Hannibal is taking a step closer to replacing a storm sewer that collapsed years ago under Union Street.

On Tuesday, city council approved a $705,634 bid to replace 175 feet of stone arch stormwater pipe by T&B Trucking and Excavating. The bid was about $45,000 below the engineer’s estimate. The majority of project funding, $616,350, will come from a federal Community Development Block Grant. The city will cover the rest with funds from the recently passed infrastructure sales tax.

The plan still needs to be approved by the federal government.

Board members also approved a few purchase requests from Director of Central Services Andy Dorian. The first request was for the purchase of two pickup trucks at a cost of approximately $37,000 each. The trucks will be used by the administration of the parks department. Dorian noted that the city has been trying to buy a new truck for some time, but like everyone else, the nationwide shortage of new vehicles has caused delays. He hopes that the two trucks he is ordering will still be available.

The second purchase approved by the council was for a new dredge for the marina. The Dorian said owning a dredge would save the city money on annual rental. He also pointed out that the city will take possession of the new – Mud Cat MC 115D Dredge within 30 days. Apparently the dredges are not in as much demand as the pickup trucks.

The city received an offer from Kansas City-based Ellicott Dredge Technologies for a total of $296,742.

The Board also approved the addition of three auxiliary police officers to the Hannibal Police Department. The use of auxiliary officers will help alleviate some of the overtime worked by full-time officers. The department is currently short of five officers for full strength. Auxiliary officers must be certified by the state.