Jackson's 2018 goals: public safety and traffic plans

As we move into 2018 I believe it is appropriate to review my key goals as mayor for the coming year for the City of Jackson. This month I will cover the first two goals that have special emphasis at the beginning of the year.

The first goal is Keeping Jackson Safe. Our police and fire departments do a fantastic job of keeping the citizens of Jackson safe. This was supported by the results from the community survey last year. The future safety of Jackson is a constant challenge with our population growth and the growth in visitors to Jackson on a daily basis. Four years ago a committee was formed to plan for a new police station. A space and use study was completed and a preliminary design was approved by the Board of Aldermen. The preliminary design cost was reduced by $1 million due to agreements with Cape Girardeau County to use the county jail facility to house our jail inmates and to build and operate the dispatch operations for both the county and the city. We are now ready to move forward with our building plans.

After reviewing our patrol officer coverage it has become apparent we are too thin on patrol officers. Jackson has the lowest officer's rate per thousand than any major city in Southeast Missouri and lower than the state average. The fire department has need for a training officer to continue to maintain our capacities for firefighting and as first responders for medical emergencies. The Jackson R-2 School District has partnered with the police department to identify the need for an additional school resource officer for the more than 5,000 students enrolled.

The City of Jackson has had great financial stewardship over the past many years. This has enabled the city to have the lowest sales tax rate of any major city in Southeast Missouri. We are also well reserved for future capital requirements and emergencies. The adding of needed personal to the police and fire departments and the required operation cost increases for the new police station and improved technology will require an addition of a ½-cent sales tax increase. After this tax increase, Jackson's sales tax will still be the lowest in Southeast Missouri. As it should, this increase of ½ cent sales tax requires the vote of the residents. This issue will appear on the ballot April 3.

The second goal is to improve traffic flow within Jackson. This was also a major request in the community survey. We are planning several projects that address this goal. The positive increases in our area and city population and growth of our businesses and schools continues to challenge our traffic flow. Our job is to develop short- and long-range plans so traffic does not impede our future growth or become a major frustration to our residents.

To address the long-range planning, the city contracted with Lochmueller Group to study Jackson's traffic system and to identify the major present and future issues and recommend actions to alleviate them. This study has been presented to the Board of Aldermen. This study's preliminary results identified the East Main Street from our new roundabout to the interstate as an area for improvements. We have budgeted the improvement of the Oak Hill Street and East Main Street intersection for 2018 and will be developing plans for the Shawnee Boulevard and East Main Street intersection improvements.

Finally, improvement in street conditions are planned including the straightening of Old Orchard Road between the fire station and County 306, the widening of Route PP and Route D, and the asphalt or concrete resurfacing of several older streets.

I will continue to discuss my other priorities for 2018 in the coming months; city park improvements, curb side recycling, retail business initiative, and major infrastructure improvements to our utilities.

Dwain Hahs serves as mayor of the city of Jackson. He can be reached at mayorhahs@jacksonmo.org.