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Membership Meeting March 24
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The City Of Manchester will host the Thursday, March 24, Membership meeting at Manchester Recreation Center, 359 Old Meramec Station Road, Manchester Mo., 63011 (MAP). Refreshments will be served at 6:30 and the meeting will begin at 7:15 pm.
Susan Trautman, the Chief Executive Officer of Great Rivers Greenway, will be our guest speaker for the meeting. She will be discussing and updating us on the current successes of Great Rivers Greenway and some of the exciting projects in the construction and planning stages.
Since 2010, she has been instrumental in advancing a vision of improving the quality of life in St. Louis by building the River Ring, a 600-mile web of more than 45 greenways, parks and trails that are connecting St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County.
Great Rivers Greenway is a regional park district
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covering 1,200 square miles and serving a population of two million people. Working with over 200 partners, she oversees initiatives that impact more than 100 municipalities, creating and preserving outdoor spaces, connecting people to nature, linking, and strengthening neighborhoods, encouraging healthier active lifestyles, and stimulating the economic well-being of the region.
Susan's background includes serving as the Director of Parks and Recreation with the City of Des Peres, as Planner/Principal with SWT Design, and serving the City of Clayton, Mo., as Director of Parks and Recreation and as Executive Director of The Center of Clayton. For nearly 35 years, she has been responsible for guiding the development and enhancement of numerous park and open space facilities, trails, recreation centers, and delivering successful projects such as the $27 million Lodge Des Peres and the $19 million Center of Clayton..
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As predicted prior to the beginning of the Legislative Session, the debate over the new congressional district map has moved into March following more than three weeks of filibustering in the Senate by members of the Republican Conservative Caucus. Tensions remain high. Two weeks ago President Pro Tem Dave Schatz removed Senator Mike Moon from several Senate Committees for wearing overalls and a sport coat on the Senate floor, defying the unofficial dress code of the Senate. This lead to another week of inaction in the upper chamber. The Senate did finally conduct some business the last week of February and passed Governor Parson's supplemental budget.
The House has remained busy moving bills forward. Rep. Sassmann's HB 1611 which would require municipal and school board officials to declare a political party is moving again. Concerning is Rep. Christofanelli's HB 2306 which would move school board elections to November is on the Perfection Calendar. With the sudden momentum behind these two bills, we could see amendments to eliminate the April elections entirely and making all local election partisan.
For the most current Legislative update, go to the Leagues website at; https://www.stlmuni.org/the-league/legislative-updates/ .
Below is the calendar for the Legislative Session:
- March 14-18, 2022– Spring Break – No Session
- April 18, 2022 – Easter Break – No Session
- May 6, 2022 – State budget must be finalized per the Constitution – 6:00 pm
- May 13, 2022 – Last day of Session per the Constitution – 6:00 pm
- July 1, 2022 – First day of Fiscal Year 2023
- July 14, 2022 – Last day for the Governor to sign or veto bills
- August 28, 2022 – Date most legislation takes effect (unless another date is specified)
- September 14, 2022 – Veto Session - Noon
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ARPA Report Due April 30, 2022
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Non-entitlement cities are required to submit their first report to the U.S. Treasury by April 30, 2022. The report will cover the period between the award date and March 31, 2022. Below are resources you may find useful.
Resources:
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League Seeks Board Candidates
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Due to League term limits, there will be at least 3 vacancies on the Executive Board for the coming year. Terms are now 3 years. The Board meets about nine times per year and is open to any elected official from a member municipality.
If you are interested in serving on the Municipal League's Executive Board, please send a letter or email to the League office by April 4 indicating your interest and outlining your qualifications, including public service, volunteer committees and attendance at League meetings and other events.
The League's Nominating Committee will meet in early April after the municipal elections. The committee will make recommendations to the full membership on a slate of candidates for officers and board members for the 2022 - 2023 year. The Committee will be chaired by Black Jack Norm McCourt, Immediate Past President. The recommended slate of candidates will be presented at the April 28 meeting. If you are interested in serving on the Board please let us know!
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Forest Park Forever is in the process of transforming Steinberg Pavilion and Rink into a year-round amenity that is welcoming to all St. Louisans. There is a survey open to hear what YOU want to see at Steinberg. To take the quick survey and share your input, visit www.bit.ly/steinberg-survey
The Steinberg Pavilion and Rink opened in November 1957 thanks to a donation from the Steinberg Charitable Trust.
The rink is open for ice skating between
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Mid-November and February, including holidays.
You can also share a memory you have of Steinberg Rink. Please upload a picture, short video, or provide a written submission to be shared on this landing page. Your personal experience is an important part of Steinberg’s history. Thanks for sharing! You can learn more about this project at https://www.forestparkforever.org/steinberg Thank you!
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St. Louis County's ARPA Funds
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For several months, St. Louis County Government began discussing how to utilize the millions of dollars we received from the federal government as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. The County has spent a portion of the funds on offsetting lost revenue, public safety, community housing programs and services for seniors. The County has between $80 and $90 million still unallocated and they are seeking input from local leaders and the community on how to speed the remaining funds.
The League office compiled a list of municipal project that could partner with the County to maximize the ARPA funds. The County is now asking that those project be submitted through the community survey.
Please take a minute to complete the community needs survey here. The survey will only be open for three weeks. Townhall events will be announced soon to offer the public additional feedback opportunities.
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According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, "regional collaboration and coordination is the foundation for effective planning for operations". Collaboration and coordination among transportation operators and between planners and those responsible for day-to-day operations is vital for safe, seamless, and reliable travel across modes and jurisdictions". But regional collaboration is even more impactful when well into the planning process a need is uncovered, and community leaders and organizations work together to meet the communities needs.
The I-44 Meramec pedestrian bridge is a great example of coming together for a regional need. MODOT began working on the Meramec River bridge replacement project in 2018 at a cost of over $51 million. In addition to improving the ramps between Interstate 44 and Interstate 270, they replaced all four bridge structures: the westbound and eastbound Interstate 44 bridges over the Meramec River, and the westbound and eastbound bridges connecting I-44 to Watson Road. Combined, the I-44 and I-270 interchange area has an average daily traffic count of 120,000 cars, which is expected to increase to 145,000 by 2040.
During the public hearing for the project, stakeholders and residents expressed concerns and frustration that the project didn't include pedestrian access. With no additional funds available for the project, MODOT turned to the neighboring communities and organizations for help. The Cities of Fenton, Kirkwood, and Sunset Hills, in partnership with Great Rivers Greenway, St. Louis County and the Municipal Park Grant Commission partnered to helped fund the walkway, trailheads, parking lots and connections to the local trail system.
MODOT contributed engineering and design for the pedestrian bridge and Great Rivers Greenway contributed over $1 million for the decking construction. The last phase of the project is the trail connections, trailheads, and parking areas which will begin construction this spring. The city partners were awarded a multi-city park grant in the amount of $1.7 million to complete this last phase of the project.
Taking advantage of this once in lifetime opportunity to build a pedestrian connecter over the Meramec river, linking three cities trail systems together with Great Rivers Greenway is collaboration at its best.
Rendering of Meramec pedestrian bridge.
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