Jackson’s new police station came a step closer to reality Aug. 6 as the mayor and Board of Aldermen accepted and confirmed the statements of qualifications from two firms who want to be the design-builders of the project.
The two firms are Kiefner Brothers, Inc., of Cape Girardeau, and Penzel Construction, Inc., of Jackson.
These two firms will be issued a request for proposals by Aug. 30.
In September, each firm will be given a mandatory walk-through of the project.
By the middle of next month, confidential meetings will be held with each firm to make sure they have a clear understanding of the project.
Proposals from each firm will be due by Oct. 25. Those proposals will be scored by the Design-Build Selection Committee.
Fifty percent of the weight of the scoring will go to the design (technical aspects) of the police station, and 50 percent of the weight of the scoring will go to the cost of the proposal.
The design firm that presents the lowest bid for its project will get all 50 points for the cost aspect.
The firm with the higher bid will still get a percentage of the points. For example, if the losing bid is 10 percent higher, it will lose 10 percent of the 50 points (five points) and be awarded 45 points for the cost factor.
Once the proposals are scored, a design-build firm will be selected by Nov. 22.
In a related item, Phil Penzel, president of Penzel Construction Co., resigned in May as alderman of Ward 1 to avoid any conflict of interests.
Former Jackson mayor and former Ward 1 alderman Paul Sander was appointed by Mayor Dwain Hahs to fill Penzel’s term until April 2019, when an election will be held. Sander took the oath of office at the beginning of the Aug. 6 meeting.
In other action:
• Community Outreach Board: The Board also approved the mayor’s appointment of Andrea Flint to the Community Outreach Board, filling an unexpired term that ends in May 2021.
• Storm sewer: The Board approved the payment of $17,185 to HR Green, Inc., of Chesterfield for engineering services under the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Permit Program. This is an ongoing permit process with the State of Missouri regarding how the City discharges its storm water.
• Water system: The Board accepted the dedication of right of way deeds for Harmony Lane from Drew C. Howard, John D. Schnicker and Sandra L Schnicker, and the Stone Family Trust as part of the Water System Facility Plan Improvement Project. This right of way was needed for the ongoing project of improving water mains.
• Industrial Park: The Board approved a preliminary plat submitted by the City of Jackson for the Jackson North Industrial Park Subdivision. This was a renewal of a plat that was about to expire.
• Liquor licenses: The Board approved three liquor licenses:
~ Malt liquor (beer) by drink 5% license for Rodney Barnes, a new owner, doing business as Stooge’s Restaurant, 507 W. Main St.
~ Malt liquor (beer) by drink 5% license for Amy Jo Hunter, doing business as SEMO Crawfish Co., 3582 East Jackson Blvd.
~ Malt liquor (beer) by drink 5% license and a retailers of a packaged malt liquor (beer) 5% (includes light wines) for Stacy Cook, a new owner, doing business as Lloyd’s Place, 123 S. High St.
• Sink holes: The Board agreed to pay Geotechnology, Inc. of St. Louis for engineering services while checking for sink holes under East Main Street. Some anomalies were found in the original survey, and further testing is needed to determine if there are actual voids under the street or if there are simply differences in soil profile.
• Median break: The Board awarded a contract to Fronabarger Concreters, Inc. of Oak Ridge for $167,590 to create a break in the median of East Main Street between Old Orchard Road and I-55. There was only one bid received for this project, but it was lower than the estimated cost of $208,000.
Neighbor dispute: During non-agenda citizen input, Jackson resident Justin Leimer complained about a neighbor of his who has come to Mayor and Board of Aldermen meetings to complain about Leimer’s property. Leimer said his neighbor moved next to him “a couple of years ago” and told him, “This is my neighborhood and things are going to change.”
Leimer said he was forced to clean up items he had in his yard, including lumber he planned to donate to the Iron Mountain Railroad (to build a shed) and antique vehicles he planned to restore.
He was taken to court before he had a chance to move things. He said he is working things out with the city attorney and a representative from the Jackson Police Department. He asked the Board to “keep in mind” what his neighbor is like “next time he makes a complaint.”
City Attorney Tom Ludwig said Leimer is not currently in violation of any city ordinances.
• No parking: In study session, the Board discussed repealing one parking spot on the south side of West Jefferson Street where it intersects South Missouri Street. With the new striping of lanes on Jefferson Street (to add a dropoff/pickup lane), this one last parking spot became a safety issue.
“This is the last piece of the puzzle,” said City Engineer Clint Brown, who has worked with Jackson R-2 and St. Paul Lutheran School to improve the traffic situation on Jefferson Street (which runs between the two schools) as the new JHS Freshman Center opens this month.
City staff will monitor how the changes to Jefferson Street are working out. “We’ll obviously be monitoring this for a year,” City Administrator Jim Roach told the Board.
On a related issue, the Board discussed a request from Styles Unlimited, 212 S. Missouri St., to designate four on-street parking spaces as parking strictly for the beauty shop. A lack of parking for customers occurs when parents take up all the parking spaces waiting for their children to come out of St. Paul Lutheran school.
Ludwig advised the Board that the state Constitution doesn’t allow the City to dedicate public on-street parking to customers of a particular business.
Roach suggested the City facilitate discussions between the beauty shop, Jackson R-2 and St. Paul to see what can be done to remedy the situation. “Let’s sit down and see what more heads can come up with,” he suggested.
On another related issue, Jackson R-2 has requested that stop signs be installed on Oklahoma Street. It was directed to have Public Works and the Police Department examine the request and bring a recommendation to the Board at its next meeting. It is hoped to have the matter resolved before school starts Aug. 22.
• Sewer rates: The Board looked at two plans to raise sewer rates to pay for improvements to the city sewer system. Plan A was to raise rates 11 percent now, as recommended by a rate study. Plan B was to raise rates 13.4 percent in May 2020 after a bond issue is passed. The Board gave a head-nod approval to Plan B.
• Assessed valuations: The Board was told by Assistant City Administrator Larry Koenig that assessed valuations in the City of Jackson increased $2 million over the past year. The City of Jackson will not have to raise property tax rates on its residents this year.
