About 67 percent of St. Louis city residents who voted in the April 2 general election, and 53 percent in St. Louis County, said “yes” to Proposition P, a 3/16th sales tax increase for city and county park improvements.
“This is going to be a project that sets the region apart,” said St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones, who advocated for Proposition P. “It says we can all work together to move our region forward.”
There will be work to do. Initiative advocates estimate that Prop P will create 530 construction jobs and 4,400 permanent new jobs.
“This means job creation and much-needed repairs for the Gateway Arch grounds,” Jones said.
Walter Metcalfe, board chair of the CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation, said diversity in the workforce – both in construction and operations – has always been a part of the planning discussion.
“We are working with the National Park Service to ensure the local labor force is fully represented in the process,” Metcalfe said.
Jones said all project work in the city, including on the Arch, would be governed by the Mayor’s Executive Order calling for 25 percent minority business enterprise inclusion and 5 percent women business enterprise inclusion.
Susan Trautman, executive director of Great Rivers Greenway, which spearheaded the ballot initiative, said that passage of Prop P is a victory for regional cooperation.
“The voters made a decision for the region,” Trautman said. “They said, ‘We believe in the Gateway Arch, and we believe in the parks.’”
Those that made the decision were a small part of the region’s voting population, only 12.5 percent of St. Louis city eligible voters and 15.6 percent in St. Louis County.
The tax will raise an estimated $31 million a year – or a projected $780 million by the time the tax expires in 20 years.
The improvements will focus on three areas:
* First, protecting natural areas and wildlife habitat and improving parks and trails.
* Second, enhancing accessibility and security for the Gateway Arch, Mississippi Riverfront and surrounding areas.
* Third, improving existing parks in St. Louis County and city.
St. Louis city will receive $2.6 million for local park improvements. St. Louis County will receive approximately $6 million annually to improve county parks and $4 million will be awarded as grants to improve municipal parks in the county.
The remaining $18.8 million will go to the public agency Great Rivers Greenway, which will administer the Arch and trails projects.
Since 2000 when the public parks agency was created by voter approval, Great Rivers Greenways has created more than 104 miles of trails for walking, jogging and bicycle riding and protected 1,500 acres of natural areas, wildlife habitat and parks. The tax increase will greatly expand these projects.
“We are going to work in the morning,” Trautman said on election night. “We have a lot of projects to build. We have a plan for Great Rivers Greenway and for the Arch.”
The sales tax is part a larger plan to fund $380 million in improvements to the Arch grounds, the riverfront and its surroundings. Prop P funds would allow about $90 million to be bonded immediately for the Arch project, so projects can get underway. Overall, more than $250 million in funds will be raised from private donors.
Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones said her office has been working closely with Great Rivers Greenway to address some of the changes to the Arch grounds’ parking. She has been leading an effort to make sure all parking operators, both public and private, are following the same guidelines.
“Whether people park in a city or private garage, they won’t know the difference,” she said. “They will get the same level of service, no matter where they park.”
Jones was one of the 67 percent that voted in favor of the proposition, ensuring that parks and the Arch will be more accessible for her son Aden and future generations, she said.
Jones said, “I am looking forward to the changes on the Mississippi riverfront and will be glad to take my son down to the Arch and stop playing frogger across Memorial Boulevard.”