The city may select a contractor to develop riverfront access by next month.
The Jefferson City Council approved a resolution Monday amending an agreement between donor B.J. DeLong and the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Foundation. The amendment extended the deadline to execute a contract with a Bicentennial Bridge builder to Nov. 1.
The city originally had until August to select a contractor, according to a December 2018 agreement.
The city and Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce proposed an 826-foot bridge leading down to a riverfront park on Adrian's Island - 30 acres of forest and wetlands that lie between the Missouri River and Union Pacific Railroad tracks that stretch about 1 mile from the state Capitol to the former Missouri State Penitentiary. The bridge would begin between the Senate garage and Veterans Memorial.
A January agreement between the city, Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Foundation, Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission, and Bicentennial Bridge, LLC, governs the construction of the Bicentennial Bridge to Adrian's Island. It currently states the Bicentenntial Bridge, LLC, can utilize the construction manager at-risk model.
However, the construction manager at-risk model "proved not to be fruitful," City Counselor Ryan Moehlman said.
With the construction manager at-risk model, the project owner hires a construction manager for an agreed-upon price. The contract manager will coordinate subcontractors, but the project owner will enter into contracts with each subcontractor. If the project goes over the agreed price, the contract manager "bears the risk of any overage," Moehlman said.
The City Council heard a bill Monday that would amend the January agreement to allow the Bicentennial Bridge, LLC, to utilize the general contractor model for construction instead of the construction manager at-risk model, according to the proposed bill.
With a general contractor model, the project owner hires one contractor, who then enters into contracts with the necessary subcontractors, Moehlman said.
The proposed bill would also amend the agreement to state the city will be the owner of the bridge during and after construction.
The agreement originally listed the Bicentennial Bridge, LLC, as the owner during the construction. Once the bridge was completed, the company was going to convey it to the city.
The Missouri Department of Revenue ruled the bridge could not be constructed on a sales tax-exempt basis if the Bicentennial Bridge, LLC, was listed as the owner during construction, according to the bill.
The Bicentennial Bridge, LLC, is a regular limited liability company under state law and those companies are not tax-exempt entities automatically, Moehlman said. However, the city is a tax-exempt entity, he added.
The Bicentenntial Bridge, LLC, will instead be "an agent of the city to undertake bridge construction on behalf of the city," according to the proposed amendment.
The Parks and Recreation Commission will discuss the proposed amendments to the agreement today.
The expected completion date for the Bicentennial Bridge project is still mid- to late 2020, Mayor Carrie Tergin said.
"This truly is a dream becoming a reality because it's something that our community has desired for generations," she said. "It's something we've been working toward, and we're finally getting to the point where we have this exciting opportunity to really move forward on it."
An ad hoc committee created by the chamber has raised $3.7 million of the estimated $4 million needed to construct the bridge, chamber President Randy Allen said Monday. The $3.7 million is from private donors - with approximately $3.2 million of that coming from DeLong, committee members previously said.
In December, the City Council approved a contract to purchase Adrian's Island from the Jefferson City Housing Authority.
In other business, the council reviewed a $6,500 transfer from the Jefferson City Plaza Trust Fund to the plaza maintenance and repair account.
The Veterans Plaza Committee plans to make improvements and expand the Veterans Plaza in front of the Jefferson City Police Station, 401 Monroe St. The supplemental appropriation would fund Architects Alliance design services to develop bid plans for the project, according to the proposed bill.
Also, the City Council heard a bill that would authorize $145,844 for a consolidated planning grant agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission.
This grant would go toward metropolitan transportation planning services for Fiscal Year 2020, which starts Nov. 1 and goes through Oct. 31, 2020, according to the bill.
Also on Monday, the council heard a $54,700 contract for audit services with Evers and Company for Nov. 1 through Oct. 31, 2020. The request is for the audit of city records for Fiscal Year 2018-19.