Convention Center Plans Reviewed

Three proposals for a new convention center in Jefferson City went before city council members Monday night, but details remained sparse. The council will have access to certain details, that they will not release to the public. Jefferson City Administrator Nathan Nickolaus gave booklets with details of the three proposals, and the council voted on a resolution to keep the information inside those booklets confidential. Nickolaus says the public will not be brought into the loop until the council has selected one of the proposals. He says the city would be shopping for bids if proposal details were leaked. The council is in phase one of the RFP process. City leaders scheduled two meetings to be held later in February. In these meetings they will rule out proposals that do not meet the minimum qualifications. If they fail to accomplish this, the council can request a correction or just flat out reject the project. In phase two, the council will meet with each proposer separately and move forward. Thew will then hold a public meeting for input. As of Monday night, those phase-two meetings have not been scheduled.