Approved by the Jefferson City Council Monday night, the city entered into an agreement with Catholic Charities for sewer work at the Shikles Center.
Through this agreement, Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri will replace an existing sanitary sewer line while redeveloping the Shikles Center at 1200 Linden Drive.
In return, the city will reimburse the organization for the work in an amount not exceeding $20,000.
John Landwehr, president of Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri board, said the raising of the city sewer line would be beneficial for the city.
He said the project would not increase the capacity for the line, but it would upgrade the pipes.
As part of the project, the organization needs to add about 20 feet of fill in the area where the sewer line sits, he said, which was a requirement from the city to provide better access for fire equipment.
It is a city-owned sewer line.
"It's a good project, and it's really just a question of who should pick up the tab," he said. "We would request some accommodation from the city considering all the facts and circumstances around this particular expenditure."
The public works committee recommended the agreement with the city.
The council approved the bill unanimously.
Introduced bills
The council heard the first official reading of a bill to submit a measure to voters to extend the current sales tax for another cycle.
The sales tax comes up for a citizen vote every five years and would appear on the August ballot.
It is estimated this extension would raise $28 million over the course of those five years for capital improvements within the city.
Additionally, it heard the first reading of a bill that would submit a measure to voters to add a quarter-cent sales tax to be specifically used for public safety purposes.
Based on numbers from last year, a quarter-cent sales tax would bring in an estimated $2.8 million annually.
Cole County's half-cent law enforcement sales tax is scheduled to drop to a three-eighths cent sales tax after 2022.
"It would only be increasing by an eighth in the overall sales tax within the city based on the impending reducing in the county's law enforcement sales tax," City counselor Ryan Moehlman said.
Council members have until late May to vote on placing both measures on the ballot, but is recommended to do so before the city council changes after the April election.
Council member Ken Hussey said the council had a good discussion on the sales tax measure during its work session last week, that considered potential projects the funding could be used for.
"I look forward to some conversations in the coming weeks," he said.
He encouraged council members to continue those discussions and not rush into voting on the measures at the next meeting.
"I feel like we've got three meetings to work through that," Hussey said. "Let's have some good discussion and come to a good decision for the community."
The council also heard the first reading on a series of bills related to land in the 7000 block of Partnership Parkway from M-I light industrial to M-2 general industrial.
The land is owned by Three Rivers Electric Coop and the City of Jefferson Chamber of Commerce.
This zoning change would allow for more outdoor storage.
The bills also would introduce a cul-de-sac on the property, remove on-street parking in the cul-de-sac and introduce an easement for some of the land to be handed over to Three Rivers Electric.
All of the bills were recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission. There will be a public hearing on these bills at the next council meeting.
No action was taken on these bills Monday night.