March 2015 Message from the Mayor
March 2015 Edition
It is again my privilege to address our great community and share with you some of the highlights in recent times as well as upcoming events. It seems like the good news just keeps on coming!
This issue of our quarterly newsletter contains the annual Parks & Recreation Guide that is very useful in letting you know what events and programs will be available for our residents and members of the surrounding communities. The first activity that I am really excited about is the Grand Opening of River’s Edge Park on April 11, located on the north side of the levee behind Taubman Prestige Outlet Mall. Several improvements have been made to make this area more useful and enjoyable. We will again host Taste of St. Louis on September 18 through 20, and the following weekend we have just been informed that Pedal the Cause has chosen the Chesterfield Amphitheater as the site for the fundraising event on September 26 and 27.
We were also recently informed that we have been awarded a grant that will allow construction of a bike/pedestrian bridge crossing I-64 at Chesterfield Parkway East. This is just one more piece that will add to the inter-connectivity of our city and region.
For those who travel across the Missouri River using the Daniel Boone Bridge, the most recent update from MODOT is that the new eastbound I-64 bridge will be open by July 15, 2015. After maintenance is completed on the existing eastbound bridge, westbound traffic will be shifted to that span by December 31, 2015. They will then take down the 1930s era bridge in early 2016 and are scheduled to finish the project by June 1, 2016. They are not sure when we will be allowed to reopen the levee trail that goes underneath the bridges. The trail connection in St. Charles County to the Katy Trail is not expected until spring of 2016.
New numbers are in from St. Louis County that shows the distribution of local sales tax dollars for all cities in the county as well as unincorporated St. Louis County. For 2014, all pool cities (including Chesterfield) received approximately $140 per capita, unincorporated St. Louis County received approximately $150 per capita, and the average of the point of sale or "A" cities was $215 per capita. Not that I agree with redistribution of revenues according to population, but if that’s the way it’s going to be done, then at least it should be done equitably! Obviously, this gross inequity (any way you slice it) is the reason we have been lobbying for change in the state statute that dictates the distribution of sales tax revenues. Our efforts are continuing. Please let me know if you have any questions and thank you for your support!
Due to the generosity of AEP River Operations and several other corporations, the Veteran’s Honor Park Committee is over halfway to their goal of $500,000 in order to match the city’s contribution for the completion of the Veteran’s Honor Park near Chesterfield Amphitheater. If each resident donated $10, this would put us over the mark and construction could begin. Please consider helping us to make this a reality to honor all our veterans by visiting vhp.chesterfield.mo.us.　
I hope to see you in our parks or on our trails or out and about in our great city!
Sincerely,
Mayor Bob Nation