Jefferson City will seek $600,000 in grant funding from the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to build sidewalks along Missouri Boulevard and the Dunklin Street and Marshall Street greenways, the City Council was advised at its meeting Monday night.
Public Works Director Matt Morasch said the two grants are under the Transportation Alternative Program (TAP), with funding originating with the Federal Highway Administration. He said each grant is estimated at about $400,000, with the city bearing responsibililty for 20 percent of the total if the proposals are approved.
TAP is the same federal funding stream for which the city's Adrian's Island riverfront walk project was deemed ineligible just last week.
The two sidewalk proposals will be submitted to MoDOT by Nov. 1, Morasch said, explaining they would be vetted by the regional planning organizations and there is no guarantee of their sucsess. Given that condition, Morasch expressed optimism both bids would receive a favorable reception from the planning agencies because of their merit.
The city's 2017 Community Development Action Plan was presented to the council by planner Jayme Abbott. It's a $262,865 grant under the Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). Abbott said $52,573 of the stipend, or 20 percent, would pay for administrative overhead at city hall.
Another $80,292 slice of the CDBG pie would be directed at neighborhood improvement, $75,000 would be home rehabilitations, $30,000 would fund demolitions and the final $25,000 would find its way to supporting services for low income and special needs homeowners. Individual allocations from the CDBG are capped at $5,000 per award.
After public hearings in June and September, and the Monday presentation to the council, Abbott anticipates approval of the plan at the Nov. 16 meeting.
Several pending bills were approved by the council Monday. They included an overhaul of the city's Restaurant and Food Code, bringing it into compliance with the state code. The existing Jefferson City code has been in place since 2003. The highly-detailed document specifies the water temperature for employees to wash their hands (100 degrees), the five ways to handle 13 different kinds of lettuce and numerous other arcana of the food handling industry.
Other bills approved included a reduction in the time limit for parking on a portion of East McCarty Street from 10 hours to two hours; the elimination of parking along Sunset Lake Road near McKay Lake Park; an increase in the salary for the municipal judge to $2,967 per month, consistent with the city attorney, effective with the April 2017 election; and an agreement with MoDOT to allow the erection of a wayfinding sign on the Rex Whitton Expressway.
New bills given first approval Monday were: a $16,537 State Operating Grant Agreement with MoDOT for the transit department; and a $700 per month, five-year lease agreement for Nick's Family Restaurant Inc. to continue operating at the Jefferson City Memorial Airport.
Two brief public hearings were conducted on proposed rezonings to office commercial status on Oak Street for the enhancement of the Jefferson City Medical Group campus and for an office/residential unit at 615 East Capitol Avenue. Both were approved without comment or objection.
Appointments by Mayor Carrie Tergin approved Monday night, included Dawn Hackman, Cemetery Resources Board; John Pelzer, TIF Commission; Rita Esterly, Nate Petersen and Todd Higgins, Environmental Quality Commission; and Todd Higgins, Housing Authority Board.
Don Fontana, a storm water engineer, was recognized as the city's employee of the month for October. During a brief awards ceremony, Fontana recognized his wife, Susie, and his son, John, who were in the council chamber for the presentation. He brought some levity to the meeting when he noted he is happy to show his family he "didn't sleep all day at work."
Previous coverage:
Safety study suggests Missouri Boulevard improvements (July 10, 2016)
Missouri Boulevard sidewalk project to start this week (July 5, 2016)