The City of Riverside will ask voters to approve a sales tax on recreational marijuana in April.
The board of aldermen approved a proposed three percent sales tax at its Tuesday, Jan. 3 meeting at city hall. The proposed ballot language reads, “Shall the City of Riverside, Missouri impose a sales tax of three percent (3%) on the retail sale of adult use non-medical marijuana?”
The board unanimously approved the ballot question with no discussion.
Also at the meeting, the board awarded a more than $500,000 construction bid to Dondlinger and Sons Construction to build a connector for the Line Creek Trail.
Parks director Noel Bennion presented the project, which will connect Renner Brenner Park, under Gateway Avenue via an underground trail and will connect to the Gateway sidewalk. This will allow pedestrians to bypass the busy Gateway and Vivion Road intersection. The city secured grant funding for $250,000 of the project. Work is expected to begin later this year and will wrap up before the end of the year.
Deer and Canada geese populations have boomed, city officials reported, and the city works with the US Department of Agriculture to keep numbers under control due to Riverside’s proximity to the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport. USDA will conduct a census of the wildlife along city trails and the levee over the next few weeks and offer the city alternatives to manage the population. Options include a small urban hunting option for deer or management through the city’s animal control department.
Automobile versus deer accidents are up, and mayor Kathy Rose said her sister and grandson had both hit deer in the city within the past couple of weeks. She hoped that should a managed hunt be necessary, that conversations with area food banks and food assistance programs be had to donate meat if possible.
Rose also gave city officials and staff an emotional thank you for their support after the death of her mother, former mayor Betty Burch, who died late last year.