The Jefferson City Council approved a resolution Monday thanking B.J. DeLong for her recent $50,000 donation to explore riverfront access from the south side of the river.
At the council meeting Monday, Ann Monaco Warren, DeLong's attorney and representative, said riverfront access is very close to DeLong's heart and something she hopes to see accomplished in her lifetime.
"The time has finally arrived," Warren said.
Exploring access from the south side is not a new idea and has often been explored in the past, usually hitting the same snag each time - the Union Pacific railroad blocks access, and going around the tracks, either below or above, could be a costly venture.
DeLong has said the $50,000 donation could be used to pay for a contractor to develop a plan for access and for a riverfront park on Adrian's Island, even noting that representatives of her estate had met with railroad officials who approved of a bridge over the tracks.
But not everyone is pleased with the revival of talk about Adrian's Island.
Fourth Ward Councilman Glen Costales was the sole opponent of the resolution, saying a survey done in 2010 found 54 percent of respondents opposed to riverfront development. Costales said no government funds of any kind should be involved in such a project.
"The citizens said don't spend any money down there," Costales said.
In other business, a bill was introduced to extend the solid waste contract with Allied Waste to May 31, 2016. The current contract with Allied Waste ends Oct. 15 and the city is in the process of soliciting bids, with the hopes of having a new contract in place by the end of the year.
Janice McMillan, director of Planning and Protective Services, said even if the city chooses a new provider before the Allied Waste contract ends, staff will need time to start up the new service and inform residents of any potential changes.
In November 2009, the city entered into a six-year contract with Allied Waste for exclusive service to city residents. Though several companies had expressed an interest in bidding on the service, Allied was the only bid received by the city. An ordinance passed earlier that year made the service mandatory, and not subscribing to it is a violation of city code.
The council also heard from Said Sewell, vice president of academic affairs at Lincoln University, who read a letter from LU President Kevin Rome thanking the city for its swift response to a recent fire on campus.
On Thursday, a three-alarm fire caused considerable damage to the Dickinson Research Center on the LU campus. Reading from Rome's letter, Sewell said the situation could have been far worse if it hadn't been for those responders on the scene.
"We are simply overwhelmed by a truly great community," Rome wrote.