Alexandria plans street overlay projects, drainage solutions

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Coming soon to a street near you in northwest Alexandria – new overlays.

At its meeting Monday night, the Alexandria City Council approved the first step in next year’s local street improvement projects, an engineering agreement for the work.

The city agreed to pay Widseth Smith Nolting and Associates an estimated $29,960 based on overall project costs of $196,000 for the following projects:

--Ridgewood Drive, from County Road 44 to Autumn Drive.

--Autumn Drive, from County Road 44 to Ridgewood Drive.

--Wood Duck Lake, from Ridgewood Drive to Autumn Drive.

--Winter Green Lane, from Sherman Drive to Autumn Drive.

--Loch Mist Lane, from Bridgeport Lane to County Road 44.

The city also plans to finish up two projects held over from this year, Park Place and Oak Knoll Drive across from Discovery Middle School.

The council plans to use state aid municipal funds to pay for the bulk of the work, along with about $70,000 set aside in its budget.

The next steps are to call for bids and if favorable, accept them to start the work next spring.

City Engineer Tim Schoonhoven said the street overlay projects are part of a five-year program the city puts together to keep the streets in good condition. He described the program as a terrific success.

In other street-related action, the council ordered a study to look into major drainage problems that have plagued the 7th Avenue and Irving Street area, near the Echo Press offices and Cornerstone Church.

The council agreed to pay Widseth Smith Nolting and Associates $18,200 to provide the engineering services for the study, which will examine the watershed, existing stormwater facilities, solutions and cost estimates.

The money will come out of the city’s stormwater management fund.

OTHER ACTION

In other action, the council:

--Agreed to Alexandria Light and Power’s request to extend ALP’s power supply contract with the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA). The contract, which was set to expire at the end of 2020 was extended through 2051. ALP receives 31 percent of its power through WAPA’s hydro-electricity system along the Missouri River. The energy is low cost, reliable and environmentally friendly, according to ALP General Manager Al Crowser.

--Approved a request from the Alexandria Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life to hold a “Walk for Life” on Sunday, November 4 from 1 to 3 p.m. The pro-life rally and walk will take place at Zion Lutheran Church beginning at 1 p.m. and consist of pastors speaking and praying with those gathered. Participants will walk to the courthouse for a time of prayer on the courthouse steps and then walk back to the rally point. Organizers are expecting between 500 and 1,000 participants. No streets will be blocked off.

--Approved a request from the Runestone Museum to block off some sections of streets for the annual Christmas in the Fort celebration on Friday, November 23 from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

--Referred a request from a Central Lakes Trail user to city staff. It would add new requirements to the permit process for those holding events by not allowing permanent markings on trails and streets. Only temporary markings such as chalk, flags, traffic cones or signs could be used to indicate distances or turns. The permanent markings are becoming an eyesore and a distraction, according to the trail user, Todd Pietrowski.

--Considered a request for the city to install a boat dock and walkway from Lake L’Homme Dieu to a new business, Sunnie’s General Store on County Road 42, formerly Three Havens General Store. New owner John Pollock is planning an extensive remodeling project, adding grocery items, a summer ice cream parlor, coffee backed goods, specialty foods and gifts, and live bait and tackle. Before County Road 42 was reconstructed, there was a short public road off Center Avenue and Bay Lane that abuts the property. People used it to access the lake and to beach their boats to take advantage of services in the area, Pollock said. The county has since installed a large pipe and boulders that make the access unusable. The council referred the request to its highway committee and park board for further review and recommendations.

--Gave preliminary approval to a request from James and Paulette Baumgartner to annex their property, a 0.125 acre of platted land in LaGrand Township on the east side of Lake Winona on the corner of Shoreview Drive and 11th Avenue West. The annexation would allow them to join two parcels of land into one single tract of land. The request will be sent to the LaGrand Township Board. If it waives any objection, it will be sent back to the council for final approval.

--Issued a charitable gambling permit to St. Mary’s School to sell raffle tickets for a February 28, 2013 event at the school.

--Approved a charitable gambling premise permit for the Alexandria Area U.S. Bowling Congress Association to sell pull tabs at Garden Center and Bennigan’s. The permits were approved on the condition that the applications will be filled out completely and approved by the city attorney.

--Agreed to meet at noon on Thursday, November 8 to officially canvas the results of the election for the two city council positions and the race for mayor.

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