below the waist, allowing their underwear to show. Council President Keith English noted that the council had looked at this issue a few years ago, and asked if they wanted to revisit the idea of passing an ordinance banning saggy pants in the city. Collinsville, Illinois, recently passed an ordinance banning saggy pants.

“I have no desire to get involved in this,” Councilman Mark Schmidt said. He noted that Pine Lawn was the only other municipality in the county to have a ban.

“How would we enforce this?” Councilman Andrew Podleski asked.

Councilman Tim Less suggested that the city look at existing ordinances. “Is there anything the police can do in extreme cases?” he asked.

The second issue was grass height. Currently, the city issues a citation when grass is taller than eight inches. English said he has seen situations where there were weeds over a foot tall, but the grass was less than eight inches.

Lee asked what the current policy is. “I know what Mr. English is talking about,” he said.

Mayor Tom Schneider said the city used common sense to enforce the ordinance. “No matter what you do, some people aren’t going to cooperate,” he said. “It’s not broke, and I wouldn’t try to fix it,” he said of the current ordinance.

The next issue under discussion was portable dumpsters. English said these were becoming more popular. They can be purchased at stores such as Lowe’s and Home Depot. After they are filled, the homeowner calls and a trash hauler take them away. The city currently requires a permit for dumpsters in residential areas, but these are not covered under the ordinance regulating dumpsters.

“These are a relatively new technology,” Schneider said, “and we’re probably going to see more and more of these,” He encouraged the council to learn more about them and look into regulating them.

“These can hold 3000 pounds,” Schmidt said. “Once you fill it, you can’t move it. I think we have to treat them like roll off dumpsters,” he said, adding that he was in favor of regulating them.

Finally, English asked the council about a citywide smoking ban. He noted that the recent county ban had several loopholes that let some businesses continue to allow smoking, and is affecting those businesses that don’t allow smoking. “I’d like to help out the restaurants that are struggling,” he said.

Councilwoman Karen McKay said that she was not a proponent of exemptions. She noted that the St. Louis County Council is considering a ban. “I would like to see it county-wide,” she said.

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