ALERT: St Joseph trail rejected by Council--who are reconsidering it May 22nd & voting June 3rd - Residents, please contact City Council, attend meetings
[UPDATE May 22nd, 2019: After a work session, which clarified the situation with the grant and with the proposed trail alignment and options, the St Joseph City Council indicated unanimously that they support the reintroduction of the motion to accept the grant and plan to support the motion when it is presented in June.
City staff gave an excellent presentation about the importance of the trail and the grant, many citizens contacted the City Council and attended the City Council Work Session. MoBikeFed was pleased to be able to speak about the trail and the importance of the corridor not only for the neighborhoods and the city of St Joseph, but also as a key part of the Quad-State Trail plan.]
The St Joseph City Council recently voted to reject a $200,000 trails grant for three key trail sections that have long been on the region's transportation plan.
Now the City Council is reconsidering the trails and acceptance of the grant. If you live, work, or bicycle in St Joseph, I hope you will consider joining us at a St Joseph City Council meeting Wednesday, May 22nd, 2019, or contacting the St Joseph City Council members to let them know you support the trails.
- St Joseph City Council Work Session to reconsider trails grant acceptance
Wed, May 22nd, 2019, 4-6pm
City Hall - 4th Floor Conference Room , 100 Frederick Avenue, St. Joseph, MO 64501
- Citizens can attend the meeting and give a brief public comment in support of the trails if desired
- Trail opponents will definitely be attending, so it is important to have supporters attending and speaking as well
If you can't attend the meeting in person (or even if you can!) a quick email or phone call to your St Joseph City Council members can make a huge difference.
City Countil Contact info and suggested message points are below. Plan is for a final City Council vote June 3rd so messages between now & June 3rd will really help!
Hope to see a lot of St Joseph folks at the City Council meeting tomorrow!
ST JOSEPH CITY COUNCIL CONTACT INFO
If you live, work, travel, bicycle, or visit St Joseph, you can contact the City Council and let them know you support the city's trail network.
The Mayor & At-Large council members represent the entire city. Everyone can contact them.
The five Council members assigned to a District, it is best to contact the one from your own district. If you're not sure of your city council district, check this map.
Bill McMurray
Mayor
(816) 271-4640
bmcmurray@stjoemo.org
Madison Davis
District I (Northwest part of city)
(816) 244-9250
mdavis@stjoemo.org
Marty Novak
District II (Downtown/central city)
(816) 244-3906
mnovak@stjoemo.org
PJ Kovac
District III (Southwest part of city)
(816) 261-2934
pjkovac@stjoemo.org
Gary Roach
District IV (Northeast part of city)
(816) 341-4506
groach@stjoemo.org
Russell Moore
District V (Southeast plus some central parts of city)
(816) 752-8363
rmoore@stjoemo.org
Brenda Blessing
At-Large (Entire city)
(816) 244-3913
bblessing@stjoemo.org
Brian Myers
At-Large (Entire city)
(816) 273-3108
brmyers@stjoemo.org
Kent O'Dell
At-Large, Deputy Mayor (Entire City)
(816) 341-4502
kodell@stjoemo.org
SUGGESTED MESSAGE POINTS
Councilman or Councilwoman XXXX,
I [live/work/visit/own a business in/own property in/etc] St. Joseph. I am writing to let you know that I strongly support the city's trails plan. Please vote in favor of the St Joseph trails grant.
[Tell a brief story about why bicycling, walking, trails, etc. is important to you, your family, your neighborhood.]
Some possible points you can make:
- These trails are part of the regional transportation plan which has had years of public input and thousands of public comments
- The trails are vital connections in a planned Quad-State Trail System
- Most cities around Missouri are fast becoming more bicycle friendly and building trails, on-street bike networks, and much more.
- The city can work with neighbors to address their concerns, but the concerns of a very few individuals should not make the decision for something that benefits an entire city
- Oftentimes neighbors who are the biggest opponents prior to a trail coming into their neighborhood become the biggest users once it is in place
- Trails are friendly, non-threatening, help build great neighborhoods and improve property values
- These trails make vital connections for people who walk and bicycle that wont' be possible otherwise
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