Colfax delays Third Avenue financing

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX  —  The Colfax Village Board has delayed financing for the Third Avenue street project until the June 27 meeting to obtain costs for other street work that should be done this year.

The bid amount for Third Avenue is $320,732 from Haas Sons, Inc., out of Thorp, but with contingency, engineering, surveying of the alley and removing trees added in, the cost is $381,132, according to information provided to the Colfax Village Board at the June 13 meeting.

The village board has considered pulverizing Maple Street, Cedar Street and Pine Street, and work also must be done on Iverson Road, said Lynn Niggemann, village administrator-clerk-treasurer.

Iverson Road “has been ongoing and needs to be resolved,” said Mark Halpin, village trustee.

The village board should select the street (Maple, Cedar or Pine) that needs work the most and then televise the sewer main, said Scott Gunnufson, village president.

After the condition of the sewer main on Third Avenue, televising the sewer main before doing any street work would be a good idea, he said.

The Third Avenue project will not start until July, so the village board would have time to approve the financing at the June 27 meeting, Niggemann said.

The village currently has money available to issue the first payment for Third Avenue if necessary, she noted.

Niggemann provided information to the village board on interest rates from Bremer Bank and Dairy State Bank as well as payment amounts for five-year, seven-year and ten-year loans.

Dairy State Bank has quoted interest rates of 1.78 percent for a five-year loan; 2.11 percent for a seven-year loan; and 2.58 percent for a ten-year loan.

Bremer Bank has quoted interest rates of 2.04 percent for a five-year loan; 2.17 percent for a seven-year loan; and 2.28 percent for a ten-year loan.

The Colfax Village Board approved a motion to not include the televising of a street in the Third Avenue financing amount because televising a different street would not be part of the Third Avenue project.

Final numbers for the street work on Iverson Road and pulverizing Maple Street, Cedar Street or Pine Street are expected to be available at the June 27 meeting.

The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved a motion to put the funding for Third Avenue on the agenda for the June 27 meeting.

Other business 

In other business, the Colfax Village Board:

• Approved a bartender operator’s license for Elizabeth De Moe for Kyle’s Market until June 30. Bartender operator’s licenses cover the period from July 1 through June 30.

• Approved a bartender operator’s license for Gary Stene for the Outhouse Tavern until June 30.

• Learned that the Colfax Police Department had responded to 52 complaints and 11 traffic stops in May, including two complaints related to garbage dumping, three juvenile drug complaints and three harassment complaints.

Following a closed session, the Colfax Village Board approved a two percent salary increase for Colfax Police Chief William Anderson.