Bolm-Schuhkraft Park was the focal point of Monday’s Columbia City Council meeting.

Continuing a conversation from the June 5 meeting, aldermen were updated about aspects of a proposed intergovernmental agreement between the City of Columbia and Columbia Unit School District No. 4 for use of a section of city-owned Bolm-Schuhkraft Park near the baseball diamond at the intersection of Veterans Parkway and Park Street.

A planned future expansion of Columbia High School would decrease the number of parking spots available to students near the building. 

If approved, the school district would be fully responsible for funding construction and maintenance of the parking spaces and roadway connecting the two new parking areas.

The school would have “exclusive use” of these parking spaces between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on school days when there is not a planned special event at the park.

The spaces would be available for public use at all other times.

Aldermen have expressed interest in working with the school to improve walking paths and lighting during construction of the new parking areas.

Ward VI Alderman Mary Ellen Niemietz said she would like to see a connection from the proposed parking area to the existing  Bolm-Schuhkraft Trail and Veterans Parkway.

Columbia City Administrator Doug Brimm explained members of the Columbia School Board expressed similar concerns during its meeting last week, but the city and school district did not want to include any specific language in the current intergovernmental agreement in order to leave options open for possible improvements to pedestrian paths between Columbia Middle School and Parkview Elementary School.

Niemietz noted she and Ward II Alderman Michael Lawlor shared the opinion that if pedestrian paths were not addressed now, “it’s going to get lost in the process.”

Niemietz added she has been concerned about “connectivity” of the paths since the early 2000s “to keep people on bikes and walking safely, and I think there’s more and more walkers and more and more bikers out there, so I’d hate to see us lose an opportunity to increase that.”

With construction planned for later this summer, the Columbia School Board is holding a special meeting June 21 at 4:30 p.m. for further discussion and potential approval of the intergovernmental agreement. 

Read more about the school board’s expansion by clicking here.

Also at Bolm-Schuhkraft Park a little later this year, the 10th annual Songs4Soldiers benefit concert will be held, featuring country music star Travis Tritt and rockers Cheap Trick as headlining acts.

Songs4Soldiers President Dustin Row was on hand Monday night as aldermen discussed logistics of holding the concert the weekend of Sept. 15-16.

“What started as something that was gonna help four guys or girls a year,  we’ve now spent $1,062,000 on 750 combat vets. That’s a really awesome number,” Row said.

In addition to the City of Columbia providing tourism grants for concert advertising, Row thanked Columbia Community Relations Coordinator Marla Rose for her help in connecting him with Illinois South Tourism, which has also helped with costs of print advertising.

Row also noted the concerts are “inching closer” to the 5,000-occupant maximum, with 4,400 and 4,600  nightly attendees in the past two years, respectively.

“We couldn’t do this without you,” Row said, adding he doesn’t plan to re-locate the popular event.

“The only question I get asked more than ‘who’s playing’ is ‘when are you going to move it?’” Row said. “The answer is a hard ‘no’ – ever – as long as you’ll have us. It’s a good spot. It’s where it belongs. It’s home.”

In other business, aldermen approved appropriation of funds and a joint agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation for the first phase of the upcoming Ghent Road Reconstruction Project.

The project will focus on an area of Ghent Road between Christina Court and Quarry Road.

This project is expected to go to bid in August.

The city council will not meet Monday, July 3. The next regular meeting will be held July 17 at 7 p.m.

Prior to that meeting, there will be a Committee of the Whole meeting to discuss a comprehensive update to Columbia’s ordinance code – a matter Mayor Bob Hill has advocated for since being elected in 2021.

The Committee of the Whole meeting will begin at 6 p.m. July 17.