From finalizing the Steinhagen Road pedestrian bridge to renovating city hall to a voluntary agreement extending the eastern city limits, Warrenton city officials are touting the numerous accomplishments completed in 2009. The officials were proud of the many projects they were able to complete during a time when many county and city governments were downsizing or scaling back programs and projects. City staff is already looking at ways to tighten the current budget. "(2009 was) a pretty amazing year for the city," said Terri Thorn, director of operations/finance officer. "We've had some pretty large projects that have been out there for a long time that for some of them, to our amazement, have been finally completed." Alderman Fred Flake praised city department heads and staff for their contributions throughout the year. "It was a really busy year," he stated. "I thank everyone for all their effort and cooperation and work in getting the projects accomplished. There was a lot of hours and dedication that goes into getting these things done." The city hall expansion project allowed all city departments to be housed under the same roof and resulted in additional parking. An expanded and renovated facility eliminated the need for visitors and city staff having to visit three different city buildings.   Officials also were elated to tie the financing of the city hall expansion with the planned future construction of an indoor recreation center. Despite voters rejecting one-half-cent sales tax increase in April to build the athletic facility, officials stated the city will be able to receive lower interest rates when the time comes to revisit the project since the city hall construction is considered an "essential service." "We can make that a very positive financing with the way it's structured," Thorn said. The pedestrian bridge project had been particularly frustrating for officials. Discussions regarding replacing the aging structure began in 2007. The process of replacing the bridge was marked by a series of delays Finally in November, the structure was put in place and open for the public. The bridge provides a safe access for students and adults walking to the southern portion of the city without having to walk along Highway 47. "Frankly, I doubted it would ever happen," Thorn said. An agreement that also was years in the making was related to extending the eastern city limits down the Interstate 70 corridor. What was believed to have been taken care of in 2008 by a "handshake" was revisited when elected officials from both cities met last year and concluded the best approach was to split the amount of space between both. Both cities are currently in the process of voluntarily annexing about 3,300 feet. Alderman Jerry Cullom noted reaching the agreement was a "fairly simple" process after the issue had been talked about for nearly 20 years and failed to get anywhere. She complimented city staff for their work in the past year. "I think the reason we have finally accomplished some of these things was from the dedication of you people," she said, referring to the employees. "It has taken a lot of your diligent work." Other projects completed during the year included widening the Highway 47/Warrior Avenue intersection through a cost-share agreement with the Warren County R-III School District and MoDOT and implementing a water chlorination system in June following a series of three failed water samples in five months. The city's water supply had failed Department of Natural Resources regulations 14 times since May 1994. The city also bidded out its banking services for the first time in more than 10 years, Thorn said, as it changed to First State Community Bank after soliciting offers from other local banks. The city had been doing business at First Bank. Other projects completed the year included starting up the city's own municipal court, building sidewalks along North Market Street and South Highway 47, and revising the police department's policy book. Overall, the city also received approximately $765,000 in grant money in 2009.   BREAKOUT Officials to Look at Budget Cuts Warrenton city officials have scheduled a work session to review possible cuts to the 2009-2010 budget. The board of aldermen will meet prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 6 p.m. Terri Thorn, director of operations/finance officer, anticipates difficult decisions to be made. "This will probably be a much more difficult budget revision meeting than what we had previously," she said. "Normally we are adding things to our budget and this year we are reducing things from our budget."