Contract for street improvements approved by Cape Council

The Cape Girardeau City Council approved Monday night a resolution to allow construction to begin on two Transportation Trust Fund 4 projects, while making announcements about public involvement in the program's fifth installment.

The resolution approves a contract with Fronabarger Concreters Inc. for the Walnut Street and South West End Boulevard projects. The company offered the lowest bid of just under $2 million. City manager Scott Meyer said that price was close to the original estimate engineers gave the city when calculating TTF 4 project costs.

Funding for the project comes from TTF 4 revenue. The half-cent sales tax allows transportation and infrastructure projects to be funded on a pay-as-you-go basis.

In a previous interview, city engineer Casey Brunke said benefits the public will see from the projects include additional access points for surrounding neighborhoods, a new connection to Shawnee Park and more pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods.

The work to be completed by Fronabarger Concreters includes street widening and improvements and construction of storm sewers and sidewalks. Additional street lighting is also part of the project. The area included in the projects are Walnut Street from Sprigg Street to West End Boulevard -- adding a new section of the street that closes the gap between Beaudean Lane and West End Boulevard -- and West End from Linden Street to Jefferson Street.

The two projects were bid together because Walnut Street and West End Boulevard will intersect, tying together many project details.

Meyer announced the first public meeting to share information and gather input for TTF 5 will be at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at city hall. A list of eight projects, along with four alternates and other general maintenance items, was presented to the council in January by a committee formed to consider the city's biggest transportation needs to be targeted by TTF 5. The next step in the TTF process is to gather public input before a final list is approved to present to voters before the transportation sales tax renewal question appears on the August ballot.

Other business

No one spoke at a public hearing regarding a request to rezone property at 820 N. Sprigg St. from C-1, general commercial district, to NC, neighborhood commercial district. The first reading of the ordinance rezoning the property was approved by the council immediately after the hearing, as a separate item.

The request for rezoning received no objection from the Planning and Zoning Commission when the matter was considered at its most recent meeting Jan. 14. Once the rezoning receives final approval, it will allow the lower level of the existing building to be renovated into 10 one-bedroom apartment units, while also allowing the existing commercial uses on the main level facing Sprigg Street to remain, according to the application submitted to the city by Keystone Design Inc.

The lower level that would be renovated under the rezoning was once Slingers Nightclub and Lounge. The strip mall facing Sprigg Street has primarily housed restaurants. Other apartment units surround the property, which sits across the street from Southeast Missouri State University's Towers residence hall complex.

Councilwoman Loretta Schneider called the move from nightclub to apartment units an "interesting change," and joined other council members in voicing her approval for a positive move forward for the property.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

820 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Walnut St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

West End Boulevard, Cape Girardeau, Mo.