Committee reviews multiple street, stormwater and wastewater projects; approves several design and estimate requests

The City of Pacific operations committee on Oct. 30 reviewed progress on a suite of street, stormwater and wastewater projects and approved multiple staff follow-up actions, including a recommendation to reapply for a regional grant and requests for design-level and preliminary cost estimates.

Street projects: Staff reported the Osage and First intersection work is still expected to begin in early spring and Union Street design is complete and planned for bidding in December; Fourth Street was deferred to next year because of required easements. The committee voted to recommend applying for an East‑West Gateway grant for Highway N Phase 5 and approved a motion to forward that recommendation to the board for a formal application.

Preventative pavement maintenance: Committee members reviewed the Cochran PPMP multi‑year plan and noted that recent large grant-driven projects have consumed transportation funds, limiting the city's ability to carry out routine mill-and-overlay work. Members asked staff to provide lead-time estimates and to prioritize single-street projects where feasible.

Stormwater and culverts: Staff reported that detention basins installed with a private industrial park have reduced some flooding but that culverts under Midwest Drive remain a city-owned concern. An estimate for replacing those culverts was discussed in the meeting at about $340,000; a larger package of box-cover/basin work was discussed at roughly $1.2 million, though most basin locations would require easements or private property work.

Wastewater and treatment: On the interceptor line, staff said design is complete and the city is in the easement-acquisition phase; several property owners have raised concerns that staff will address in meetings with the engineer. For lagoon ammonia remediation, engineering alternatives are complete and staff will provide affordability data to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to pursue a possible variance; staff reported that biological treatment and additional totes have kept ammonia readings below 1 mg/L in recent months.

Water system: The city’s new radio-enabled meter-read system is online and has reduced read times; staff continue to pursue in‑home meter replacements by notifying residents. One older Blackburn reservoir remains offline (since 2012), and the city reports roughly 1.3 million gallons of storage across its tanks; long-term options discussed include an elevated tank and a new well.

Orchard Estates: The committee approved a motion requesting a preliminary cost estimate for Orchard Estates reconstruction (design estimate only) so members can prioritize the project in future budgets.

Grand View Ridge / Viaduct Hogan intersection: Franklin County notified the city of a proposed second subdivision (Grand View Ridge). City staff confirmed residential hookups do not require board approval but flagged interceptor easement needs and traffic impacts at the Viaduct/Hogan intersection; the committee voted to forward the city’s traffic‑improvement materials and the 2022 CBB study to Franklin County and to request the developer’s second traffic study for review.

Next steps include preparing the East‑West Gateway grant application for board consideration, returning Orchard Estates and Candlewick cost estimates to the committee, continuing easement outreach for the interceptor line, and providing DNR with the affordability documentation needed to pursue a possible variance rather than an extensive plant upgrade.

Votes at a glance: Recommendation to apply for East‑West Gateway grant — approved; motion to request preliminary Orchard Estates estimate — approved; motion to forward viaduct/intersection concerns to Franklin County — approved.