Jackson planning to revise city water system

The Jackson Board of Aldermen on Tuesday night selected a firm to prepare a $75,300 engineering report that will outline how the city could change and expand its water system.

The city is taking beginning steps to supplement its 2007 water system facility plan by looking at the effects of discontinuing lime softening and evaluating expansion to areas north of Jackson through future annexation actions.

If Jackson stops softening its water, said Rodney Bollinger, public works director, water from deep well sources can be treated on-site and sent directly into the distribution system, rather than first being transported to the water plant for treatment and softening.

Aldermen approved Tuesday for the report to be prepared by Horner & Shifrin Inc. of St. Louis, which Bollinger said created the 2007 plan and had created similar expansion and modification plans for neighboring cities. The report is scheduled for completion in 2012, and grant money from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources will provide 70 percent of its cost.

In related business, a public hearing was set for 7 p.m. Jan. 17 concerning the voluntary annexation of a 240-acre parcel of land containing a quarry north of Jackson in Fruitland. Heartland Materials and the Hoffmeister family applied for annexation of their land to Jackson in October. A petition circulated among Jackson voters by residents of Fruitland and the city who are opposed to the annexation gathered enough signatures to put the issue to a vote. The hearing will entertain public comment and advise attendees of potential costs to the city to prepare them to make a decision at the ballot Feb. 7.

Building and planning superintendent Janet Sanders circulated a memo that included 2011 building permit totals. Jackson issued permits for 38 new single-family homes at a total estimated value of $6,108,233, down from 50 in 2010 valued at $6,443,497. Building has been focused on affordable homes, Sanders said.

There were 72 residential remodeling project permits issued at an estimated value of $770,477, up from 50 in 2011 worth $496,576. Sanders said the increase in remodeling follows a nationwide trend of homeowners keeping and upgrading their homes.

Schedule changes

The board of aldermen's schedule will have a couple of changes in January and February. The board will meet Jan. 17 rather than Jan. 16, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and Feb. 21 instead of Feb. 20, due to the Presidents Day holiday. City offices will be closed Jan. 16 and Feb. 20.

salderman@semissourian.com

388-3648

Pertinent address:

101 Court St., Jackson, MO