Jackson aldermen confirm ethics code, receive grant funding for sidewalk project

The meeting of the Jackson Board of Aldermen and mayor Monday, July 1, lasted only 12 minutes, but the aldermen approved or were updated on a significant number of agenda items.

Christopher Borro ~ cborro@semissourian.com, file

The Jackson Board of Aldermen re-adopted an ethics code during its Monday, July 1, meeting.

The code, Article VIII of Chapter 1 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Jackson, requires members of the city’s governing body to provide a written report to the city clerk about any personal or private interest they may have with a proposed or pending bill, measure, order or ordinance.

It also requires elected officers, the chief administrative officer, the chief purchasing officer and any employee or officer authorized to promulgate or vote on rules and regulations to file financial interest statements. The Jackson Mayor and Board of Aldermen originally passed the code Feb. 1, 1999.

Sidewalk project mostly funded

Rodney Bollinger, Jackson’s director of administrative services, informed the aldermen about a federal grant helping to fund the Jackson Middle School Sidewalk and Crosswalk Improvement Project.

The grant, as part of the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), covers 80% of the $499,547 total project cost, or just shy of $400,000. Though the TAP provides federal funding, state departments of transportation distribute it.

In Jackson’s case, the Regional Planning Commission and Metropolitan Planning Organization staff for the Southeast District of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) approved the improvement project for funding.

“Our local match is $100,000 but, if you recall, we had an agreement approved a couple of months ago between the city and the R-2 School District to go 50-50 on that 20% local match so that's only $50,000 for each of us,” Bollinger said.

A city ordinance to approve the funding will be provided for the aldermen to approve in the near future, he added. If approved, construction for the sidewalk and crosswalk improvement project will take place in 2025.

In total, MoDOT representatives approved TAP funding for 49 projects this year. The funding amounts ranged from $118,800 to $600,000.

Insurance application approved

The aldermen approved an application between the city and CRC Group, a Chicago company specializing in wholesale and specialty insurance. According to the agenda packet for the meeting, the application, terms of coverage and contract for insurance were treated as a closed record.

Rumble strips to be removed

Following residents’ noise complaints over the past several meetings, the aldermen decided to remove rumble strips along the centerline of Greensferry Road.

“We’re taking the rumble strips out, grinding them out and paving them over. We’ll reapply the centerline stripes that are there now,” city administrator Jim Roach said.

Roach added the rumble strips’ removal would be complete by the fall of 2024. They had been installed for less than a year.

Festivities to proceed

Mayor Dwain Hahs said fireworks and festivities for Independence Day celebrations this Thursday, July 4, would go ahead despite potential inclement weather. The city would put them on if at all possible, he said, and would pay close attention to media and social media reports to check for dangerous conditions Thursday.