Colfax refers $350,000 Fourth Ave. project to committee

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX — After reviewing some aspects of the $350,000 proposed Fourth Avenue project, the Colfax Village Board has referred the matter to the streets committee.

Residents of Fourth Avenue should be invited to the committee meeting to give their opinion on the project, said Rick Johnson, village trustee and chair of the streets committee, at the Colfax Village Board’s February 10 meeting.

According to information provided to the village board by Lisa Fleming, an engineer with Ayres Associates, the 2013 estimate for the project was $300,000.

Street construction costs have been increasing over the past six months because of an increase in costs for asphalt and diesel, Fleming said.

The 2013 estimate also did not include $16,000 for sidewalk, she noted.

Here are some of the estimated costs for the Fourth Avenue project:

• $66,000 for water main.

• $49,000 for sanitary sewer.

• $59,000 for storm sewer.

• $17,500 for roadway earthwork and salvaging existing pavement.

• $32,000 for subbase and base course.

• $56,000 for asphalt.

• $16,000 for curb and gutter.

• $5,500 for driveways.

• $16,000 for sidewalks.

• $4,000 for restoration.

• $7,500 for removing existing curb and gutter and existing concrete.

Estimates for the Fourth Avenue project also include $32,000 for contingency.

A meeting of the Colfax Village Board’s streets committee is scheduled for February 19 at 6 p.m. at the village hall.

Sidewalks

Village Trustee Mark Halpin, who chaired the February 10 meeting in the absence of Village President Scott Gunnufson, reminded village residents to work on clearing their sidewalks, especially as winter moves into the freeze/thaw cycle of late winter and early spring.

“It is supposed to be warming up soon, so this would be a great time to get some of those sidewalks clear that are not in the best of condition, and there’s plenty of them around,” Halpin said.

The village’s ordinance refers to both residential and commercial properties.

Accumulated snow and ice should be removed from residential sidewalks with 24 hours after it has stopped snowing.

Snow and ice on commercial property sidewalks should be removed by 10 a.m., unless snow continues to fall, then the snow and ice must be removed within three hours of daylight after the snow has stopped.

If snow and ice are impossible to remove from both residential and commercial sidewalks, property owners must keep the sidewalk sprinkled with sand, ice removal compound or salt.

The ordinance also allows commercial properties to sprinkle their sidewalks with ashes or sawdust.

“We have a lot of sidewalks where people have tried to clear them and keep running the snow blower over them. But it is supposed to warm up, so maybe a little sand or salt will help,” Halpin noted.

Other business

In other business, the Colfax Village Board:

• Approved a bartender operator’s license for Julie Brown from February 10 to June 30, 2014.

• Approved a kennel license for JoAnn Mayfield from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014.

• Learned that the Colfax Rescue Squad had gone out on 29 runs in January, including nine calls to the Village of Colfax; six calls to the Town of Colfax; four calls to the Town of Elk Mound; two calls to the Village of Wheeler; two calls to the Town of Sand Creek; two calls to the City of Menomonie; one call to the Town of Grant; one call to the Town of Otter Creek.

• Reviewed applications for police chief during a closed session. The village board set a date of March 1 to interview candidates and will be reviewing the final candidates after the next meeting on February 24.