ST. LOUIS 鈥 The region鈥檚 tourism bureau was rocked on Tuesday when it was revealed that its board was discussing a replacement for its embattled chief, Kitty Ratcliffe, leading the agency to announce that it is succession planning.
In a virtual meeting mistakenly left open to the public, David Robert, vice chair of the St. 不良研究所导航网址 Convention and Visitors Commission, spoke of ongoing issues with sales and operations, trouble with staff morale and a need to make a change at the top.
鈥淲e have to make a change for the organization鈥檚 sake and for our people鈥檚 sake down there,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a good culture.鈥
In the meeting, Robert said Ratcliffe has done a good job over the years, dealing with the struggle to keep the Rams football team and finding $250 million for the ongoing convention center expansion.
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But he said Ratcliffe has also admitted to being 鈥減reoccupied鈥 recently, to the point where she has not had time to focus on 鈥渙perational items.鈥
鈥淲e have an operational and sales problem at our business,鈥 he said.
The board鈥檚 discussion marks the latest blow to a prominent but embattled public agency that has struggled mightily over the last few years with the convention center expansion, which is tens of millions of dollars over budget. It also provides a rare look inside the organization as it grapples with the cost overruns that have created doubt that the full project can be completed and made it harder to book future conventions.听
After the meeting Tuesday, a spokesperson for the commission, Brian Hall, said the board was simply working on succession planning as Ratcliffe nears the end of her contract in June next year. He said he did not know if she planned to leave.
Board members declined further comment in interviews. Ratcliffe could not be reached.
But, later that day, Steve O鈥橪oughlin, the board chair, put out a statement thanking Ratcliffe for her contributions over her 18-year tenure and announcing plans to recruit a new leader.
鈥淎s she approaches the end of her contract, we are committed to recruiting a new tourism and convention leader to guide Explore St. 不良研究所导航网址 into the future,鈥 O鈥橪oughlin said.
Critics, who have been calling for Ratcliffe鈥檚 resignation for months, were unimpressed.
Bob Clark, the executive chairman of design-build firm Clayco, told commissioners in a letter that new leadership is needed immediately to salvage the expansion. 鈥淣ow,鈥 he said. 鈥淣ot later.鈥
St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Councilman Ernie Trakas, a longtime critic, said a new leader might even get a fair hearing from the County Council on a request for more money to finish the expansion.
But he said Ratcliffe would have no chance.
The discussion comes amid a hard few years for Ratcliffe and the commission as they have struggled through the troubled expansion of the America鈥檚 Center, built on the northern edge of downtown in 1977.
In 2018, St. 不良研究所导航网址 regional leaders announced plans for a $175 million project. They said they would add 92,000 square feet of new exhibit space along Cole Street, in the center鈥檚 northwest corner. They would build a new 65,000-square-foot ballroom along Ninth Street and a new kitchen to service it. They would replace an unsightly parking lot with a public plaza and green space and build new loading docks to accommodate bigger conventions.
But they have hit obstacle after obstacle ever since. The city took months longer than expected to issue bonds for its half of the cost while leaders gauged the pandemic鈥檚 impact on city finances. County officials then waited until April 2022 to green light their own bonds.
All the while, costs have skyrocketed amid inflation in the construction market. When the city鈥檚 Board of Public Service, which is overseeing the project, requested bids for the expansion, it got one for the first half that was roughly $40 million over budget, and none at all for the second half.
Ratcliffe said in April 2022 that the overrun would shrink by a minimum of $8 million. But that hasn鈥檛 happened.
On Monday, the Post-Dispatch revealed that as of the end of April of this year, change orders on the first phase had reached $7 million, leaving nearly all of the city鈥檚 contingency funds exhausted. Officials, worried they wouldn鈥檛 have enough money for a second phase, also pulled roughly $20 million in additional work into the first.
Later Monday, the CVC board called a special meeting for Tuesday morning, to be held virtually.
On Tuesday, a Post-Dispatch reporter joined the Zoom, using the link provided to the public by the commission.
Robert was then talking about the search for Ratcliffe鈥檚 replacement.
鈥淜itty鈥檚 done some remarkable things,鈥 he said.
But she hasn鈥檛 been able to focus on operations, he continued.
Key team members have tried to retire and have not been allowed to leave, he added without further explanation.
鈥淲e honestly have a morale problem among our team and people are genuinely concerned to speak up,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the culture that we鈥檇 accept at any of our businesses.鈥
Then O鈥橪oughlin, the board chair, saw the Post-Dispatch reporter on the call, and halted discussion.
The meeting, he said, was supposed to be closed to the public.
Recent records are the latest sign of distress on a critical project for downtown St. 不良研究所导航网址 and the region.听