DEVELOPMENT NEAR JACKSON HITS SNAG

Summary:

Concern over the water flow is an example of strains caused by Jackson's rapid growth.

JACKSON -- A 123-lot development on Highway 25 just south of Jackson is stymied for the moment because of concerns about low water flow and, to a lesser extent, low water pressure in the area.

Annexation of the subdivision to be built by the Jackson company Progressive Developments, L.L.C., was tabled at last week's meeting of the Jackson Board of Aldermen. The board's primary concern is over fire safety and potential damage to the city's fire insurance rating.

The developers and the city are trying to determine the feasibility of an alternative that would require Progressive Developments to build a pond that would be connected to fire hydrants.

The situation is the latest example of strains caused by the city's rapid growth rate. New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau put it at 21.6 percent over the past 10 years, making Jackson the fastest-growing city in Southeast Missouri.

Jackson had 9,256 residents in 1990. The July 1, 1999, estimate is 11,258.

Jackson voters passed a $3.1 million bond issue two years ago to make improvements to the city's water system (see related story).

"We are trying to build what amounts to a ring around the existing city limits," said Public Works Director Jim Roach. "It's going to help us increase pressures in the area as well as back feed to the center of town."

Now in the design phase, those improvements would benefit the new subdivision, which is to be located about half a mile south of the city limits on Highway 25. But the work probably won't be completed until sometime in 2001.

"The time line isn't agreeable to them," Roach said of the developers. "And I can understand that."

Darren Ellis, a partner in Progressive Developments, says the company has been working to develop the land for the past two and one-half years and does not want to wait two more.

In a dry hydrant system, fire trucks draw water out of the pond through a vacuum created at the hydrants. The proposed system is a good solution, Ellis said. "It works everywhere else. It's a standard thing cities do when the fire flow is not good enough."

If the subdivision were built now without the dry hydrant system, water flow would be poor, Roach says.

A flow of 1,500 gallons per minute is optimal for firefighting. The city's computer model for the subdivision estimates its flow at 400 to 500 gallons per minute at full build-out.

According to the model, water pressure in the subdivision without the improvements would be about 44 pounds per square inch. The minimum the state allows is 20 psi. Sixty psi is as high as most systems go.

In addition to the improvements now planned, a loop tying the subdivision line to another that runs through Lee Avenue probably will be needed, he added.

Roach said the city also may have to build a water tower in the area to get the pressure it wants.

Steve Wilson, Jackson city administrator, said the city staff and developers are gathering information at this point to see if the pond idea suggested by the Jackson Fire Department will hold water.

"The water issue is something they're going to have to run out before they can do much," he said.

The Jackson Board of Aldermen then must decide whether the solution is in the best interests of the city. "We're going to have to decide whether we want to watchdog this thing," Roach said.

If so, agreements must be worked out about who will maintain the pond, what happens if it doesn't work, and what kind of limitations to place on the development if the pond doesn't perform to expectations.

Once improvements to the city water system are made, the developers would level the pond and sell the lots where it once stood, Ellis said.

Ken Parrett, executive director of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, says businesses interested in locating to Jackson often want to know about issues like water flow. "It's a concern," he said.

He refers their questions to City Hall.

"I haven't had anybody say it's a deal breaker," Parrett said.