Ten years ago a small group of mayors meeting in St. Louis created an association of U.S. mayors from 10 states along the main stem Mississippi River from its headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico.
The purpose of Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative was to direct attention to the management of the Mississippi River, a national treasure vital to our nation’s economic security and critical to commodity production, manufacturing and transportation.
This week, in the city where it began, the founders of the association were recognized during the annual meeting of 101 members out of a possible 124.
Mayor Jo Anne Smiley of Clarksville, Mo., was recognized as the single female mayor to be a founder, and also to serve on the Executive Committee of MRCTI, representing Missouri.
“I am grateful to have been chosen to be a part of the small group of mayors who founded MRCTI,” Smiley said. “I am honored to have been recognized by the large body of Mayors presently serving and who are members of MRCTI. I was delighted to be able to be present for the 10-year celebration in the annual meeting.”
Growing from just 12 Mayors to the current number of 101 mayors is a real accomplishment, Smiley noted. MRCTI has engaged and supported numerous groups vital to better river health and management, including transportation, farming, industrial, municipal and environmental interests.
This annual meeting covered wide and critical variety of subjects including infrastructure problems facing aging municipal water systems, the Flood Resilience and Taxpayer Savings Act, the Public Works Grant Program, the EDA Economic Adjustment Assistance Program, the Scenic Byways Program and the Safeguarding the Mississippi River Together Act, to name a few. The group meets twice a year and as needed.
When the group meets in September it alternates upper and lower river locations. In March, it meets in Washington, D.C.
The mayors of MRCTI recognize the present time to be transformative and historic for the Mississippi River Corridor as more than $70 billion is projected to come into the area in the next five years as part of Jobs Act funding. The group said its resolve is to move the region forward with long-term and smart policy.
Smiley said, these are “bold and proactive projects directed to tangible improvements of the River, disaster resilience and adaptation, infrastructure, sustainable development and River economy and environmental protection.
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