Municipal League Installation Dinner
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Thank you to everyone who attended our annual Installation Dinner & Awards Ceremony held on May 22nd! During the event, The League made a $25,000 donation to the American Red Cross to aid tornado recovery efforts. Red Cross Regional Director Howard Hayes challenged everyone present to collectively match that contribution - we'd like to thank Curtis, Heinz, Garret, & O'Keefe, NAVIGATE Building Solutions, and Spire for their generous contributions of $1,000, $1,000 and $15,000, respectively.
Our new officers and board members were officially sworn in, including Brentwood Mayor David Dimmitt (President), Rock Hill Mayor Edward Mahan (Vice President), Overland Mayor Marty Little (Finance Chair), Bridgeton Mayor Randy Hein (new board member), and Kirkwood Mayor Liz Gibbons (new board member). View all our board members HERE.
The League honored retiring mayors Bob Nation of Chesterfield, Missy Waldman of Olivette, Tim Pouge of Ballwin, and Michelle Harris of Clayton. Rep. Joe Adams was also presented the Legislative Leadership Award for being a friend to municipalities in the Missouri General Assembly, plus for his past service as President of The League and mayor of University City.
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Park Grant Application Now Open
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The Municipal Park Grant Commission's annual construction grant application is now open! Grants may be used to fund park renovation projects such as playgrounds, water parks, golf courses, trails, recreation centers, ice rinks and many other types of facilities. Funding is awarded to municipalities based on the strength of their grant applications, including factors such as need, planning, community input, and prior awards. The deadline to apply is Friday, August 29th at 3:00 pm. APPLY HERE.
Applicants are encouraged to attend one of our workshops where we walk through the application process and answer questions. Attendance also counts towards grant scoring. The workshop dates are:
Wednesday June 11th, 4:00pm, Normandy City Hall
Thursday June 12th, 9:00am, Brentwood Community Center
Tuesday June 17th, 9:00am, Sunset Hills City Hall
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Missouri's 103rd General Assembly passed 67 bills during their first regular session of 2025. Gov. Kehoe has until June 30th to sign these bills into law. Click HERE for The League's detailed 2025 Legislative Session Summary.
Bills of interest that passed include SB 2 which reduces the outstanding balance municipalities owe for late submittal of financial statements, SB 105 which bans the sale of certain invasive plants, and HB 145 which allows municipalities to close records of minors & modifies provisions of Sunshine Law.
St. Louis County also passed bills of interest supported by The League:
- Gateway Regional Law Enforcement Training Center - utilizes state funding to develop a regional police training center; supported by multiple counties in the region and available for use by municipal police departments.
- St. Louis County Land Bank - creates an agency to revitalize vacant residential and commercial buildings within municipalities and the county; return non-revenue-generating properties back to productive use.
Issues of interest that did not pass were the elimination of grocery sales taxes, forced government consolidation in St. Louis, the second amendment preservation act, implementing a "cooling off" period for failed ballot measures, and requiring taxpayers to pay private companies to relocate broadband infrastructure located in the right-of-way.
Governor Kehoe announced a special legislative session, with the first extraordinary session of 2025 convening June 2nd for the General Assembly to address budget appropriations, tax incentives for professional sports teams, and natural disaster relief. To further aid disaster relief efforts, Gov. Kehoe requested FEMA aid and approved Mayor Spencer's request to deploy the Missouri National Guard. |
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East West Gateway's Hazard Mitigation Plan
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East-West Gateway has been working across several counties in the St. Louis region to revise and update the St. Louis Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan covering 2025-2030.
Municipalities participating in the plan are eligible to apply for federal pre-natural disaster mitigation grant funding. Eligible hazard mitigation projects include heating/cooling stations, snow preparedness, tornado shelters, flood plain buyout, storm water management, etc. To be eligible, municipalities must complete this survey and pass a resolution (see sample resolution HERE) in support of East West Gateway's 2025-2030 draft regional hazard mitigation plan. For questions or coaching through this process, contact [email protected].
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St. Louis County Comprehensive Plan Available for Review
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The draft of STLCO 2050, St. Louis County's long-range vision for the county and guidelines for development, is available for external review HERE throughout the month of June. The county Planning Commission will also hold a public hearing June 16 at 7pm in the county council chamber to present the plan and receive public comment. A number of the comprehensive plan's policy recommendations deal with municipalities.
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St. Louis Regional Freightway Launches "FreightWeekSTL 2025" Conference
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St. Louis Regional Freightway, the organization responsible for developing and enhancing the region's freight network, launched their annual FreightWeekSTL conference. Session from the conference can be viewed online HERE and feature presentations from industry experts.
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Community Development Block Grant Application Cycle Deadline
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The Missouri Department of Economic Development is accepting applications for their 2025 Community Development Block Grant. The application deadline is Monday, July 28th. To apply, click HERE. For questions, visit HERE.
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Safe Streets & Roads for All
Notice of Funding Opportunity
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The U.S. Department of Transportation has released the 2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Safe Streets & Roads for All program. This grant opportunity supports local and regional efforts to improve roadway safety through planning and implementation grants.
Thanks to East-West Gateway's "Gateway to Safer Roadways" regional action plan, municipalities may apply for implementation grants HERE. The grant application deadline is June 26, 2025.
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Submit Nominations for EWG's Outstanding Local Government Achievement Award
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Know someone who is an exemplary local leader? Nominate them for East West Gateway's Outstanding Local Government Achievement Award! These awards are meant to recognize the hard work and dedication of any municipal, county, special purpose, or school district official in the St. Louis Metropolitain Area. Nominations are due by 4:00 pm on September 29th, 2025.
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June's Training Academy will be held on Thursday the 26th at noon. Jim Hetlage of Lashly & Baer will be presenting on how to build your municipality's employee policy manual. Registration emails will be sent out shortly.
Municipalities can still register for the program and pay annual tuition HERE. Annual tuition allows all elected officials, staff members, and board/commission members within your municipality to attend all seminars throughout the year.
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