City street projects chosen for this year
The city is in discussion with its fire and police chiefs about the use of about $918,000 of state dollars after last legislative season’s bill that gave cities funding amidst the first-responder hiring crisis. The city initially heard proposals from the two chiefs that included items to help the departments. After hearing the proposal, the council discussed how else the funds could be used, such as financial incentives for officers or firefighters or the hiring of a community service officer.
Some of the items on the priority proposals by the chiefs were items that had already been scheduled for inclusion in this year’s capital improvement plan, or are set to be on the CIP in future years. The use of state funding dollars has the potential to help offset the use of levy dollars, alleviating the burden to taxpayers. But Bain questioned that decision, and asked the council and chiefs to reconsider priorities when it comes to how to spend the money.
“I know [former City Administrator Patrick Casey] had guided the chiefs in this direction … [but] I’m a little concerned this feels a little flat if I’m the public safety person that gets out of bed at 2 in the morning to answer 911 calls,” she said.
In Police Chief Rick Peterson’s proposal, the top three priorities included $100,000 for 30 body-worn cameras, $150,00 for 12 in-car cameras, and $127,000 for 30 upgraded tasers, all of which have an estimated life-span of five years. Both the body-worn and in-car cameras were already budgeted for this year through the CIP.
Fourth on the list of priorities by Peterson was a community service officer, which had been seriously considered in previous budget discussions, but had ultimately been taken out.
Others on the list included pistol optics/night sights, rifle replacements, a speed trailer, weapon locker, and in-house digital fingerprint machine.
With all the items requested, the police department’s dollars requested totaled $570,000.
Fire Chief Al Newman also proposed a total of $437,790 in equipment desired or needed for the fire department, including updating old iPads, a UTV for firefighting in difficult to get to areas, and new hoses, amongst others.
But the discussion continued on what items could be helpful, comparing to using the money on personnel, specifically when it comes to the police force.
“I just feel like there’s a spirit of why these dollars are available and what we’re trying to do, and we can make some investments that are going to change someone’s mind or help impact someone that might have their foot out the door,” Bain said. “This isn’t us fighting over Woodbury or Maple Grove or Blaine, this is fighting for someone who is going to become an electrician. I’m a little conflicted in saying this, because money has a short shelf life … it’s quickly forgotten … but it’s also really impactful, so I don’t want us to just not talk about it.”
During the workshop discussion, the consensus was to move forward with the chiefs’ top three priorities, which equaled about half the funds, and then have a continuing conversation with how to spend the rest of the dollars, which don’t have a time limit on their use.
Road projects selected for the year
The road in front of Tired Iron, Dresel Trucking, and M Health Fairview’s ambulance area will be getting new pavement after the city approved this year’s road improvement projects. It’s one of four projects approved for the construction season, with three alternate projects that could be selected if the four projects come in under budget.
Forest Lake city engineer Ryan Goodman presented the project areas to the council during the Monday, Feb. 12, meeting.
Forest Road, the portion of the road by Tired Iron, will be getting a much-needed upgrade, including a 140-foot stretch of curb and gutter work due to a flat surface with poor drainage. Meanwhile, Ivywood Avenue and the Southview Development – which includes Georgia Avenue, Georgia Circle, Georgia Court, Georgia Place, and Glenbrook Avenue and Court – are also be slated for roadwork this summer.
A small residential road that services residents of seven homes will see the closure of one of its access points to Highway 97. The road shares the name Scandia Trail North with Highway 97 and parallels just north of the main road for a short distance on the southeastern side of Forest Lake’s second lake intersects with Highway 97 at its western juncture and Ideal Avenue to the east. The road is set to be closed off at its western juncture, forcing residents of seven homes to use nearby Ideal Avenue for turning to and from Highway 97. The reconstruction of the road would change the intersection into a small turnaround area at the dead end. The intersection was already slated to be closed via MnDOT at a later time, but due to the scheduling of reconstruction, the city agreed to close the entrance now.
Mayor Mara Bain was supportive of the closure, saying: “If there’s an opportunity to reduce access to 97, which has been problematic in that corridor, now’s the time to do it if we’re going to do it.”
The closure didn’t come without some pushback, however, as one resident was against the closure, noted Goodman. But the council agreed to the closure unanimously, citing safety concerns.
Council member Blake Roberts did acknowledge the “little bit of inconvenience” to the residents, but said, “if I was living there and I had my children trying to turn into there, I’d want more of a controlled access than what’s there currently.”
In addition to the four main projects, three areas are being considered if budget allows. The first is a pavement replacement on 184th Street. The second is to repave the existing pathway and construct a new pathway on Bridlewood Pathway, and the third alternative is a parking lot pavement replacement at the South Shop.
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