The Wyoming City Council accepted specifications for city’s 2016 street improvement project and authorized the advertisement for bids for it at the council’s June 21 meeting.
The project includes reconstruction on 245th Street from US-61 to Fallbrook Avenue, and on Fondant Avenue from 245th Street to 250th Street.
City Engineer Mark Erichson reviewed the city’s assessment policy and suggested assessing properties on 250th Street for substantial reconstruction because that segment will be a long-term repair. On Goodview Avenue from 250th to 258th, there are 34 assessable parcels. There are 22 on 250th Street. The estimated cost for repairs for the two streets is about $383,000. If an assessment is used to pay for part of the project, 20 percent is the minimum amount which must be assessed to sell bonds for the project.
Referring to a potential project, Councilwoman Claire Luger said whatever is done, council members “owe it to residents to do it well.” She wanted the assessments for the work in this area to be consistent with other projects citywide. Councilwoman Lisa Iverson favored expanding the assessment policy.
Erichson explained that timing of projects is important. With Goodview Avenue and 250th Street work, assessment hearings would have to be scheduled and advertised. He explained that if the work is completed as a reconstruction project, eligible for state aid funds, the schedule would be rushed to allow for public hearings and other parts of the timeline. It is also a busy time for contractors. It would be a stretch for the work to begin in September.
This discussion, with more defined proposals and further looks at the assessment policy, will be on the agenda in the next two council meetings.
Kennedy Estates
A small parcel has been added to the southwest corner of the Kennedy Estates development. This addition is enough to accommodate three lots. Zoning Administrator Fred Weck summarized the requests for the Kennedy Estates 2nd Addition development. Four agenda items were related to this addition and considered sequentially in action on Tuesday evening.
The first was an application for rezoning the property from the R6 (limited multiple family dwelling) to R4 (one and two family residential dwellings). The council approved the zoning change.
The second variance request was to allow the depth of the proposed Lot 1, Block 1, to exceed the lot width by a more than a 4-1 ratio. The lot is almost double the depth of other lots on that side of Kennedy Estates and the two other lots in Kennedy Estates 2nd Addition. Wetland surrounds most of the front of the building site near the future Frontier Avenue, with the drier area in the far west end of the lot. This variance was also granted by the council.
The third variance request was to allow construction of a new home on Lot 3, Block 1, with a shorter setback from the centerline of Viking Boulevard (CR-22) than the required 135 feet. In October 2015, a similar request was granted for Lot 1, Block 2 of Kennedy Estates. The City Council approved a setback of no closer than 82 feet from the centerline.
Based on the recommendation of the Planning Commission, the final council action was approval of the preliminary plat of the addition, contingent upon some additional engineer recommendations. Council approval was unanimous on all four resolutions.
In other business, the council:
-Learned from Public Safety Director Paul Hoppe of several instances where on-sale and off-sale employees of city businesses failed to check identification of potential customers during the Police Department’s alcohol compliance checks. There are to be future checks at businesses to ensure employees check for underage customers.
– Learned from the Erichson’s report that the concrete column for the water tower is complete at slightly more than 90 feet. Work was set to begin on the concrete supporting platform. Welding of the tank pieces will begin the last week in July.