Abby plans light construction season in 2022
Abbotsford will resurface three roads and replace water mains on one block of Butternut Street as part of a slower construction season next year.
At a meeting last week Wednesday, the city council approved a plan to mill and overlay Hiline Avenue, 11th Street and the North Ninth Street loop that includes portions of North Galvin Road and East Cedar Street (north of the Abbyland Foods sausage plant).
DPW Craig Stuttgen said the city is applying for grants to do some major work on Linden and Fifth streets, but grant notifications won’t come until March of next year, so those projects won’t be done until 2023 at the earliest.
“I wanted to take a year and just do some resurfacing projects that don’t really take a lot of longterm planning,” he said.
Hiline Avenue will have 2.5 inches of blacktop added to the one foot of base material, Stuttgen said. He said a full road reconstruction does not appear to be warranted.
“It lasted 20 years the way it is, so we can have it repaved at a fraction of the cost of having it reconstructed,” he said.
Sttutgen said he initially assumed that the three repaving projects would fall within the city’s road budget of roughly $220,000, but with asphalt prices projected to go up by 30 percent next year, he said the city will have to use about $68,000 from its TIF fund to complete the work.
The city will also use about $22,000 in leftover grant money to pay for the 11th Street repaving.
Besides the three repaving projects, the city also plans on replacing water pipes with lead joints on the block of Butternut Street between 4th and 5th Avenue by Red Arrow Park. The project, which is estimated to cost about $290,000 for a full reconstruction, could be paid for with a combination TIF money and funding from the water utility, Stuttgen said.
The council approved a $20,900 contract with MSA Professional Services to design and oversee the Butternut project, which is set to be bid out in February of 2022 and completed between May and July of next year.
Looking ahead, Stuttgen said the city should probably set up a budget for its TIF funds, which are projected to grow to about $1.8 million after the next round of tax collections in 2022. Besides a $375,000 annual debt payment and $40,000 that needs to be set aside for park improvements in the Schilling Subdivision, he said the money is available for both development incentives and street projects.
“There’s a lot of discussion that should take place on what we want to do with that money,” he said.
Other business
_ Mayor Jim Weix told the council that smaller-sized garbage and recycling carts from Advanced Disposal are being delivered to the city for residents who requested them. He said the city will end up paying 50 percent of the cost for the approximately 75 carts ordered by residents.
“We’ve got the money in the budget to do it with, and these are taxpayers. It’ll make them happy,” he said.
_ City administrator Josh Soyk said the city has received two applications so far for the position of deputy clerk-treasurer.
_ Council members discussed a proposal to limit public comments to only what it is on the agenda, but ultimately decided to continue allowing any topic to be brought forward.
Stuttgen, who proposed the change, said residents should really bring their concerns and complaints to their individual aldermen first, before issues come before the entire council. Mayor Weix said limiting public comments to agenda items gives the council time to prepare an answer for residents who are raising questions.
Council members, however, disagreed with this idea.
“People have the right to voice a concern and get a response,” said Ald. Kayla Nixdorf.
Ald. Dale Rachu said the council can always wait until the next meeting to provide a response for something that isn’t on the agenda. He said residents may not always know who their aldermen are or how to get in touch with them.
“I feel like you’re almost asking them not to speak up,” he said.
_ Council members agreed to publicly post certain legal notices online and in three public places rather than having them published in the newspaper.
_ Library director Jenny Jochimsen told the council that Abbotsford’s 150th anniversary (sesquicentennial) is coming up in 2023, and she wondered if city officials wanted to do something to recognize the milestone.
“I would think it would need a year’s worth of planning just to be done well,” she said.
Jochimsen said the library has a centennial book published in 1973, and she wondered if a new version should be published.
“That’s 50 years of history that we’re missing,” she said. “If we could do another book, I think that would be great.”
Mayor Weix agreed to “take an active part in putting something together.”
“Anybody else who’s interested, feel free to come forth,” he said.
_ Mayor Weix told the council that the city is looking at redoing the entryways to the local cemetery and hiring an outside company, Town & Country, to do the lawnmowing and trimming. He also said additional regulations may be added regarding the upkeep of gravestones.
“I think that’s a very important thing for a community, to have a good-looking cemetery,” he said.
_ The council approved a total of $272,561 in monthly bills.
_ The council tabled a proposed twoyear contract from Town & Country for mowing the city’s parks and green spaces, with a 3.5 percent cost increase per year. Ald. Dale Rachu pointed out that the city already has a three-year contract in place with the company that is good through 2022.
_ Stuttgen told the council that 20 residents were fined $50 for late leaf pickups, based on a deadline set by the city.
“When people see the streetsweeper coming through, they know not to put the leaves back out there,” he said.
_ Soyk said a project to refurbish and repaint the city’s water tower will be bid out this year so it can be completed in 2022. When council members asked about putting an Abbotsford Falcon logo on the tower, Soyk said he would email some ideas to the council.
_ The council approved the publication of a proposed 2022 budget with $3.3 million in revenues and expenditures, and a property tax levy of $918,864, a 0 percent increase over this year. A budget hearing is set for Dec. 6 at 5:45 p.m.
