Jackson OKs pact for concrete street repairs

The city of Jackson soon will enter the third and final phase of its annual street-maintenance efforts after the board of aldermen accepted a contractor's bid during a city meeting Monday evening.

City officials approved an agreement with Lappe Cement Finishing Inc. of Friedheim in the amount of $268,510.92 as part of the 2015 Concrete Pavement Improvement Program.

Public Works director Rodney Bollinger said the project will address problems on concrete streets. The previous two phases, completed in previous months, focused on asphalt, he said.

The board also approved $14,200 to Hastings Engineering Inc. of St. Louis for the city's NESHAP Improvement Stack Testing Project.

City Administrator Jim Roach said the project entails emissions testing for power-plant generators the city is required to perform according to guidelines from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources every 10 years.

The city also approved a small preliminary step toward construction of the uptown roundabout by granting a quit claim deed to the United States Postal Service that would allow it to modify the current position of its mailbox. The city turned over the sliver of land around where the mailbox will be so the post office can maintain it.

"The next step in this long process of designing this roundabout is moving some of the right-of-way around," Bollinger said. "Where the mailboxes are now ... they need to be bumped around the corner about 90 degrees to the Hope/East Main Street side. We quit claim this part so they'll actually own it so they can maintain their own mailbox and driveway."

The board also set dates for three public hearings, all to take place at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 at city hall.

The first item of discussion will be to consider the request for a special-use permit to erect an 88-square-foot LED sign at the Jackson High School, submitted by the Reorganized School District of Cape Girardeau County.

Also to be discussed at that time will be the proposed vacating of the Upper Old Cape Road public right-of-way, which was requested by Radiology Investment Group.

The final item for public hearing Oct. 19 will be a discussion of the possible rezoning of 5.52 acres at 1605 Old Cape Road, from R-2 single-family residential and C-2 general commercial to strictly C-2 general commercial, also submitted by Radiology Investment Group.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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