The latest local news, weather and high school sports in and around Columbia and Jefferson City

Jefferson City received three proposals for a conference center by the Jan. 31st deadline.

"We’re pleased with the number of proposals we’ve received for a conference center in the capital city," said City Administrator Nathan Nickolaus. "The council has worked diligently to get to this point, and I’m looking forward to working with the mayor and City Council to review the proposals."

Mayor Eric Struemph has asked Nickolaus to update the City Council at its next meeting on Feb. 4 and to offer options for the next step in reviewing the submitted proposals.

The request for proposals was released in December 2012. It asked for proposals that outlined a partnership between the city and hotelier/developer to construct an exhibit/banquet hall.

The request specified a minimum of 30,000 square feet of ballroom/exhibit space, plus 10,000 square feet of space for back-of-the-house operations. The request also asked for an indication of how much additional meeting space would be provided, while setting a minimum of 10,000 square feet.

The city would provide funding for the construction, set at $9 million, which would come from the lodging tax contributions.

Jefferson City voters approved a lodging tax increase in February 2011 to fund a conference center.