Republic invests $30 million in its future

The city of Republic is ready to grow.

By the end of 2003, Republic will have invested approximately $30 million in capital improvements in the space of four years.

Those improvements encompass projects in the school and park systems, law enforcement, transportation and water treatment to meet the needs of a growing community, said Re-public City Administrator Dean Thompson.

The city's population has grown by more than 3,000 since 1990 and is now home to about 9,400 residents, according to information gathered by the Republic Area Chamber of Commerce. The population is projected to double in the next 10 years.

"If you're going to be serious about attracting people to the city to help expand the work force and economic base of the city, then you have to have these amenities," Thompson said. "It's really quality of life," that is driving such development, he added.

Completed projects

The largest price tag of all city projects hangs on the recently completed and scrutinized $14.3 million Waste-water Treatment Plant expansion.

A lift station malfunction caused a second sewage spill on Schuyler Creek about two weeks ago due to communication difficulties between equipment pieces, said Thompson.

"In starting up the new equipment like that, we expect certain problems to occur. But in this case the emergency notification system ... did not work because the number was programmed incorrectly," he said. "It was a series of things that failed at one time."

Thompson said city officials met with the contractors and repairs have been made.

The project created 15 miles of new sewer lines for future development and a new storm-water treatment facility.

Also recently finished is a $2.2 million police station. It is the first piece of the five-acre Republic Municipal Complex that will include the Republic Area Chamber of Commerce and a new City Hall by 2004.

The 27,000-square-foot, two-story facility houses the police department and municipal courts, including offices, a 24-hour holding facility and emergency management services. The department moved from its Main Street location April 9.

Also finished is the widening of Miller Road, which cost $1.2 million, and air conditioning has been added to all school buildings, and additions and renovations have been made to the high school.

In progress

The largest school improvement is the $4.3 million, 60,700-square-foot addition and classroom renovations to Ele-mentary II. Neosho's Branco Construc-tion Co. began work November 2001 which involved demolition of a portion of the old building and has set a February 2003 completion date.

However, Randall Whitman, Republic city planner, said the project is ahead of schedule and may be finished this fall.

"Our goal is to be in at least a portion of it by the time school starts," added Howard Neeley, Republic's superintendent of schools.

The addition will include a gymnasium, cafeteria, library and classrooms, some devoted to severely handicapped students.

On the horizon

Republic's park system master plan, which was based on citizen survey input, calls for a $5 million investment in the next year.

The largest planned development is the 46,000-square-foot Republic Communi-ty Center, estimated to cost $4 million. It will have two community rooms, a kit-chen, concessions, two gymnasiums, a walking track, offices and a 10,000-square-foot fitness area.

"More people in the community want recreation opportunities and don't want to drive to Springfield to find them," Thompson said. "People want those amenities."

The existing 15,000-square-foot recreation center will remain open, Thompson said.

The Republic Senior Center will un-dergo a renovation and addition to nearly double its size. The $375,000 project will add 3,000 square feet.

Both projects are planned to begin by the end of July and finish in summer 2003.

Other parks expenditures include $175,000 for new concession stands at the Miller Park baseball fields and $150,000 worth of miscellaneous im-provements.

In the transportation area, two road-widening projects are coming up: the $1 million Lynn Avenue widening, and in 2003, the widening of Highway 60 from three lanes to five lanes through Repub-lic's business district. Thompson said the city has partnered with the Missouri De-partment of Transportation for enhancement funds.

Also, greenway trails are outlined in a 10-year plan with plans to join with Springfield's greenway at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. Phase I calls for a one-mile trail eastward to be complete within the next 12 to 18 months.

The Department of Natural Resources issued the city a $100,000 grant for greenway preservation, Thompson said.

"Out intent is to develop the greenway as the city grows east and incorporate (it) into the new subdivisions," Thompson said. "When it is complete will totally be driven (by) development."

There will be three trail heads: one at the Wal-Mart Supercenter that is under construction, another at the Republic Municipal Complex and a third from the Republic Community Center.

Industrial park

The city is looking into developing a light manufacturing industrial park, em-phasizing the biotechnology and health care industries. The Republic Business Center, as it would be named, is awaiting a site survey market analysis.

Thompson said the development hinges on the potential of Springfield's City Utilities to provide the park's utilities. Republic is asking CU to pay for half of the approximately $30,000 study, which will determine if it is within the CU service area.

"The CU Board wants to have a little more time and more details about the benefit to CU customers and why they'd want to be partnering with us to do that," Thompson said.

He thinks it would fall within CU's boundaries.

"By all indications, if you look at the area where you would put something like this ... the best property looks like it's in (CU's) service area."

Commercial development

The addition of the Wal-Mart Super-center on Highway 60 will have a large impact on the city's economy, Thompson said.

It will employ 350 when it first opens, competing with the Republic R-III School District as the city's largest employer. The schools have 364 employees.

Thompson said that 70 percent of those employees will be full-time, giving former Albertson's employees a potential job opportunity. He also thinks it will give Republic citizens who work in Springfield the chance to stay closer to home.

"We're trying to create a broader job base and keep more people in Republic (to) spend their tax dollars here," Thompson added.

The 158,000-square-foot supercenter will be open by October. Its exterior will be colored in earth tones hunter green and shades of brown instead of Wal-Mart's typical blue and gray.

Other planned commercial developments are Highland Park Town Center, a 55-acre retail and residential development on Highway 174 that will bring in Republic's first hotel an AmericInn Hotel; Town East, an office/retail strip along Highway 60; and Frisco Square, 140 acres slated for retail/office and residential use in southwest Republic.

Such commercial development has spurred a new city administrative department: Planning & Economic Devel-opment.

Heading that department is Greg Chadwill, community development di-rector, who has worked for the city for 2 1/2 years.

Chadwill said residential growth has been steady and retail development is expanding. He credits the water treatment improvements in facilitating growth.

"Development of that plant has really opened the corridor for us to grow," Chadwill said.