By Jenny Kirk The Slayton City Council spent considerable time discussing unfinished business at its Monday, Aug. 21 meeting at City Hall.
DGR Engineering’s Scott Lavoy presented a feasibility report on the Maple Avenue Project, which involves a proposed surfacing improvement from 22nd Street and 28th Street. He explained that the pavement overall, using a PASER rating of 1-10, scored a 3, which indicates that the pavement is in poor condition with structural improvements required — at minimum, a mill and structural overlay of 2 inches or more is recommended. The feasibility report also included several different alternatives. The mill and bituminous overlay was estimated to have a life expectancy of 15 years and cost $732,000. Option 2 is a partial reconstruction (10 ton bituminous street/ asphalt) with a life expectancy of 25 years and costing $1.5
million. The third option (10 ton concrete street) has a life expectancy of 35 years and costs $1.8 million. “Mill and overlay had the lowest an-and overlay and forego the sidewalks for now. Lavoy will make the changes and bring the feasibility report back for the council to adopt at its next meeting.
The council also discussed unfinished business regarding drainage improvement for a 24th Street alley. Lavoy and City Works Director Weston Mahon explained that grading was done so that water drains from a residential property out to the alley and into the ditch, eventually draining into a catch basin and out of the area. They said it obviously wasn’t a million dollar solution and probably isn’t going to help for a 6-inch rain but that this should be much improved. The council approved a motion to maintain the alley at the current elevation and specifically noted that there would not be any additional alley/ditch work done in the future except for the maintenance.
In new business, Mahon shared that he’s looking for ways to improve the sanitary sewer system and that one way could be to limit sludge in the lagoons. “It can build up over time and can affect your hydraulic capacity,” he said. A one-year bio-dredge treatment program estimate of $4,325 from Team Lab was presented to the council, as was a $920 amount for Shady Blue, which helps with algae control. After a short discussion, the council decided to wait to make a decision until results were back from the sludge testing currently taking place.
The council voted in favor of purchasing a new water treatment plant airwash blower in the amount of $15,500. “The old one is not doing what it’s supposed to do,” Mahon said. “It’s supposed to produce enough air to suspend the sand and stuff. The airwash is above the rock. It’s a pretty critical part of the equation.” It was noted that it was time to upgrade since the current piece of equipment was from 1989. “It’s the original equipment,” Mayor Miron Carney said.
The council also approved a motion to allow City Administrator Josh Malchow to mail residents notification letters regarding the potential Lundblad Parcel Solar Garden. Malchow said the land being considered is just outside city limits but borders existing city residential areas on three sides and that he feels those residents should not have to be neighbors to a solar facility that would contribute nothing to the community in regards to tax revenue.
As an addition to the agenda, the council discussed the potential haying of the Lake Elsie area, noting that there have been complaints in the past about thistles. As a result of the complaints, the area has been burned a couple times and hayed once. Council members questioned whether the land could be sold or not and whether noxious weeds could be sprayed or just spot treated. Eventually, it was decided that the land should be hayed again to help control the thistles and other weeds.
The next meeting is slated for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at City Hall.
