Truesdale will move forward with the Boonslick Regional Planning Commission and Lewis and Bade Inc. for professional and engineering services for the Smith Street grant proposal. 

The Truesdale aldermen accepted the proposals at their July 9 meeting and authorized City Clerk Elsa Smith-Fernandez to work on contracts and draw up ordinances for their next meeting. 

Both contracts were approved unanimously. 

Truesdale is pursuing a community development block grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development to fund the second phase of its Smith Street improvement project. 

The grant would cover up to $500,000 in construction costs. It would also cover any administrative and engineering costs, although those costs would be assessed separately, according to Smith-Fernandez. 

The first phase of the Smith Street improvement project was completed earlier this year by TS Banze Construction at a cost of roughly $350,000. The first phase widened the street and improved the driving surface from Laura Street to just past the MaryLou Center. 

The second phase will extend those improvements to Depot Street. 

Smith-Fernandez said the deadline for requests for proposals on that project was June 27. The BPRC and Lewis and Bade were the only bids placed on the project. 

“We did get a couple phone calls about the engineering, and it was kind of an ambitious request that we have, but with the deadline of the grant, we have to move kind of quickly on it,” said Smith-Fernandez. 

The board also approved a grant writing proposal with BPRC for $2,000 at their May 28 meeting. With the additional bids approved at the July 9 meeting the city will move forward with completing their grant application before the July 31 deadline. 

Smith-Fernandez noted that they have worked with both contractors in the past, and that should assist them in completing the application in a timely manner. 

“With (Lewis and Bade) being familiar with the project, they can get that preliminary engineering report put together pretty quick for the grant,” said Smith-Fernandez. “And Boonslick they’ve assisted us with multiple grants in the past, so we have a really good working relationship.”

She said totals for those contracts were not yet available, but will be included when they are considered at the board’s July 23 meeting. 

Both Alderman Mike Thomas and Public Works Director Steven Harlan noted that Bart Korman with Lewis and Bade had told them he already had most of the preliminary work for the next two phases of the project completed. 

“He said the second phase is fairly simple,” said Harlan. 

The third phase of the Smith Street project will extend the improvements from Depot Street to N. Water Street. 

The city expects to hear whether or not their grant application was approved in October or November, according to Smith-Fernandez.