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Council approves 10½ Street North rehabilitation; MnDOT grant covers storm‑sewer upsizing, local assessments under $50,000
Summary
The Moorhead City Council authorized a $1,099,000 full pavement replacement and storm‑sewer upsizing project on 10½ Street North, using a $600,000 MnDOT discretionary grant and keeping homeowner assessments under $50,000 in total.
The Moorhead City Council voted to order improvements and award a bid for street and storm‑sewer rehabilitation on 10½ Street North, a project staff said will replace pavement installed in 1987, upsize an undersized storm pipe and reduce roadway flooding.
Tom, a city staff presenter, told the council the pavement—s Pavement Condition Index was 75 and the water and sanitary mains (installed in 1987) were PVC and in good condition, but a storm‑sewer study conducted with MPCA assistance identified locations where upsizing would reduce street flooding and the risk of stormwater entering sanitary manholes. Because crews will remove more than half the pavement to access the storm line, staff recommended full pavement replacement rather than a mill and overlay.
The project received competitive bidding; the low bids came in near or below estimates and the total project cost, including engineering, testing and a 5% contingency, is $1,099,000. City staff said they secured $600,000 in discretionary MnDOT federal funds to help upsize the storm sewer. Special assessments to property owners total just under $50,000; most individual assessments are $742, while the largest assessment, for the National Guard Armory property that fronts the entire length of the project, is about $20,000.
Tom said the assessment methodology used an adjusted front footage rate and that most properties would pay the mill-and-overlay assessment rate even though the city is doing a full reconstruction because of the storm‑sewer work. He described the funding split as leaving the bulk of costs on the city and grant funds while keeping owner assessments modest.
The council approved ordering the improvements (a seven‑vote resolution required) and simultaneously approved awarding the construction contract (a six‑vote resolution required); staff said construction is planned for this summer with the assessment hearing in the fall.
Why it matters: replacing the storm sewer and pavement reduces flood risk on the street and can lower the frequency of stormwater infiltration into sanitary systems. The combination of federal grant funds and limited assessments reduces direct costs to most property owners.
Quotes in this article come from the city staff presentation (Tom) during the public hearing on 10½ Street North improvements.
