Merrill St. Bridge project

—Lime Springs looking at $70,000 or more
LIME SPRINGS - Howard County Engineer Nick Rissman attended the Sept. 7 Lime Springs City Council meeting to go over plans for the Merrill Street Bridge and discuss the Howard County Wind Farm Urban Renewal Plan.
He had talked with Brian Malm of Bolton & Menk Engineering, who explained the project.
“We recently did this to a structure of a similar size. Yours would be a 12 ft. x 4 ft. culvert. Ours was 12x5 that was 36 ft. long. Materials cost was over $66,000, with a few more expenses to be figured into it. Your project would be about $70,000, depending on the bids we get.
“On ours, we went for bids in April. They have changed since then. The box itself was $35,000. The Board of Supervisors is willing to do a 10-year zero-interest loan. We would administer the entire project.”
He went on to say the first step is for the City to authorize Bolton & Menk to make a design. “Then we can go out for bids.”
Rissman also stated a 28-E agreement would be signed that if bids came back too high, the City can cancel it.
“We can start work as soon as the box is made — we can work on it. Hopefully it will be one of the first things we do next spring.”
Council gave its blessing to hire Bolton & Menk to make up plans for the work.
 
Wind Farm Urban Renewal Plan
Rissman said 2010 was the first time the county went through the process of forming TIFs (Tax Increment Financing) on the wind farms. This is the third amendment and is in reference to the Saratoga Wind Farm project.
The TIFs allow the county to borrow against the amount of property tax the wind farms will generate over the next 10 years. It has allowed the county to do many projects it would not have been able to without the TIF.
Rissman explained the county has been able to replace or significantly rehab 35 structures that were either fully or mostly paid for with the Windmill TIF.  “The windmill TIFs have been a godsend to us.  I’d hate to imagine what our system would look like without it!” 
The engineer went on to say, “Any time we come within two miles of a town, we need to get an amendment. The Hayden Prairie Road, A-23, was not in the original Urban Renewal Plan. Now it can be added to the projects that can be paid for with TIF.”
He noted the primary purpose of the amendment is to replace A-23 (50th St) and V-26 (James Ave.), the cement road from Chester. “The entire road will be crushed and replaced with eight inches of concrete. He added the paving could cross Highway 63 and continue to Merrill St. It all depends on how expensive all the projects encompassed in the amendment end up being.
The Council agreed to the Urban Renewal Plan.

Cresco Times

Phone: 563-547-3601
Fax: 563-547-4602

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Cresco, IA 52136

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