Jackson will be home to another hotel. The Board of Aldermen on Aug. 21 approved a development agreement with Midwest Hospitality Group, LLC, of Sunset Hills to build a hotel at 3003 S. Old Orchard Road.
The developer will plan, develop and construct a hotel branded as a Best Western or comparable brand consisting of 70 to 75 rooms, according to the agreement.
• Greenhouse: The Board approved a special use permit for a greenhouse as a home occupation at 1233 Cherokee Street, as submitted by Kenneth Denton and Emily Schmitt. The vote was 7-1 with Alderman Larry Cunningham opposed.
• Motorcycle repair shop: The Board approved a special use permit for a motorcycle repair business as a home occupation at 1418 Parkwood Circle as submitted by John and Lauren Ryan. The vote was 6-2 with Aldermen Cunningham and Dave Reiminger opposed.
• Asphalt improvement: The Board accepted the bid of ASA Asphalt, Inc. of Advance in the amount of $175,890 for work on the 2017 Asphalt Pavement Improvement Program.
The program consists of paving new asphalt roads in the cemetery, patching and overlaying Washington Street from N. Farmington Road east toward N. Oklahoma Street, and full-depth patches on N. Farmington Road.
• Sewer projects: The Board agreed to pay $81,300 to Horner & Shifrin of St. Louis to provide engineering services for the Kimbeland lift station upgrade project. The Board also agreed to pay $51,715 to Koehler Engineering and Land Surveying, Inc. of Cape Girardeau for engineering services for the Klaus Park force main upgrade project.
• Tax rate set: No one from the public spoke at a tax rate hearing. The Board approved the 2017 General Revenue, Parks and Recreation, Cemetery, and Band tax rates.
Jackson’s assessed valuations increased $10 million over 2016. The most substantial increase came from real property and a small portion from personal property.
Those additional dollars will be divided proportionally among the City funds.
Although the total dollars collected has increased, the tax rate being charged individual taxpayers decreased slightly. It went down .0021 cents per $100 assessed valuation.
• Shipping containers used for construction: In study session, the Board heard a presentation on allowing steel shipping containers to be used in the construction of buildings.
“Shipping containers will outlast most building materials used today,” said Quinn Strong, a St. Louis developer with Capital Real Estate Group. Two or more can be welded together to make larger structures. The steel is covered with other materials so it doesn’t show. “It’s a big responsibility for developers like myself to make it look good,” Strong said.
In sample drawings Strong presented to the Board, the outside of the buildings were covered with cedar or composite material and there was a lot of glass — large glass windows. The buildings don’t look like shipping containers when finished.
The matter was referred to planning and zoning.
• Fundraising regulations: City Attorney Thomas Ludwig recommended that the Board repeal Chapter 27 of the City Ordinances that regulates fundraising activities. That chapter directs the City to set a board of three people to micro-manage fundraising efforts in the City. “Since 2001, we have not utilized this at all,” he said.
Some restrictions are placed upon fundraising by other ordinances. For example, Chapter 49 regulates door-to-door sales. Ludwig will bring an ordinance to repeal Chapter 27 at the next meeting.
