Joplin City Manager provides weekly update

(Joplin City Manager Sam Anselm provided the following update to City Council members Friday.)

Good afternoon, everyone. Please see below for this week’s update.

Key Meetings

-On Tuesday, Director Bolander and I met with a developer to discuss an independent living, assisted living, and memory care facility for the benefit of our senior citizens in the Joplin area. This is not the same project that we approved at the intersection of 26th and McClelland Blvd using CDBG-DR funds; instead, it would be a market rate development in a different part of the city. Their research confirms our housing study data that shows enough demand for both projects to be successful. Pursuant to council’s approval on Tuesday, we have submitted a letter of support to the developer for their application to the state department of health.

-On Wednesday, Director Bolander and I met again with a different developer to discuss two possible retail projects in the city. At this point the developer wishes to keep things confidential, but as information comes forward that I can share, I will pass it along. Or if action is required by the council, we will get you involved at the appropriate time.

-On Thursday I visited with Major Douglas Stearns with the Salvation Army to learn about a couple of projects they have planned for their property, and to educate them on our process for getting approval for those projects.

-On Thursday afternoon, I attended a meeting of the Solid Waste Commission to hear details from Republic Services about the recycling component of the new solid waste contract, which will hopefully come to you for approval on March 7th.

Miscellaneous

-Attached to this week’s update is the annual report from the Joplin Municipal Court. If you have any questions about the information contained therein, please let me know, but I would like to commend Court Administrator Lamonte Ratcliff and his staff for their efforts over the past year. Particularly, they have been diligent in their response to address the issues contained in the municipal court audit report that was released by the state.

-We recently opened bids for the demolition of the naval reserve building on Schifferdecker, next to the parks maintenance office. $170,000 was budgeted for the project including slab removal, but parks staff have approached me with an idea of retaining the slab in order to build a storage facility for their equipment needs. We are researching the cost of that project, but until I can provide more information, you can expect a contract for the asbestos remediation and removal of the building at a future meeting. The low bidder on just removing the asbestos and the buildings submitted a price of $140,000. I have asked our parks director to provide an update on where we stand with respect to other department projects funded through the parks & storm water sales tax. That information will be provided to you in a future update.

-I was notified this afternoon that due to nice weather this week, the contractor has poured the foundation to the new library building, and that the walls for the building will be constructed in mid-March, nearly a month ahead of schedule, due to delays in other projects.

-Invitations for Bid will be going out early next week for the other component of our solid waste program, which allows residents to drop off bulky items at a transfer station.