Colfax accepts bid of $7,794 for Railroad Ave. patching
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Village Board has accepted the last of five bids from Senn Blacktop in the amount of $7,794 for West Railroad Avenue.
The village board accepted four other bids for patching from Senn Blacktop at the August 28 meeting but held off on the fifth bid because of questions about whether the village would be delivering, installing and compacting base coarse at the proper grade, as was stated on the bid.
At the August 28 meeting, Rand Bates, director of public works, said Colfax does not have the equipment to be delivering, installing and compacting base coarse and has never done that kind of work.
At the September 11 Colfax Village Board meeting, Bates said the section on delivering, installing and compacting the base coarse had been crossed off the bid.
Bates also said he had discovered the village has done that kind of work in the past, although that was before Bates started his employment with the village 10 years ago.
The areas to be patched include 2,134 square feet of East Railroad Avenue at Fairview Street (22 feet by 97 feet); 3,520 square feet of East Railroad Avenue west of county Highway M (32 feet by 110 feet); 2,175 square feet of Amble Street at High Street (15 feet by 145 feet); 468 square feet north of the Colfax school district’s bus garage (27 feet by 18 feet); and 2,134 square feet of West Railroad Avenue (22 feet by 97 feet).
The Senn Blacktop bid included $5,225.60 for East Railroad at Fairview; $10,380 for East Railroad west of Highway M; $6,667.25 for Amble Street; $2,610 for the bus garage; and $7,794 for West Railroad for a total low bid of $32,676.85.
At the August 28 meeting, Gary Stene, village trustee, also said that the village had never delivered, installed and compacted base coarse in the past.
“I was wrong,” Stene said at the September 11 meeting, adding that he wanted the Colfax Messenger to report he had been wrong.
“Don (Logslett) wised me up. We have done that in the past,” he said.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved the bid of $7,794 to patch 2,134 square feet of West Railroad Avenue.
In addition to Stene, voting in favor of the motion were Jeff Prince, village president, and village trustees Clint Best, Margaret Burcham, Carey Davis, Anne Jenson and Jen Rud.
Xcel Energy
Additional construction in the East View residential development is moving along, so the next step is the extension of electrical service for Lots 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
The existing electrical service ends at Fourth Avenue, Bates said.
Anyone who builds beyond Lot 12 in the future will receive a rebate, he said.
The single family houses on Dunn Street are planned to be built this year, Bates said.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved the electrical extension for $3,000.
Rail safety
In additional business, the Colfax Village Board approved a proclamation for National Rail Safety Week September 18 to September 24.
According to the proclamation, 2,194 rail grade crossing collisions resulted in 803 personal injuries and 274 fatalities in the United States in 2022.
In addition, 1,208 pedestrian trespassing casualties occurred in the United States, resulting in 658 pedestrians being killed and another 550 injured while trespassing on railroad rights-of-way in 2022, the proclamation states.
The proclamation emphasizes that railroad rights-of-way are private property.
The proclamation also states that “enhancing public awareness of the dangers associated with highway rail grade crossings, ensuring pedestrians and motorists are looking and listening while near railways, and obeying established traffic laws will reduce the number of avoidable fatalities and injuries caused by incidents involving trains and citizens.”
Corrected dates
Although the village board had approved training requests for public works employee Brett Sajdera at the August 28 meeting, the village board approved the training requests again at the September 11 meeting, this time with the correct dates.
Basic General Wastewater, an on-line course, will be October 16 through October 20.
Ground Water Supply and Distribution classes will be at Chippewa Valley Technical College in Chippewa Falls September 26 to September 28, October 3 to October 5, and October 9 will be a refresher course.