The Jefferson City Council on Monday approved an amended agreement regarding the ownership of the Bicentennial Bridge to Adrian's Island.
The amended agreement for the bridge development - between the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission, the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Foundation, and the Bicentennial Bridge, LLC - now states the city is the owner of the bridge during and after construction.
Previously, the Bicentennial Bridge, LLC, was listed as the owner during construction, and the bridge would then have been conveyed to the city after completion.
The city and Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce proposed an 826-foot bridge leading down to a riverfront park on Adrian's Island - 30 acres of forest and wetlands that sits between the Missouri River and Union Pacific Railroad tracks that stretch about 1 mile from the state Capitol to the former Missouri State Penitentiary. The bridge would begin between the Senate garage and Veterans' Memorial.
The Missouri Department of Revenue ruled the bridge could not be constructed on a sales tax-exempt basis if the Bicentennial Bridge, LLC, was listed as the owner during construction, according to the bill.
The Bicentennial Bridge, LLC, is a regular limited liability company under state law, and those companies are not tax-exempt entities automatically, City Counselor Ryan Moehlman said. However, the city is a tax-exempt entity, he added.
The Bicentennial Bridge, LLC, will instead be "an agent of the city to undertake bridge construction on behalf of the city," according to the approved amendment.
The amendment also allows for the use of a general contractor model for construction instead of the construction manager at-risk model, which was previously in the agreement.
In a general contractor model, the project owner hires one contractor who can then enter into contracts with necessary subcontractors, Moehlman said.
A contractor at-risk model would mean the project owner would hire a construction manager for an agreed-upon price, who would then coordinate subcontractors. However, the project owner would enter into contracts with each subcontractor.
If the project were to go over the agreed price, the contract manager "bears the risk of any overage," Moehlman previously said.
Expected completion of the Bicentennial Bridge is still mid-to late 2020, Mayor Carrie Tergin said previously.
At a meeting Oct. 7, the council approved a resolution amending an agreement between donor B.J. DeLong and the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Foundation to extend the deadline to execute a contract with a builder for the bridge to Nov. 1. The original deadline was August.
In other business, the council also held a public hearing on an amendment to the zoning code regarding medical marijuana testing and transportation facilities.
The bill, the third in a process by planning division staff, will expand permitted districts for testing facilities and transportation facilities to the general commercial districts of the city.
Previously, those types of facilities were only permitted in light industrial and general industrial districts.
The council did not vote on the bill due to a clerical error regarding the public hearing announcement. A second public hearing will be held at the next meeting, Nov. 4, before the council votes.