Colfax approves $33,500 change in Balsam Street project at First Avenue
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Village Board has approved a $33,500 change in the Balsam Street project to replace six-inch water main about 150 feet farther west on First Avenue than originally planned.
If the water main is not replaced now, it will not get replaced, said Mitch Nicols of Ayres Associates.
There are a few other items as well such as several water services north of Balsam Street, changing from curb and gutter to a concrete apron for a driveway, which will make it easier to plow snow, and moving the hydrant that was planned for the southeast corner of Balsam and First to the end of the alley north of First Avenue, he said.
The village board accepted the low bid of $709,592 with Skid Steer Guy LLC in April for the Balsam Street and Oak Street projects.
The majority of the cost is for the Balsam Street portion of the project.
Colfax has been awarded a Municipal Street Improvement Supplemental Program (MSIS) grant, which is a component of the Local Road Improvements Program (LRIP), that will reimburse the village for up to $165,150 of the cost.
The additional water main and other items will cost an estimated $33,500, Nicols said.
The entire cost for the project probably will not be that much more because fewer materials were used in other parts of the project, he said.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved the change to the project for Balsam Street and First Avenue.
Voting in favor were Village President Jeff Prince and Village Trustees Clint Best, Margaret Burcham, Carey Davis, Anne Jenson and Gary Stene.
Village Trustee Jen Rud was absent from the meeting.
Trees
In addition to adding other work to the Balsam Street project, the Balsam and Oak Street projects ran into problems with trees.
Along Balsam Street, contractors were unable to locate a water service, and it ended up being under two pine trees that were actually in the village right-of-way, said Rand Bates, director of public works.
The water main was in the roots of the trees, and taking out the water main would end up cutting the roots of the trees, so Bates said he had called Shackleton Tree Service for assistance.
Shackleton took down the big branches, and public works employees hauled them away, and then Shackleton ground down the rest of the tree stump, he said.
On Oak Street, there were three small trees that had at one time been next to the house that used to be located on the corner of Oak Street and University Avenue next to the Colfax Rural Lutheran Parsonage, Bates said.
It turned out that the sewer line for the parsonage and the sewer line for the previous house were stacked on top of each other, he said.
Shackleton also took down those trees, with public works employees hauling away the branches, and Shackleton grinding down the stump, Bates said.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved paying the invoice from Shackleton Tree Service for $4,000.
Other business
In other business, the Colfax Village Board:
• Approved a long list of bartender operators’ licenses for July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025 (59 licenses all together).
• Approved liquor licenses for the Outhouse Bar, Mark Nelson and Lisa Johnson, agents; Young Active Ventures LLC/Viking Bowl & Lounge, Alicia Young, agent; J&S Sales of Chippewa Falls, LLC/Express Mart, Rondi DeMoe, agent; Kyle’s Market Inc., Kyle Kressin, agent; Synergy Community Cooperative, Charles Brown, agent; Mom’s Restaurant and Pub LLC, Mark Barstad, agent; The Blind Tiger LLC, Nicholas Anderson, agent; A Little Slice of Italy, Anne Jenson, agent.
• Approved tobacco licenses for The Blind Tiger, 512 Main Street; Dolgencorp LLC/Dollar General, 402 Fifth Avenue; J&S Sales of Chippewa Falls/Express Mart, 616 Main Street; Outhouse Bar, 413 Main Street; Kyle’s Market Inc., 115 Main Street; Synergy Cooperative, 401 Railroad Avenue.
• Approved chicken licenses from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, for Pamela Moen, 705 University. Avenue; John and Alycia Dickinson, 605 Iverson Road; JoAnn Mayfield, 204 Viking Drive.
• Approved signatory authorization for Carrie Johnson with Dairy State Bank and authorized a signer change for non-personal accounts of the village with Dairy State Bank.
• Approved a proposal for cleaning, repair and inspection of Well No. 3 in the amount of $22,650 with Municipal Well & Pump. A proposal from CTW Wells and Pumps was slightly more money. Well No. 2 was cleaned repaired and inspected a few years ago after it was hit by lightning, Bates said, noting that the work also has been done on Well No. 1. Both companies do good work, but Municipal “is a touch cheaper,” he said.
