MONROE - The City of Monroe Board of Public Works Tuesday night to start the process of stopping assessments for the 16th Avenue reconstruction project.
The board unanimously voted to have City Clerk Carol Stamm set into motion the procedure to stop the assessments for the 16th Avenue reconstruction project, during a joint meeting of the board and Finance and Taxation Committee.
Board member Alderman Neal Hunter was absent; Dan Henke was the alternate.
The issue will come back to the Board of Public Works June 16, before going to the Finance and Taxation Committee for approval. A public hearing will be held before the City Council could approve the change.
Included in the motion are about $400 worth of sidewalk assessments, as well as the street, curb and gutter assessments.
Water and sewer replacements are not assessed, but funded by the utilities.
The motion allows the reconstruction project to go forward as planned, but will eliminate $20,000 of revenue, expected to be collected from paid assessments, from the 2008 budget.
Work on the 16th Avenue project will begin June 9 starting on Sixth Street and progress southward, according to Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Jerry Ellefson. Sanitary sewer, manholes, sewer laterals and water service will be replaced before street sub-base and pavement will be laid.
Estimated assessments totaling about $43,000 went out to 23 property owners along the 600 and 700 blocks of 16th Avenue in April. More than 40 residents attended a public hearing May 6 to contest the assessment policy of the city, and appealed to the members to find another way.
Council members promised that evening to resolve the matter and to look for an alternative method to pay for the project, as well as future assessed street projects.
Last night was the second joint meeting of the Board of Public Works and Finance and Taxation to discuss how to cover the 16th Avenue project costs.
At the meeting, Engineering Supervisor Al Gerber said the curb and gutter contract for the project had came in $10,000 under estimate. And because of sewer problems, a project to replace curb and gutter along Lake Drive is being postponed this year. That project was estimated to cost $10,000.
Those two savings will cover the 2008 revenue shortage. The remaining $23,000 will be dealt with in future budget proposals, Gerber said.
Also delayed for one year, postponing an expense of over $100,000, will be the TIF funded reconstruction project on 18th Avenue from First to Fifth streets.
Gerber was authorized by the board Monday night to seek bids for mill and overlay projects on 25th Avenue from 13th to 17th streets and on 16th Street from 29th Avenue to County K. Those projects are estimated at $36,000 and $27,000.
At the joint meeting, covering the costs of streets, and curb and gutters was not disputed. But some aldermen had concerns about sidewalks being included in the motion.
"I haven't heard anything against street, curb and gutter, but I've had people call me from numerous districts on this council, to say that sidewalks are sidewalks. They're asking, 'Do you have the money in the coffers for when we all come back for our sidewalks?'" said Alderman Keith Ingwell.
Hanson was reluctantly willing to amend his motion to remove the sidewalk work in order to get the remaining motion passed.
"Sidewalks are incidental to this project," he said.
But Coplien and Jan Lefevre argued to keep the sidewalks in.
"If we're going to be doing anything for 16th Avenue, I don't want anything done differently for them than what we're going to be doing in the future with this (transportation) utility. I don't think it's right. I think they should have the same fairness as everybody else does," Lefevre said.
The transportation utility concept is an idea put forth by Mayor Ron Marsh at a special Common Council meeting May 13. It would operate as does the storm water utility, established in 2006 as a means of managing storm water, imposing charges for the recovery of costs connected with such storm water management.
Coplien agreed that including the sidewalks in the motion was a minor incident.
"I don't think it's going to hurt one way or another. We're not talking a huge amount of sidewalk. Let's just pass this, and then we'll work on the utility, if or when it happens," he said.
The board unanimously voted to have City Clerk Carol Stamm set into motion the procedure to stop the assessments for the 16th Avenue reconstruction project, during a joint meeting of the board and Finance and Taxation Committee.
Board member Alderman Neal Hunter was absent; Dan Henke was the alternate.
The issue will come back to the Board of Public Works June 16, before going to the Finance and Taxation Committee for approval. A public hearing will be held before the City Council could approve the change.
Included in the motion are about $400 worth of sidewalk assessments, as well as the street, curb and gutter assessments.
Water and sewer replacements are not assessed, but funded by the utilities.
The motion allows the reconstruction project to go forward as planned, but will eliminate $20,000 of revenue, expected to be collected from paid assessments, from the 2008 budget.
Work on the 16th Avenue project will begin June 9 starting on Sixth Street and progress southward, according to Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Jerry Ellefson. Sanitary sewer, manholes, sewer laterals and water service will be replaced before street sub-base and pavement will be laid.
Estimated assessments totaling about $43,000 went out to 23 property owners along the 600 and 700 blocks of 16th Avenue in April. More than 40 residents attended a public hearing May 6 to contest the assessment policy of the city, and appealed to the members to find another way.
Council members promised that evening to resolve the matter and to look for an alternative method to pay for the project, as well as future assessed street projects.
Last night was the second joint meeting of the Board of Public Works and Finance and Taxation to discuss how to cover the 16th Avenue project costs.
At the meeting, Engineering Supervisor Al Gerber said the curb and gutter contract for the project had came in $10,000 under estimate. And because of sewer problems, a project to replace curb and gutter along Lake Drive is being postponed this year. That project was estimated to cost $10,000.
Those two savings will cover the 2008 revenue shortage. The remaining $23,000 will be dealt with in future budget proposals, Gerber said.
Also delayed for one year, postponing an expense of over $100,000, will be the TIF funded reconstruction project on 18th Avenue from First to Fifth streets.
Gerber was authorized by the board Monday night to seek bids for mill and overlay projects on 25th Avenue from 13th to 17th streets and on 16th Street from 29th Avenue to County K. Those projects are estimated at $36,000 and $27,000.
At the joint meeting, covering the costs of streets, and curb and gutters was not disputed. But some aldermen had concerns about sidewalks being included in the motion.
"I haven't heard anything against street, curb and gutter, but I've had people call me from numerous districts on this council, to say that sidewalks are sidewalks. They're asking, 'Do you have the money in the coffers for when we all come back for our sidewalks?'" said Alderman Keith Ingwell.
Hanson was reluctantly willing to amend his motion to remove the sidewalk work in order to get the remaining motion passed.
"Sidewalks are incidental to this project," he said.
But Coplien and Jan Lefevre argued to keep the sidewalks in.
"If we're going to be doing anything for 16th Avenue, I don't want anything done differently for them than what we're going to be doing in the future with this (transportation) utility. I don't think it's right. I think they should have the same fairness as everybody else does," Lefevre said.
The transportation utility concept is an idea put forth by Mayor Ron Marsh at a special Common Council meeting May 13. It would operate as does the storm water utility, established in 2006 as a means of managing storm water, imposing charges for the recovery of costs connected with such storm water management.
Coplien agreed that including the sidewalks in the motion was a minor incident.
"I don't think it's going to hurt one way or another. We're not talking a huge amount of sidewalk. Let's just pass this, and then we'll work on the utility, if or when it happens," he said.