The Jefferson City Council approved a resolution Monday supporting current legislation that would authorize Jefferson City to be the new home for a steamboat museum.
The Arabia Steamboat Museum's lease in Kansas City will expire in November 2026, so the museum administrators are currently looking for a new site.
Sen. Mike Bernskoetter and Rep. Dave Griffith introduced bills in the Senate and House to increase the casino admission fee from $2 to $3, with that extra money being placed in a Steamboat Legacy Fund. The fund would generate $39 million a year, Bernskoetter previously said, and would help with the construction, maintenance and operation of the facility.
The ideal site for a museum would be on the hill east of the old Missouri State Penitentiary, near the Natural Resources Department's headquarters building, historian Bob Priddy said. He added the museum "would be an ideal thing to go with our prison redevelopment."
"It's just really perfect timing bringing the past and future together with the redevelopment of Missouri State Penitentiary," Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin said. "It really makes sense to put it there and right there with the river. It has to be here."
Priddy said he wants to ensure the museum stays in Missouri. A Pennsylvania museum has expressed interest in the steamboat museum, he added.
"We want to keep that from happening," he said. "This is our history. This is our river. We want to keep them here."
Several local leaders spoke in support of the new steamboat museum in Jefferson City during last week's hearing with the Senate's Economic Development Committee.
David Hawley, who started the Arabia Steamboat Museum, previously said he hopes the proposed new museum would eventually showcase more salvaged steamboats that sank in the Missouri River.
Communication facilities
In other business Monday, the Council approved a resolution Monday evening authorizing a rights-of-way use agreement with Missouri Network Alliance, LLC. The company wants to use the city's rights-of-way to construct, maintain and operate communications facilities.
When Missouri Network Alliance wants to do a project, City Counselor Ryan Moehlman said, it would need permits from the city.
The council also heard a bill that would require telecommunication companies to receive special exception permits to place small wireless facilities in historic districts.
If approved by the council March 18, companies must receive special exception permits if they want to construct new or modified telecommunication facilities - including small wireless facilities - on private property or in public rights-of-way in single-family neighborhoods or in the National Register Historic Overlay District.
The City Council established the National Register Historic Overlay District in August 2018, which covers Jefferson City areas listed on the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places. It includes the Missouri State Capitol Historic District, Capitol Avenue Historic District, Moreau Drive Historic District, Lincoln University Hill Top Campus District, Broadway-Dunklin Historic District, Munichburg Commercial Historic District and Hobo Hill Historic District.
Under the proposed bill, telecommunication facilities in a National Register Historic Overlay District would also have to be "visually compatible design" for the district and not detract from the neighborhood's historic character.
If a company applies for a special exception permit, the application would go to the Jefferson City Planning and Zoning Commission for review and the City Council for approval.
Companies that want to place small wireless facilities on public right-of-way outside of historic overlay districts and single-family residential neighborhoods would apply for small wireless facility right-of-way permits.
When installing small wireless facilities on private property outside of historic overlay districts and single-family neighborhoods, companies would obtain telecommunication facility permits.
The Jefferson City Planning and Zoning Commission approved the proposal last month.
State legislators passed a bill in 2018 allowing wireless telecommunications companies to install small wireless facilities and antennae in public rights-of-way, such as on utility poles, light poles and traffic signals. Under the law, the city must allow telecommunication companies to place their antennae in public rights-of-way, Moehlman previously said.
Community Park
Also on Monday, the council approved a $1.6 million supplemental appropriation within the Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department's fund balance.
The funds will cover the purchase of equipment and supplies for Community Park improvements, including tables, turf, sculptures, shelters, lighting, signage, playground and sprayground equipment, and a restroom.
The Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission approved the appropriation last month.
Community Park is the commission's top priority from the parks master plan, which suggests improvements to the parks system over the next two decades.