During a public hearing Monday, September 21, Slayton residents were invited to voice concerns to the Slayton City Council over the 34th Street improvement project, and quite a few showed up to do so.
According to Slayton City Administrator Josh Malchow, the designs for the improvements are about 30 percent complete, and notifications sent to 34th Street residents regarding assessments were what he called “a worst case scenario,” showing a 45 percent cost share for those residents.
“It’s like the preliminary levy,” he explained. “It can’t go up, it can only go down.”
Scope of the project includes full reconstruction of 34th Street from Juniper Avenue to 160th Avenue. The city of Slayton received a $2 million state grant from Minnesota’s enacted capital- investment program to fund the reconstruction.
The project budget has to stay in the $2.7 million range, Malchow said.
Concerns from residents at the meeting were varied, but the biggest was about the assessed cost. The council was forthright in the fact that they do not yet have a solid answer to the concerns because the designs are not complete. One factor that will affect the cost is whether the project moves forward with concrete or bituminous.
According to DGR Engineering representative Scott LaVoy, he’s not seeing a concrete design alternative that comes in under $3 million.
“I think that alone takes it off the table,” commented Slayton Mayor Miron Carney. Two of the councilors said they would still like to see the numbers and details of the concrete designs so they would know they were making the most educated decision.
Another big concern for residents, the city and the engineering firm is access to the homes on 34th Street. A plan is still being formulated.
“Maintaining access is going to be difficult,” LaVoy said. “Especially on the south side of the road. We’re going into this with our eyes wide open – traffic control is going to be a challenge.”
Questions were asked about funding sources, to which Malchow responded.
“We can’t assess the township and can’t use other state funds,” he said. “Our funding sources are the general fund, bonding money and the special assessment.”
LaVoy assured people at the meeting that the speed limit would remain 30 miles per hour. He also stated the roadway was bound by state aid design guides to have 4 foot shoulders on both sides, with two 12 foot lanes.
There will be an open house before bids go out so the city can answer whatever questions remain. While no date has been set for that event, Malchow said the timeline includes final designs by late fall, bidding over the winter and construction starting in the spring as soon as weather conditions allow.
The council and Malchow welcomed each question and answered them to the best of their ability, stating they appreciated the discussion.
“We appreciate your input,” Carney stated. “We want to continue making this a better community.”
In other business, the Slayton City Council heard an end-ofyear report from Krista Gillette regarding Slaytona Beach, the city’s municipal pool. She reminded the council that July was a hot month and they had a record number of patrons because of the temperatures.
Attendance for the year was just shy of 9,000, with five private parties. Between attendance, swim lessons and water aerobics, about 10,270 people used the pool this summer.
According to Malchow, revenues at the pool were up this year, even though there were fewer swim lesson participants and private parties.
The city also approved a purchase agreement with Doug Rupp for a portion of the old Murray County Highway Department property Rupp recently purchased from the county.
The city will pay $288,890 for the property, with $38,000 being retained until completion of improvements to be made by the seller.
