Advertisement “We want to do this as more than a Band-Aid solution,” City Engineer Jarrod Holter told board members at their meeting Tuesday night. “I’d really hate to repave the road for safety but not have a plan in place behind the project.”
The La Crosse Area Planning Commission has authorized the city of Onalaska be reimbursed for half of the costs of the study, not to exceed $5,000. The study will look at various options and layouts for the roadway to safely carry the 15,000 to 20,000 cars per day that use the route.
Holter said that one result of the study might be to look at taking out some left turn options along the route. “If there were no left turn movements, maybe the road could handle 20,000 to 25,000 cars a day,” Holter said.
The firm Short Elliott Hendrickson is conducting a design study of the East Main Street corridor and, if approved by the Common Council next Tuesday, this new study will be added to the contract for a cost not to exceed $7,500.
Stormwater ordinance
Residential and commercial developers will be required to obtain a stormwater management permit and a stormwater maintenance agreement prior to any construction under a ordinance proposed by Holter, who said the proposal is prompted by new mandates by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The proposed ordinance is intended to establish long-term, post-construction runoff management requirements that will diminish threats to public health, safety, welfare and the aquatic environment. It also is intended to prevent and control water pollution, protect spawning grounds, fish and aquatic life, control building sites, placement of structures and land uses, preserve ground cover and scenic beauty and promote sound economic growth.
Holter said the city has an erosion-control ordinance under the building ordinance. With the EPA mandates, the city has to revamp its rules.
The proposed ordinance will be reviewed by the Administrative and Judiciary Committee and then the full council.
Oak Avenue reconstruction
Demands from funding sources are prompting a request for proposals for Oak Avenue South for right-of-way acquisition services.
According to Holter, because the city is receiving federal funds for bicycle lane striping and state funds for local road improvements, the city is required to follow federal laws in obtaining for a sliver of land for sidewalk installation and a retaining wall.
This means the city has to put out for bid services that include fee and temporary limited easement lands, appraisals needed for acquisition, sales study reports, title searches, utility release of rights and all necessary documentation.
“We want to make sure all the paperwork is correct to comply with the laws,” Holter said. Normally, he said, it would all be part of a construction agreement, but the federal laws require different treatment of the right-of-way acquisitions.
Holter projects that if the council approves, the proposal requests would be due to the city by Sept. 25, the award would be made by Oct. 14, the study done by the end of November and acquisitions would commence in December, with the final acquisition by March 2009, when construction would begin.
Not only does the city have to obtain right-of-way services to comply with funding requirements, the city also has to have an archaeological review of the site as part of the Oak Avenue South project. The Mississippi Valley Archaeological Center will conduct a Phase I survey of the property from Enterprise Avenue to Oak Forest Drive to determine the presence or absence of archaeological deposits.
If approved by the Common Council, the project will add another $4,179.80 to the contract with Short Elliott Hendrickson, bringing total costs for services from SHE on the Oak Avenue South project to $83,879.84.
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