By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com
NEOSHO, Mo. — The city of Neosho is preparing to gather public input this month on proposed improvements to the square with an eye toward developing a strategic plan for the downtown area this year, officials said this week.
Two “public interactive design session(s)” regarding projects on the square are set for Jan. 29, said Craig Jones, city planner. One will likely be in the afternoon, the other in the evening.
The sessions will afford the public an opportunity to weigh in on the proposed work, Jones said.
The city received word in October that it had secured a $400,000 state grant for the work. The local match is to be about $40,000.
Projects suggested by consultants include widening the square’s exterior sidewalks to accommodate green space. That would narrow the streets but allow for outdoor dining opportunities, displays, shade trees, flower boxes and benches.
Other suggested elements include midblock crosswalks, brick-paved islands at the corners and the refurbishing of public alleys that feed into the square so they are more friendly to pedestrians.
The goal of the sessions is to solicit public input on what would draw people to the square, especially people who don’t already come, and on what work would make it more pedestrian-friendly, said Boyd Poirier, an engineer with Hurst-Roche Engineers Inc., of Neosho, which is to help the city design the work.
“What we want is to figure out what the citizens of Neosho want,” Poirier said.
The city already has spoken with the Newton County Commission about the work, Jones said. Based on that conversation, the city eliminated parts of the proposal calling for fountains at the four corners of the square.
“It is the public’s square,” Jones said of the planned interactive sessions, which could feature computers simulating what some improvements suggested by the public would look like.
The tentative timetable calls for the city to gather public input and have a design that is about 50 percent complete by mid- to late February, Jones said. The city would have another public session about that design, with bids for the project to be sought in mid-April. Work would start over the summer.
The city also is likely to begin work on a strategic plan for the downtown. That plan will be devised in conjunction with the state consultants available to the city through its participation in the Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri program.
Jones said that plan will integrate the various studies that already have been conducted about different aspects of the downtown, such as land use, housing and the retail market.
Other work in store for the downtown in the coming months includes the completion of work on seven municipal parking lots, most of which are within a few blocks of the square.
The lots are to be repaved and restriped. Period lighting is to be installed. Jones said the lots are available for public use. The lighting is to be installed over the next few weeks. Some work will be completed in the spring.
DREAM city
In 2006, Neosho was one of the first 10 communities in the state to be chosen for the Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri program. The program is designed to streamline access to state assistance in revitalizing downtowns. Webb City and Lamar were among the DREAM communities selected in 2008.
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