Houston Plans for Stoddard Street and Spruce Street

The Houston City Council heard from Bolton & Menk’s Derek Olinger at their February 9 regular meeting. The city of Houston had received a letter from Gary and Vickie Frauenkron expressing interest in purchasing 10 lots currently owned by the city. The lots have been partially developed by a previous party before being forfeited. At this time, there is no cost estimate to complete the work. 

Olinger told the council that any new development costs are typically paid for by the developer. At this point, research and inventory needs to be completed. He suggested an early meeting with the proposed developers to protect the public’s interest. Olinger pointed out that the city needs financial security on the project to ensure completion. The land is platted; there are lots, infrastructure, street, sewer and water mains.

The council decided to have the city administrator, attorney, financial advisor and engineer meet to discuss the project, with a focus on working toward a development agreement. City Administrator Michelle Quinn and staff will review city ordinances and outline developer and city obligations for the project.

Spruce Street Project

The council authorized Mayor Scott Wallace and City Administrator MIcheel Quinn to enter into a cooperative agreement with Houston County for the Spruce Street Project. Houston County will be the lead on the work. The city will pay 100% of the utility costs and a share of storm sewer expenses. 

Houston County will advertise the project shortly with the bids to be opened on March 16. Following that, the assessment process will need to be started again. An assessment hearing will be held in early May with construction planned for over the summer. 

The city will be responsible for a total of $1.7 million of the costs. Up to $800,000 in PFA (Public Facilities Authority) grants are possible. The county will make payments directly for the construction and will bill the city after completion of the project. The city will be able to use some reserve funds; the council will need to determine if the money will be repaid to the reserve account. 

Other Business

In other business the council:

• Approved letters of support for the BUILD grant being submitted by the city of La Crescent. This grant would help extend the Root River Trail 18 miles from Houston to Hokah and La Crescent;
• Approved a request for an exempt gambling permit for a Chamber of Commerce raffle on July 25 with no waiting period;
• Approved revisions to the Personnel Policy; the Minnesota Paid Leave Program now stipulates that ambulance and fire department personnel are considered employees and are eligible for the MN Paid Leave (these staff members are also now subject to the same disciplinary procedures as other staff);
• Learned that the work on the carport at the fire hall was held up when steel needed to be replaced; the project is now proceeding;
• Heard that PWD Josh Hongerholt has finished his training and testing for the Wastewater Class C licensure; Hongerholt reported that PWD staff has been working to gradually upgrade the water meters in city residences;
• Heard an update on the Houston Ambulance. The council approved a contract accepting the recent grant of $783 to the Houston Ambulance from the state of Minnesota. The ambulance crew was to be honored at the 13th Annual Heroes & Survivors Banquet in La Crosse on February 12. As of February 1, the crew has responded to 25 calls compared to just 15 the previous year in January. The ambulance training center will be providing EMR refresher training to Houston Ambulance crew members. The center is also partnering with Houston Schools/MNVA; there are 11 EMR and seven EMT students enrolled in the program.