The engineering firm Bolton and Menk shared information about the plans it has formulated for an upcoming $1.6 million improvement project in Geneva during an open house at the community center the evening of Nov. 13.
Geneva hosts downtown improvements open house
Thu, 11/21/2024 - 2:00am
The engineering firm Bolton and Menk shared information about the plans it has formulated for an upcoming $1.6 million improvement project in Geneva during an open house at the community center the evening of Nov. 13. Cory Bienfang shared summary presentations at both 5 and 6 p.m. Also present for the open house were Freeborn County Engineer Philip Wacholz, and a number of city council members and staff.
About $875,000 of the work will be covered by a grant from the Active Transportation Program of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The remainder will be covered by the sale of municipal bonds, and by tapping reserve funds.
The evening’s presentation highlighted work to be done on two blocks of street in the downtown area. Sidewalks and curbs which are currently failing will be replaced with structures that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Parking areas will be better defined, sidewalks will be widened, pedestrian crossings will be improved and made more visible, and stop signs will be positioned for better visibility.
The current schedule for the project calls for bids to be requested in March, opened in April, and the contract to be awarded in May. Construction is expected to begin early in the summer of 2025 and be completed sometime in the fall.
Expected costs for various elements of the $1.6 million include $800,000 for roadway and sidewalk, $150,000 restoration and miscellaneous, $200,000 storm and sewer, $55,000 watermain, $115,000 street lighting, $80,000 contingency, $200,000 engineering, finance and administration, for a total of $1,600,000.
When the project is complete, city residents will find their sidewalks on each side of the street three feet wide and the street a total of six feet narrower. Bienfang assured residents that, during the construction, customers will still have access to all businesses, and when any roads are closed, special accesses will be made available.
When the question-and-answer session began, one Geneva resident asked whether the project would cause property tax increases. Bienfang said the plans call for funding to come from the sale of municipal bonds and the use of specific reserve funds. Another resident asked about the design of streetlights that will be used. Bienfang referred to a poster sized board with a selection of six different streetlights to pick from and said, “That hasn’t been decided yet. That will be up to the city council.” The city council has yet to vote on the matter and no date has been set.