The majority of the City Council’s meeting this week focused on a public hearing presented by City Engineer Andy Brotzler covering the ongoing proposal for the Lighthouse Point Road and 3rd Street Reconstruction Project. Although the agenda for this meeting originally intended to approve the plan/ specifications and authorize receiving bids for the project, details for the plan are still being worked through with Lake County, which is acting as the sponsoring agency for the city on this project. Some of the funding for the project is being provided by a grant from the County. A finalized plan will be ready, possibly as early as the next City Council meeting on March 9th.
The project would reconstruct Lighthouse Point Road and 3rd Street from 1st Avenue at the north end to Agate Bay Public Water Access at the south end; the estimated time to completion would be before the end of 2026. The public hearing covered proposed improvements, estimated costs, proposed funding related to proposed project assessments, and proposed schedule.
Many of the improvements would involve the existing city utilities along the road. These consist of storm and sewer at the intersections and a water main, along with the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Rehabilitating immediate sewer lines running to the plant would be part of the proposal. Utility Superintendent Johnson weighed in to develop a proposed scope for replacing the water main and 24-inch sanitary sewer that runs south along 3rd Street and Lighthouse Point Road. Lining the pipes was considered as a possible alternative to full replacements, but it would be equivalent cost, if not more expensive, given the age and condition of the pipes, the existing manholes in the area, and the bypass pumping that would be necessary for the lining procedure. In addition, the proposal would extend sewer and water past Lighthouse Point Road at the south end, towards a vacant area owned by Acre Development LLC, which is currently awaiting future development. This would facilitate future possible extensions into that development. The cost of this extension would be assessed and paid 100% by the property owner/developer.
The project’s road improvements would include bringing curb and gutter to modern standards while working within the existing right-of-way size of 66 feet. The proposed road would also be designed to have slight curves to accommodate large trucks accessing the wastewater treatment plant. In addition to the road, the plan would include extending a 10 ft trail, identified in the city’s 2018 trail and sidewalk plan, along the west side of 3rd Street and Lighthouse Point Road. Brotzler’s presentation included diagrams showing the layout of the proposed new right-of-ways. The 3rd Street plan, from west to east within the 66 foot total span would be: boulevard (variable width), paved trail (10 ft), street section (28 ft total) including drive lanes (12 ft x 2) and shoulders (2 ft) with 4 or 6 inch barrier curbs, a new walk (6ft) replacing existing walk running from 1st Avenue to South Avenue, then boulevard (variable width). The proposed trail would match into existing steps and sidewalks on adjacent private property. One consideration over the course of the plan’s creation was to possibly pull the sidewalk back further; however, it would impact where the overhead power lines and poles would need to be, potentially pushing them closer to existing structures than they are allowed to legally be for safety reasons. The new Lighthouse Point Road is similar to the new 3rd Street, with the exception that there is only a variable boulevard and no sidewalk on the east side of the road. The Council adopted a resolution earlier this year authorizing no parking along this entire segment and Brotzler noted this would interfere with potential funding: Several years ago the city applied for and was awarded funding from the local road improvement program and a State Park Road account administered by Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), as this is a primary access road for DNR at the south end. However, to use these funding resources, conditions require that the project must be designed in accordance with MnDOT State Aid Rules. These rules include minimum travel lane widths and minimum road shoulder widths to accommodate parking, which are currently not met by the proposed design and were not part of the original project scope.
Proposed project costs at this time are estimated at around $1.376 million for street improvements, $825,000 for drainage improvements, $820,000 for water improvements, and $1.881 million for sanitary sewer improvements: a total project estimated cost of $4,903 million.
The city maintains an assessment policy that allows it to levy an assessment on adjoining properties as part of the proposed improvements. The assessment in this case would include a 15- year term for bituminous street, sidewalk, and trail improvements. There is also a provision to assess properties adjoining the project for new walks, including trail and concrete sidewalks, at $50 per 5ft by 5ft square panel. Corner lots have assessments based on 50% of cost for the street the property is addressed to and 15% of the cost of the side lot street frontage. Six residential properties along 3rd Street and Lighthouse Point Road will be assessed as part of the project. As the entire project length is used to calculate front footage, the total project front footage is 2,888 ft. The total estimated street cost is $1.077 million, and the assessable cost of 15% (as the project will be on the side rather than the front of the corner lot properties involved) is estimated around $161,625. This means the front footage method assessment is $55.96 per square foot. Multiply that times the sidewalk area per parcel (25 square feet), and each residential parcel will have a sidewalk assessment cost of $1,250. This would be in addition to the preliminary assessment cost of $6,995 per parcel. Brotzler emphasized that property owners involved in the project are partners and encouraged to give feedback. He ended his presentation with a timeline of current and ideal future events: a neighborhood meeting was held in January to discuss the project, and soon a meeting will be needed to approve plans and specifications, as well as have the County authorize bidding on the project. It is estimated that bids would be assessed through April, ideally leading to construction in May through October. The full scale of the project, especially with full utility replacements, will mean traffic detours during construction. Possible alternate roads are being discussed with DNR. Brotzler also confirmed that the north end of the project would involve moving bedrock for the water main. Earlier environmental reviews also found contaminated material in the area; talks are ongoing with the city’s Geotechnical Consultant to safely handle and possibly remove and dispose those materials. After the presentation, the public was welcome to ask questions. One of the property owners involved in the project, Ruth Rabold, joined via Zoom to talk about road usage. She noted the road is heavily used by tourists, especially in summer, to access the DNR boat launch, the lighthouse, and the breakwater. From what she has seen living in the area, in its current state, South Avenue is too narrow to be easily used by boat trailers and large campers and too rough for many other motorists, making it more appealing to outsiders than residents. She concluded by saying that state, county, and city funding should be used for the road, considering it is “more used by tourists than local residents.” Those with questions about the project can find more information at the project’s website at Lighthousepointreconstruction.com, or calling the help line at (507)-613-8905.
Following the hearing, the meeting reconvened. Committee reports included the North Shore Management Board meeting online Feb. 19th to revise the mandated 10-year update of the North Shore Management Plan. The plan is in “fairly final form” and should be ready on time for the mandated 30-day public review period, which will start March 3rd. The Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) met Feb. 10th and will be taking steps towards a more social media presence with the Media Specialist job. They are also taking further steps to fill the maintenance position, which has been vacant for a year. The Library noted its 25-cent sale at the beginning of February raised $117. Personnel discussed the vacation accrual carry-forward policy.
Consent agenda items approved included: payment of claims against the City and payroll; work on the Campground Renovation Project; the vacation accrual carry-forward policy; the resignation of the Public Works Director, appointment of an interim Director and interim Assistant Director, and approving a job posting for the Public Works Director position; two payments of the City Hall Exterior Project, pending approval from DSGW and paying for all work done to date; approval of two pieces of work equipment to replace equipment damaged in the recent storm; authorizing travel expenses for officer training; and appointing Rick Evans as a new HRA board member following HRA’s recommendation.
New business included only two items, as the Lighthouse Point Road and 3rd Street Reconstruction Project is not yet ready for approval. Improvements to the project were approved, as well as identification of a project and application for funding assistance through Congressman Stauber’s community funding program. The meeting concluded with Council President Hefter thanking city staff and especially public works for handling the storm and all the heavy wet snow over the past week, “standing tall before the man when 20 inches of fluffy white stuff fell from the skies.”
