The Fennimore Common Council approved bids for the City’s 2015 street and utility improvements during its semi-monthly meeting on Tuesday evening, May 26.
Keith Dalsing of KD Engineering Consultants, Inc., was in attendance to present the bids.
“What we did was we bid the curb and gutter, the blacktopping and the road gravel as separate contracts because the City crews are going to be doing the installation of the utilities and coring out the streets,” he said.
The 2015 street reconstruction schedule includes work on Coolidge Court, Coolidge Street (from 12th Street to 13th Street), 13th Street (from Coolidge Street to Garfield Street), Madison Street (from 12th Street to 14th Street) and Madison Street (from 12th Street to 13th Street).
J&T Concrete bid $56,172.50 for curb and gutter work. Augelli Concrete bid $64,550. J&T Concrete has previously worked for the City, Dalsing noted in a memo to the Council.
Milestone bid $71,322 for road gravel (contractor hauled) and offered an alternate price of $56,072 (City hauled). Bard Materials bid $80,497.50 for contractor hauled road gravel and $55,707.50 for City hauled road gravel.
“In the past, it has been a combination of both,” Dalsing said of the amount of contractor and City hauled road gravel.
Iverson Construction was the lone bidder for bituminous concrete (blacktop) at $83,542.50.
“Those unit prices were relatively close to the prices they quoted you last year,” Dalsing said. “We didn’t see much of an increase in the price, even though there was only one bidder on the project.”
J&R Supply bid $38,086.40 to provide water main and sanitary sewer materials. First Supply bid $40,446.40 and HD Supply Waterworks bid $41,782.
County Materials was the sole bidder for concrete manholes at $5,817.80.
Per Dalsing’s recommendation, the Council approved awarding contracts to J&T Concrete, Milestone, Iverson Construction, J&R Supply and County Materials.
An opinion of probable cost prepared by Director of Public Works Biddick in April indicated $201,528.25 in street improvements and $60,807.25 in water improvements were expected.
Capital improvements planning
Kurt Muchow of Vierbicher Associates met with Council members, members of the Fennimore Area Chamber of Commerce and members of the Fennimore Industrial and Economic Development Committee to highlight the merits of capital improvements planning during a Meeting of the Whole on May 18.
Those in attendance reviewed components of a capital improvements plan, TIF District financing and the creation of financial goals and strategies, among several topics.
Vierbicher Associates has offered to create a capital improvements plan for the City for approximately $12,000. Last week the Council held a follow-up discussion to the May 18 meeting.
“We can do most of it ourselves in house,” Mayor Charles Stenner said of the work a capital improvements plan entails. “Most of it is gathering information and stuff we would have to do anyway.
“It is something we can work on and later this year dive into it and bring it back to you as what has been compiled.”
Alderperson Sara Brodt wondered aloud if delegating the work to City staff would overburden them.
“My concern is we have so many times where we run into people don’t have time to get anything done,” she said. “Over and over again we have all been reminded how busy everyone is.
“A cost is important to look at, but maybe we need to find out what that is before we set it aside.”
Alderperson Ryan Boebel agreed.
“I thought it was a good presentation and it was a good idea,” he said. “Obviously, I see a lot of the same faces here tonight. There must be an interest in it. I would suggest looking into it and seeing what exactly happens and what it would cost and that kind of stuff.”
The Council unanimously approved broaching the topic and receiving a cost estimate from Vierbicher Associates.
Planned residential unit development
The Council also preliminarily approved an application by Southwest Wisconsin Technical College for planned residential unit development.
Southwest Tech Foundation Executive Director Dennis Cooley shared the College is creating a real estate foundation that will be operational by July 1. Ultimately, the real estate foundation will own the College’s housing.
Cooley presented the Council with a plan that includes the construction of five duplexes near Brownwood Road.
“This has been an ongoing process trying to formalize a plan for what we want to do with that land that was purchased a few years ago,” Cooley said. “Heather [Fifrick] worked with surveyors and our attorneys to put together a plan.
“We have a group a students that put together a duplex this year. The plan is to do duplex work in that area following a similar plan we did this year and last year.
“Our hope is we can begin work on creating that area the way the Council and also the College would like to see it.”
Following the Council’s preliminary review, the plan will now be reviewed by the City’s Plan Commission. If approved by the Plan Commission, a public hearing will be held at a later date, after which the Council will consider final approval.
In other action, the Council:
• approved an application for a temporary Class B beer license for the Fennimore Fire Department, which is holding its annual steak feed on Saturday, June 13.
The Council also approved a temporary Class B beer license for Fennimore Fun Fest, June 5-6.
• approved a request by the Fennimore Fun Fest Committee to close La Follete Street from Bronson Boulevard to Stitzer Road on Saturday, June 6 from 3-8 p.m. Dodge and Dewey streets will be closed from 5-8 p.m. as well.
The Council also approved a request by the Committee to close La Follette Street from Bronson Boulevard to the EMC driveway on Saturday, June 6 from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. La Follette Street will be home to the Fennimore Fun Fest 2015 Car Show.
• approved a request by the Fennimore Area Chamber of Commerce to serve food in the Memorial Building auditorium during their July 7 chicken barbecue. Dinner will be served from 4:30-7 p.m.
• approved the appointment of Karla Rands to the Dwight T. Parker Public Library Board. Rands will succeed Jeff Ware, who will finish his second term on the Board this month.
• approved the hiring of lifeguards Rachel Hartberg and Kennedy Lee for the 2015 Fennimore Community Pool season.
