St. Francois County OKs permission to sign design contract for boat ramp and water-trail improvements

Commissioners on the St. Francois County Commission meeting gave permission to sign an engineering contract with Cochran Engineering for design work on a boat ramp, expanded asphalt parking and related water-trail amenities, county Parks Department staff said.

Mike Sumpter, St. Francois County Parks Department, told commissioners the project is part of a Recreation Trails Program grant that will fund the construction of a boat ramp, an expanded asphalt parking lot and a kayaking/water-trail connection on Owl Creek and Big River. "This is for Cochran Engineering to design the boat ramp for us, which we need for a design, and then we can take it to the Corps of Engineers to get a permit for the program," Sumpter said (00:01:27).

Sumpter said the contract scope also includes design of a shade structure for the existing kiosk and improvements to the launch area to make it more user-friendly by cutting a steep bank back and adding a gentler access point. He said the project will include in-kind county work that satisfies the county's 20% match and that the out-of-pocket county cost should be "less than $3,000" for excavation and similar contributions (00:03:38).

A commissioner moved and a second was recorded to give permission for the county to sign the engineering contract for the Brown Creek/boat-ramp project with Cochran/Cochrane Engineering; the motion was put to a voice vote and advanced (00:04:04). The motion text in the meeting transcript read in part: "We give permission to, to sign a contract for the, Brown Creek for the engineering with Cochrane Engineering." The transcript did not record a roll-call tally.

Why it matters: The design work is the required next step before the county can apply to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the permitting necessary to construct a river launch. If permitted, the project would add a formal launch and parking that county staff said would reduce hazardous informal access at a steep bank and provide shade and seating for users.

What officials said: "We received a grant, the recreation trust program 2025 for a boat ramp, and a expanded asphalted parking lot, and, a water trail," Sumpter said (00:01:27). He described the grant as coming through the Department of Natural Resources/ Missouri State Parks.

Funding and next steps: Sumpter said the award is administered through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources/Missouri State Parks and that county in-kind work counts as the 20% match; he estimated out-of-pocket county costs at under $3,000. The exact total grant award amount was not stated clearly in the transcript (a figure reported in the meeting record appears garbled). Design deliverables will be used for Corps of Engineers permitting and for final construction bidding.

Context and limits: The transcript references both "Cochran Engineering" and "Cochrane Engineering." The transcript does not provide a contract number, an exact grant award dollar amount in clear text, or a copy of the design scope. The motion recorded in the meeting provided permission to sign the contract; the transcript records a voice vote but does not include a roll-call tally.