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<\/figure><\/div>\n\nElectric car manufacturer Tesla has plans to open a massive warehouse south of Interstate 270 in the Metro East. The company signed a lease for nearly 667,000 square feet of space at Gateway TradePort, a planned industrial park in Pontoon Beach, according to a market report from commercial real estate firm CBRE. The City Celebrates with the Granite City High School Marching Warriors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Find the Metro East Sun in your mailbox this week? This is who sent it and why<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Metro-east residents are accustomed to receiving mailboxes full of campaign literature during election season, but a publication that arrived this week is raising eyebrows. On October 20, 2022,<\/strong>\u00a0Granite City Township Spends the Day at the St. Louis Aquarium<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Madison County passes proposed budget and property tax levy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The Madison County Finance and Government Operations Committee<\/strong>\u00a0on Monday approved a proposed $182.6 million fiscal year 2023 budget, along with a $30.8 million property tax levy. Granite City Welcomes Kasabi Hibachi Restaurant<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Ward 4 Alderman Brad Eavenson Recaps the November 01, 2022 Council Meeting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n There were numerous <\/a>committee meetings held prior to the actual city council meeting and many issues were debated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under Planning and Zoning an item was tabled to waive liens on a property located a 2137 Grand. More information was needed, and this will be brought back to the next meeting. The council did accept transfer of ownership of a property at 2882 Indiana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Legal and legislative committee recommended that the council amend the ordinance dealing with the number of tattoo parlors allowed in the city as well as more specific language to the rules and regulations. The ordinance was passed. A copy of the ordinance will be on the city website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n To accommodate the 4th of July holiday in 2023, the board adjusted the schedule of city council meetings for July and August 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under Public Works, the council adopted an ordinance creating one handicapped parking space in front of 2301 Anchorage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Fire Committee proposed an ordinance to authorize and approve an agreement with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services concerning calculation and payment of interim rates to reimburse the Granite City Fire Department for ambulance services to Medicaid patients. This will generate more revenue for the fire department through a federal grant fund. The ordinance was adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the Finance Committee, several ordinances were adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An ordinance was approved to repeal sections 10.42.010 through 10.42.120 of the Granite City Municipal Code, concerning annual motor vehicle license stickers. This will eliminate city stickers in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An ordinance to amend section 5.04.250 of the Granite City Municipal Code, concerning video gaming license fees. After lengthy debate, the council adopted a new fee schedule for the operation and licensing of video gaming machines in the city of Granite City. A three-year escalating fee schedule will go into effect in 2023 for the establishments who operate the gaming units. The vendor (supplier of the machines) will also be charged a higher rate for each location. The ordinance was adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An ordinance to place on the April 4, 2023 election ballot a referendum to eliminate the elected, paid office of the Granite City Treasurer and for a Chief Financial Officer to assume the combined duties of the treasurer and comptroller. Our current treasurer will not be seeking re-election. We will combine the duties of the treasurer and comptroller resulting in a savings of salaries at City Hall. This ordinance has to be approved by vote of the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An ordinance to sponsor two non-citizen workers to become permanent residents of the United States. Two of our current staff members in the tech department will become permanent United States residents through this sponsorship. Both young men are excellent employees and very skilled in their profession. The mayor and council are proud to assist them in this endeavor and the ordinance was adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An ordinance to authorize expenditure of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, to purchase a disaster response equipment trailer to be used by the city during catastrophic events. An ordinance was also presented to authorize use of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, to purchase one Fecon BH40 EXC-1 Mulching Head Mount for the Public Works Department to maintain surface water drainage and drainage ditches. Both of the equipment purchase ordinances were approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Mill\u201d is Right on Track for its Opening in the District<\/strong><\/p>\n\n R.GC Church Didn\u2019t Let the Wet Weather Slow Them Down<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The Month of Magic and Mayhem in the District Ended with\u00a0Ghosts and Goblins walking the Downtown Area<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The magical month of celebrations kicked off with the Creepy Crawl Parade and the Monster Mash dance party. The Magic and Mayhem continued every weekend for the entire month of October. The festivities that followed included a Scavenger Hunt, and a concert from the Rocket Ride \u201cKiss tribute\u201d band that filled the park and the downtown area with music and visitors from Granite City and its neighbors.