Earlier this month, following up on a request from one of the aldermen, Perryville city administrator Brent Buerck provided an update on making bulk water sales available.
No vote on the matter was taken Tuesday evening, but the plan is for Buerck and city staff to do more research and bring options back to the Board of Aldermen.
The Board of Aldermen will set the price for the bulk water sales, though that does not need to be determined for three months, Buerck said.
“The idea that was suggested, and the board seemed to support, was that we could have a fixed, almost industrial fill station,” Buerck said. “The payback is not immediate but we do think there is potential that eventually the city will get its money back.”
The budget for the project is and estimated $50,000. Buerck was planning to bring a recommendation back to the board.
“If we’re going to do it, we don’t want to wait until October to put it in because it’s going to get more use in the summer months,” Buerck said.
The system will include a machine with a debit or credit card for those using it.
The city still has hydrant meters but this provides another option for bulk water, according to Buerck.
The industrial park on Highway 51, near a water tower, seems to be the likely spot for the system, according to Buerck.
“That’s probably where we’re going to put it,” Buerck said. “There’s not a whole lot to it.”
A concrete pad and piping plus electrical work would be part of the installation.
“It’s hard to predict how much we’re actually going to sell.
“The board had asked us to look into the purchase last year so we were looking at the budget and it was time to bring it up,” Buerck said. “If you approve it, we’ll order it, if not it’s just a little bit of work and now we know a little more about it.”
PARKING REQUIREMENT TO CHANGE
The city of Perryville will no longer be requiring a specific number of parking spaces at business which are in a specific zoning designation.
Soon, any commercially property in a C-1 and C-2 area, will not be forced to have a certain number of parking spaces.
“We visited with you guys a couple of times on this,” Buerck said.
The city’s Planning & Zoning Commission looked at the issue a little more in depth and provided a recommendation
“They took a couple of weeks to look at it.”
“I, for one, would like to try it, I’d like to the businesses decide,” Buerck said. “We’re in a changing economy. Some of the homework we’ve done, at some point some cities said this number of square feet needed this number of parking spots and that was the science. Then other cities, as cities tend to do, we copied other people’s ideas.”
The only requirement is that 10 percent of the available parking spots must be designated for handicap accessible use, according to Buerck.
“I’d like to try it, I’m pretty it’s going to work and it’s going to work well, but I cannot guarantee it,” he noted.
Alderman Prince Hudson there were no requirements in state statutes on the issue and later he told Buerck he supported giving this new option a start.
“I’d like to try it, let the businesses decide,” he said.
Examples of business areas in the city in which the parking designation applied included the Perry Plaza, commercial property along Highway 51.
“We don’t need the parking spaces that we used to (have),” Buerck said. “…It’s being done elsewhere and it’s being done well.”
In the past, the individuals developing property have had a pretty good idea of how many parking spots were needed.
“Most of those companies know what they want, and they tell you,” alderman David Schumer. “…Usually the ordinance falls fairly close.”
The city’s downtown area has been exempt from this parking space requirement since they do not have off street parking.
“The parking is shared among everybody,” Buerck said. “The Gaming Center can use the same spots that City Tavern can, they just turn over.”
DOWNTOWN PLAZA
During its Jan. 4 meeting, the Perryville Board of Aldermen discussed options for cutting down on “unsavory activities” at the Downtown Plaza.
Buerck provided a few ideas, including turning the area into a rental facility where reservations would be required for any and all activities. Another suggestion was reducing the hours of operation.
Buerck’s preferred option was to not have any power turned on.
“This is an issue this year because the electric is on, and it’s on because of the Christmas tree,” Buerck said. “A lot of tomfoolery has generally gone away when it doesn’t have power. That is the path of least resistance and the easiest for us to accomplish…”
Alderman Larry Riney notified the board he has received numerous phone calls regarding this area.
Hudson said it would take more than just turning off the electric to completely rid the area of any issues. He also noted that in December he saw two individuals sleeping on the benches in the morning.
Jones suggested setting a curfew for the area, which already has signage up.
“We will start enforcing that,” Jones said. “We’re also working with a couple of businesses up there that now have some signed standing trespassing complaints.”
Toward the end of the discussion, the mayor suggested the police department increase patrol in the area.
No damage to property has been reported at the Downtown Plaza. The Christmas tree and its stand were removed Friday, Jan. 14.
IMPOUND UPDATE
The Board unanimously approved an invoice for $149,099 to Zoellner Construction in connection with the city’s impound building project. The work was for a pre-engineered metal building package, which arrived in early January.
The city’s impound building, which will be located at 400 Delaney Street, is projected to cost $946,000.
“We have the general floor plan…you can start building the shell while you’re still building the inside,” Buerck said. “It just makes it faster.”
CENSUS UPDATE
Last fall, Buerck notified the Board of Aldermen that the city was looking into contesting its final
“We did contact the (U.S.) Census Bureau,” Buerck said. “We don’t have enough to really protest it to the truest extent. They want hard facts like census blocks and we don’t have that. We have very anecdotal data on bedrooms, but that’s not enough. For the next 10 years, we’ll be 8,555. That’ll be our number.”
The Missouri Department of Transportation handles the population signage for the city of Perryville that appear on certain roads upon entrance into the city limits.
As part of his administrator’s report, Buerck noted the city has experienced delays with the post office, pertaining mostly to billing. Many residents expect to get a bill on a certain day of the month and in recent months it hasn’t always been consistent.
“A lot of these things are out of our control,” he said, adding any changes are made to a mail processing center in Cape Girardeau, this could potentially have even more of an impact. “What we’ve done is we’ve set up automatic bill pay for those who are interested. We’ve also done the go green where you can sign up for an electronic copy.”
In a first reading, the Board of Aldermen accepted a general warranty deed from Perryville Development Corporation in connection with six acres of land for the new Perryville Technical Education Campus.
Buerck said the city is referring to the new Perryville technical education facility as the P-Tech center, though eventually Ranken will be naming the building.
Preliminary drawings for the structure, which will be located on a six-acre tract along Perryville Boulevard, were unveiled on JEMA’s web site earlier this month.
“The architectural firm’s design for the new 25,000 square foot structure will be a hybrid educational facility that combines ‘traditional’ classrooms with makerspaces and workshops,” according to JEMA. Construction is slated to start mid-2022.
PARK UPDATE
The Perry Park Center is likely to get a new projector at the end of the month, according to Parks Director Jim Cadwell.
The PPC staff is preparing for the mayor’s cup, which will take place Saturday, Jan. 29.
Alderman Tom Guth asked if the PPC was offering reduced prices for membership dues.
“We decided this year that we weren’t going to do that,” Cadwell said. “Really, what we want people to do is sign up for the electronic funds transfer, it’s easier for us, it’s easier for them.”
Cadwell suggested the possibility of offering membership special during one of the year’s slower months, such as July.
“In terms of attendance, we’re actually doing pretty well considering no theater and we think that (electronic funds transfer) is helping,” Cadwell said. “People are really going for that.”
CITY ENGINEER
The city was wanting on the delivery of manholes before it could start its sewer trunkline project on Highway E, according to engineer Tim Baer.
When work on the project begins, it will start on the southwest side of the branch, Baer said.
“It’ll look like it’s going very slowly at first but once we get across it’ll pick up,” Baer noted.
OTHER ACTION
The board entered into an agreement with Jeremy Tenney for a police cadet position. Training was scheduled to start Tuesday, Jan. 18 and take about half a year.
