Monett City Council plan to link Hwy. 37, Hwy. H advances ahead

Proposal places third fire station, adds North Park entrances
 
The Monett City Council has begun serious discussion about building a connector road for Highway 37 with Highway H, crossing north of North Park.
City engineer Kevin Sprenkle unveiled a plan for building such a road at the Oct. 23 city council work session. Sprenkle came with conceptual drawings and a staff report that three property owners discussed the matter with him and “all have been amenable to the conceptional drawings.”
A connector road for Hwy. 37 has been discussed for decades. Gale Huffmaster’s father discussed the matter with the Monett City Council some 80 years ago, Sprenkle said. A drafted proposal for a road was sketched by Tri-State Engineering of Joplin in the mid-1990s and worked its way into the city’s master transportation plan.
The city has never seriously proposed building such a connecting road on its own, though a memo for last week’s meeting suggested, “The project has sat idle for several years due to funding.”
The memo supported the proposal by stating, “This road improvement would allow great access to the North section of the city. With residential development planned for North Hills, access will be needed for public safety.”
In addition, new Fire Chief Brandon Pennington proposed a site near North Park as the preferred location for a third fire station. Pennington suggested putting the station on the Hwy. 37 curve. That’s where the latest plan puts the station. Sprenkle confirmed the First United Methodist Church is open to releasing that land for a fire station.
Sprenkle presented the council with a design that takes into account existing powerlines that run from Hwy. H to Hwy. 37 and stormwater channels. His plan would run north of the IMEC plant on Hwy. H, starting slightly south of Farm Road 2230. The road would cross the IMEC property on the south side of the tree line, cross north of the trees at the northeast corner of the park, then proceed west to the Clark Community Mental Health Center property, where it would curve down across the northwest corner of the park to Hwy. 37.
The proposal called for adding a new entrance into the east side of North Park from the new road, joining the road between the high school baseball field and the skate park. Eventually, Sprenkle said, the road could see an extension going north to connect with the North Park Estates subdivision on Farm Road 1075. That was not part of the plan at this stage.  
Sprenkle noted much of the area involved lies within the flood plain. Significant earthwork would be needed to manage stormwater runoff.
Asked if there might be a cost share with the Missouri Department of Transportation, Sprenkle said that it was a possibility. After sharing his proposal, he said MoDOT requested more information and may want a traffic study.
“They’re open to the idea [of the road],” Sprenkle said.
With MoDOT preferring intersections at 90-degree angles, Sprenkle suggested building a new entryway intersecting Farm Road 2230, jogging that road south of its present location to provide a straight shot across Hwy. H, plus moving a box culvert under Hwy. H to correspond with the new intersection. Turns should have big 50-foot radiuses for trucks. The road itself would need to be 36-to-38-feet wide to handle bigger vehicles. The preliminary plan calls for open ditches, curbs and gutters that would drain into the ditches.
Sprenkle suggested extending roadwork east from Hwy. H. He envisioned improvements along the east side of Hwy. H, where the ditch and shoulder have been “poor forever.” He said the city has been working with the Monett Special Road District on ways to improve the intersection at Farm Road 1090/Chapell Drive at Farm Road 2230. He said a cost-sharing deal was in the works to upgrade Farm Road 2230, and “make it more suitable for a city street.”
Presently, the city is responsible for the south side of Farm Road 2230 and the road district controls the north side. Sprenkle said arrangements would need to be made to convey the entire street to the city so it could be rebuilt under city street standards.
The next step, he continued, would involve surveying the property and acquiring the needed land. Part of the project lies outside the city limits and would require annexation. If the city used its own funds to build the road, a public hearing would not be required.
Quotes from two engineering firms for surveying ran in the $130,000 range. OWN Engineering, which was already surveying land for the proposed North Hills subdivision, submitted the low quote. Surveying would also be needed for land eyed for the new fire station. Sprenkle wanted to pay particular attention to the earthworks around the fire station site to avoid disturbing the berm that channels stormwater to the south.
A topographic survey would help examine the hydraulics of moving stormwater. Sprenkle said he did not agree with the newest floodplain maps, showing more stormwater across the vicinity than the earlier version, but he added the city has to deal with the newest information.
Council members wondered when funds would be available for the project. City Administrator Mickey Ary wanted to project how far funds would stretch from the transportation sales tax, already committed to the Chapell Drive bridge over the railroad tracks and rebuilding Central Avenue. Commissioner Ken Gaspar added the street maintenance plan, expecting to take about $750,000 annually working on one of about nine zones a year, had to fit in the budget as well. Sprenkle reminded the council that the city has an annual allocation of federal Surface Transportation Program funding that can be used for such projects, though the exact amount available and how much comes in each year was not available at the meeting.
The council appeared united in enthusiasm for the project. Authorization for spending on preliminary work appeared likely for the next meeting on Nov. 11.