by Carrie Moritz,
Garretson Gazette
It is entirely possible that a full replacement of 4th Street's infrastructure will cost $3 million dollars.
That was the news at Monday's city council meeting, which also accepted a bid from Metro Construction for the water main connection on Dow's Street and heard an update from the Garretson Commercial Club about a proposed speaker system for Main Avenue.
The meeting was just over a half hour in public session, and began with an update on natural gas. City Billing Clerk Sonya Swanson reported that this month's natural gas prices will be $1.17/ccf, down ten cents from the month before.
Unfortunately, Mayor Greg Beaner reported that Northern Natural Gas has requested a substantial increase on transportation fees for its pipelines, which will impact overall costs. Mayor Beaner did not mention the specific amount of the increase.
While the city is contracted with Clayton Energy as a supplier, the gas is provided by Northern Natural. The requested increase is still under review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and is unlikely to be granted permission for the full amount, but it will be going into effect at the new price before FERC finalizes the request. Any amounts that are over-billed will be refunded when the increase is finalized.
For its part, Northern Natural states they have invested more than $1.5 billion in capital projects since 2020.
Increases in cost also impacted the Dows Street water main project, which received four bids, three of which came in well above the engineer's estimate. This project will connect the water main from the car wash on Dows Street and Railroad Avenue to the fire hydrant in front of PTLA Storage, increasing water pressure and helping to create needed redundancy on the west side of Garretson. It will also provide water services to Central Valley Dairy.
The lowest bid for the project came in from Metro Construction at $330,294.65, which was lower than the engineer's estimate of $350,000. The other three project bids were $397k, $423k, and $477k.
The council voted to accept the bid after asking City Maintenance Supervisor Ryan Nussbaum if he'd also recommend the company, to which he said that it was a reputable business.
Nussbaum also said the project is unlikely to close Dows Street, which was a concern from the council due to 5th Street's bridge being under construction. He expects the company to begin the excavation process early this summer.
Another necessary upgrade is the water and sewer mains on 4th Street from a half-block east of Main Avenue to Oak Drive, which are in severe need of replacement. Nussbaum presented the engineer's estimate for 4th Street infrastructure construction, which does not include side streets or any of 5th Street. It came in just above $3 million, and is expected to take five- to five-and-a-half months to complete. It will include the replacement of water, sewer, street, sidewalks, and curb and gutter.
With the 3rd Street, Main Avenue, and the truck route (Depot, Railroad, and Granite) project, the engineer's estimate and the city's budget had been $3.5 million.
Due to the scope of the project, the city will require grants and other funding, which will take time to acquire. City Finance Officer Paetyn Dreckman said she was working with the Southeast Council of Governments (SECoG) and Nussbaum is working with the engineers to research their options. However, Nussbaum is hopeful the project can be started in 2024.
Other updates contained in the short meeting included an acceptance of contract renewal for Bruce Rekstad to continue managing Split Rock Park Campground, a proposal from the Parks Board to replace Light the Park with a Fall Festival at the end of October with trunk or treating and a movie, and an announcement from Economic Development Director Jessica Fueston that the Economic Development board has officially begun meeting. This is an important step in getting the organization off the ground, which has been in the works for nearly two years.
John Brinkman, representing the Garretson Commercial Club, updated the council on the Commercial Club's progress with installing a speaker system downtown. This project has also been in the works for several years, with the Commercial Club installing conduit piping down Main Avenue when that construction was completed and doing some fundraising for the system. The Commercial Club was requesting the council formally give its permission for that system to be installed, which they gave willingly. Brinkman stated that he hoped it would be installed prior to Jesse James Days but that they were still waiting on some grants in order to finalize the project.
The next regular meeting of the council will be held on Monday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Legion dugout. All members of the public are invited to attend.
