JACKSON FIVE-YEAR PLAN TOOL FOR GROWTH

JACKSON -- Mayor Paul Sander says a five-year capital improvements plan adopted last week by the Jackson Board of Aldermen will serve as a "guideline for progress" in the city of Jackson.

Sander said the plan, which he believes is the first capital improvements plan ever adopted in Jackson, is a good way to ensure continuity in city planning and development as the Jackson Board of Aldermen changes over the years.

"The plan will be reviewed each year and used as a guideline for this board as a measuring stick for setting priorities based on money available for the capital projects in the plan," Sander said.

Some of the projects in the plan aren't funded, and Sander said as projects are considered, the board also will try to determine the best means of paying for the work.

The capital improvements plan was prepared by City Administrator Carl Talley and Mark Brown, Jackson Utilities and Public Works Director. It was submitted to the board for their review in May.

In a cover letter accompanying the plan, Talley and Brown said the plan was developed on assumptions of future growth of the city and estimations of continued demand for city services.

"This document is not a hard and fast course that we must follow," the letter said. "It is simply a framework for progress. A report that will lead us to better future planning and spending by allowing us to consider future projects while operating day to day.

"There are some items that are `either/or' items, and some items that would be required only if certain regulatory actions take place, such as recycling levels.

"This report should also be considered a rough draft, always open to change, comment and revision and should receive more than just a passing glance. This report should be referenced in city planning as often as the major street plan is referenced in street planning."

Major projects in the plan include $6 million for construction of a new water plant that would begin in 1998; annual expenditures of $150,000 for the East Main Street extension and paving project; $100,000-$250,000 annually for electrical distribution improvements; $100,000 annually for water system improvements; and $500,000 earmarked for water main projects 1995 and 1996, with $50,000 allocated annually in the final three years of the plan.

The program calls for an expenditure of $250,000 in 1995 for the remodeling of the Exchange Bank Building, which will house city hall offices. Another $250,000 would be allocated in 1996 to complete the move and remodeling project.

The plan calls for an appropriation of around $100,000 in 1996 for the city library. A feasibility study is now underway to determine whether the library will take over all of the current city hall building on South High Street or occupy a part of the new city hall building.

The plan calls for the purchase of an additional police car and employment of additional police officers in each of the five years.

It also calls for the purchase of a new fire engine in 1997, at a cost of $100,000, and construction of a satellite fire station in 1998, at an estimated cost of $200,000.

The fire department now has seven full-time firefighters and 18 volunteer firefighters. No additional career firefighters are called for in the five-year plan.

A large number of street improvements also are in the plan. In 1995, the plan calls for the asphalt overlay of High Street -- Monroe to Madison; Missouri -- Washington to Main; Russell -- Washington to Main; Adams -- Bellevue to Tower Grove; and Howard -- Woodland to Morton.

Upgrade of existing streets to concrete pavement for 1995 that are in the plan include: High -- Madison to Main; South Farmington "Cemetery"; and Bellevue -- Jefferson to Adams.

Other asphalt overlays and concrete upgrades schedule in the other three years of the plan.

The plan also calls for acquisition of new equipment and other capital improvements in the electric, water, sanitation, wastewater and maintenance divisions of the Jackson Utilities and Public Works Department.

Sander said, "Citizens should remember this plan is only a guide. Priorities for the projects in the plan -- and funding for those projects -- will be determined by this and future boards. Many of these projects will be done with a combination of city funds and funding that we hope to obtain from state and federal grants.

"With this plan, we can move projects around as sources of funding and need arises. Our plan is a lot like the highway department's 15-year, long-range plan. It will be reviewed each year and projects moved around, or added and deleted."