03/21/1995 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 3/21/95 ,~,, was adjacent to the ditch, and in 1993 she and her husband noticed that there was a large erosion on the bank and suspected ft was causing damage the their property as the garage seemed to be shifting. At that time, Mr. Bohlmann agreed there was a potential for disaster. Since that time, they have moved to a home across the street. Based on a letter from Mayor Boyle written in 1993, it was determined that the ditch needed to be covered. This was done on one side of the street. The ditch on the other side of the street is open and looks terrible. The water sometimes becomes stagnant, and the 10 foot drop is a danger to children. She has made many calls about this ditch and personally met with the Mayor. A letter from the Mayor dated, "'Thanks for meeting with me. After your visit, I discussed the situation with our Service Department. We will address the fence problem first and take action. With reject to the ditch, it's costly. The administration will prepare the documentation and legislation will personally be introduced to Council. It is my desire to accomplish all the work by the close of construction season in 1995." The fence has been repaired, but the ditch has not yet been closed in. She talked to City Engineer Deichmann in February and he said everything was a go--the estimate was made for the enclosure of the ditch as well as the repavement of the street. He assured her that it would not be necessary to come before Council to voice concerns about the ditch or the state of the street. Mrs. DiMarino said that she was told by the Engineering Department that, if this project did not get approved by April 1, it was very uailikely to be done this year. She is concerned because the work has been put on hold, and she would just like to see the job finished. Mrs. DiMarino presented the following letter written to Mr. Lind by Susan Sienkiewicz who purchased the former DiMarino home adjacent to the ditch, "The reason I am writing to you is to inform you of the complications that the wet ditch is causing not only to my property but to the neighbors as well. The problem that I am experiencing involves part of my driveway and garage that are leaning and shifting toward the ditch as a result of the erosion. The erosion is also causing broken concrete and unevenness. In addition, the ditch gives an unpleasant odor to the neighborhood and serves as a breeding ground for bugs, mosquitoes, raccoons, rats and all kinds of things like skunks." Mrs. DiMarino reiterated that the ditch needs to be covered and could possibly be the breeding ground for mosquitoes carrying encephalitis. Mayor Boyle replied to Mxs. lJiMarino: 1) The Engineering Department probably did use the date of April 1 for approval because he is just tonight informing Council about the delay to April 15. 2) The administration presented Council with a list of needed capital improvements that included a number of streets needing repair/repavement. No street, inchcdmg Ambour, has been removed from this list. Council cannot make a determination on what capital improvements will be done until they know how much money can be borrowed. Mr. McKay explained that after the administration had prepared the list of streets needing repairs, the Streets & Drainage Committee, the four Ward Council Members and Mr. Bohhnann toured the city to inspect streets and drainage culverts. Their goal was to keep on the list for 1995 any street that had been pro~msed to the residents, and that was done. Later when it became known that the city would not have the ability to borrow sufficient money to do all the capital improvements proposed, the project list was trimmed down to a cost of $4,800,000. Also, it was decided at that time u;;, 7