Pleasant Hill staff seeks state grant and up to $125,160 match to repair historic depot windows

Pleasant Hill staff told the City Council on Feb. 9 that the city is eligible to apply for a Missouri State Parks construction grant to repair windows at the downtown historic train depot and requested direction to submit the grant pre-application by Feb. 27.

The staff memo and an accompanying contractor quote put a full-scope repair at roughly $298,000 (the presenter noted a potential 5% escalation), which would require a 40% local match of approximately $125,160. Staff also described a reduced-scope option focused on 16 second-story windows estimated at about $128,000, which would reduce the city match to roughly $54,000. Community Betterment has pledged $15,000 toward the city’s match, staff said.

“Because this grant requires a match, we don’t want to apply unless council is willing to commit the local portion,” staff said, explaining the pre-application is used to gauge competitiveness; a full application would follow only if the pre-application is accepted. Staff emphasized that if the city is awarded a grant it would still have to complete formal procurement and could not obligate funds or sign contracts without further council approval.

Randy Miller of Community Betterment described why specialized restoration raised costs: the depot’s original 1903 windows contain lead paint and asbestos in surrounding materials, requiring hazardous-material abatement. Miller said the recommended approach is to remove hazardous sashes and replicate the original windows using precision CNC techniques so the replacements look and perform like the originals; that process, he said, accounts for much of the price.

Councilors asked whether all 46 windows require immediate replacement, whether lower-cost “historic profile” aluminum windows might qualify, and whether doing partial replacements would risk losing the property’s contributing status in the historic district. Staff and Miller said improperly chosen materials or details could jeopardize historic status; they recommended consulting state preservation staff and noted that final eligibility and qualifying materials would be clarified during the pre-application and full-application review.

A resident during public comment noted the contractor quote listed hazardous-abatement and disposal as exclusions and urged staff to confirm whether those costs are additional. Another commenter recommended contacting Missouri Main Street and the state grant administrators to confirm whether aluminum historic-profile windows would remain eligible under the grant criteria, noting such alternatives often materially reduce costs.

Councilors asked staff to gather more options and updated bids before the next meeting. Staff said they would likely prepare the pre-application (to meet the Feb. 27 pre-application deadline) so the city can secure feedback from the grant program but would not finalize or accept any award without subsequent council approval; any award would likely be reflected in next year’s budget and followed by formal procurement.

Next steps: staff will verify grant eligibility details (including whether the depot qualifies as a contributing building within a historic district rather than being individually listed on the National Register), update cost estimates and alternative materials/options, and return with revised information before the council commits budget authority.