Jackson OKs engineering pact on study for park's pedestrian bridge

The Jackson Board of Alderman on Monday night approved a contract to an engineering firm on whether to repair or replace the Hubble Creek pedestrian bridge in Jackson City Park.

Aldermen approved an allotment of $10,800 to Koehler Engineering & Land Surveying of Cape Girardeau for the bridge project.

Crews decorating the pedestrian bridge discovered some rusting and other signs of concern during the Christmas season, city engineer Erica Bogenpohl said.

At that time, a structural survey was conducted by Koehler Engineering.

"The results indicated that there was not significant danger of catastrophic failure, but repairs were needed," Bogenpohl said.

The cost of repairing the bridge may approach the cost of replacement, Bogenpohl said, and the city is determining what those costs would be.

Bogenpohl is submitting an application to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to secure a cost-share grant that would require the city to pay half of the estimated $125,000 cost to repair or replace the bridge.

The state agency will announce in July whether the city has been given the grant, at which time the city will decide on the best course of action.

Also discussed was a grant application to the Department of Natural Resources under the Land Water Conservation Fund Program. If awarded, the funds will be applied to the pedestrian-bridge project as well.

Other grant opportunities also were discussed about the Hubble Creek Trail project.

The Department of Natural Resources has a grant available in which the city would pay 20 percent of the cost.

Phases I and II of the Hubble Creek Trail project are complete, with two trails ending in Jackson City Park, but the trails do not connect.

Another city-park trail would be paved as part of the project.

Bogenpohl also is applying for this grant; whether the city is awarded it will be announced in July.

The uptown water-system improvement project needs additional funding for construction, said Jim McCleish of Horner & Shifrin of St. Louis, main contractor on the project.

The project, along Main Street in Jackson, is behind schedule because of inefficiencies by the project's main subcontractor, Bogenpohl said.

The project is adding crews and inspectors to finish the project on time.

McCleish said the subcontractor will be assessed a fee based on how many days the project is delayed.

"We have a good product in the ground," he said, "but the subcontractor needs to be held accountable for getting behind schedule."

Jackson community and business surveys were discussed.

Mayor Dwain Hahs said he would like to see a sophisticated survey by an outside company to give insight into what residents want to see from the city's retail offerings and other services.

"Other cities, Perryville, Cape Girardeau, Farmington, have had these surveys conducted, and they've gotten a lot of data on what their people want," he said.

Hahs said these surveys are annotated with the cost of implementing a service, such as adding curbside recycling, and the selected participants are randomly chosen.

As part of a class-action lawsuit against TracFone, Jackson received a settlement in 2016. The board approved a motion to give the equivalent of 5 percent of that sum to the Missouri Municipal League's Advocacy Fund for services rendered.

It will enable the fund to continue representing other cases such as these, city attorney Tom Ludwig said.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address: 101 Court St., Jackson