The eastern third of Bruer Park in Truesdale has become a giant hole in the ground, as a construction crew prepares the foundation for a new community center and storm shelter.
The …
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The eastern third of Bruer Park in Truesdale has become a giant hole in the ground, as a construction crew prepares the foundation for a new community center and storm shelter.
The 6,300-square-foot building will provide a multi-purpose activity space that is built to withstand severe weather. Crews with T S Banze Construction hope to get the foundation built before winter weather sets in.
Utilities have been installed at the site, but project engineer Bart Korman with Lewis and Bade said construction of the building’s foundation was stalled by a death and an illness among the T S Banze staff who would be responsible for the work. That’s put the company in a tough position.
“But if they’re going to hit bad luck, before (starting the foundation) is probably better than midway,” Korman stated.
City Administrator MaryLou Rainwater said the city has received its first bill for the construction work, amounting to $60,255.
T S Banze will eventually be paid an estimated total of $1.5 million for the project.
Added to that amount are fees paid to engineering firm Lewis and Bade, and to project planners with Boonslick Regional Planning Commission.
A “safe room” grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is paying for 90 percent of the cost of the community center. FEMA will pay a maximum of about $1.6 million.
Truesdale continues to seek additional grant funding to help cover costs that FEMA won’t fund. The FEMA grant does not pay for “unnecessary” features such as air conditioning, kitchen facility, sports equipment and other amenities.
That means Truesdale needs to cover the extra costs to make the building a welcoming community center, rather than just an emergency shelter. The gap is about $144,000 between what Truesdale originally budgeted and what the project could cost for the city.
The city had been working with Boonslick Regional Planning Commission to apply for a Missouri Community Development Block Grant, but Mayor Chris Watson said there is dwindling optimism for that prospect. He said the state agency in charge of the grant hasn’t provided answers for any project applications recently.
“With the issues going on with the pandemic, (it doesn’t seem) very hopeful,” Watson said.
Watson said he and Boonslick are also inquiring about financing the project through a lease-purchase agreement with a lender. He said the agreement would include a 2 percent interest rate.
The board of aldermen would likely need to schedule a special meeting in January to discuss that financing option, Watson said.
