Boyceville asking for sections of new sidewalk to be torn out and replaced
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
BOYCEVILLE — The Boyceville Village Board at a special meeting Monday afternoon asked the contractor on the Main Street project, Skid Steer Guy, to tear out certain sections of sidewalk and replace them with new concrete.
The sections of concrete are not the main portion of sidewalk, but rather, a darker charcoal gray strip between the sidewalk and the curb running the length of the project on the north side of the street.
The village board met on Main Street September 16 so board members could point out to the contractor what they found to be unacceptable about the job.
Construction on the Main Street project began in the middle of April and included new asphalt, new sidewalk and new street lights as well as matching trash cans, benches and flower planters.
Another layer of asphalt still must still be put down before the project is finished.
Gilbert Krueger, village president, expressed dismay in no uncertain terms about the quality of the workmanship.
Erik Evenson of MSA Professional Services, the engineering company in charge of the project, also attended the meeting.
Krueger asked for Evenson’s opinion about the quality of the work in Boyceville as compared to a similar project in Luck.
“The finished product in Luck looked better, to be completely honest,” Evenson said.
Sections of the charcoal gray “look sloppy,” he said.
“It’s not just us but what everyone (in Boyceville) will think” said Trudie Chernak, village trustee.
“I don’t think people will be happy,” she said.
“Why would they be?” Krueger asked.
“It looks like what you might expect in five to 10 years,” he said.
The dark gray strip “should come up,” said Brad Stevens, village trustee.
“It’s not acceptable,” he said.
Chernak said she was concerned the sidewalk would crack if the dark gray strip were removed and replaced.
Both Evenson and the contractor pointed out that the dark gray strip and the sidewalk are not actually connected, so if the dark gray portion were taken out carefully, the sidewalk should be all right.
“It would seem to me we’re a hard sell,” Kruger said.
“We expected a lot out of this project. The whole town did,” he said.
“They will blame us for going cheap. But nothing is cheap,” Stevens said.
The problem where sections of the charcoal gray strip do not match up was the juncture of a metal form and a wood form, the contractor said.
While the contractor said he would be willing to take out sections of the dark gray strip “where the concrete deviates,” he said he would not be willing to take out the dark gray concrete the entire length of the project.
Crew members would be careful in their work of removing the concrete, the contractor said, adding that he would not want to replace the new curb as well.
The Boyceville Village Board unanimously approved a motion to have the strip torn out and replaced in front of the Boyceville Public Library and in other sections where the concrete does not quite match up and overlaps.
Village trustees Jonathan Farrell, Stevens, Bud Gilbertson, Chernak and Village President Krueger and Lukas Montgomery all voted “yes” on the motion.
Farrell asked who would decide which sections should be torn out and replaced.
“A few of the areas are obvious,” Evenson said.
Farrell said his concern was that the village board be “clear about what is expected.”
Village board members can walk the length of the project and mark the areas to be removed and replaced, Stevens said.
Village board members also discussed where the matching four trash cans, four planters and four benches should be placed along Main Street.