Kevin Omi, Lakeville’s public works director, told the City Council on Jan. 6 that the department is advancing a preferred layout for the Interstate 35 and County Road 50 interchange and is seeking funding for a project currently estimated at about $50,000,000; if funding is secured, construction could begin in 2028.

The interchange proposal was the headline item in a broader Q4 public works report that reviewed road work, stormwater inspections, utility operations, vegetation management and a new private service‑line grant the council had on the agenda. "This is our Q4 report for public works," Omi said as he opened the presentation.

Why this matters: the interchange, road expansions and service‑line work affect travel, stormwater and water quality for residents across the city. The inventory and replacement schedule for older service lines also affect property owners who may face repairs or be eligible for grants.

Omi said the public works department held a neighborhood open house about the interchange on Dec. 19 with roughly 40 property owners, and the department will submit the finalized alignment to MnDOT for consideration. The presentation included several other capital projects: a 100th/85th Street project (Kenwood Trail to Piava Avenue) that will widen a rural two‑lane section to a four‑lane divided roadway with trails and turn lanes, and a County Road 50 intersection where the county is studying a roundabout for construction this summer.

Street maintenance highlights included a relatively light snow/ice season so far, achievement of street‑sweeping goals and completion of fall pavement patching and culvert inspections. Omi said the city's overall pavement condition index for local and collector streets is between the department’s 70–80 target range. The city added just over 4 miles of new streets to its system in 2024 after developers completed work, and Dodd Boulevard (from Cedar Avenue to Highland Avenue) was turned back to the city for maintenance.

On utilities, Omi reported a roughly 20% drop in water production from 2023 to 2024 and said the department pumped "a little over 2.5 billion gallons" last year. He said the city completed a required lead and copper service‑line inventory by the Oct. 16 deadline and submitted it to the Minnesota Department of Health. The city reported about 23,000 customer service connections in its system. Staff initially identified roughly 26,100 service lines as having an unknown service‑line material and said outreach has reduced that number to roughly 23,100; the inventory also identified six galvanized service lines. Under the schedule Omi described, galvanized lines would be replaced at about 10% per year beginning in 2027 with full completion required by 2037. Omi said the city expects some state grant funding to help offset replacement costs.

Omi also said the wellhead protection plan was approved by public health in October, a step he described as helping reduce contamination risks to the aquifer and providing homeowner education and grant options to cap unused private wells. He pointed to two homeowner grant programs: a Met Council water‑efficiency grant (for irrigation controllers and fixture replacement) and a private sewer service grant on the council agenda that would fund 50% of sewer‑service repairs or rehabilitation for property owners.

Environmental services reported management of more than 100 acres of vegetation, inspections required by the city's MS4 stormwater permit (including 216 ponds and 287 construction site inspections), internal compliance audits and coordination improvements for stormwater review during development. Omi said a community pumpkin‑composting program diverted more than 33,000 pounds of pumpkins from the landfill.

Forestry staff completed a private ash‑tree survey in the summer and mailed letters to 604 property owners identifying visually infected ash trees; the city has worked with about half of those owners on removals and plans follow‑up outreach. Through a partnership with Rainbow Tree Care, residents had injections performed on 1,353 ash trees during the year. Omi said the city received a nearly $340,000 three‑year Department of Natural Resources grant to replace ash trees in public parks; the first year’s work is underway and further removals and replacements are planned over the next two years.

Omi reported that five public electric‑vehicle charging sites are now operational at Heritage Center, City Hall, the Market Street parking lot, the Arts Center and Ames Arena. The city partnered with Carbon Solutions Group, which funded the capital improvements and ongoing operations; users pay fees to charge.

Council members asked questions about the service‑line notices and response rates. Council Member Michelle asked whether property owners had to contact the city; Omi said the letter asked owners to send photos of service lines or contact staff for help identifying materials and that initial outreach generated about 300 responses.

Omi closed by noting the department handled more than 15,000 locate requests in 2024, many tied to new fiber‑optic infrastructure, and that staff had recently hosted plant tours for 360 sixth‑grade students from Lakeville Public Schools.

The presentation concluded with council members thanking Omi and no formal action on the report itself. The private service grant and other items requiring council approval remained listed on the meeting agenda for action.