Pine Street Project Likely To Extend Into 2021

Pine Street likely won’t be paved before the end of the year and the new target is to have it completed next spring.

The city must have approval to carry the grant money over into 2021. 

Ward 2 Alderwoman Sonya Sewald asked Tuesday night if the city is doing everything it can to ensure the grant will be extended for yet another year.

“I don’t know where we stand,” said Mayor Dave Lafferty. “I had a heart-to-heart with (city engineer) Dick IRamstein). I’m supposed to get everything I need and send it to (Meramec Regional Planning Commission).”

The city needs information from Ramstein that will allow them to put together a bid.

Lafferty said he hopes it will be accepted to let the city slide until next spring.

“I don’t know how they could say we aren’t trying,” Lafferty added. “We have people wanting to bid, but we have to get the bid approved.”

Public Works employee Mark McEuen told the council that the city’s portion is “95% done” and they were still trying to finish a corner at Cedar and Pine.

McEuen said there are 22 water lines yet to be tied in.

Lafferty told the board some of the issues the city used to have with water standing in front of buildings has been alleviated.

“It’s the best it’s been in a long time,” he said.

Bourbon announced the $500,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in February 2018. The project was supposed to begin that year, but never got off the ground. 

2019 came and went with the city’s in-kind work the only part of the project that was initiated.

The Bourbon Boosters planned their Fall Festival theme around the street being paved, tilting the 2019 event “Paving Our Way Into The Future.” 

“We were assuming by the second or third week of September (2019) it would be done,” said former Ward 2 Alderwoman Mary Heywood in May 2019.

Last spring, the city was finally able to get the sewer portion done. Bids for the water project were expected to go out July 15 and work to begin soon after, but the city rejected those bids and had to start over.

The water project was eventually completed in late summer.