The city will start three street improvement projects after approving bids at a special Monday City Council meeting.
The projects have been bid before, but bids had come in higher than expected. The city again requested bids in April, and prices in most areas had dropped.
The three projects include:
" utility, drainage and street improvements on Colfax and Dayton avenues and Fifth and Fourth streets southeast.
This project was estimated in February to cost $956,500, but the April 19 bid brought the cost to $827,000.
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At a February hearing, property owners said they did not want the project because of the cost.
City Council members, however, said the project was necessary and that they could no longer do piecemeal projects, a position they again stated on Monday.
With the April 19 bids, assessed costs to property owners had also dropped. For example, a 25-foot lot on Fourth Street is estimated to cost $1,713.75, lower than the February estimate of $2,593.75.
Assessments on a 100-foot residential lot of Fifth Street were estimated to cost $18,416. April 19 bids estimated the assessment at $12,781.
" utility and street improvements on Folkestad East, an area that is being developed. This project was expected in February to cost a total of $385,000 but was bid at $382,000. The citys share of the construction was estimated in February to cost $74,000, but because of the increase on the storm sewer bid, the city share has increased to $83,500. The cost per foot to be assessed to the lots decreased from $74.17 to $62.96 per foot for street construction and from $58.77 to $56.15 per foot for water main. The cost per foot for sanitary sewer increased from $51.04 to $53.73.
" sanitary sewer, water main and street improvements on Franklin Drive, Garfield Avenue between alley west and east of Third Avenue southwest and Third Street southwest (west side) Garfield Avenue to Franklin Avenue.
This project was estimated in February to cost $336,000, but bids came in at $295,000. This lowered the overall cost to the homeowner. For example, the assessed cost for a 50-foot lot was estimated in February to cost $5,083. With the recent bid, the cost is expected to be $4,550. The lower bids also will lower the citys share from a projected $67,200 to $59,000 based on the April 19 bids.
