W’bago Council items are costly
Several items on the agenda come with big and bigger price tags

Cleveland Avenue in Winnebago is where some utility/street work was planned for 2024. It may be moved up to 2023 to take advantage of funding availability.
The Winnebago City Council was asked to approve the expenditure of an unusual amount of funds at their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m.
The agenda item which received the most discussion involved a request for reimbursement of two residential sewer backup bills.
The dispute stemmed from an incident on Jan. 18 during which the sewer main downstream from a dead-end manhole located near 443 Cleveland Avenue West was plugged.
“Two residential properties had sewer backup and had to have plumbers and jetting services alleviate the problems in their homes,” deputy city clerk Judi Hynes reported. “They are asking for reimbursement for the bills for the services performed.”
The requested reimbursements came to the amount of $822.
“In the Utilities (Committee) meeting I voted to pay for this,” Council member Paul Eisenmenger began. “But, from here on out I think we need to move a little more cautiously on these.”
Eisenmenger explained the city is required to survey its sewers every five years, and the one in question was checked two years ago without any major issues being reported.
Eisenmenger was concerned that when the city is not notified in a timely manner of sewer issues, there is no way to verify how the issues occurred.
In this case, Eisenmenger suspected further investigation may have revealed city-operated sewer was not the cause of the backup.
“I think we need to advise residents in the city to notify the city when there is an issue in service so we can check right away, rather than calling companies to clean it out,” Eisenmenger suggested.
“Now, we are paying a thousand dollars for something that might not even be our issue,” he added.
“Can we have the Utility Committee draft some language to clear this up?” council member Calvin Howard requested. “I’m going to vote to pay this, but I think that is a very good observation.”
Howard continued, “If you want to be reimbursed by the city, we could say you have to notify the city within one day of having the pipe cleaned. Not a week later, when anything could have happened.”
“The Utility Committee could bring up a proposal about how to proceed in the future,” council member Tim Hynes suggested.
In the meantime, the council approved a motion to pay the requested $822 reimbursement.
The Utility Committee also brought several recommended city improvements to the council’s attention. The improvements were advised by Bolton & Menk engineers Travis Winter and Matt Cole.
The biggest proposition concerns Winnebago’s Cleveland Avenue.
Resolution 782-2022 sought permission for Bolton & Menk to conduct a preliminary study of improvements to Cleveland Avenue West between Highway 169 and Sixth Street NW.
“It was originally going to be a 2024 project, but we moved it up to the 2023 funding window due to PFA (Public Facilities Authority) having a lot of money for applicants,” Cole explained. “It’s a full reconstruction project – very similar to the Northwest Project Area.”
“Taking steps to position the project for funding could be beneficial for the city,” Winter added. “This is the first step – getting permission to do some preliminary figures.”
The council passed a motion adopting the resolution, which will allow Bolton & Menk to prepare a facility plan and report on the Cleveland Avenue improvements.
As the project would require benefitted properties to be assessed for all or a portion of the cost, the council was required to schedule a public hearing in relation to the project.
The council scheduled a special City Council meeting on Tuesday, March 1, at 7 p.m. during which time the public hearing will be held.
The Utility Committee also recommended upgrades to the Water Treatment Facility control systems. The current system is 20 years old and in need of replacement.
The cost estimate of the upgrades is between $125,000 and $150,000, with added engineering costs between $25,000 and $30,000.
The council was concerned at the cost, and questioned whether adequate funds are budgeted this year. However, Judi Hynes indicated she feels the budget is adequate.
“I don’t really see that this would be a problem. We do still have 100 percent of our ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds if we really get in a bind,” Hynes said. “We wouldn’t be looking at a payment until 2023, even if we started tonight.”
“If something was to happen at the plant right now, we would have to schedule emergency work. Then, we still haven’t upgraded anything,” Eisenmenger added. “This needs to be done.”
The council passed a motion to authorize the expenditure of between $25,000 and $30,000 in engineering fees needed to prepare plans for the upgrade.
“I know we’ve spent a lot of money tonight, but I do think it’s necessary,” council member Jean Anderson remarked at the end of the meeting.
In other business, the Winnebago City Council:
• Passed a motion approving a water tower rehabilitation project, which will consist of re-coating the inside and outside of the water tower along with minor structural and safety repairs.
Cole suggested the project will be eligible for PFA funding.
• Passed Resolution 781-2022, which gives approval for city to apply for a loan from the Drinking Water Revolving Fund for improvements to its drinking water storage system.
The estimated loan amount is $585,000, or the as-bid cost of the project.
• Approved upgrades to two technologically obsolete lift station radios in the amount of $2,572.
• Approved the adjusted price of the Winnebago Police Department’s new F-150.
Police Chief Eric Olson shared the vehicle will need to be upgraded to include a center console, a printer, squad lights on the running boards and additional storage, increasing the cost of the vehicle by approximately $5,800.
• Raised the hourly part-time police officer wage from $16.50 an hour to $19 an hour. Olson shared this rate more closely matches wages offered by neighboring police departments.