By Tim SchmidtRecord Managing EditorWarrenton city officials are moving forward with a project to reconstruct Hickory Lick Road.Aldermen voted 4-1 to proceed with the project at Tuesday night’s board meeting. Ward 2 Alderman Gary Auch was the lone board member to vote against the project.Ward 1 Alderman Toni Hawley was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.Hickory Lick Road is located on the north side of Warrenton, off Highway 47. The street leads to the athletic complex.Hickory Lick’s driving surface has been deteriorating for years as it has received heavy use from travelers to the athletic complex. Public Works Director Guy Gevers said that issue is mainly due to having no base underneath the asphalt road, which has caused some areas of the street to sink and creates a bumpy ride for motorists.Under a cost estimate provided by Cochran Engineering, the reconstruction project is anticipated to cost around $1,088,968.97. Of that amount, $74,479.22 is set aside for engineering and surveying and a 15 percent contingency totaling $132,324.75.The proposed project will consist of removing the existing road, and replacing it with a 24-foot wide concrete street.Following board approval Tuesday night, construction documents will be drawn up for the proposed project so that it can go out for bid. In addition, the city must still decide how it will fund the project.The city has allocated funds in this year’s budget for the work, of which approximately $585,000 is in grant funds.However, officials are still awaiting confirmation that the grant funds can be used for the project.At Tuesday’s meeting, Auch suggested the city consider financing the rest of the project’s cost that is not covered by grant funds so that other improvements could be considered.Auch recalled that he was against the city taking over ownership of the Hickory Lick Road years ago from the county and still feels that way.“I didn’t believe the city should be taking the county’s problems on,” he said. “The board obviously felt differently about that. Here it is years later we are doing what the county should have done to begin with (and) the city taxpayers are the ones paying for it.”Other aldermen, however, feel the project is worthy of its price tag.Ward 2 Alderman Eric Schleuter believes the street upgrade is needed for visitors to the athletic complex.“I believe we still have a gem up there,” he remarked. “We should enhance it the best we can to promote more business up there. I can tell you, there are several people that agree with that.”City proceeding with Hickory Lick project