The Webster Groves City Council on July 6 approved a resolution declaring Juneteenth as an official city holiday.
Juneteenth, celebrated June 19, marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 â two-and-one-half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation â to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people would be freed.
Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest running African American holiday. On June 17 of this year, it officially became a federal holiday.Â
City Manager Marie Peoples, who is African American, read the resolution.
Earlier that night during a council work session, Peoples said the city had recently received a copy of a letter that a resident had found in a family memberâs belongings.
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A Webster Groves citizens group delivered a referendum petition bearing 982 signatures to the city clerkâs office on Tuesday morning, May 18. Signatures collected represent more than twice the number needed to force a public vote on a recent zoning code change.
The Webster Groves Citizens Organization had until Wednesday, May 19, to file the petition, which calls for a public vote on zoning code modifications passed by the Webster Groves City Council on May 4.Â
The group was required by the city charter to collect a minimum of 428 signatures from registered voters. Richard Mazzarella, president of The Webster Groves Residents Organization, said most of the 982 signatures collected were gathered at a day-long signature drive held on May 15.
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The Webster Groves City Council on May 4 decided not to go before voters in August with a second try at passing a local âuse taxâ measure. The city, however, could place the matter before voters at a later date.
Prop 1 lost by 13 votes on April 6. Since then, the mayor and council have been discussing whether to put the measure before voters again in August. Prop 1 called for a use tax of 1.5% on out-of-state purchases that do not collect the local option sales tax.Â
Councilwoman Laura Arnold said she has mixed feelings about a second vote.
âWe need the revenue that comes with the tax, but Iâm uncomfortable going back to residents without any significant (state level) legislative change,â she said. âIf we go back to voters quickly, we need to go back because something has changed â not because this didnât pass the last time.â