Colfax proceeding with application for Railroad Avenue 80/20 grant
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Village of Colfax is preparing to apply for a Surface Transportation Program (STP) grant that would cover 80 percent of the $1.1 million cost of reconstructing Railroad Avenue.
The grant application is due June 3, and updated numbers are needed yet from Gareth Shambeau, said Lynn Niggemann, village administrator-clerk-treasurer, at the April 11 meeting of the Colfax Village Board.
Shambeau is a civil engineer with Ayres Associates who has been working with the village on street projects.
The STP grant is federal money administered through the state of Wisconsin, and the projects that are awarded through the grant program are WisDOT projects, meaning that the DOT advertises for bids, awards the bids and oversees the projects.
As part of the STP grant process, Niggemann must apply for the grant for the village instead of Ayres Associates submitting the grant application.
Colfax’s five-year capital improvement plan for streets lists Railroad Avenue from Pine Street to county Highway M at an estimated cost of $1,113,000 and includes 3,500 feet of street and curb, sidewalk reconstruction from Pine Street to Balsam Street (north side of the road) and new storm sewer at the intersections west of the river, 30-inch mainline, and no storm sewer east of the river (ditch or infiltration).
At a previous village board meeting, Gary Stene, village trustee, asked if other street surfacing projects could be combined with a Railroad Avenue project.
The Surface Transportation Program pertains to resurfacing streets that do not have sewer and water lines.
Niggemann said from what she has been able to determine, other streets probably would not qualify.
Railroad Avenue and state Highway 40 qualify according to maps available at the Eau Claire WisDOT office, she said.
Balsam Street
Balsam Street is listed on the village’s five-year capital improvement program for streets as requiring the street to be milled and overlay applied.
Could Dunn County grind Balsam and do the overlay, and if so, when could the county do it? Stene asked.
Dunn County highway crews would work on Balsam Street when they have time, said Rand Bates, director of public works.
Colfax can obtain an estimate for crushing from any paving company, noted Jody Albricht, village president.
The cost for milling 347 feet of Balsam Street and applying an overlay is listed at $32,000 on the five-year capital improvement plan, while 108 feet of Balsam Street is listed at $17,000, and 205 feet of Balsam Street is listed at $19,000.
Stene asked why 108 feet of Balsam was listed at $17,000, but another 100 feet of street was only $2,000 more at $19,000.
The numbers are “guesstimates” from Ayres, and some sections have curb and gutter and some do not, Bates explained.
2026
The funds from an STP grant would have to be used by 2026. The application is due June 3, and a cost analysis is needed yet as well, Niggemann said.
Would street construction for Railroad be before or after the Colfax Free Fair? asked Anne Jenson, village trustee.
Construction could be done either before or after the fair and would be specified by the contract, Niggemann said.
At a previous village board meeting, Jenson had suggested a walking path and/or bike path would be beneficial for a Railroad Avenue street project since many people use the road for walking or biking.
Niggemann and Shambeau had said they thought the right-of-way was not wide enough for a path, especially with railroad right-of-way on the south side.
At the April 11 meeting, Jenson said she had received a question about whether a painted line for a walking lane/bike lane could be added to the project.
The road is still too narrow for a bike lane, Niggemann said.
Stene asked about obtaining a financial report from Ehlers Inc. to see how the Railroad Avenue project would fit in with the village’s finances.
Niggemann said she would be requesting an analysis for Dunn Street soon, and Railroad could be included as part of the analysis.
Lagoon project
Bates reported that he had met with the contractor on the previous Monday for the lagoon bank stabilization project on the Red Cedar River, and that on Wednesday, the project area had been surveyed with cross sections shot on the river and that two more elevations were needed on land.
Boring for the project could start next week, and construction on the road can start when the road bans go off, Bates said.
The driller had originally said boring would start the end of April, but the plans are now to start next week, he said.
Rand has been communicating with the contractors that it is important to stay on schedule with the project, Niggemann said.
If equipment is moved on site, that can be considered the start of construction to meet the grant deadline, Bates said.
Bids for the lagoon project came in at $2.28 million. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is paying 65 percent of the cost and the village is paying 35 percent of the cost.
In 2019, Colfax was awarded $592,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to cover the village’s 35 percent of the project.
The original estimate for the project was $1.6 million, but with the bids coming in much higher, instead of Colfax paying $35,000 to $40,000, the village is now expected to pay an additional $540,000.
Other business
In other business, the Colfax Village Board:
• Approved a temporary Class “B” / Class B retailer’s license for the Colfax Softball Association from May 1, 2022, to October 31, 2022.
• Renewed the street use permit for Cedar Street for Timber Technologies.
• Agreed that Jen Rud should do the Board of Review training for 2022.