St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer is adamant that the public will see the results of an external investigation probing why warning sirens did not sound ahead of the May 16 tornado that ripped through the city. She’s insistent the details of the investigation will be released, even though her communications director had recently suggested a wrongful death lawsuit against the city could complicate its disclosure.
At a press conference yesterday, Spencer said the external investigation is ongoing “but should be concluding very soon.”
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In the aftermath of the May 16 tornado, the siren’s failure to sound became a source of outrage and even national news coverage. City Emergency Management Agency director Sarah Russell was placed on administrative leave when it came to light that Russell’s communication with the fire department on the day of the tornado was ambiguous as to whether they should sound the sirens and that her team was at an off-site training on the day of the storm.
Russell was put on leave pending the external investigation as well as an internal one, led by Public Safety Director Shawn Dace. The internal investigation concluded about two weeks ago.
Earlier this week, responding to an email inquiry by Downtown West resident and prolific X user Denis Beganovic, Spencer’s spokesperson Beverly Isom suggested that Deborah Patrick’s lawsuit against the city, which blamed the siren’s failure for the wrongful death of her father, could affect any release of the investigation.
Beganovic began by noting that Spencer had previously stated there would be an external investigation. He asked who was leading it and what its status was.
“The investigation statement was made prior to any lawsuits being filed,” Isom wrote, seeming to refer to the administration’s past comments on the investigation. “However, since that is the case now, the City does not comment on pending litigation.”
But on Thursday, Spencer told SLM, “I am committed to releasing everything we can.”
Spencer’s chief of staff Nancy Hawes acknowledged that Patrick’s lawsuit may prevent the city from making public “each and every word” of the report while the suit is ongoing, but said the administration is committed to sharing with the public the investigation’s results. Neither Hawes nor Spencer could say exactly when that will be. Interviews that are part of the external investigation were still happening as recently as Wednesday. (Perhaps coincidentally, Russell was spotted in City Hall on Wednesday as well.)
The external investigation is being conducted by local law firm Carmody MacDonald and is said to be looking into both the siren failure as well as the CEMA’s actions in the immediate wake of the tornado.
Hawes added that the purpose of the investigation is less about “looking for wrongdoing,” and more about assessing what went wrong and putting a system in place to prevent it from happening again.
Yesterday’s press conference came as the city is moving into the next phase of its tornado response—what Mayor Cara Spencer says is a “restoring” phase, setting the stage for the rebuilding phase to come. On Thursday, the mayor’s office began the process of pulling up stakes from a satellite office in police headquarters on Olive Street, where many emergency operations had been run out of. Those operations are headed back into City Hall.
Spencer also announced specifics as to how $19.2 million would be spent on tornado recovery—with the lion’s share of that coming from the $30 million that the city has earmarked for tornado relief, using interest accrued on its portion of Rams settlement funds. An additional $1.2 million is sourced from Community Development Block Grant funds.
The millions of dollars whose purpose Spencer outlined Thursday included $5 million for home repairs for those without insurance or who are underinsured, $2.5 million for resource hubs providing meals and other supplies, $1 million for legal services to help people clean up the titles to their homes and to help tenants address issues with landlords.
Spencer emphasized that the remainder of that $30 million was very much still in play and that the idea behind the allocation announced yesterday was to “be nimble,” see which funds were needed more than others, and adjust allocations from there.
“We know the need is greater than this. But it is a major start. And a good start,” she said.
Spencer said that the city has also signed a contract with Spirtas Worldwide, a demolition and remediation company, to clear debris from the city. Spirtas will employ a “grid-based approach” starting in the northeast and moving west and south. Spencer also announced a Recovery Office, housed in the mayor’s office, that will coordinate plans to “restore and rebuild.”
She added that all these initiatives are done with the intent of making sure people affected by the tornado “stay in St. Louis.”
