The Cole County Commission has approved vacating part of Murphy Ford Road after public works officials met with property owners who said they were in favor of the proposal.
In October, the commission held a public hearing regarding the vacation of the southernmost portion of Murphy Ford Road.
Public Works Director Eric Landwehr said residents and landowners had asked the county to vacate a section from East Meller Road to three-fourths-of-a-mile south of Wayside Road. A section of the road runs along the bluff along the North Moreau Creek and was closed a few years ago due to safety concerns.
Landwehr said the county decided not to reconstruct this "unsafe section of roadway which had a very low daily traffic count." Since the road has been cut into two sections, he said, residents had asked parts of both disconnected sections be conveyed back to the landowners.
At that October hearing, adjacent landowners spoke in favor of the road vacation. Greg Steck said there were times during the summer he could, "call the sheriff out every day for trespassing complaints because people have to cross a slab and go on my property to get to a gravel bar, which is a popular recreation spot."
Following the hearing, public works officials met with one landowner who had concerns about closing the road from the top of the bluff to East Meller. After that meeting, they agreed the vacation would be from the Steck property to the Meller property and leave the south portion of the proposed area to be county maintained. The main area of vacation includes the creek access.
Once the court order authorizing the vacation is signed, public works staff will work with adjacent landowners to construct a permanent turnaround on both ends as well as determine the future of the existing low-water crossing as to whether it will be removed or left in place. Landwehr said they'd prefer to remove it.
In other business Tuesday, the commission signed off on grant application paperwork to help build a new EMS station as well as a stormwater improvement project, both of which would be using funds from Community Development Block Grants.
Last week, the commission signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that is needed in order to potentially make a downtown ambulance base a reality.
The Jefferson City Council signed the same MOU, which will be used to seek a CDBG to build the station.
The proposed site for the station would be on a county-owned parking lot across from the county jail on Adams Street.
Because the project would be located in the city, the city would apply for the grant on behalf of the county, which operates the EMS service. The total cost of the project is $2.8 million. The city can apply for up to $2 million in block grants for the project; the rest of the money would come from funds out of the half-cent sales tax for the EMS service.
If the grant is approved, the city would be responsible for the oversight of the activities of the grant.
The commission is also seeking a CDBG grant for a proposed stormwater improvement project in the Westview Heights area.
The general project area is bounded by Amanda Drive to the west, Bagnell Drive to the north, Jasper Lane to the east and South Brooks Drive to the south. The total cost of the project is estimated at $943,000. The county would contribute $443,000, with grant funds making up the remaining $500,000.
It could be six months before they hear whether they get approval. That would mean work on the projects would start next year.
See also:
Cole County Commission approves new district boundaries
Cole County to seek bids for new ambulances