Jefferson City council approves conference center items, names Ward 3 nominees

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City council approved two resolutions related to a planned conference center Monday night, and also nominated two people for the vacant Ward 3 seat.

One resolution approved the project development plan, including the budget, finance plan and schedule. The resolution included an amendment to reflect the final budget and schedule.

The other resolution included details of the price construction contract and construction schedule. According to the schedule, construction is expected to start in November 2026 and be completed by November 2028.

The hotel is set to have 215 rooms, a three-star restaurant, a lobby lounge & bar, a café/market, a terrace-level lounge with an outdoor patio, and a fitness center.

The conference center will have 9,860 square feet of dedicated meeting space, including a 14,250-square-foot Grand Ballroom, plus an additional 11,900 square feet of flexible event space, for a total of approximately 31,000 square feet of net conference center space, plus adequate support and back-of-house spaces. It will also have a parking garage with 567 parking spaces, with an additional 52 parking spaces available on adjacent surface parking lots.

At the end of the meeting, two people were nominated to fill the Ward 3 vacancy left by Derek Thomas, who resigned in June after he moved out of state due to medical issues affecting his family.

Of the three residents who submitted letters of interest - including Susan Cook, Hal Dulle and James Spradlin - only Cook and Dulle were nominated. The city plans to have a candidate forum on Aug. 3 and plans to appoint a new council member on Aug. 17.