Extenting Utilities

Sherburne County has a schedule for upgrades and replacements of the county highway infrastructure. They have a long range plan and also a 5 year plan. They budget on an annual basis and schedule projects throughout the county based on needs. Next year they have scheduled two projects for Becker. One is a mil and overlay of asphalt on Sherburne Avenue from Highway 10 to Co. Rd. 16. The other is a reconstruction of Co. Rd. 67 starting at Co. Rd. 24.

With a reconstruction of a roadway the city has an opportunity to install utilities of water and sewer while the roadway is dug up. This saves the costs of rebuilding the road at a future time, if utilities were installed later. Doing so is important not only from the standpoint of costs savings but also in the context of this area being our growth corridor. Making the installation of utilities at this time gets us ahead of the curve providing a proactive approach.

In working through this the county has been great to deal with. We have good cooperation and through our joint efforts will see a project that works for both parties. The process includes the county setting grades and designing the roadway and drainage. The city designs the water and sewer installation and makes that information available to the county for a joint bid, which will probably take place in February of 2009. The city provides for inspection of the pipe work and the county provides for inspection of the roadwork. We pay our costs associated with the contract to the county who administrates the contract.

In addition to the pipe work the city will also be looking at an additional well and well house to be located towards the north end of the project. Installing another well should get the city positioned ahead of the needs of the residents and their demands for water. This will reduce our heavy dependence on just a couple of wells. Addressing the water issue should give us breathing room to meet present and future needs.

Looking at all this from a financial perspective is where we start to grown a bit. Having the utilities installed in our growth corridor gets us ahead of the game but the needs for growth have certainly cooled in the last couple of years. The city is fortunate that we have adequate resources to accomplish these tasks due to planning and anticipating these needs. Opportunities now exist to work together and accomplish the right thing, a joint project. However it may not seem apparent to accomplish them at this time as the times of change are moving slowly.

In looking at this two things come to mind. With the timing of the roadway project we would be considered foolish to not take advantage of the opportunity to install utilities. The well as an additional water supply is also hugely important to the residents of the city. Yes, doing all of this is costly but planning for our future from an infrastructure and fiscal standpoint addresses the responsibility of managing the affairs of the city and continues services to our residents.

Hope for Another Time

A good number of years ago the city and NSP had started discussions about the possibility of a trail through NSP’s buffer property south of Sherco and north of the Mississippi River. The idea was pursued and floundered and raised again and met a number of setbacks, mostly due to funding. A couple of years ago Senator Wergin championed the cause and got a portion of the funding approved from the State on Minnesota in the bonding bill. That funding was too provide 50% of the costs and the city and county were also to kick in 25% each to fund the project.

With funding in hand we had high hopes to be able to accomplish the project providing for a trail in almost untouched property owned by Xcel to be available to hikers and bikers. The trail consisted of 2 parking areas and with both paved and dirt trails. This all provided an opportunity for all types of users to enjoy nature and the vistas available on the trail that was to be created. We had, along the way, also assembled a number of supportive groups. Habitat restoration was worked on as well as the elimination of invasive plant species. The National Park Service was also helpful in coordinating efforts along the way.

The final step before construction was the need to negotiate an easement that was acceptable the city, county, the State of Minnesota and Xcel. Working through the easement agreement was difficult for the city and county but became very difficult for Xcel and the State of Minnesota. The use of “Bonding” funds from the state requires a higher standard of ownership than perhaps a DNR trail grants program would require. Xcel also wanted a higher standard of ownership with a reverter clause which would allow them to get the easement back if there was a “business” concern that prompted the need for the property.

It is with great sadness I state that the parties could not agree on a solution that was workable and the project has now been declared off the table and essentially dead. The state has withdrawn the funds from this project to be applied to another worthily cause.

Working through these issues was a good deal of talented people who all need recognition but three stand out in my mind. These include Dave Heberling of NSP who started with the idea. Kelli Neu, of my staff, worked diligently on the project with countless meetings and activity. She really took the lion’s share of the project under her wing. Finally, Randy Thoreson, from the National Park Service, who was able to leverage interested parties as well as enthusiasm in making the final push a reality towards funding. In the end we had many, many people who participated, perhaps numbering in the mid 20’s, all interested in the project. All of them deserve credit for the contributions.

Perhaps at another time this could be raised again as I believe those that contributed had a great deal of hope for what was to come. I also feel that this hope continues.