Edgar awards contract for water, sewer replacments

By Kevin O’Brien

Edgar officials awarded a $704,384 contract to Switlick & Sons of Athens on Monday for replacing water and sewer mains on Wisconsin Avenue and George Wagner Drive, but they held off on approving special assessments for several upcoming projects.

A public hearing was originally scheduled for Monday regarding proposed assessments on four village streets, but it was postponed until Monday, April 8 at 6 p.m., prior to the board’s next monthly meeting.

Last month, the board approved a series of resolutions stating the village’s intent to special assess property owners for 80 percent of the cost of new driveway aprons and curb and gutter on Wisconsin Avenue, George Wagner Drive, Thomas Hill Road and Birch Street, from Second to Kaiser Avenue. Residents on Thomas Hill and Birch streets will also be assessed for half the cost of sidewalks.

According to engineering reports posted

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on the village’s website, nearly 40 residents and other private landowners will be assessed a total of about $117,000 for sidewalks, driveway aprons and curb and gutter on the four streets. In addition, the Edgar School District will be assessed an estimated $35,750 or more for work planned on Birch Street north of the high school.

The prices on the projects range from $20 to $22 per linear foot for 24-inch curb and gutter and $81 to $86.40 per square yard for sixinch driveway aprons. Sidewalks will cost $8 per square foot for a 4-inch depth and $10 per square foot for 6-inch.

Residents will be given the option of paying 100 percent of the assessments by Oct. 15 or paying them over a five-year period with a 6 percent annual interest rate added on.

Switlick submitted the lowest of six bids, coming in about $71,000 under the estimate from project engineers at Ayres Associates. The highest bid was more than twice that of the one submitted by Switlick.

Village administrator Jennifer Lopez noted that Switlick was also awarded the contract for this year’s sewer replacements on Birch, Thomas Hill and two sections of Third Avenue (CTH H), so the company will be able to save money by not having to mobilize their equipment for each separate project.

“Financially it makes sense when all of their equipment and manpower is already here,” she said.

A timeline from Switlick indicates the contractor plans to start work on North Third Avenue (from Chesak Avenue to Maple Street) next week, and then transitioning to Birch Street during the third week of April, followed by Third Avenue South (Quaw Avenue to Clearview Court) and Thomas Hill starting in May and going into June. Lopez said Switlick then plans on moving to Wisconsin and Wagner at the end of June.

Edgar is eligible for up to $1.2 million in loans from the Wisconsin DNR’s Clean Water Fund Program and Safe Drinking Water Loan Program to pay for the water and sewer replacements, with a payback period of up to 20 years. However, those loans cannot be used to pay for the parts of the project involving sidewalks, driveway aprons and curb and gutter.

Lopez said the board will have to decide how much it wants to raise water and sewer rates, if at all, to pay back the loans. She noted that the water utility has no outstanding debt, so she doesn’t think those rates will need to be increased, but the need for sewer rate hikes needs to be considered.

Trustee Jon Streit said now is the time for the village to do the Wisconsin and Wagner project, with a good bid in hand for work that will address ongoing problems.

“That’s probably the number one area we have water breaks in consistently every year,” he said.

Other business

n Ben Smith was sworn in as a new part-time police officer at the Edgar Police Department. Officer Matthew Krembs said Smith was an “excellent student” at the police academy and he expects him to thrive in his first job as an officer.

“He’s going to be an excellent addition to this police department,” he said. “I’m very excited for him.”

Krembs also told the board that he is retiring at the end of this month after 27 years in law enforcement, and thanked the board for the opportunity to serve the village for the past six years.

“This has been a great place to end my career,” he said. “I would like to certainly volunteer myself to help the new chief as you select him or her, and help them transition into that new position.”

The board met in closed session to evaluate police chief applicants, but no action was taken in open session.

n The board amended its ordinance to admit the village of Weston into the Rothschild-based regional municipal court. Marathon City’s board passed a similar amendment last week.

n The board accepted a quote from Wisco Materials to crush approximately 3,000 tons of recycled concrete at a cost of $4.75 per ton plus a $4,200 equipment moving fee.

NEW OFFICER SWORN IN - Ben Smith, right, was sworn in as Edgar’s new part-time police officer at Monday’s village board meeting. His grandfather, Timothy Wohlfahrt, had the honor of pinning Smith’s badge to his grandson’s chest. STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN O’BRIEN