COUNCIL URGED TO MOVE ON SILVER SPRINGS

Extend Silver Springs Road and make it a through street. That is the message to City Hall from property owners who say it is time to move the project from plan to pavement.

A hilly stretch of land stands between the paved section that ends on the south side of William Street and another that ends south of Independence.

The route would go through St. Francis Medical Center land and the hospital doesn't want the street extended at this time. Hospital officials have said little publicly.

But city officials say the hospital is concerned about the street dividing its property, leaving several acres of land isolated on the east side of the road. The acreage includes a residential building owned by the hospital.

The issue is expected to come up at Monday night's city council meeting as part of a public hearing on the hospital's request for a special-use permit to construct a five-story medical office building. Special-use permits are required for all buildings in the city that are more than three stories tall.

The city has talked of extending Silver Springs Road for two decades, and the project itself has been in the city's capital improvements plan for several years.

The 2,100-foot street extension is on the list of transportation projects slated for the 1995 fiscal year, and the city could resort to condemnation proceedings, if necessary. But so far, the city hasn't pushed it.

"The city has been trying to coordinate and cooperate with the hospital," said Ken Eftink, the city's development services coordinator.

"We have been more or less waiting for the hospital to get to the point they are ready," he said.

But developer Larry Haertling and other property owners in the vicinity of the route are tired of waiting.

"We have been very patient with this project, and I think the time is here to do it," Haertling said.

Haertling is president of West Cape Development Corp., which owns property along the proposed route.

The street would extend some 800 feet through Haertling's property, and another 850 feet across St. Francis Medical Center land. The remaining 450-foot stretch of street would run through property owned by businessman Charles Drury, from Gordonville Road south to William Street.

Gordonville Road would be lowered as part of the project. The proposed route would also pass close to the site of a future parking garage for St. Francis Medical Center.

Both Haertling and Drury have already given the city rights of way on their properties.

The city would finance the project largely with special assessments, which would be paid by Drury, Haertling and St. Francis Medical Center. The hospital's share of the construction bill would be more than $100,000.

Haertling said extending Silver Springs Road would allow him to proceed with commercial and residential developments in a 16-acre tract.

But he said the city also would benefit by having another north-south artery.

The project would link the two sections of Silver Springs Road, providing motorists with a route from Westfield subdivision, north of Themis, southward to Pioneer Mobile Home Court, south of Bloomfield Road.

City officials said it will also provide an important link to the planned Mississippi River bridge highway.

Road extension

Proposed for 1994-95 fiscal year:

Extending Silver Springs Road 2,100 feet from William Street northward to connect with existing section south of Independence Street.

Project would involve 36-foot-wide street with curbs and gutters.

Cost: $358,000, with $85,000 from motor fuel tax receipts and $273,000 from special assessments.

Route would extend through property owned by Charles Drury, St. Francis Medical Center and Larry Haertling's West Cape Development Corp.

St. Francis Medical Center doesn't want to proceed with the project at this time.