Council approves municipal state-aid advance and no-parking zone on East Seventh to meet state review requirements

Consultants from Widseth told the Morris City Council Jan. 28 that the city needs to pass a resolution to advance municipal state-aid funds and to adopt a no-parking designation on part of East Seventh Street so planned roadway plans meet state-aid standards.

Brian Baia, a civil engineer with Widseth, told council the city’s state-aid account currently showed $835,691.36 and that the estimated state-aid portion of the project is $1,548,000. To meet that estimated need the council was asked to resolve to advance $712,308.64 from future state-aid allocations; the resolution signals intent to advance funds but does not transmit dollars until requested. Baia said most Minnesota cities advance several years of state-aid when matching a large federal-aid project and that the city’s annual state-aid amount is roughly in the low $200,000s.

As part of the same state-aid review, Widseth staff explained that the eastern 1,500 feet of the project corridor—between the wetland west of John Riley Construction and Highway 59—was classified as commercial and therefore needs wider parking lanes. With the proposed curb-to-curb width, the plan does not meet the state standard unless parking is prohibited on one side; the consultant recommended designating the north side of East Seventh Street in that segment as no-parking and keeping parking on the south side adjacent to John Riley Construction. Council adopted a resolution approving the no-parking restrictions.

What the council did: Council voted to approve a resolution authorizing the municipal state-aid advance for the 2025 street project and a resolution designating the north side of East Seventh Street as no parking for the commercial segment. Both measures were presented by staff/consultants and passed by roll call; no amendments to the resolutions were introduced at the meeting.

Context and next steps: Widseth said the $562,308.64 figure shown in draft materials needed correction to $712,308.64 when contingency was included and that the city will submit revised paperwork. Staff also advised council that advancing state-aid is a common step when matching large federal-aid projects and that the city will later request the advanced funds at the time of project payables. The parking resolution is a small plan revision intended to meet state-aid plan review so state reviewers will accept the project drawings.

No construction work or funding transfers occurred at the meeting itself; the resolutions set the legal and planning framework for subsequent design and funding steps.