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KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- The City of Kirksville is moving forward with improvements to streets, curb and gutter and storm drainage.

At a special city council meeting Monday, members unanimously approved three items related to those topics.

The council voted 3-0 to approve the low bid of $467,903.72 for asphalt overlay and milling work on city streets. W-L Miller Company was awarded that contract.

Council members also unanimously approved a $119.101.30 bid from Mihalevich Concrete to repair concrete pavement and new curb and gutter around Kirksville.

The reason the special council meeting was held now instead of waiting until next Monday's regular meeting was to get approval for the bid on the city’s so-called Bear Creek 9 Project.

"We have grant dollars that we got from the state, and we have a deadline in which we have to spend those dollars. So, if we could get a week's jump on getting the agreement started and the project going, it just helps us at the long run."

The council approved a $538,606.55 bid for the Bear Creek 9 Stormwater Project, which will take place in the southwest quadrant of Kirksville.

A grant will pay for $300,000 dollars of the work, which will include improvements to streets, the stormwater system and storm drainage.

After the special meeting, council members took a tour of Kirksville's Maritz Research facility. There, they learned a lot about the call center that does customer satisfaction surveys for various companies.

The center is open seven days a week, and we learned Mayor Richard Detweiler is even one of its part-time employees.