Culvert repairs coming, temporary fix could happen

Lake Holcombe Town Board

A plan is set to repair a culvert on a shared section of road, after Rod Patten, Town of Estella chairman, came to a regular Lake Holcombe town meeting, Dec. 10, to discuss what can be done.

The culvert, on 240th Avenue, and on a shared section of road between the Town of Lake Holcombe and the Town of Estella, has been in need of repairs for some time.

“I know it’s getting worse there all the time,” said Patten.

Ben Jordan, Lake Holcombe town roadman, says the culvert is separating, and the gravel and pavement there is moving.

Patten says they have to apply by July, in order to get funds to replace the culvert the next year.

“The earliest we’re looking is 2022, to do this work,” said Patten.

Brian Guthman, Lake Holcombe chairman, asked if the townships would apply for the funding together. Patten says he thinks only one town should have to apply and whichever town does the application, can write a check to the other town for their portion of the reimbursement.

The funding is through the county Bridge and Culvert Fund that reimburses a percentage of the cost, in the past 50 percent, with the two towns evenly splitting the remaining cost.

Guthman also asked if a sleeve would help. Jordan says they can look into that again, but the concrete on the base of the culvert is showing deterioration.

“Is there anything you can do earlier?” asked Tracy Geist, Holcombe resident.

Jordan says they have talked about transitioning the area with pavement before.

“You’d have to go 30 feet in each direction,” said Jordan.

He says, if it is going to be a couple years before the repair happens, they could put a band-aid on it.

Patten agreed a temporary fix, until the needed repairs can be made, is not a bad idea.

Guthman asked if they need an official cost estimate before they can apply for the grant. Patten says he doesn’t think it has to be an exact estimate, but will have someone look at it.

He also said he is willing to take the lead on the application. Guthman said it would be great if Estella starts the application process for the grant.

When it came to the temporary fix for the location, all agreed it was too late to do anything this year, and to look at what can be done in the spring.

In the chairman’s report, Guthman reported Jordan burnt the brush pile at the yard waste disposal site.

“We did have to get a written permit from the DNR, even after all that we did,” said Guthman.

Guthman says the brush pile is supposed to be attended the entire time it is burning and be out at the end of the day. He says there were no problems with that this year, but says he and Jordan talked that the pile may need to be burnt more frequently, going forward, so the fire is out by the end of the day.

Guthman also reported the shop heater in the north building is having problems with the blower motor, with an estimated $650 cost to fix it.

In the business portion of the meeting, members voted to have Geist take over as the sanitary district secretary, after John Bell said he would like to step down.

As a notice to the public, the town caucus date is set for Jan. 14, at 7 p.m., prior to the town board’s regular monthly meeting.