This month’s board meeting had exciting news for the town and additional upcoming road closures were discussed.

Board meeting highlights

• The Children’s Park may be open for Father’s Day.
• The city approved getting Internet service at the Community Hall and the Children’s Park which includes the area of the city’s machine shed.
• A new accountant bid was accepted for the new fiscal year of 2023 that starts on July 1, 2023.
• Bids from asphalt/road companies have been gathered to address road paving. Vendors made the point that they could complete the roads for the whole town at once, saving us money, and this is being considered.
• The large outdoor globe lights in front of the Community Hall will now regularly be turned off at night, their use reserved only if their are events. Instead, the sconces will be set on a timer.
• Estimates are being sought to fix the Community Hall‘s roof, soffits and gutters!
• A new parking lane will be installed on the north side of the 300 block of 2nd street. It will be gravel based and match the opposite side of the road.
• Estimates remain in the works to replace the Welburn Park shelter as part of the issued FEMA funds that have been designated to replace the structure. The planned improvements include raising the base to mitigate drainage issues and adding an accessibility ramp.

Road closures — Again!

It seems like every bridge in a 20-mile radius that leads to Rocheport is getting replaced. This now includes the BB bridge over I-70. On July 16-18 the bridge will be demolished so work can commence. There is a lot of information from MoDOT on how this will effect travel — look for another article coming out soon by the Times that will review the details. Mayor John Zondca spoke with a engineer/project lead for the BB bridge and discussed the opportunity for MoDOT to resurface BB through town, or at a minimum fix the trouble spots, after the bridge is complete due to the additional traffic that will be diverted through Rocheport. Currently, BB is slated for resurfacing in 2026; however, with Rocheport’s bicential 2025 celebrations in the works, it was noted that it would be fantastic if MoDOT could address these issues even sooner.