Council reviews 2025–26 street, drainage and sidewalk priorities; Dog Pound Road and Clayton Road among top projects

Pryor Creek council members discussed a multi-year list of street, drainage and sidewalk improvement projects for 2025–26 and reviewed sequencing, easement needs and utility conflicts.

The mayor and Public Works staff said the priority list includes Clayton Road (in coordination with the county), a full rebuild of Dog Pound Road, a resurfacing or mill-and-overlay on Fourteenth Street west of Elliot, a one-block repair on Jackson Street, reinforcement of the Cemetery Hill slope, and several drainage-focused projects in the Brentwood addition, Southeast Graham Court and Chouteau Courts additions. Staff also identified a sinkhole at 201 South Elliot; council members said a house sits partly above the drainage structure and that resolving the pipe and sinkhole could require condemnation and demolition if the structure prevents access to the drainage canal.

Engineering and right-of-way updates: Dale (engineer) and staff said the South Adelaide Street drainage project was scheduled to start but was waiting on the contractor’s traffic-control plan; the contractor planned to use mini-excavators and to stage work around school release times and weekends. Easement work for the Taylor property (Seventeenth east of O’Connell Street) is in the hands of the city attorney, and staff said they were pursuing easements in the Ridgewood/Brinwood area where MUB utility lines (three-inch and six-inch) cross private yards and limit space for drainage repairs.

Sidewalk work: staff noted an intended sidewalk project to repair the north-side sidewalk between Orphan and Orra (to connect Bailey Street to Elliot Street) and said budget and easement approvals will determine timing. The council discussed using in-house crews for base work where possible, and contracting for larger milling or overlay work because the city’s own milling equipment is small and contractors’ milling machines are more suitable for large areas.

Budget and implementation constraints featured prominently: council members noted limited staff and equipment capacity, seasonal/weather constraints, and the need to coordinate projects with other contractors to avoid overlapping work. Staff said they would let Public Works identify what work the in-house crew can handle and would bring contractors in for larger resurfacing or milling projects as needed.

Council members asked staff to prioritize projects and to notify affected residents for any multi-month road work; they also directed staff to continue negotiating easements and to return with specific project timelines and cost estimates as they become available.