City Council approves contracts for Maryville improvements

SIDNEY LOWRY Managing Editor | @sidney_lowry

In just over 20 minutes, the City Council approved two contracts and an agreement for upcoming improvements throughout Maryville.

The first order of new business was for a contract with Great River Associates, Inc. for services on the East Thompson Street Trail project. The project started in September 2022 when the city was notified it had received a Transportation Alternative Program through the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Based out of Springfield, Missouri, Great River Associates will be working on the extension, which consists of an eight-foot wide concrete trail along East

Thompson Street then down 1,600 linear feet to South Davis Street to South Laura Street.

City Manager Greg McDanel said the city looked at multiple firms for this project, but ended up choosing Great River Associates.

“They do have a history of successful projects here in Northwest Missouri, and they are very familiar with state and federal funding,” McDanel said.

The Council members approved the contract for the construction not to exceed just under $46,000, and McDanel said a portion of that money would be reimbursed back to the city through the MoDOT Transportation Alternative Funds Program.

The second contract of the night was a renewal for lawn care services between Thomas Lawn Care, LLC, and Maryville Parks and Recreation. Thomas Lawn Care has been providing this service to the city since 2017 following a recommendation to the Parks and Recreation Board to contract out the mowing work at parks around town.

The contract includes the 26 mowings from April to October at Beal Park, Franklin Park, Happy Hollow Park, Judah Park, Sisson-Eek Park, Sunrise Park, Wabash Park and Thomson Splash ‘N’ Play.

Director of Maryville Parks and Recreation Jeff Stubblefield said contracting out this work has greatly helped MPR.

“It has saved parks and rec quite a bit of money with not only the labor, but the equipment,” he said. “So, it helped our budget a lot and helped stabilize it.”

The Council members approved the contract not-to-exceed $40,040 for the continued maintenance of mowing some parks around town.

The Council also approved an agreement with Governmentjobs.com for its NEOGOV Human Resources cloud-based software. Through the software, city staffing will now work through electronic tracking for faster processing of applicants.

Human Resources Manager Roxanne Reed said this would benefit the city greatly and could now offer online applications, which was previously not an option for candidates.

“They’re the only company that I researched that provides these services to public entities,” Reed said. “It allows for us to have a more efficient tracking system for our new hires and also for recruiting purposes, too.”

This service was included into the Fiscal Year 2023 budget for a two-year agreement for the service. The first payment will be $12,152 in FY2023, and the remainder of the $25,456 contract will be paid in FY24.

Other City Council Business:

• The Council approved the request to hold the annual Speedy Spoofhound 5K/Fun Run April 29. The event will begin at 7:30 a.m. and go until 10 a.m., closing East Second Street from Dewey Street to Davis Street during that time.

• The Maryville Police Department was told it was awarded for a Local Law Enforcement Block Grant through the Missouri Department of Public Safety of just under $10,000 for the replacement of radios.