Redoing Park Drive could cost more than $425,000.

The Jordan City Council asked for cost estimates for improvement to Park Drive, which runs alongside the Mill Pond and through Lagoon Park. City Engineer Carol Caron presented three concept plans, each of which included 90-plus paved parking spaces, and the council asked that the design include just a couple fewer parking spaces and a little bit more beach area.

"I'm envisioning that beach space is going to be at a premium," Mayor Ron Jabs said. 

If the Jordan City Council wanted more streetlights along Highway 282, they would cost an average increase of $2,500 apiece.

Months ago, the council authorized Xcel Energy to install a dozen 150-watt streetlights along Highway 282 at a cost of $90,055, or about $7,500 per light. Late last month, the council talked about adding four more streetlights -- two near the intersection of Highway 282 and East Street, two west of Mertens Street and near the highway bridge over Sand Creek.

The start of something big often starts with something little.

Businessowners have succeeded in garnering a $1,500 pledge from the city of Jordan to take out an advertisement in a promotional brochure meant to showcase the city's downtown to tourists.

The city council unanimously approved the measure this week, following the recommendation of the Jordan Economic Development Authority to pass the proposal made by Terri Knox, Mara Wallach, and Vicki Anderson.

Building permit revenues are lower than expected, Jordan Finance Director Tom Nikunen told the city council tonight.

The city budget calls for $230,100 in revenues to come from building permits. During the first quarter of the year, only $7,855.62 had been received. That's a little more than 3.4 percent of the annual budget, according to Nikunen's monthly finance report.

"Theoretically, we should be at 25 percent," Mayor Ron Jabs said, "but we're at 3.41 percent."

Tonight, the city council issued a proclamation calling Thursday, May 1, the Day of Prayer in Jordan. That day also is the National Day of Prayer.

Councilmembers Barry Ullmann, Jeanne Marnoff, Mike Shaw, Jeremy Goebel, Sally Schultz, and David Hanson each read a section of the proclamation, which said:

"Whereas, Jordan is a city that enjoys so many blessings: natural beauty, abudant resources, strong families, a diversified economy, native peoples, and immigrants from all over the world; and

This month, the city of Jordan renewed its lease for a senior center in the Schule Haus senior citizens apartment building.

Jordan agreed to pay $4,500 a year to the Schule Haus. The lease runs for the next five years, according to the minutes of the April 7 city council meeting, which were approved this week.

The Schule Haus is located at 100 W. Fourth St. in Jordan. For more information, call 952-492-2208.

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Jordan has received approval from the city council for the church's fall festival and 150th anniversary gambling permits, as well as a temporary liquor license for the anniversary event.

The church will celebrate its anniversary June 21-22, the same weekend as the Jordan Art Festival. The fall festival is set for Sept. 21.

These actions took place at the April 7 council meeting, according to the minutes of the meeting, which the council approved this week.

The Jordan City Council voted earlier this month to exchange with St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church the right to build a parking lot on the West Street right-of-way for permission for the city of Jordan to use a portion of the property as a staging area during the construction of an addition to the water treatment plant.

Jordan will excavate the parking lot site and place 9 inches of rock in the area at a cost of $10,000. The cost had been worked into the project bid for the water plant expansion.

Interested in the city of Jordan's comprehensive plan for 2008?

Draft versions of the introduction, the natural resources inventory, and the demographic profile are posted online at http://www.jordan.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={C5E359B9-6663-49C4-A953-390238D41058}.

With severe weather season approaching, it might be a good idea to review the city's storm siren policy if you're not familiar with it.

This has been updated in the past year or so: http://www.jordan.govoffice.com/vertical/Sites/%7B04B02830-4B09-4682-A96....