Abby Council mulls need for sidewalks on Cedar Street
The Abbotsford City Council discussed putting in sidewalks at Cedar Street from Second Ave. to Third Ave. during a construction project that was scheduled to begin the funding process in June of this year.
Public Works Director Craig Stuttgen brought up the proposal stating that the sidewalks might help keep kids safe on their walks to school for that stretch of roadway.
Alderman Dale Rachu asked if Stuttgen had contacted the land owners to see if they would be willing to sacrifice part of their yards. Stuttgen said he would be willing to reach out and see if that would be in the public’s interest. Dan Borchardt of MSA said the state recommends that all roads being built have sidewalks built as well.
Rachu stated that he was opposed to the idea of having sidewalks put in and asked if the road was used enough by pedestrians and kids to warrant putting the sidewalks in.
Stuttgen said it was one of the main routes used to walk to school and it wouldn’t hurt to explore what property owners thought of the project.
Borchardt read a note from the zoning of a potential project on Cedar Street that said there is a potential danger for kids walking on that block because of cars turning onto Second, Third and Fourth Avenues from Cedar Street or vice versa.
Borchardt provided an alternative option that involved narrowing the street by three feet which would reduce the amount of area that the sidewalk would infringe on residents’ yards.
An alderperson noted that if sidewalk was put in on that stretch of road, that more projects would likely be needed in the future to put sidewalk in on more stretches of Cedar Street.
The council agreed to have City Administrator Josh Soyk draft up a letter that can be sent to property owners along the route to ask their opinion. The matter will be discussed at a future council meeting after more information has been gathered.
_ Two members of the community asked the council during the public comment section of the meeting if they would consider allowing UTVs on all streets in Abbotsford with a similar ordinance to what Colby has.
According to the citizens, the Colby ordinance allows the vehicles to travel on any street but states that those using UTV or ATVs can only cross Highway 13 at the stop lights at East Adams Street and Spence Street.
Alderman Roger Weideman said they have been getting complaints about ATVs and UTVs within the city already and that the council had discussed banning the vehicles all together at one point but he would be for discussing the topic at a future meeting.
The council agreed to put the item on a future agenda so they could discuss it more in-depth.
_ The new basketball and pickleball courts at Schilling Park are under construction. Stuttgen said the department of public works laid drain tile and hope to add a base layer in the coming days.
MSA has completed the plans for the project and city staff will be soliciting bids for the court surfacing in time for the July city council meeting.
The project is slated to be completed in Aug. - Sept. 2022.
_ CTW Corp. began work to rehabilitate well No. 20 on June 1. They plan to be done with the project around mid-June. CTW has also worked with the city to develop a proposal to construct test wells this summer.
_ The Butternut Street reconstruction project is 65 percent complete according to Borchardt. That project is scheduled to be complete by Aug. 1.
_ The council approved an intergovernmental cooperation agreement to allow Central Fire and EMS District to increase its spending limit from $50,000 to $100,000. The council had already approved the increase but needed to sign an agreement with the other municipalities under the Central Fire and EMS scope in order to make it official.
_ The council went over the ordinance that regulates which vehicles can be parked overnight on Abbotsford streets after a truck driver was asked by the Colby-Abbotsford Police Department to move their vehicle off the street to be compliant with the ordinance. The driver was upset because it reset his automated driving clock. The council did not take action on the item as it was labeled as just a discussion item.
_ The council discussed the funding for the $300,000 concession stand project and where that money would come from. Soyk alluded to the fact that the city has the money for the project, just not in the parks and recreation budget. He suggested an interdepartmental loan that would be paid back using the $20,000 per year budget that the parks and recreation department currently has. The agenda item was intended for discussion so a future item would be needed to take any sort of action on the topic.
