City municipal services staff briefed the committee on street operations after a severe winter, reporting higher-than-normal salt use, staff hours and pothole repairs, and provided an update on multiple capital projects that are in construction, design or bidding; staff also described plans to use planned general obligation (GO) bond proceeds for bridges, sidewalks and pavement maintenance.

Charles R. Hardy, administrative services supervisor for the municipal services department, told the committee staff collected 470 cubic yards of street sweepings covering 1,241 lane miles and removed 2,074 cubic yards of illegal dumping from rights-of-way for the reported fiscal year. He said crews repaired or replaced 1,594 signs and completed 14,974 pothole repairs. The report listed 10,009 employee hours on snow operations; snow treatments totaled 3,123 tons of salt and 40,750 gallons of brine. Partial- and full-depth street patching covered about 5,555 square yards.

Zane McKinney, assistant director of municipal services, said the city operates two street sweepers, and staffing limits mean business districts are swept more frequently (about three to four times per year) while many residential streets are on a two- to three‑year cycle. McKinney described the winter as the most severe in four to five years, noting salt use was nearly double recent averages and snow‑operation hours were roughly 40% above typical levels. He said pothole repairs were about 25% higher than in prior years, adding approximately 3,000 more potholes were fixed this cycle.

On capital projects, staff reported the fiscal year 2025 street program completed about 57 lane miles with a budget of roughly $6,000,000 and final spending “just over” that amount for the construction cycle. Project-by-project status items included:

- 24 Highway Complete Streets: Phase 2 was described as substantially complete except for minor cleanup; phase 1 construction is underway working from west to east with work reported near the College–Lee’s Summit Road area. Phase 3 is in design with Burns & McDonnell as consultant.

- Square Streetscapes and Truman Connected: Square streetscape work is nearing completion with concrete work mostly done; lighting installation was expected in the month before the Santa Calagon event and overlay work may occur on a weekend. Truman Connected phase 1 final plans are complete and staff expects to advertise for bids this fall; phase 2 is in early design.

- Pacific Trail: Staff said Pacific Trail reached substantial completion with minor punchlist items remaining and targeted the end of the month for finishing work.

- 20 Third Street Mobility and Safety Improvements: This corridor is being pursued as a cost‑share with the state. Staff said the cost‑share agreement is being prepared for submission and staff is aiming to have the agreement in place by October; the overall 20 Third Street mobility project stretches from the western city limits to Nolan Road and is being phased.

- Nolan Road multimodal corridor: Traffic study results led staff to reject a lane‑reduction south of White Oak; north of White Oak to 24 Highway a multiuse path appears feasible and is being advanced to connect to other pedestrian/bicycle projects.

- Historic Trails, Fairmont Loop Trail and Sidewalk Program: Historic Trails phase 1 is fully grant funded; Fairmont Loop Trail design was reported at roughly 50–60% with a public meeting scheduled at the Fairmont Community Center (Thursday at 5 p.m.). The city’s ongoing sidewalk infill program continues as annual capital work.

- Bridges: Plans for the Chrisler Avenue bridge were approved by the Union Pacific Railroad, clearing a major permitting hurdle; the Chrisler Avenue and East Kentucky Road bridges will be bundled as a single bid package to increase contractor interest. Staff said Heidelberger Bridge construction is due to begin the following Thursday.

- Englewood traffic circle / Winter Road streetscape: Staff is considering a design‑build procurement for a five‑way intersection and anticipates coordinating with the Federal Highway Administration and MoDOT under a RAISE grant; the project will also tie into the Winter Road Complete Streets improvements.

Staff provided an overview of planned use of GO bond proceeds: finance staff and municipal services have set up a separate fund (outside of Fund 11) and plan three umbrella accounts — bridges, sidewalks and preventative pavement maintenance. Staff said they expect to pursue a first round of bond funding in October and that the initial issuance would fund the two bundled bridges, some sidewalks to schools work and approximately the first three years of the preventative pavement maintenance program. Officials described a five‑year approach for the $30 million set aside for preventative maintenance, estimating about $6 million per year.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about schedules, cost shares with the state for state right‑of‑way corridors, the timeline for design and construction and how the city plans to sequence work once bond proceeds become available. Staff said design work on several projects is being advanced ahead of the bond sale so projects can proceed quickly once reimbursement authority is in place.

No formal committee action was taken on individual projects during the meeting; staff characterized the project update as informational.