Your Town Tuesday: Clearwater Mayor Talks 1/2 Cent Sales Tax, New Highway 24 Bridge [VIDEO]

CLEARWATER - This week in our "Your Town Tuesday" series on WJON, we're focusing on Clearwater.

Clearwater is a town of just under 1,800 people that sits right between the Mississippi River and Interstate 94.

Clearwater's parks will soon be getting a makeover, thanks to a half-cent sales tax. Mayor Pete Edmonson says voters approved the half-cent sales tax back in 2008, and they've been collecting the money since then.  However, because of some issues in the way the legislation was written, they had been prevented from spending that money until now.

Edmonson says the town created a Park Board last year to start looking at options for spending the nearly $1 million.

Edmonson says originally they had looked at using the money to build a community or rec center, but that's been put on the back burner for now. Instead, Clearwater will start making improvements to their five parks starting next year.

A major project that's coming-up next summer is the construction of a new Highway 24 bridge over the Mississippi River. Edmonson says they've been talking with MnDOT officials, preparing for the project.

Edmonson says the city was hoping the new bridge, and the roadway through town, would be widened to four lanes. But, that's not happening.

Edmonson says the new bridge will be just a few feet downstream from the current one. Construction will begin in July of 2015, with completion set for 2016. The existing bridge, which was built in 1958, will remain open during the project.

Upcoming events in Clearwater:
Heritage Days August 1st and 2nd
Rodeo August 15th, 16th, and 17th

Next week on our "Your Town Tuesday" series we'll be stopping in the town of Richmond.