First low-water crossing to be replaced

The first of several low-water crossings to be replaced with monies from the Cole County half-cent capital improvement sales tax will be on South Liberty Road.

At Tuesday's County Commission meeting, commissioners unanimously agreed to pay more than $58,000 for Cook, Flatt and Strobel Engineers to do the design work on the project.

The crossing will be replaced by an arch structure or a box culvert, according to county public works officials. They are also going to try and take out a curve that could improve sight distance.

There was $240,000 budgeted for this project, but it looks like the total cost will be around $350,000, depending on how much rock will need to be taken out.

"That's a lot of money for a low-water crossing," Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle noted.

"There's a lot of traffic on there, and when it rains or snows, it is a challenge," Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher said. "It may be a lot in upfront costs, but it will be worth it in the long run."

Public Works Director Larry Benz noted they are seeing an increase in traffic due to people moving into this area, and that could increase once the improvements are done.

In other action, commissioners agreed to help with another cooperative project in Jefferson City.

As Helias High School has been working on its multimillion-dollar expansion, the school and the city have looked at improving the intersection at Swifts Highway and Myrtle Street.

City public works officials said while the intersection's traffic count could warrant a traffic signal, the preference is to put in a roundabout.

The city has worked out an agreement with Helias for the right of way to put in a roundabout at the intersection. The cost would be $500,000 in half-cent sales tax funds, and the idea would be to make this a cooperative project, with the city and county splitting the cost. There is no timeline for when the work would start.

The commission agreed to put in a flat $250,000 amount, and a formal agreement will be signed, possibly next week.

In other business, commissioners heard from Jeff Buker who volunteers with Homemaker Health Care and asked commissioners to reconsider giving them the $7,500 they had been getting from the commission. They were among the nonprofit agencies the commission discontinued funding in this year's budget.

Buker said they currently serve 400 clients with items they wouldn't be able to afford, allowing them to stay in their homes and not go into a nursing home.

"That $7,500 is a good chunk of our budget," Buker said. "The rest of our funding comes from the United Way and fundraisers; so if we can't get the funds, we can't provide these items."

Buker said having this equipment keeps these people out of nursing homes.

"I will argue this is an economic impact issue because if these folks can keep out of the nursing homes they can still get out in the community, going to restaurants and shopping in local stores," he said.

Scheperle told Buker he would have to think about it because he made some good points.