Mayor Announces Amazon Coming, Downtown Parking Changes During State of the City

(KNSI) – St. Cloud’s longest-serving mayor is looking forward to better days as the community emerges from the pandemic.

Mayor Dave Kleis talked about some significant changes coming to the city and talked about celebrations as he delivered his 16th State of the City address on Tuesday.

“Our future is bright because of the people that do so much for our community. I am confident in that future. St. Cloud is greater, because of all of you.”

Despite a challenging year for business, Kleis says the city’s economy is coming back, and a significant employer is coming to The Granite City.

“We’ve got a big employer coming to St. Cloud. Amazon we’ll be in St. Cloud this year. They’ve done the permits. They’re getting ready to go. There’s hundreds of jobs. There’ll be a fulfillment center out by Heatherwood road out in the area by Interstate 94. So look for Amazon, and look for some more exciting news later this year on that.”

St. Cloud is making changes to its parking rules in the downtown area.

Starting June 1, you will have to pay to park on the street anytime.

“So what we’re doing instead of having, at night the free meters from six to morning and then weekends, we’re shifting that so the ramps will be free from five untill the next morning and then weekends.”

Using the mobile parking app, you will be able to park in a downtown ramp for free for one hour during the weekday.

The move is in response to downtown business owners asking the city to help create more turnover and make it easier to find parking along the street.

The pilot program will be in place until the end of the year.

A former high school athletic field will become the next park in St. Cloud.

Clark Field will become St. Cloud’s 97-park and be preserved as a green space.

“We’re going to add another park to our park system and keep the heritage. The field is named after the first principal at that school, Elizabeth Clark. And so we’re going to keep her legacy. We’re going to keep the legacy of the school district, and we’re going to put that into our prized possession, which is our park system.

The former Tech High School football field hasn’t had much use in the last couple of years.

Tech High School moved to a new building in 2019, creating an opportunity for St. Cloud to move city hall into the former high school building.

The city will move into its new headquarters by the end of the year.

Clark Field will then be added to St. Cloud’s park system. St. Cloud has 1600 acres of parkland.

This year’s Granite City days will be all about music. St. Cloud State University will kick off the celebration on Thursday, June 24, with a traditional symphony at Husky Stadium and the Fabulous Armadillo.

Friday, the Liberty Block Party will feature a national act that has yet to be named.

Saturday will be the Granite City Days Parade in downtown St. Cloud with an all musical theme. There will also be a music crawl with music in downtown at various businesses and restaurants.

There will be a contest for St. Cloud’s Got Talent and fireworks over Lake George on Saturday night.

Sunday morning will feature a 5k run around the area.

As a closing ceremony, St. Cloud will hold a World Heritage Day at the World Heritage monument in front of the Great River Public Library in St. Cloud.

Kleis also talked about public safety and set a goal of doubling the number of neighborhood watches in the city.

The address was delivered from the performing stage at Eastman Park along Lake George. It was the first time the speech was given outside.

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