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Cole County approves engineering contract, outlines multi-year Westview Heights stormwater and paving plan
Summary
Cole County commissioners approved a professional services agreement to design stormwater improvements at seven Westview Heights locations and heard a multi-year schedule tying stormwater, sewer and paving work together across the subdivision.
Cole County commissioners approved a professional-services agreement and heard a multi-year schedule on a large stormwater and pavement improvement program for the unincorporated Westview Heights subdivision.
County staff told commissioners the work will be carried out in phases across five color-coded areas of the subdivision. Staff said the plan coordinates county stormwater and paving work with a separate Jefferson City Sewer project that will run through subdivision streets; under the interlocal agreement, Jefferson City Sewer will perform sewer work in the streets and patch them, and the county will later incorporate one lane of an overlay into its paving contract as part of the agreement.
The county presented a schedule that anticipates the following sequence if funding and approvals come together: design and initial construction work beginning this year, major construction in 2026 for several areas (including sewer work by Jefferson City), overlays for the green area in 2027, additional overlays in 2028 and 2029 for other subareas, and a detention basin project in 2028 or later pending regulatory approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers because the site may be classified as wetland.
Commission staff described existing inlet types in the subdivision (newer “type A” inlets and older, easily clogged inlets) and stressed the need to address underground pipes and inlet capacity before overlaying pavement. Staff said some recent and planned upstream projects (including a CDBG-funded South Brooks Drive phase) are intended to relieve downstream stormwater loading and will be incorporated into the overall strategy.
Separately, the commission approved an engineering agreement with Bartlett & West to provide engineering services to evaluate stormwater infrastructure and design improvements at seven Westview Heights locations; the presentation stated a contract amount of $74,504, while the motion recorded a different figure ($74,005.04). Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the agreement; county staff said the clerk’s office will confirm the final contract amount before signatures are finalized.
Commissioners and staff noted the scope depends on future capital-improvement funding. Staff said the current sales tax used for capital improvements expires in 2026 and indicated the county is considering an increase in the next sales-tax proposal to raise the overlay funding level (staff noted the present overlay budget equals 1.75 — the transcript did not specify the unit or exact interpretation — and staff mentioned a target of at least $2,000,000 for overlays under the next tax proposal). Staff emphasized that underground work must be completed before overlays so the new pavement will last longer.
Staff encouraged commissioners to share project drawings with constituents; larger copies were available and the engineering-report drawings will be provided on request.
The county did not adopt a final funding commitment at the meeting; staff said schedule and construction depend on right-of-way, regulatory approvals, sewer schedules and availability of capital funds.
