One of the two houses along Mid-Meadow Lane that the Festus R-6 School District bought in 2023 has been demolished to make way for a new parking area, Superintendent Nicki Ruess said.
District officials hope the new parking lot is completed by mid-August, “if not before,” she said.
Contractor Jokerst Paving & Contracting was hired to complete the project, which only calls for the demolition of the houses at 1601 Mid-Meadow Lane and 1608 Mid-Meadow Lane, but also for work to get the ground ready for future use.
As of Tuesday, Jokerst had demolished the house at 1608 Mid-Meadow Lane, but the house at 1601 Mid-Meadow Lane, which is across Edgewood Lane, was yet to be demolished, Ruess said.
She said the new parking lot will be built at 1608 Mid-Meadow Lane, while district officials have not decided what will be done with the 1601 Mid-Meadow Lane property.
Ruess said the additional parking is needed to keep up with increasing enrollment and parking needs for campus events.
She said the district had not yet determined how many parking spaces the new lot will provide.
“We are in the process of conducting a site survey to capture as many parking spots as possible in the space,” she said.
The Festus Board of Education voted unanimously on Feb. 20 to pay Jokerst $51,400 to demolish both homes and prepare the ground. The district had received two other bids, with the district eliminating one because of a lengthy design time and the other bidder withdrawing its bid due to the scope of the work, Ruess said.
She said Jokerst was also awarded the project to build the parking lot, but that price will not be determined until the site survey work is completed and the district determines the number of parking spaces to be built.
Ruess said the district bought the property at 1601 Mid-Meadow Lane for $250,000 on Jan. 9, 2023, and the property at 1608 Mid-Meadow Lane for $310,000 on Aug. 14, 2023.
According to Jefferson County Assessor’s Office records, Lura Sue Carlisle owned the property at 1601 Mid-Meadow Lane before Festus R-6 bought it, and the Stewart C. McCaleb Trust owned 1608 Mid-Meadow Lane prior to the district purchasing it.
Ruess said she is looking forward to the completion of the improvements on the two properties.
“I am incredibly proud of the positive momentum we continue to experience across our schools, including recent improvements to our facilities and a steady increase in student enrollment,” she said. “This growth is a strong reflection of the trust our community places in our schools and the quality of education we provide. As enrollment continues to rise, we are proactively assessing our infrastructure needs, including the addition of parking spaces, to ensure our campuses remain safe, accessible and welcoming for all students, staff and families.
“We have many events on campus and parking is always a struggle.”