JOPLIN, Mo. —
A gift of land from Sisters of Mercy Health System to the city for a future tornado memorial museum and parking lot was accepted Wednesday night by the Joplin City Council.
City Manager Mark Rohr outlined the proposal, which was announced by Mercy officials on Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of the EF-5 tornado that destroyed St. John’s Regional Medical Center and its Brady Rehabilitation Center at 2727 S. McClelland Blvd.
Mercy’s president and chief executive officer, Lynn Britton, said the Brady site was being donated to the Joplin School District for construction of an elementary school to replace Irving and Emerson schools, which also were destroyed by the tornado. Another tract is being donated for the reconstruction of the Stained Glass Theatre. Mercy plans to rebuild the St. John’s chapel as a community building with an amphitheater for public use.
Mercy is building a new hospital to replace St. John’s at 50th and Main streets.
Rohr said the proposal to build a museum on the land made available to the city is “very preliminary.” He said there has to be a lot of public input into the idea, along with discussions about other details.
“This is the first step in the process,” he told the council. There is a clause in the deed that would give ownership back to Mercy in five years if the city has not built a museum, Rohr said. “So there is really no downside for the city.”
Councilman Mike Woolston asked if Mercy might grant an extension if the construction of a museum had not started in five years but the city was making progress toward that end.
Rohr said that based on his experience, the Mercy officials are easy to work with and would likely meet the city halfway.
Councilman Morris Glaze said he hopes the city will address the needs of the Joplin Museum Complex as part of the consideration. The history and mining museum is cramped for space and cannot store or display all of its collections appropriately in its current building at Schifferdecker Park. Museum officials two years ago proposed a sales tax to remodel Memorial Hall and operate the museum there, but voters turned down that request.
City and community leaders had since been examining a plan proposed by Rohr to build a performing arts center and amphitheater downtown, and to restore Union Depot for museum use. That plan is still pending.
The council voted 8-0 to approve the contract for the land. Councilman Benjamin Rosenberg was absent.
The council also approved a contract for about $38,000 to have an engineering study done of Memorial Hall to determine the extent of settlement of the building that city officials believe is the result of a Nov. 6 earthquake that was centered near Shawnee, Okla.
Jack Schaller, assistant public works director, told the council that the building’s caretaker inspected it on Nov. 4 and then on Nov. 7 found some large cracks in the northeast corner of the building near the entrance.
Councilman Bill Scearce asked if the city’s insurer had denied an insurance claim for the work, contending it was routine settling of the building that caused the damage. Schaller said that a damage claim was refused. He said that if outside engineers believe the damage is more consistent with that from an earthquake, he will use that to appeal the insurance denial. He said the soil structure around the building needs to be investigated anyway to determine if there is a problem. The cracks also must be fixed to prevent further damage. The engineers can recommend methods of repair.
The council also approved a 3 percent pay raise for all city employees. They did not receive raises last year because the city manager wanted to determine the costs of the tornado damage to the city.
Leslie Jones, the city finance director, said the increase would be effective as of May 19 and would appear on payroll checks June 8.
Condolences
COUNCILMAN MICHAEL SEIBERT offered the council’s condolences to Mayor Melodee Colbert-Kean, whose father, John W. Colbert Jr., died Saturday.
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