Mayor details scaled back version of JC conference center

As city holds first in a series of town hall meetings

In the first of the three town hall meetings to be held throughout the next week, city officials detailed yet another version of a conference center.

Roughly 50 people attended the town hall forum at Lewis and Clark Middle School, in addition to several members of city staff. Representatives of the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce and the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau also were present.

The town hall meetings are being held to discuss four main projects within the city: the conference center, the multipurpose building, the old Missouri State Penitentiary and downtown parking.

In presenting the conference center issue, Mayor Eric Struemph detailed a new concept for the project, limiting the facility to what could be afforded strictly through the city lodging tax.