The current Frayser library, located at 3712 Argonne Street, has been a community staple for more than 50 years. While it’s been important for allowing children and adults alike for book access and computer use, it’s also a vital community space for the neighborhood.
A move for a 31-cent tax hike never got to a vote, with a council majority voting down a rule suspension to consider going up on the tax rate. That and other votes Tuesday, June 15, closed out the city’s budget season.
Douglas Emhoff was just in the city last month to push the Biden administration’s infrastructure plan.
Before the council gets to final votes on operating and capital budgets, it will take up a call to raise property taxes by 29 cents to an even $3. The current city tax rate of $3.19 was lowered to $2.71 by the state to take into account the increase in property values with this year’s countywide property reappraisal.
The Monday, June 14, groundbreaking starts with a youth sports complex that is the centerpiece of the $126 million project about where the Libertyland amusement park once stood.
The shortened park season opened with water in the Riverwalk. But other parts of the upgrade in the 39-year-old attraction have been delayed. Meanwhile, there was an attempt on the City Council to get the park’s long-dormant monorail up and running again that didn’t pan out.
The announcement of the removal of the remains was made Friday, June 11, in Health Sciences Park, where Forrest and his wife had been reinterred for more than 100 years after originally being buried in Elmwood Cemetery.
The announcement comes 11 days after work began on removing what is left of the monument. The work was also to include the reinterment of the remains of Forrest and his wife.
The start of construction follows last-minute changes in the project that upped the price by $6 million and added more courts. The center will keep the name of the Marine lieutenant colonel for whom it is named.
The late 1950s or early 1960s painting of the Cossitt Library surfaced last month. It was set aside during a cleanup of the Downtown landmark, and the rediscovery marks a turn in fortune with a renovated Cossitt set to reopen in the fall.
Martavius Jones says he will push for the increase at next week’s council session.
Meanwhile, a City Council member who is term limited said he may be on the 2022 ballot for Shelby County Commission and an incumbent commissioner says he will probably seek another term.
A third bridge for vehicular traffic at Memphis isn’t at the top of everyone’s list, coming after broadband for Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. Related story:
As the pandemic hobbles on, clients have filed a record number of orders of protection for situations that were “more violent than ever.”
The council approved Tuesday, June 1, accepting $80.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding -- the first of two payments to come from Washington for pandemic relief. But there are still questions and uncertainties about how the money can be used.
Memphis City Council members voted Tuesday, June 1, to extend the city’s five-year old disparity study another two years.
The process of relocating the remains of Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife began Tuesday at Health Sciences Park. The scene quickly became tense after workers put up Confederate flags around the site and began dumping debris on the letters of a Black Lives Matter mural around the monument.
The Tuesday council session includes discussion about proposed home improvement grants, an extension of the contract with the company that runs Liberty Bowl stadium for the city and a delay until June 15 on final votes that would set the city budget and property tax rate.
Shelby County is about 51% toward its goal of vaccinating 700,000 people, according to the county Health Department. As of Thursday, 355,102 total people are vaccinated with 270,297 of them fully vaccinated.
City Chief Financial Officer Shirley Ford told council members the budget for the new fiscal year that begins July 1 is in the red by approximately $23 million. The culprit is new ground rules for the use of federal funds to make up for revenues lost in the pandemic and how the lost revenues are counted.
Memphis police officer Scotty Triplett was killed May 22 in a car crash while he was on duty as a motorcycle police escort.
The state decision Monday clears the way for site preparation to begin immediately at the Fairgrounds, starting with the 227,000-square-foot Memphis Sports and Events Center that is the centerpiece of the $126 million undertaking.
The honor marks the second medal for the Memphis library system. The first was in 2007, making Memphis Public Libraries the first ever two-time recipient of the award.
The City Council Scorecard looks at the constant companion of budget season at City Hall — deciding a contract impasse between the city administration and one of the unions representing city employees. And the council is almost unanimous on the state’s ban on teaching critical race theory.
A coalition of a dozen nonprofit and community organizations are calling for the city and county property tax rates to stay at their current rates to create more funding for public education, public transportation, affordable housing and similar priorities.