Sikeston City Council approves purchase of new playground equipment

Gina Curtis/Standard Democrat Jay Lancaster, city of Sikeston public works director speaks at the city council meeting Monday July 31 about the new playground equipment to come in the next few months at the Sikeston Complex.

SIKESTON — Sikeston City Council approved the purchase of new playground equipment for the Sikeston Recreation Complex.

Jay Lancaster, public works director for the city of Sikeston, said the city has set aside $200,000 in American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, funds to replace playground equipment. 

“Park maintenance supervisor, Matt Patterson, would tell you that a lot of our playground equipment is in need of replacement,” Lancaster said during Sikeston City Council’s meeting Monday, July 29 at city hall.

“After some evaluation, we’ve decided to focus the money on the three playgrounds in the Sikeston Complex that are the most-used areas.”

Lancaster said the “tot lot,” shelter No. 4 and shelter No. 6 are in the worst condition. 

Image provided/NuToys Leisure products Pictured is a rendition of the new playground equipment to be purchased and installed for shelter No. 4 at the Sikeston Recreation Complex.

Image provided/NuToys Leisure products Pictured is a rendition of the new playground equipment to be purchased and installed for shelter No. 6 at the Sikeston Recreation Complex.

“These are the rainbow set, as I call it, the more beige set by the lake and then the small, younger kids area,” Lancaster said. “We’ve been working back and forth with NuToys Leisure Products, who have been one of our main providers of these pieces of equipment.”

The price quotes are $66,886 for shelter No. 6, $77,172 for shelter No. 4 and $47,636 for the “tot lot.”

“This includes the removal of existing equipment and installation,” Lancaster said. 

Lancaster said some of the new playground equipment will include sensory-enhancing features. 

“If you look at the layouts, we added different sensory panels just to try and accommodate some of those needs,” Lancaster said. 

Council also approved a change in the cleaning contract for the park bathrooms. 

“Sometime ago we met with council and went through an RFP (request for proposals) for cleaning services at the Clinton Building and three park bathrooms in the complex,” Lancaster said. “As we have taken on more responsibilities in the recreation world, it has strained our staff and spread us a little thin. One of the things we have been looking at is contracting out these services.”

Lancaster said with council approval, they hired CPC Inc. out of the Scott City area. 

“They clean a number of schools and industries in our area, as well,” Lancaster said.

Lancaster said given the apparent success of the Clinton Building contract, the department would like to consider outsourcing the cleaning of the remaining park restrooms. 

“We have reviewed the remaining bathrooms with CPC, and with our intended cleaning frequency, they have proposed a change order amount of $30,000 as an annual cost for cleaning all remaining park bathrooms,” Lancaster said. 

At the council meeting, the  Public Safety Patrol Division was approved to return to eight-hour shifts from the current 10-hour shifts.

Sikeston Department of Public Safety Chief Jim McMillen said in July 2023, the council approved public safety’s transition to 10.5-hour shifts for patrol supervision and 10.3-hour shifts for patrol officers. 

McMillen said early on that the transition had positive effects on public safety operations and officers.

“Unfortunately, due to staffing issues over the past several months, 10-hour shifts have become difficult to maintain,” McMillen said.  “Those staffing issues are a result of officers leaving law enforcement for personal reasons, law enforcement jobs near their hometowns or other agencies that offer less workload or higher pay.”

McMillen said DPS knew going into 10-hour shifts last year that if their staffing levels dropped to a certain point, it would be unsustainable. 

“Our hope was that we would improve recruitment and retention; unfortunately, that did not occur,” McMillen said. 

McMillen said with current staffing levels, eight-hour shifts put more officers on the road, which improves officer safety and workload distribution. 

Also on Monday, the council also approved the renewal of a service contract with Historic Downtown Sikeston.

According to Sikeston City Manager Jonathan Douglass, the city has a long-standing contract with Historic Midtown Development Group, or HMDG, for downtown promotion services. 

“This year we budgeted a little more money for the contract, going from $10,000 to $20,000 dollars,” Douglass said. 

The contract stipulates that Historic Downtown Sikeston will:

— Cooperate and coordinate with Chamber of Commerce, Sikeston Parks and Recreation and the Convention and Visitors Bureau on activities benefiting the downtown district.

— Work with the city council and city manager as requested to meet goals, objectives and action steps of the city council relating to the downtown district. 

— Operate and oversee the Downtown Farmers Market.

— Maintain the downtown Sikeston signs located on the railroad right-of-way along Malone Avenue and the landscaping surrounding said signs.

— Maintain downtown landscaping in flowerpots and beds located on downtown sidewalks and in public areas, including adjacent to the Jeremiah’s parking lot and mid-block on the 100 block of Front Street.

Maintain landscaping in Norton Park.

In other action by the council:

— Council approved the Public Works purchase of two vehicles this year that are in current budget for various divisions. Public Works seeks council approval to find and purchase new vehicles wherever they can find them to serve their needs. This includes the following: 1 to 1-½ ton flatbed work truck  for parks at a $75,000 budget and 1 to 1-½ ton flatbed work truck for streets at a $75,000 budget.

— Council approved two leases for the railroad grounds of existing businesses: Home Oil and Nathan’s Auto.