After a lengthy discussion on Monday, the Jefferson City Council rejected a bill relating to property purchases for a planned roundabout at Clark Avenue and Dunklin Street due to concerns about the necessity of the roundabout.
The bill would have sold back the Joshua House Church - which was purchased by the city in December 2019 - as well as allowed the city to purchase two other properties at the intersection which are currently the site of a former gas station and Scuba Adventure.
The city purchased the church at 1136 E. Dunklin St. from the previous owners and has since been leasing the property to the church. Originally, the roundabout design would have necessitated the use of that property, but a change in plans shifted the roundabout over, requiring only a corner of the parking lot to be used.
The bill would have authorized the city to purchase 627 Clark Ave., where the Break Time gas station used to be, for $200,000 and purchase 623 Clark Ave., the site of Scuba Adventure, for $220,000. The church would've been sold for $220,000.
The bill failed on Monday with a 2-7 vote. Ward 4 Councilman Carlos Graham abstained from voting due to the project's proximity to the Lincoln University campus.
Ward 4 Councilman Ron Fitzwater and Ward 5 Councilman Mark Schreiber voted yes on the bill.
"We have spent a significant amount of money, but we're talking about the long-term future of the entire area," Schreiber said, prior to the vote. "We need to come up with something at this location that will work, because there is no doubt there is a problem when you're trying to make a left turn from Dunklin Street onto Clark Avenue."
When the bill was introduced at the council's Dec. 21 meeting, several council members expressed some concern about the project, which has a price tag of approximately $1.7 million, including about $500,000 that has already been spent.
Public Works Director Matt Morasch said a traffic study of the intersection in 2017 did not show any issues with traffic volume, but the "quirky" intersection needed to be improved due to issues with the left-turn lane for east-bound traffic on Dunklin Street.
Lincoln University's potential growth and the impact that could have on traffic in the area has also been included in concerns about the intersection.
However, the council is now reconsidering if a roundabout with an almost $2 million cost is the right solution and did not approve the property bill Monday due to those concerns.
Ward 5 Councilman Jon Hensley urged the council to vote against the bill Monday, and has expressed concerns about the project previously.
"While conditions back then may have made this a priority project, it cannot be currently said that this particular improvement is a priority project," Hensley said. "Let's improve it by fixing the actual problem."
Morasch said the property purchases would put the project very close to beginning construction.
"We're not at the eleventh hour, but we're probably at about 10 o'clock," Morasch said.
The next step would be approving a construction contract.
City Attorney Ryan Moehlman said if the council did not want to put a roundabout at the intersection or was not sure, they should not approve the purchase of the new properties, but also couldn't approve the Joshua House Church sale separately because the agreement was set up with the roundabout in mind.
The agreement with Joshua House Church includes the city keeping that corner portion, which changed the sale price and the property description in the agreement. These would need to be altered if the city no longer needed the property corner.
The project is planned to be paid for as a joint city and county project out of Sales Tax G. The council also previously expressed concerns about the county's dedication to the project, although since the Dec. 21 meeting the Cole County Commission had given the council a message of support.
Improvements to the intersection were included within Sales Tax G, although a roundabout was not specifically mentioned.
Morasch said if the Sales Tax G money isn't used to build the roundabout, it could go to a new project. The county's half is tied to use on a road or bridge improvement project, but the city has more flexibility.
In other business, the council approved a property swap with Capital Region Medical Center.
The swap trades a city-owned property on Russell Street with a CRMC-owned property that borders Franklin Street.
CRMC approached the city about a year ago about acquiring the unused property owned by the city. The road is now Stadium Boulevard, and the property is not used as city right-of-way.
The city proposed a trade of that property for property owned by CRMC along the southern side of Franklin Street.
CRMC recently started planning to develop a parking lot on the property, and discussions about the swap restarted.
The additional right-of-way will provide the city space to improve the intersection with Monroe Street and complete a sidewalk along Franklin Street.
The council also approved a utility relocation agreement with Ameren Missouri relating to the Bicentennial Bridge project.
The agreement provides the relocation of existing electrical lines necessary to construct the Bicentennial Bridge.
The bill also included acceptance of a grant from the Jefferson City Parks Foundation to pay for the $154,830 agreement.