League Meetings 2024-2025
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League Meeting Schedule with Topics
September 26, 2024 Des Peres MoDot
October 24, 2024 Brentwood Park Commissioners
December 12, 2024 Maryland Heights Holiday Open House
January 23, 2025 Creve Coeur TBD
February 20, 2025 Bridgeton TBD
March 27, 2025 Ellisville TBD
April 24, 2025 Florissant TBD
May 22, 2025 Renaissance Airport Annual Installation Dinner
* This is a tentative schedule subject to change. Please check the online calendar and the monthly newsletter for up-to-date locations and topics.
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2024-2025 Municipal League Dues
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The Municipal League has mailed the Annual Membership Dues Statement and the Annual Report of League Activities to municipal and affiliate members on Monday to correspond with the start of the League's fiscal year, which runs from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. Please note that payment is due by August 31. We appreciate your continued support of our activities!
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The directory of St. Louis area officials has been updated and printing is underway. League staff will hand deliver directories to city halls later this month. Please contact us should you need extra copies.
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Department of Justice Meetings
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On Monday, June 10th, a panel of DOJ leaders, including the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri and the Deputy Director of the U.S. Marshals Service, met at Washington University for a Project Safe Neighborhoods panel discussion, a program that engages with local organizations and law enforcement to address violent crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Franks is leading an intervention program with St. Louis Public Schools to address conflict resolution, gang resistance, and career pathways for students. The Justice Department is also expanding its Violent Crime Initiative to St. Louis, which provides prosecutors from the U.S. Attorneys’ Office for the Eastern District of Missouri with additional federal resources to address violent crime and racketeering cases.
On Tuesday, July 9th the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri will host a grant seminar available to community-based organizations to support public safety efforts in the St. Louis region. AUSA Franks suggests that municipal attendance would be beneficial. The training starts at 1:00 PM at 1520 Market Street (Large Conference Room, First Floor). Parking is available on the street and at the Enterprise Center Garage. RSVP HERE for the event. |
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Last month, officials from the Environmental Protection Agency met with elected officials and members of the community to discuss findings from their Technical Assistance Needs Assessment, a site-specific process used by the EPA to determine whether communities need additional support to understand technical information to enable community involvement in the Superfund decision-making process. The needs assessment recommends providing the community with a technical advisor to explain site-related information and forming a technical community advisory group. See the EPA’s Community Involvement webpage or contact Jeff Gill, Remedial Project Manager, at (913) 551-7309 for more information.
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City's Public Camping Ordinance Upheld
In City of Grants Pass v. Johnson (see written opinion HERE), the Supreme Court ruled that a city’s enforcement of generally applicable laws regulating camping on public property does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment. In 2022, the Missouri legislature passed HB 1606, an omnibus bill with many components, including similar language applicable to the homeless that banned unauthorized sleeping/camping on state-owned land. In their written opinion, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned HB 1606—not due to language on homeless camping, but because the omnibus bill included multiple topics in violation of the single subject, clear title, and original purpose requirements of the Missouri Constitution. This SCOTUS ruling leaves the door open for municipalities and states to adopt generally applicable public camping laws.
Chevron Precedent Overturned
In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimonda (see written opinion HERE), the Supreme Court overturned the Chevron doctrine, a precedent established in Chevron USA v. Natural Resources Defense Council that gave federal agencies powers to interpret ambiguous laws that Congress told them to administer. Going forward, courts will play a larger role interpreting whether a government agency has acted within its statutory authority, rather than deferring to that agency’s interpretation of ambiguous laws.
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Governor Parson Signs Annual Budget
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The governor recently signed Missouri’s $50.5 billion FY25 budget into law and vetoed $1 billion in spending. See the Governor’s press release, the list of appropriation bills, and list of budget vetoes. St. Louis-specific vetoes that did not make it into the budget include $10 million for stormwater facilities in Maryland Park Lake District, $7 million to rehabilitate Lambert airport, $7 million for the Innovation and Economic Growth Community in St. Louis, $4 million to demolish abandoned properties in Kinloch, $3 million for a business park in Crestwood, $500,000 for improvements to an athletic complex in Chesterfield, and $350,000 for stormwater management in Wildwood. The Governor made partial cuts to the following programs: from $25 million to $15 million for UMSL’s engineering building, from $10 million to $5 million for Great Rivers Greenway’s Brickline Greenway, a project that will connect Forest Park, Gateway Arch National Park, Tower Grove Park, and Fairground Park with paved pedestrian pathways, from $2.5 million to $1 million for a foster/adoptive care center in Creve Coeur. HB 2020 also includes $50 million in funding for the construction of a regional police training facility.
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Park Grants Opened June 1
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It's That Time!!
Construction Grant Applications Round 25 opened June 1
The Municipal Park Grant Commission of St. Louis County, established in 2001, allocates grants for park renovations and new developments such as playgrounds, water parks, golf courses, trails, recreation centers, ice rinks, and various other recreational amenities.
This year, the Construction Grant Application has a new submission deadline: Friday, August 30, 2024, by 3 PM. Similar to previous years, we are happy to review your application up to two weeks prior to the deadline. Please ensure to submit a review request before finalizing your application.
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Planning grants up to $10,000 are available to assist in developing master plans for future park developments or specific construction project planning. Applications for planning grants are open year-round and can be accessed here. If you're contemplating a project for the upcoming year, starting the planning process early is advisable.
The Park Commission acknowledges that not all municipalities possess professional public works, engineering, or parks staff to manage construction grant applications and oversee projects. This has occasionally resulted in incomplete or inaccurate applications and project delays. Consequently, the Commission has instituted a policy mandating that any municipality lacking professional staff must secure a planning grant prior to applying for a construction grant. The Commissioners believe this policy will ensure projects are well-planned and executed efficiently and on schedule.
For inquiries regarding this policy, please reach out to the Municipal League staff at [email protected] or call 314-726-4747.
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There is not a session this month.
The next sessions are:
August 22 Administrative Hearings, Impeachments & Disciplinary Actions
September 26 Running Public Meetings
October 24 Types of Municipal Governments
November 20 Elections
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Be sure to check The Municipal League of Metro St. Louis website for Municipal Job Postings. Click here.
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