The Reporter newspaper, Camdenton Missouri

The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.

Published August 12, 2015

Residents ‘demand’ Nichols Road upgrade

By Jeff Thompson
OSAGE BEACH - When - and how much - were the main points of debate concerning possible improvements to Nichols Road at last week’s Board of Aldermen meeting.

The concerns over Nichols Road - tied to the new elementary school set to open later this month - were brought to the attention of city officials by both residents and an alderman.

Dana Kahrs of Osage Catfisheries presented the Board of Aldermen with a petition signed by 305 residents demanding the city “authorize and completely fund” Nichols Road improvements including sidewalks, a turn lane into the school and widening the road itself.

Kahrs made the petition presentation during the “citizens’ communications” portion of the meeting, also mentioning the willingness of the Kahrs’ family to have donated property along Nichols Road last year but that the city declined the offer without explanation.

She was far from being the only one wanting to be heard.

Jodi Hanner said the potential for serious traffic safety problems along Nichols Road was not being taken seriously by the city.

“The road situation has become ‘pre-active’ instead of proactive,” Hanner said, adding that the new school would only be operating at half-capacity to start. “How bad will be it when it’s opened to full capacity?”

Another resident pointed to the condition of the road itself as a safety issue.

“The safety of young kids is what’s involved here,” he said. “The width of it (Nichols Road) is a real problem and the strength of the road is a real concern.”

Still another resident - identifying herself as an EMT and former Osage Beach Ambulance staff member - said the possible high rate of traffic when school was in session could pose significant problems.

“I don’t think traffic issues with emergency vehicles have been addressed,” she said. “A lot of traffic provides a big danger to these children.”

A resident living on Nichols Road agreed.

“If one car stalls out on this two-lane road, there’s nowhere to go,” he said, adding that sidewalks were not only needed but were necessary “to keep the people off the streets, adults and children alike.”

In addition to residents, Alderman Phyllis Marose spoke out about Nichols Road, calling for concrete shoulders, sidewalks, a turn lane into the school itself, school zone signage and a pedestrian walkway.

Marose praised the petition and urged the rest of the board to approve improvements to Nichols Road as soon as possible; she also said the Camdenton R-III School District itself should pay for the proposed turn lane.

While agreeing that the Nichols Road situation should be looked at, other board members urged a more cautious approach.

Alderman Kevin Rucker said Nichols Road was not the only potential problem facing the city, pointing to similar issues with Mace Road.

“We have a lot of eggs in our basket, we have a lot of eggs to take care of,” Rucker said. “We can’t commit to spending an unlimited amount on Nichols Road. That is something we cannot do.”

Mayor Penny Lyons agreed.

“We have a lot of needs throughout the city,” Lyons said.

Marose acknowledged Rucker and Lyons but urged swift action.

“We need to look at this seriously and not take another year,” Marose said, adding that everything didn’t necessarily have to be done all at once but “we need to do something quickly.”

Alderman Jeff Bethurem disagreed.

“This sounds like an ‘all-or-nothing’ deal,” Bethurem said, pointing out that if new sidewalks were put in before widening the road, the sidewalks would eventually have to be taken out and replaced with new ones.

Alderman John Olivarri mentioned the Kahrs’ offer of Nichols Road property but noted it would have “cost the city a considerable amount of money.”

He suggested perhaps working with the Arrowhead Centre TIF development group about their own scheduled improvements to Nichols Road and also addressed the lack of a turn lane into the new school.

“The school district has told us we don’t need this,” Olivarri said bluntly.

The alderman also said the city has “a lot more options” on how to deal with potential traffic problems on Nichols Road. An audience member began to shake his head when Olivarri asked him to stand up and say his piece.

“I really hope we don’t come back here in a year about somebody smashed in the road,” the audience member said.

“We tried to get ahead of this,” Olivarri replied, “but no one seemed to be concerned (at the time).”

Echoing Rucker’s and Lyon’s idea, Olivarri suggested directing city staff to take a look at what is being proposed by the community to get some estimates on how much the improvements would cost.

Rucker added that City Administrator Jena Woods could look at improvements done in phases instead of all at once.

Woods agreed, stating that phased improvements “would be fair to all the (city) projects fighting for the same pot of money.”

City officials agreed to include possible Nichols Road improvements in the 2016 budget process scheduled to begin in the fall.

Later in the meeting, the board also approved an ordinance establishing a 20 mile-per-hour school zone speed limit on Nichols Road.