Verndale putting the brakes on water/sewer project

Lease agreement with Bullseye amended

by Matthew Johnson
mpjohn@arvig.net
They know more aging water and sewer infrastructure will have to be replaced sooner or later, and right now Verndale City Council members are unanimously choosing to do it later.
That was the consensus following a lengthy discussion about the proposed $1.25 million Sanitary Sewer and Water Main Improvements Years 2-5 project with Engineer Jim Hines of Widseth Smith Nolting during the council’Äôs Monday, March 1, regular monthly meeting. Hines indicated that work on a three-block section of Brown Street North alone, even if Wadena County would pay for curb, gutter and sidewalks due to it being a County State Aid Highway (CSAH), could cost the city close to $400,000.
’ÄúIt’Äôs a huge amount of money,’Äù said Verndale Mayor Ardith Carr. She said she believes it would be a good idea to simply put ’Äúthe brakes’Äù on the project.
Others on the council agreed.
’ÄúI don’Äôt know if we can afford to do anything (during this poor economy),’Äù said Council Member Louie Randall. ’ÄúIt scares me to go much further.’Äù
The city may receive some grant dollars to help pay project costs, but 33 percent of the cost of whatever is not covered by grants is passed along to residents in the form of assessments.
’ÄúThat’Äôs my biggest concern’Äîno matter how much money we (city) get, they (taxpayers) still have to pay 33 percent,’Äù Carr said. ’ÄúThat’Äôs a lot of money.’Äù
Council Member Bruce Koppenhaver said the council is ’Äúreluctantly’Äù deciding to hold off on the inevitable. ’ÄúWe’Äôre going to get stuck with it sooner or later ...let’Äôs defer it (project) through this construction season,’Äù he said.
Part of the reluctance to put the project on hold stems from the work the county would fund on Brown Street. Hines said the total cost of the project on Brown Street would be about $980,000, but the county would pick up at least half of that. Hines and Verndale City Maintenance Supervisor Jim Bergquist recently met with county engineers.
’ÄúThey informed us that they are pretty sure that the county will be installing curbing, and a storm drain system on the Brown Street portion of our sewer project (at their expense),’Äù wrote Bergquist in his monthly report to the council.
He said part of the cost the county would be paying for includes the engineering costs. The county has drafted an agreement, but the city has not signed off on it. The city would be challenged to find a place to have a storm water retention pond. Bergquist said the city owns a piece of land on the north side of town, but a private owner has at least one building on the property, and has expressed no interest in moving it.
He expressed further concern to the council about aging water and sewer infrastructure and the fact that some locals are waiting for the city to move forward with the project so they can correct related utility maintenance issues at the same time.
’ÄúWe’Äôre all voting with reservations,’Äù Koppenhaver said.
Council Member Jim Runyan made the motion to put the project on hold, Koppenhaver seconded it, and the council voted unanimously to approve the motion.
In other utility-related news, Bergquist wrote in his monthly report, ’ÄúThe lift station had a major disaster.’Äù The dry well had flooded ’Äúlike it did in 2005.’Äù An estimate of what the repairs will cost the city is $8,500.
Also, he noticed an unusually high volume of water being used by the Redeemer Lutheran Church, which hasn’Äôt been in use since April. Pipes apparently ruptured in the basement during the cold spell and water spilled onto the floor. Most of it went into a drain, but some areas had an inch or two of standing water. Bergquist said he believes the church building is now owned by a company in Brainerd.
City Approves Addendum to Bullseye Lease Agreement
The city of Verndale has approved an addendum to the lease agreement with Bullseye Bar & Grill, LLC.
The addendum basically states that Bullseye will give the city a $400 per month break, so instead of the original lease amount of $1,200 a month, the city will only be paying $800 a month. The agreement is under the condition, however, that the city keep the store open at least until the original lease termination date of April 1, 2011.
Over the past several months the council has considered closing the store due to the fact that it has not been making the city any money. In fact, at the beginning of this year the store was running about a $166,000 deficit. According to the revised lease agreement, if the city closes the store before April 1, 2011, the monthly lease amount will go right back to $1,200. The termination date is three years from the time the city began occupying the space in the building for the Highway 10 Off Sale.
New Highway 10 Off Sale Manager Gary Rosenthal told the council he is working on a marketing plan that involves engaging local patrons so they have more community ownership of ’Äútheir store.’Äù
Before the regular meeting adjourned Monday night, the council conducted a closed meeting with liquor store management.
In other business:
’Ä¢ Approved the hiring of Kathryn Sletto as administrator of a Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) grant for housing and business rehabilitation contingent on grant dollars being awarded. Verndale City Clerk/Treasurer Dawn Nelson said the city should hear more about the prospects of receiving grant dollars the end of this month.
’Ä¢ Heard from Verndale Fire Chief Don Weniger that a recent meeting between the department, townships and cities went well. An overall theme is keeping costs down, and Weniger assured all interested parties that the department is applying for grants.
’Ä¢ Reviewed police statistics submitted by Verndale Police Chief Jeff Jares. The department had 201 total calls in January and 145 total calls in February. Much of the difference is attributed to traffic stops. There were 121 traffic stops in January, and only 62 in February. Jares said one issue is motorists not slowing down or stopping for pedestrians.
’Ä¢ Approved donating $1,500 to the school, as the city did last year, for the school’Äôs summer recreation program.
’Ä¢ Approved a motion to file for a refund on a fee for extra liability coverage the city is not receiving.
’Ä¢ Adopted a resolution authorizing the city’Äôs participation in the Community Concern for Youth (CCY) program.
’Ä¢ Agreed that city maintenance vehicles only be used for city use and not personal use, unless a prior financial arrangement for payment to the city for use of the vehicle is approved.
’Ä¢ Approved Steve Pickar as an Economic Development Authority (EDA) commissioner with a term ending January 1, 2016.
’Ä¢ Acknowledged a reminder that the Board of Review meeting is at 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 8, with Council Members Koppenhaver, Randall and Runyan.
Regular monthly meetings of the Verndale City Council are at 6 p.m. the first Monday of the month at the Verndale City Hall.