Wentzville, Missouri
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City
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![]() Old Downtown Wentzville
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![]() Location of Wentzville
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Coordinates: 38°48′58″N 90°51′26″WCoordinates: 38°48′58″N 90°51′26″W | |
Country | United States |
State | Missouri |
County | St. Charles County |
Founded | 1855 |
Government
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• Mayor | Nick Guccione |
Area | |
• Total | 19.98 sq mi (51.75 km2) |
• Land | 19.96 sq mi (51.70 km2) |
• Water | 0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2) |
Elevation
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623 ft (190 m) |
Population | |
• Total | 29,070 |
• Estimate
(2018)[3]
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41,164 |
• Density | 1,500/sq mi (560/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−6 (Central (CST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
ZIP code |
63385
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Area code(s) | 636 |
FIPS code | 29-78442 |
GNIS feature ID | 0756888[4] |
Website | wentzvillemo |
Wentzville was laid out in 1855.[9] The community has the name of the chief engineer of the Northern Missouri Railroad Erasmus Livingston Wentz.[10] A post office called Wentzville has been in operation since 1859.[11]
The Wentzville Tobacco Company Factory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.[12]
Wentzville is the location of the first Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the United States. It began as a tree of lights to help raise money in 1967 to send gifts to active servicemen, but later evolved by 1984 to a carved eagle atop a pillar of granite. It has become a regular stop in the national "Run for the Wall" trip for veterans.[13]
Government
The government of Wentzville consists of a mayor, six aldermen (two for each ward), and a city administrator. City Administrator is a non-elected position, whereas the others are elected. Mayors serve four-year terms and aldermen serve two-year terms.[16] The city is divided into three wards.
Economy
The city's major employer is General Motors which has a full size van assembly plant located there, called Wentzville Assembly.
One of the city's largest employers, from 2013-2017, was Serco. The British-based company was awarded a five-year contract in 2013 to manage the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. As a result of the contract, Serco opened its Affordable Care Act application processing facility in Wentzville in August of that same year in the building that was formerly home to the US Fidelis call center. The Wentzville Serco facility attracted national attention in 2014 after whistle-blower allegations revealed that workers spent large amounts of time sleeping or playing games due to lack of work.[17][18][19][20] At its peak, Serco employed approximately 1,500 employees in Wentzville. In 2018, Serco announced its closure of the Wentzville processing center to coincide with the end of its five-year contract with the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. Closing of the facility resulted in a loss of 850 jobs.[21]