Water main break leads Menomonie mayor to declare state of emergency
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
MENOMONIE — A break in a 12-inch water main on ConAgra property in the City of Menomonie February 24 prompted Mayor Randy Knaack to immediately declare a state of emergency.
The emergency declaration was necessary to start repairing the water main break before obtaining approval of the cost from the Menomonie City Council, said Eric Atkinson, city administrator, at the Menomonie City Council’s March 3 meeting.
The water main break dumped between 500,000 and 600,000 gallons in an hour, said Mike Jax of ConAgra.
One part of the ConAgra plant where there was no equipment impacted had between six and seven feet of water, while another part of the plant had a couple of inches, he said, noting that flood doors installed because of proximity to the Red Cedar River were helpful.
All together, about 300 people were out of work for a week, Jax said.
The repair “went as smooth as it could,” he said.
The 12-inch water main is owned by the city but is located on ConAgra property, said David Schofield, director of public works.
The 12-inch water main is the main line to north and south Menomonie, and eventually it goes under the river. It is an odd situation for a water main to be on private property, he said.
According to the mayor’s executive order, the water main exists in the vacated section of Third Avenue West between Fourth Street West and River Road.
The water main broke at a little before 6 a.m. February 24.
The emergency declaration notes that the director of public works, the water superintendent and the city engineer proposed a two-part repair project: Phase I wold install several gate valves to allow isolation of a smaller section of the water main and restore water service to ConAgra. Phase II would replace the broken section of water main.
The break resulted in a draining down of the water tower, and there was some “brown water” for a while, Mayor Knaack said.
If the water tower had drained completely, then there would have been a mandatory boil order, he said.
One city council member asked if there was a way to inspect water mains.
A probe can be used to check the thickness of the pipe, Schofield said.
In this case, the water main break was likely due to frost damage, he said.
Movement in the ground because of the frost likely cleaved
Emergency
Please
see
page
8
Continued
from
page
1
the pipe, Schofield said.
The City of Menomonie contacted Haas Sons Inc. to repair the water main.
An invoice included in the city council packet indicates the proposed total for the repair was $44,319.20.
The Menomonie City Council unanimously approved resolution No. 2025-02, ConAgra water main repair emergency declaration, to acknowledge the mayor’s executive order declaring an emergency on February 24.
Point Comfort
In additional business March 3, the Menomonie City Council awarded the low bid of $653,419.98 to Pember Companies Inc. for the Point Comfort boat launch and lift station replacement.
There are two parts to the project: replacing the boat launch and parking lot, for which a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has been obtained to cover part of the cost, and replacing the lift station on the north side of the parking lot, Schofield said.
The existing lift station uses compressed air, and the air compressor has been below grade for 35 years. The system is so old that certain replacement parts cannot be found, Schofield said.
While the parking lot is being replaced is a good time to replace the lift station, he said.
The low bid was from Pember Companies, while the highest bid was $1.1 million, said Kevin Oium of Cedar Corporation.
The engineer’s estimate was $736,940, so the bid from Pember Companies is lower than the estimate, he said.
The existing lift station was installed sometime in the 1960s or 1970s, Oium said.
The existing lift station is built of steel and is under water, and the new lift station will be concrete, he said, noting that “you don’t see those anymore made out of steel.”
The Menomonie City Council unanimously approved awarding the low bid to Pember Companies.
The bid analysis from Cedar Corporation points out that Menomonie was awarded an Outdoor Recreation Aids Grant from the DNR for the Point Comfort boat launch project, which pays for 45 percent of the total project cost, amounting to $164,800 in state aid to the city.
Other business
In other business, the Menomonie City Council:
• Approve a two-year contract with Carrico Aquatic Resources for water treatment chemicals at Wakanda Waterpark in the amount of $38,600. The amount covers all chemicals. The City of Menomonie began offering free diapers for children at the swimming pool last year. The city spent several hundred dollars on diapers. One incident in the pool in 2023 ended up costing much more than a few hundred dollars for chemicals to treat the pool.
• Approved a renewal lease with ReforMedicine S.C. for space in the Menomonie City Hall at 800 Wilson Avenue for a 60 month period from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2030, in the amount of $25,182 per year or $2,098.50 per month. The base rent will increase annually on the anniversary date of the agreement in an amount equal to the percentage provided by the inflation rate published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the month prior to the anniversary date. The lease also includes an additional annual charge of $11,891.50 for common area maintenance, or $990.96 per month.
• Approved a renewal lease with the Community Foundation of Dunn County, Inc. for space in the Menomonie City Hall from March 1, 2025, to February 28, 2030, in the amount of $13,419 per year or $1,118.35 per month. The base rent will increase annually on the anniversary date of the agreement in an amount equal to the percentage provided by the inflation rate published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the month prior to the anniversary date. In addition to the base rent, the agreement includes $6,336.75 per year or $528.06 per month for common area maintenance.
• Approved leasing 15 acres of city-owned farmland on Stokke Parkway to Chippewa Valley Technical College in the amount of $55 per acre for a total amount of $825 per year. The lease is for 10 years. If the city terminates the lease, the city will reimburse seed and fertilizer costs for that particular year.
• Approved a fund balance policy for the City of Menomonie that if the unassigned general fund balance exceeds the minimum unassigned General Fund Balance policy of 15 percent and reaches 20 percent, the excess balance may be used to fund one-time items; can be transferred to capital projects to fund additional projects; can be used to reduce future borrowing; can be used to provide temporary advances to Tax Increment Finance Districts. The excess fund balance will not be used to fund ongoing operational costs.
• Authorized city administrators to work with Ehlers Inc., the city’s financial consultant, on funding options for the recommended 2025-2026 capital improvement projects in the amount of $2,657,300. Capital improvement projects are included under information technology, the police department, the fire department, community services, the public library, the water utility, the wastewater utility and city hall.
• Approved appointing Naomi Cummings to the urban forestry board. Cummings earned a degree from UW-Stout in non-profit management in 2010 and was the executive director of the Bridge to Hope until she retired in 2022. She served as the food coordination for Thursday’s Table for a year after that. She has extensive perennial flower beds at home along with fruit trees and berries.
