Board of Public Works and Safety approves consent items, permits and grant awards

The Board of Public Works and Safety of Madison City approved a set of routine and project-related items at its Tuesday meeting, including minutes and claims, a sewer-bill adjustment for a private property at 524 East Street, contracts for financial advisory services, traffic-control plans for the Madison–Hanover Connector Trail, codification work by American Legal Publishing and award/packaging of several historic-preservation grants.

The board voted to approve the minutes from the prior meeting and both general and payroll claims as submitted. The board approved a single customer adjustment for a property at 524 East Street, waiving the sewer portion of a bill and approving an adjustment in the amount of $1,363.40 after the owner, Rick Brody, described a water-main leak and exterior repairs.

The board approved an hourly professional-services contract to engage Reedy Financial Group to provide financial and tax analysis to the city outside of redevelopment-commission work. Tony Steinhardt, the city’s director of economic development and deputy mayor, told the board the contract mirrors the redevelopment commission agreement and will be used on an as-needed basis; the city will pay from existing “professional services” line items in the budget.

The board adopted a traffic-control plan submitted by contractor Temple and Temple Excavating for Phase 1 of the Madison–Hanover Connector Trail. The plan includes three traffic-control methods: signalization, flaggers during working hours and a lane-shift plan for certain phases. Construction is expected to begin around late May and last roughly 90 days, with the most disruptive work concentrated into a 3–4 week drainage and wall-construction window along Clifty Hollow Road.

The board approved American Legal Publishing’s codification estimate to update the city code through the end of 2024. The estimate presented to the board included $5,600 for updating 15 printed sets of the code, $375 for larger binders for those sets and a separate online-update option estimated at up to $400, for a combined maximum of approximately $6,375. Staff said the parental-leave provision will be reconciled with the city’s pending human-resources manual and that chapter 35 on city funds will be reviewed administratively before final codification.

Two resolutions permitting temporary parking and street/sidewalk closures were approved. Resolution 2025-2B closes four parking spaces in front of Jamestale Clothing at 108 West Main Street beginning at midnight Friday, Feb. 28, to allow Donut N B to set up a food-truck vending operation; two spaces are to remain available for public use after setup. Resolution 2025-3B grants recurring Saturday street and sidewalk closures for the Madison Farmers Market on listed dates in 2025 (February–December) closing the southbound lane of Broadway from Main to Third Street and portions of the north-side Main Street sidewalk; the market organizers and city staff said they are working on “hardening” barricades and ingress/egress control for safety.

Historic-preservation items: the board approved final disbursement of $4,417.50 for rehabilitation work at 215 East Street. The board also approved six applications to be packaged as the city’s initial submission under the federally funded Paul Bruhn Preservation Grant program. Staff said the city received $325,000 from the National Park Service for the program; the six properties would be packaged and bid together, and National Park Service review and approval are required before work can proceed. Staff cautioned that some projects may require more funds than the program’s per-property cap and that the board will be asked to approve funding changes if bids exceed preliminary estimates.

All motions on these items were approved by the board with aye votes and no recorded oppositions.

Votes at a glance (motions approved): - Approve minutes (mover: Carl Edlund; second: David Carlo; outcome: approved) - Approve general and payroll claims (mover: Mayor; second: David Carlo; outcome: approved) - Approve customer sewer adjustment, 524 East Street, $1,363.40 (mover: Mayor; second: David Carlo; outcome: approved) - Approve professional-services contract with Reedy Financial Group (mover: Carl Edlund; second: Bob Courtney; outcome: approved) - Adopt Temple and Temple Excavating traffic control plan for Madison–Hanover Connector Trail Phase 1 (mover: Mayor; second: Carl Edlund; outcome: approved) - Approve American Legal Publishing codification estimates (included: $5,600 for 15 printed sets; $375 for larger binders; online update up to $400; total max approx. $6,375) (mover: Carl Edlund; second: David Carlo; outcome: approved) - Approve Resolution 2025-2B (Donut N B food truck parking closure, Feb. 28–March 1) (mover: Carl Edlund; second: Bob Courtney; outcome: approved) - Approve Resolution 2025-3B (Madison Farmers Market recurring 2025 street/sidewalk closures on specified Saturdays) (mover: Carl Edlund; second: Bob Courtney; outcome: approved) - Approve final rehabilitation disbursement to 215 East Street: $4,417.50 (mover: Mayor; second: Carl Edlund; outcome: approved) - Approve six Paul Bruhn grant applicants for packaging and bidding (mover: Carl Edlund; second: Bob Courtney; outcome: approved)

The meeting concluded after public-department updates and a public-safety and streets briefing on ongoing winter-weather response and river-level monitoring.