The Spring Grove City Council had a heated discussion at the end of its August 18 meeting. All members were present and gave input. At issue was whether to include the Ambulance in the scope for the project’s Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Fire Hall Project.
Councilmember Trent Turner explained the project’s history, and that at the beginning the ambulance department was not under the city’s jurisdiction. Both Turner and City Clerk/Administrator Jana Elton said they added space for the Ambulance in the design for the new fire hall; but recently the ambulance department said it would prefer to move near the daycare instead.
Councilmember Michael Hagen was concerned that Spring Grove had been allocated funds that needed to be used or it was at risk of losing future funding opportunities. Mayor Bryan Wilhelmson wants the project to move forward, but he stressed that $1 million is still needed to cover the entire $2.5 million project. Spring Grove would levy $10,000 toward the project, and the city’s preliminary budget is due September 30.
Council Approves WHKS Contracts
Tim Hruska, WHKS, presented three documents to the council, including a draft of the Fire Hall Project RFQ. He said he needed “the council to approve the draft of the RFQ to hire an architect and design team, which is the first requirement for federal based qualifications. The ambulance can be added later as a change order, and the council has a few months to determine what’s in scope for the next step of a Request for Proposals (RFP).”
The council approved the RFQ. Elton said she has scheduled a meeting with the city’s financial advisor for September 1 to continue discussions on the design scope.
As a follow-up to the July flooding, WHKS presented a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) for inflow and infiltration mitigation. The proposed measures will reduce the sanitary sewer backups in homes during storms with excessive rainfall and meet compliance issues for the wastewater treatment plant.
There will be a smoke and dye test in September. Hruska said the goal of the nontoxic smoke test is to identify homes where they “find cross connections for storm sewer and sanitary sewers.” A follow-up dye test a week or two later would further identify those homes that would need to have a basket and be hard plumbed outside.
Elton stressed that the public should ensure they have water in their home’s floor trap to avoid smoke entering their home during the smoke test. WHKS and city staff will work notify the public on Facebook and fliers on the doors in the test area.
WHKS will then work with city staff to draft an ordinance to be implemented next year. Inspections would be completed by Spring Grove Utility Director John Sylling for new construction and at the point of sale for homes to ensure they are plumbed correctly.
Hruska also presented a Lead Service Line Replacement Project for five impacted homes. All engineering and construction costs will be paid by the state, and he needed the council’s approval to submit it to the Minnesota Department of Health.
Both the PSA and lead project were also approved.
765kV Line Group
Three members of the 765kV Line Group gave an update on the project. They anticipate another window for comments will be open in September with a very short time to respond. Elton said the council had sent a letter to the power companies doing the large-scale date center project after the May meeting with the Line Group, but the city received no response to their concerns about the impacts on public health.
Wilhelmson asked the Line Group to help in writing targeted comments and the current research to include; the group said it is happy to be a resource.
Other Updates
The council also:
•Approved its consent agenda, paying DEED money accrued on a grant it has to pay back, purchasing and installing six removable speed bumps, the Sheriff Department hours, and a revision to an ordinance to have powerline setbacks at 15 feet from either side of the line; and
•Tabled both the AFSCME contract for further time to review by the mayor and a resolution from Fillmore County to sustain deputy registrar offices.
The meeting adjourned at 7:34 p.m.
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