Jackson closes in on plan for new restroom at city park

After hitting a snag early in the planning, the city of Jackson is closing in on a plan to install a new restroom in the main city park near the girls’ softball complex.

Staff engineer Erica Bogenpohl said during Monday night’s Jackson Board of Aldermen meeting the initial design for the restroom was to cost $330,000.

“The city was not interested in spending that much,” she said. “So we went back and asked, ‘What can we do with $175,000?’”

The contractor submitted three designs that could be built within that budget, but to do so, it had to scrap plans to build a concession stand as part of the structure.

“A concession stand is out of the question at this point,” Bogenpohl said.

Option one is a standard cement-block structure much like one near the soccer park. Options two and three are prefabricated or a hybrid.

The prefabricated structure would be made of metal and would not lend itself well to add-on construction if the city decides to install a concession stand later. The concrete-block structure would be easier to build onto.

Bogenpohl also pointed out utilities are not included in the contractor’s budget and would have to be handled by the city separately.

During construction, electric is expected to cost $10,000, sewer is expected to cost $40,000, and water would cost somewhere in the middle, she said.

“It would be less than $100,000,” she said, “but several tens of thousands of dollars.”

The city would pay for the construction from two funds. The first $110,000 would come from the city’s revenue-sharing agreement with the Isle of Capri Casino, with the recreation sales tax providing the remainder. The city would decide whether to repay the funds used from the recreation department’s coffers at a later date.

The aldermen during study session expressed support for construction of the concrete-block structure and are expected to green-light the project officially during the next regular session.

“We’re at a place where we want to move forward,” city administrator Jim Roach said.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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