<\/p>\n\n The month of fun and spooky celebrations concluded on Saturday October 29th with the \u201cNightmare on Niedringhaus\u201d kid\u2019s costume parade with candy, prizes and games. Area businesses and organizations participated in the candy giveaways to the visiting trick or treaters. The City\u2019s Month of Magic and Mayhem is Well Under Way<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n Regenerative Health and Chiropractic, LTD Office Expansion is a Sign of More Progress in Granite City<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n Jon Roderick, Owner of Jerry\u2019s Cafeteria Holds a Second Cooking Class<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Ward 4 Alderman Brad Eavenson Recaps the October 18, 2022 Council Meeting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n Mayor Parkinson read a proclamation declaring Wednesday October 19th, as Landon Harris Day in the City of Granite City. Landon, the son of Don and Nicole Harris won the Junior High cross country state championship for the state of Illinois last weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The proclamation noted the many athletic and academic accomplishments of this young man. The high school cross country coaches are eagerly awaiting Landon becoming a freshman next year at GCHS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congratulations to Landon and his entire family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n The council approved events at Chocolate Covered Creations and a block party for the 2100 block of Waterman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The downtown committee presented an ordinance amending expenditures in the Downtown TIF district which will provide funds for Phase 2 of the work at the new entertainment venue. The additional work will include the installation of an elevator for full access to the building as well as renovation of the second floor for possible satellite office spaces. The council approved the ordinance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alderwoman Davis also announced the cancellation of the Music in the Park event tomorrow night. She then updated us on the full schedule of events in the city for the rest of the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Planning and Zoning committee recommended acceptance of a donation for property at 2004 Wilson Avenue. The council accepted the donation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two vehicles from the Public Works Department were declared surplus by the Public Works Committee and the council approved that action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Police Committee presented three ordinances for purchases through the American Recovery Plan funds as well as a grant through the Secretary of State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two ordinances will provide funding for tasers for officers as well as body and squad car cameras for the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The grant application, when approved, will provide $250,000 for four new police squad cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under Waste Water Treatment operations the council also approved waiveing of delinquent sewer bills for a property on Iowa Street so the property can be sold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n City Grant Writer, Mrs. Paula Hubbard updated the council on grants that have been awarded and are being applied for totaling millions of dollars for the city. Thank you, Paula for your efforts in obtaining these funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a summary only and not to be considered as the actual meeting minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n October 2022 Archives<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There were numerous committee meetings held prior to the actual city council meeting and many issues were debated. Under Planning and Zoning an item was tabled to waive liens on a property located a 2137 Grand. More information was needed, and this will be brought back to the next meeting. The council did accept transfer of … Continue reading “November Archived Articles and Images”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10447","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10447"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10755,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10447\/revisions\/10755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
It\u2019s not clear what Tesla has planned for the warehouse, which is under construction at 1202 Tradeport Parkway, off I-270 and Illinois Route 111.
The warehouse deal comes as the company is\u00a0planning to open\u00a0a dealership and service center in south St. Louis County, about 27 miles southwest of the Metro East facility. It also operates a dealership in Chesterfield.\u00a0Read more here\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n
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The Metro East Sun looks like a traditional newspaper with headlines, stories, photos, local event listings and an \u201cAthletes in Action\u201d page with 25 photos of college football players from East St. Louis, Belleville, Cahokia and Edwardsville.
Stories focus on sensationally worded allegations that Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who\u2019s now running for reelection, and other Democrats are indoctrinating children on LGBTQ issues and preparing to release dangerous criminals into the streets with the new SAFE-T Act.\u00a0Continue reading\u2026<\/a>
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The committee voted on Oct. 27 to send the proposed FY2023 budget and zero-growth tax levy to the County Board at 5 p.m. on Nov. 16. The new fiscal year starts on Dec. 1.
\u201cOnce again the county balanced the budget and kept its property tax levy flat,\u201d Chairman Kurt Prenzler said. \u201cIt\u2019s been the County Board\u2019s priority to reduce reliance on property taxes.\u201d
In 2017, the board lowered the tax levy by $1.8 mill to $30.8 million and it\u2019s remained at that level.
County Board member Chris Guy and chair of the Finance Committee said the administration will be department heads and elected officials who to put together a balanced spending plan.
\u201cWe got a budget that does not increase taxes,\u201d Guy said. \u201cIt also supports public safety in a time with the SAFE-T Act getting ready to go into effect. The proposed budget includes $60 million in General Fund monies, which $7.95 million will come from the tax levy. Funding sources for the budget includes property taxes, grants, and fees, as well as sales tax revenue. The levy is the amount requested from property taxes used to finance a portion of the county\u2019s budget. The general fund makes up about one-third of the county\u2019s total tax levy.
The General Fund pays for the majority of personnel costs. Other funds include Special Revenue ($94.9 million), Capital Project ($7.8 million), Enterprise ($4 million) and Internal Service ($15.7 million.) County Board member Erica Conway-Harriss and finance committee member said everyone on the board is proud to say that during the last six years \u201cwe\u2019ve reduced taxes.\u201d
\u201cTo say that we would be able to continue to decrease taxes with that type of unfunded mandate (SAFE-T Act) is pretty impressive,\u201d Conway-Harriss said.
Visit www.madisoncountyil.gov to view a copy of the proposed budget online.
Talk Around Town, November 2022<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n
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It\u2019s a wonderful sight seeing the city busy with families walking throughout \u201cThe District\u201d downtown area. Mayor Mike Parkinson along with Granite City Downtown Arts and Entertainment Director Brenda Whitaker together are breathing new life into the old downtown. It\u2019s an exciting time in Granite City!<\/p>\n\n\n
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