One Fairmont City Council member cast a no vote on Monday against the 2019 street improvement program to protest the omission of Lake Avenue from the list of roadways scheduled for repairs. I just want to say I’m disappointed we are not doing Lake Avenue. In my opinion, that is a higher priority than Lynn Street,” Randy Lubenow said.
At previous council meetings, the Ward 2 councilor has pushed for the repair of the western part of Lake Avenue to the fairgrounds road, citing its need to be in good condition as an entrance to the city.
Troy Nemmers, City Engineer/Public Works Director, said that streets are evaluated every improvement cycle, which is every other year. The 2019 projects will focus on 5.3 miles at a cost of almost $6 million. Nemmers said. the Lynn Street project is estimated at $155,000 while redoing the western portion of Lake Avenue could cost about six times that amount. The two most expensive projects are reconstruction of Winnebago Avenue from Highway 15 east to the gravel and Lake Avenue from Fourth Street to Downtown Plaza, a project budgeted for this year with construction in 2020.
Improvements fall into four categories: reconstruction of street and underground infrastructure, assessed at $80 per foot with an actual construction cost of up to $1,400 per foot; resurfacing only the road surface, assessed at $54 per foot with an actual cost of $350 per foot; overlays as a short-term fix by putting a 2-inch layer of asphalt to improve ride, assessed at $32 per foot with an actual cost of $150 per foot; and seal coating, a short-term fix to extend the life of an asphalt surface, assessed at the actual cost of $2.50 per foot.
The council also set public hearings concerning the expansion of Lakeview Methodist Health Care Center for 5:30 p.m. April 8. The hearings will cover the rezoning of a parcel of land from single family residential (R-1) to multiple family residential (R-3) and approval of the final plat of the Lakeview addition and the mayor’s request to appoint Jon Omvig and Liz Wheeler to the Fairmont Planning Commission.
The council approved an event permit for the Borderline Cruisers Car Club to barricade several downtown streets for their car show on June 8 and an event permit for the Martin County Library to provide “Songs at Sylvania,” summer concerts and family activities on June 13 and June 20 at Sylvania Park.
The Fairmont City Council approved a taxi license on Monday for Blue Earth Taxi to operate three vehicles in the city. All the vehicles have passed inspection, and a background investigation has been conducted. Blue Earth Taxi currently is licensed in the cities of Mankato and North Mankato.