County Road 44 is no more
County Road 44 NW in Alexandria will now be known as Voyager Drive. The Alexandria City Council agreed to the name change at its meeting Tuesday night.
County Road 44 NW in Alexandria will now be known as Voyager Drive.
The Alexandria City Council agreed to the name change at its meeting Tuesday night.
The change is happening because of recent road and street jurisdiction changes approved by the city, county and state. One of the changes resulted in Douglas County turning back jurisdiction of County Road 44 to the city.
Residents who currently use “CO. RD. 44 NW” addresses for mail delivery and Emergency 911 uses will soon have to switch to a new street name.
Joe Zunker, in charge of the 911 addressing system with the Douglas County Public Works, recommended the Voyager Drive name.
The developments of Northbrook Estates, Westbrook Estates and Ridgewood Townhomes First Addition, which have the County Road 44 address will now be named Northbrook Circle, Westbrook Circle and Voyager Court, respectively.
About 110 addresses are affected, Zunker said. Those residents will receive letters informing them of the new addresses and the fact that the county will be coordinating the changes with the 911 system, post office and utility providers.
The post office will continue to deliver mail to the CO. RD. 44 NW addresses for at least two years. Zunker said the post office does not recommend residents to submit a change of address forms because that would stop mail containing the old address from being delivered after only a year.
E911 signs for some address numbers – 725 through 920 and 1504 through 1850 – will change to new numbers that will be in sequence with addresses that start at North Nokomis NW and increase to the intersection with County Road 22. Douglas County will provide replacement 911 signs.
In related action, the council formally approved the road jurisdictional transfers that were previously discussed and approved by the county.
IN OTHER ACTION
In other action from Tuesday’s three-hour-long meeting, the council:
•Proceeded with a project to install traffic signal lights at the intersection of County Road 46 and Pioneer Road. The county plans to put the lights up in 2013. The city is paying for half of the $225,000 project, which will be paid entirely through state aid funds. The council voted 4-1 to direct the city engineer to apply for the state funds. Virgil Batesole voted no. He said the intersection is a dangerous safety hazard and suggested more immediate action, such as placing flashing yellow or red lights there. “Someone is going to get killed,” he said. “It will be awful if we have to wait a year.”
•Agreed to widen the shoulders of County Road 70, also known as South L’Homme Dieu Drive, McKay Avenue, and East Golf Course Road. The road will include two 11-foot-wide driving lanes with three-foot paved shoulders. Right now, the road is 12-feet wide with only two feet of shoulder. The entire road is being reconstructed at a cost of $1.39 million. The shoulder work is estimated to cost $172,000. The project will be funded by $780,000 in turnback funds the city received from the county with the remainder covered by state aid funds. In related action, the council agreed to pay Widseth, Smith and Nolting $125,386 in engineering fees for the County Road 70 reconstruction.
•Agreed to add a stop sign at the intersection of Thomas Drive and South Oak Knoll Drive.
•Denied a request from the owner of Three Havens store to install a boat dock on Lake L’Homme Dieu at Center Avenue near the store. The city highway committee recommended to deny it because of potential liability, the cost to install, remove and maintain the dock, and because the location wasn’t adjacent to a public park. Batesole was the only council member to vote against denying the request. He said the city should take another look at the request to try to accommodate the business owner’s request.
•Referred a request from the Minnesota Lakes Maritime Museum to city staff. The museum is requesting to expand its lease with the city to include the garden area north of its present facility.
•Was informed that three candidates have expressed an interest in the new city engineer/public works director position. City Administrator Jim Taddei suggested referring the applications to the city engineer interview committee for a recommendation. Batesole made a motion to include all of the council members in the committee and to consider the applications in January when the two new council members begin their terms. His motion failed when no one seconded it.
•Scheduled two work sessions – one for November 26 at 4 p.m. and another for December 10 at 5 p.m. to discuss the budget, a part-time position at the fire station, and the employee early retirement program.
•Gave permission for organizers to hold a National Multiple Sclerosis Society Walk on County Road 44 (renamed Voyager Drive) on May 5, 2013. The event will start at Voyager Elementary School with registration at 10 a.m.
•Accepted a petition from three property owners to install sanitary sewer on their properties on Kenwood Drive.
•Referred a request to change the use of the avionics building adjacent to the airport to city staff and the city attorney for further study. The Alexandria Technical and Community College has been leasing the land for its interior design program but now wants to allow the United Way to use it as an office, a non-educational use. Any changes in the lease must also be approved by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration.
•Gave final approval to annex a 0.125-acre parcel of property along 11th Avenue West in LaGrand Township. James and Paulette Baumgartner requested the annexation in order to join two parcels into one single tract of land. LaGrand Township waived its right to object.
•Approved loan subordination requests involving two CHAP mortgages for residents living in The Trails, Kimberly Fronning, and Andrew and Amanda Schneeberger. This will allow the residents to refinance their loans at a lower interest rate.
•Accepted a proposal from Bremer Insurance Agency to provide insurance agent services to the city for the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust and liquor liability coverage. Bremer proposed a fee of $8,500 per year for five years and a 2 percent commission for workers compensation. Partington Zimney Insurance had been providing services for the city the past 10 years.
Tags: local news, county roads, news
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