By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com
NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho officials say they hope to have a pair of downtown projects complete in the coming weeks while eyeing another streetscaping initiative for next year.
The reconstruction of a stretch of sidewalk along Spring Street and improvements to six municipal parking lots are slated for a Dec. 10 completion, weather permitting, said Desiree Bridges, the city’s communications manager.
The work includes the replacement of sidewalks on Spring Street between Jefferson Street and Big Spring Park. Work on the parking lots varies depending on the location, ranging from new landscaping and lighting to asphalt overlay and asphalt replacement. Both projects began in October.
The work is being financed by a $400,000 state grant and $73,885 in a local match.
Bridges said that later on, the city will replace the 18-foot streetlights now located on the exterior of the square with 12-foot lights. The 18-foot historic lights will be moved to the refurbished parking lots.
Other streetscaping, meanwhile, is planned for the square next year, financed by a $400,000 state grant and a $40,000 local match.
The grant will be used to finance work that includes narrowing streets by 10 to 15 feet and adding green space to the sidewalks on the exterior of the square. The project also calls for landscaping throughout the area, water features, brick-paved islands and crosswalks, and pedestrian seating.
The Neosho City Council last week authorized City Manager Jan Blase to negotiate with Hurst-Roche Engineers, which has offices in Neosho, to provide design and engineering services for the project.
Blase has said the city hopes to have the work on the square started by next summer.
Bridges said the city still has to solicit public input.
“We’ve got a lot of work sessions to do with the public,” she said. “We’re not going to rush into the streetscaping at all.”
DREAM
Neosho was one of the first 10 communities in the state to be chosen for the Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri, or DREAM, program. The program is designed to streamline access to state assistance in revitalizing downtowns. Earlier this year, Webb City and Lamar were selected to be among this year’s DREAM communities.
Local News
Neosho eyes Dec. 10 to finish sidewalk, parking lot work
- Local News
-
-
City wants to buy weather radios for those without
Phil Jones had been working on a construction project outside his house all day on May 22 and was unaware that a tornado watch had been issued. Once he was inside, though, his weather radio went off, and he learned that a warning had been issued.
-
Architects present preliminary JHS plans at community meeting
Reaction appeared mostly supportive Thursday night among the roughly 50 people who attended a community meeting at which architects presented their preliminary site plans for the future combined Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center.
-
Confessed shooter testifies against co-defendants in Pittsburg murder case
Rickey Smith testified Thursday that as he came in the back door of Ryan Bailey’s home in Pittsburg with a 9 mm pistol in his hand, Bailey looked up from the couch in his living room.
-
School district’s proposed street-closing plan questioned
Plans to close some streets near the proposed Joplin High School drew questions, including a challenge from a former Joplin mayor, during a public hearing this week.
-
Neosho council approves new golf cart contract
The purchase of golf carts was back on the agenda this week for the Neosho City Council. City Attorney Steve Hays said there were errors in the financing terms that were part of a bid approved last month for the purchase of 55 gas-powered carts from E-Z-Go for $144,195, so the purchase of a new fleet was rebid.
-
Mike Pound: Spirit of competition evident during double-overtime game
When I played basketball in high school, I played in several very close games.
Now, some people who may have known me in high school are probably laughing right now and saying, “What Mike meant to say is that when he was in high school, he came very close to playing in some games.” -
Mo. optometrist filed $40 million refund claim
A southwest Missouri optometrist who filed a tax return claiming a $40 million refund has been sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison.
-
Okla. receives waiver from No Child Left Behind
Oklahoma’s top education official reacted with glee Thursday with the announcement that the state is one of 10 states being granted a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law that requires students be proficient in reading and math by 2014 — but focused on getting students to “just pass the tests.”
-
Kan. House approves bipartisan redistricting bill
Power in the Kansas House is likely to shift next year from rural parts of the state to the Kansas City area after members overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill Thursday for redrawing their districts.
-
Fugitive in 1993 British heist arrested in Ozark
A man suspected of stealing about $1.5 million from a security van in England in 1993 has been arrested in southwest Missouri.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
