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BE Council accepts $2.9M bid for project

Work will include fixing sidewalk and parking lot at Senior Center

By Chuck Hunt - Editor | Apr 7, 2024

City administrator Mary Kennedy, left, and city attorney David Frundt, right, listen as Mayor Rick Scholtes explains some proposed changes to the Riverside Annexation Agreement at last Monday’s meeting.

The Blue Earth City Council approved a bid at their meeting on Monday night for this summer’s street and utility construction project.

“We opened bids this morning,” city engineer Ben Rosol, of Bolton and Menk, reported to the council. “There were two bids received.”

Rosol said the staff recommended accepting the low bid, which was $2.99 million for the main project, and an additional $52,000 for an alternate project bid.

The bid came from Holtmeier Construction. The other bid was $3.94 million from Heselton Construction, with $86,000 for the alternate added bid.

The main bid is for full street reconstruct on Rice Street from Seventh Street to First Street, Second Street from Gorman Street to Rice Street, and First Street from its dead end to Rice Street. In addition there is a mill and overlay with utility improvements on Tenth Street from Ramsey Street to Rice Street and Eleventh Street from Ramsey Street to Rice Street.

The alternate add on bid is for sidewalk and parking lot improvements to the Senior Center.

The council approved the low bid. Rosol said he expected construction to start in May.

Before the regular agenda items were gotten to, two persons spoke to the council about their concerns during the public comment portion of the meeting.

One person was Randy Anderson of the Faribault County Historical Society.

Anderson said he had expressed his concerns in the past about the residents of Crescent Apartments, which is owned by the city, walking their dogs on the property of the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, which is owned by the historical society.

“It is an excessive amount of dog waste that we have to clean up all the time,

Anderson said. “We are considering putting up a fence, and no trespassing and no dogs signs.”

He said the problem with the fence is that the back property line has a city retaining wall and part of the Crescent Apartments parking lot on the church property.

Anderson had photos of the many small red flags he had put out to mark where the piles of dog waste have been.

Mayor Rick Scholtes and other members of the council promised that the issue would be addressed at the next HRA meeting, as the HRA manages the Crescent Apartments.

The other person speaking to the council during public comment was Brett Osborn of the Golden Spike Go-Kart Raceway at the fairgrounds.

Osborn reminded the council that there will be two very large national races at the track this year.

The first one is May 2-3 and already has 210 karts registered.

Osborn answered the council’s questions about the race, and asked them for permission to close Midway Road at the fairgrounds during the event.

The council voted in favor of the closure of the road.

In other business, the Blue Earth City Council:

• Heard an update from former Blue Earth Chamber of Commerce director Shellie Poetter about a proposed playground near the Green Giant statue.

She said plans are progressing and asked the council for its support in three ways – to allow the playground to be on city-owned land by the Giant, the city to become the fiscal agent for the project, and the city to cover the cost of liability insurance.

The council voted to agree to all three items.

• Heard a report from current Chamber executive director Sarah Ferguson about the Green Giant statue needing repairs done, and new painting, complete with a sealer applied before the paint.

Cost will be $24,500, with the painter making a $3,000 donation to lower the cost to $21,500.

It is hoped the project can be completed before Giant Days weekend.

The City Council verbally agreed to assist with the cost, but no actual amount was discussed at Monday’s meeting.

• Voted to proceed with hiring a security company for installing a security system in the new City Hall.

• Postponed voting on the Riverside Annexation Agreement until the next meeting, as some changes to the agreement were proposed. The council also postponed any decisions on changes to the City Charter until all council members could be present, as it takes a 7-0 vote to pass them and one member was absent on Monday.