Jackson Aldermen express concerns about soccer-field lighting funding proposal

The Jackson Board of Aldermen on Wednesday tabled discussion related to a grant application for soccer-field lighting until city staff can recalculate funding for the matching grant.

A resolution in support of the grant application to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources was presented during the board’s business meeting, but was not acted on by the aldermen. Instead, they chose to discuss the project during their subsequent study session.

The project, which would be done in two phases, would provide lighting for four of the 13 fields at the Jackson Soccer Park at a total cost of just more than $700,000. Under a proposal presented by the Jackson Parks and Recreation Department, the first phase of the project would cost approximately $389,000. If approved, a matching grant from the Department of Natural Resources’ Land and Water Conservation Fund program would pay half of that cost with the remainder to be paid by the city and the Jackson Area Organized Soccer Association (JAOSA).

Under a proposal between the city and the JAOSA, the soccer association would be responsible for $105,000 of the project’s shared cost. However, during the board’s study session, Alderman Paul Sander said he had an issue with the funding plan.

“Here’s my concern,” he told the administrative staff and the other aldermen, “it says the soccer league is going to be responsible for a $105,000 donation. Do they have $105,000?”

“They do not at this time,” answered Rodney Bollinger, Jackson’s director of administrative services.

“How much do they have?” Sander asked.

“Seventy thousand,” Bollinger replied.

“So essentially what you’re suggesting is the city becomes the bank for the soccer league in the form of $35,000,” Sander said. “If that’s the case, I’m opposed to us being in that situation for any entity, not just the soccer association. We should not be, in my opinion, relying on private entities to pay back the city and ultimately become a bank for them.”

Although there was no formal vote on the matter, the general consensus among the aldermen was the city administrative staff should recalculate the funding formula for the project to determine whether it could be done either at a lower cost or at a later date when the JAOSA has additional funding.

During the board’s regular business meeting Wednesday night, the aldermen:

• Accepted a grant award from the Missouri Intergovernmental Risk Management Association (MIRMA) to fund a car camera for the Jackson Police Department along with a police training award for 2018.
• Presented a proclamation to representatives of the Missouri Farm Bureau designating the week of Feb. 2 as Missouri Farm Bureau and Thank a Farmer Week.
• Approved a motion to accept the city’s semiannual financial statement for the period ending Dec. 31, 2019.
• Accepted a bid of Rockhill & Sons of Jackson for services under the Parks & Recreation Department’s concession stand operations program.
• Scheduled a public hearing for 6 p.m. Feb. 19 on a special-use permit request submitted by Christine Pagano to operate a bed-and-breakfast at 736 Greensferry Road, which is zoned an R-2 single family residential district.
• Approved a task order authorization in the amount of $17,000 to Smith & Company Engineers of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, relative to the Jackson citywide bridge maintenance and replacement plan.

In addition to discussing the soccer-field lighting project, other items discussed during the board’s study session included a status report on the new Jackson Police Department headquarters, a review of the city’s operations agreement with Cape Girardeau County related to the city and county’s combined dispatch center and removal of parking on West Washington Street adjacent to the county’s new courthouse.

Board members were also briefed about an Eagle Scout project by Nathan Steele of Scout Troop 210 in Jackson who plans to construct a “Welcome to Jackson” sign on East Main Street west of Interstate 55.

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