sandi villarreal

Dardenne Prairie Mayor Pam Fogarty had a tough job when she assumed her position four years ago.

The mother of five has since put Dardenne Prairie on the map, and Wednesday she received regional recognition.

Progress 64 West, a business organization focused on bi-county transportation and development issues, honored Fogarty with its Excellence in Community Development award."I needed to have a real nice community for my kids to grow up in so that's what prompted me to run," Fogarty said. "... I thought I was just doing what I was supposed to be doing, so getting this honor just seems strange to me, because it's like, isn't this what we're all supposed to be doing, the right thing?"

Fogarty moved to St. Charles County from Houston in 2000. In 2003, she decided to run for mayor of Dardenne Prairie even though she had no political experience.

"We've got about four employees now and a part-time person. I do clean the bathrooms because no one else wants to do it," she said.

Her latest in a string of accomplishments was cutting the ribbon opening a bridge across Highway 40 to her town.

"I needed to get this bridge built in order to get some commercial that Dardenne Prairie's never had before. I didn't have any money," Fogarty said Wednesday.

The bridge cost about $20 million. She decided she would find the money, lobbying the Missouri Department of Transportation, County Executive Joe Orwerth and Opus Development, the company that put in Dardenne Town Square retail center.

"I did go to MoDOT, and I said 'MoDOT can you help me out? I need some money,'" Fogarty said. "And you know what they said? 'OK.' They gave it to me."

Fogarty said she did the same thing with Ortwerth and Opus and created a transportation district to help fund the project.

"I now have a Target, a JC Penney's, a Shop-N-Save and a Wehrenberg in my city," Fogarty said. "And I want you to know we have a Red Robin - I have a sit-down restaurant in my city now."

Fogarty credited Dardenne Prairie's Board of Aldermen for recent success, calling them the "best board of aldermen in St. Charles County."

St. Charles County Executive-Elect Steve Ehlmann, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and others at the banquet praised Fogarty for her dedication.

"I'm fascinated by how people are willing to make commitments, and not just to cash in, but to create a real atmosphere that's just a great place to live life," said Pastor Jeff Perry of St. Louis Family Church in Chesterfield, one of the award presenters. "... There's just a passion here, and I appreciate what's happened in this region."

Fogarty said she believes all of the people in the room were chosen for a reason to be influential in the development of the Interstate 64/Highway 40-61 corridor.

"It is a blank sheet of paper there, and it is us," she said. "We get one shot, and that's it - one shot to get it right."

Original article