Street project poses traffic difficulties

By MICHELLE MCLEAN
At their regular meeting Monday, Hillsboro city commissioners addressed concerns about the lack of traffic control and the abundance of construction activity on local streets.
The city-wide pavement improvement project is at the height of activity, reported Roger Grimsley, a representative with Advanced Engineering, which is overseeing the work by general contractor Central Specialties.
Grimsley said milling was to be completed Monday with paving set to begin Tuesday. Concrete work should be done by the final week of August, he added.
Additional unplanned work has eaten up about $60,000 of a $190,000 contingency fund. Full-depth pavement repair added $15,000; concrete, $15,000 and work on Caledonia Ave. in front of Our Savior’s Church, $30,000.
Grimsley said the team of city supt. Jim Anderson, city crew member Jon Hams and resident project representative Rebecca Odegaard have kept a “prudent eye” on the contingency fund.
The commission has heard a number of complaints from residents about a lack of traffic control — “road closed” signs, orange caution cones, etc.
Grimsley noted that the contract with Central Specialties provides payment a specific amount for traffic control measures.
If the effort is “halfhearted,” the payment may reflect that, he suggested.
“If they do half the job, we could pay half the amount,” he said.
He noted there was a regular meeting planned with the contractor Tuesday and the issue would be addressed.
In the good news column, Grimsley said infrastructure work in Prairieview, the city’s new 32-lot residential addition, is progressing without a hitch in the city’s southeast corner.
Commissioners also looked ahead to construction scheduled for next summer. ND Hwy. 200 will be rebuilt by the North Dakota Dept. of Transportation at an estimated cost of $3 million.
Commissioners authorized Advanced Engineering to prepare the plans and specifications for the water and sewer work planned as part of the project. Bids for the utilities work will be opened March 28, 2008. The engineering contract with AE2S amounts to $60,000 through the bidding process.
Grimsley told commissioners that the city will not qualify for a Rural Development Grant to help finance the Hwy. 200 work. The city does not carry a high enough debt load to be eligible for the free money. Instead the city will likely tap the state revolving fund for a three-percent 20-year loan as previously planned.
In other business, the commissioners:
n Heard from city supt. Jim Anderson that a new city well was being drilled west of town. The project is expected to cost $47,000.
n Expected to conduct interviews for a new patrol officer the first week of September.
n Discussed what to do about a weed-infested vacant lot on 4th St. SW near the softball complex. Auditor Lesley Connelly will contact the property owner.
n Heard from commission president Kevin Burg that he will be meeting with the N.D. Congressional delegation in Washington D.C. Sept. 24-25 to lobby on behalf of the city in regards to increasing energy costs.
n Agreed to streamline the budget process by having Burg and auditor Connelly go over each department head’s budget proposal prior to the full commission meeting. The aim is to eliminate the need for frequent and lengthy special meetings to hammer out the details of the annual budget.