Survey work for the 1998 Street Improvement project was expected to be completed last week.
Pete Carlson, city engineer, informed the Paynesville City Council Wednesday night, that in a couple of weeks they would know where everything is positioned and what would be affected by the 1998 improvement project. As part of the survey work, all landmarks (trees), property irons, street widths, and sidewalks will be identified and marked.
Carlson suggested when the paper work is completed, that during the city council meetings in November and December, the project should be talked about by streets. A different street area could be discussed at each monthly meeting to better answer resident’s questions. The council decided to table the issue until the paper work was completed.
The city had applied for a revolving fund loan from the state to help cover the cost of the water distribution system, but all the benefit points the city could earn on the project was 10 points. “The state has $42 million in funds available and received applications totaling $85 million. It is a big responsibility for the state to divide up the money,” Carlson told the council.
He recommended the city withdraw their application until a later date when work would need to be done on the water treatment plant. This project would receive a higher priority. “Nobody is sure how the program works in the first year, and it would be to our advantage to wait a few years,” he added.
In other business...
•The council agreed to delay the west end lift station project until next year. “I talked with Kuechle Excavating about quotes on the project and for installing the manhole and some pipe work was $41,000. I don’t know what it is about this project, but I want to go back and talk with the contractors to find out why the quotes were all so high,” Carlson said. “What do we need to do to bring down the quotes? Maybe, we need to rethink the project and do something differently,” he added.
•The council set Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m., as a public hearing date to certify past due garbage, water and sewer, snow removal, and mowing bills, to the county.
•The council approved purchasing 50 new water meters at a cost of $3,900 from U.S. Filter. The proposal involves reading the meters with a special touch-read gun which would eliminate some errors and save the city money over the long run.
•The council approved declaring a traveling gun used by the waste water department as surplus property and putting it up for sale. The gun is about 20 years old. It hasn’t been used for two years.
•The council authorized the city administrator to explore the concept of the Central Minnesota Initiative Funds Healthy Community Partnership program. Troy Stang has volunteered to spearhead the initial investigation to determine whether or not there is enough interest to make a two-year commitment.