At the Nov. 12 meeting the Cottage Grove director/engineer gave a bundled report covering several infrastructure updates.

Among the highlights, the director said, “the Verizon service on Water Tower 3 is up and running” and Strand’s climb showed no tower issues. Staff completed a deep clean of the Vilas Lift Station in September and included before/after photos in the packet. The village replaced an 8-inch and a 6-inch hydrant valve on Dentaria; after the valves were turned back on there was a nearby main break, and staff marked both spots for review as part of planned Dentaria reconstruction.

The hydrate barrier system has been down for approximately two months while electrical/transformer and plug-valve issues are resolved; a transformer was installed and staff will continue work to restore the system. The Westlawn lift station startup occurred in October and the village signed off on that work.

On development and construction items, staff said the Heyday Cottage Grove project has nearly all sanitary sewer and water work complete and is expected to finish underground public utilities before year-end, although a storm sewer that did not meet specifications will be reinstalled. The SCADA project across utilities and the village is substantially complete; engineers performed a final walk-through and staff expects a final pay request.

Staff also reported progress on Gaston Road/TT water main looping and the farm interceptor; temporary electrical poles and dewatering are in place and staff awaits north-side electrical hookups to finish dewatering. A commissioner asked staff to ensure compaction of the road shoulder where the farm interceptor excavation occurred; staff agreed to confirm compaction when the area is restored.

Why it matters: The report covers multiple near-term operational and capital items that affect service reliability, construction schedules and near-term pay requests.

What’s next: Staff will continue repairs on the hydrate barrier system, monitor Dentaria for any further breaks as reconstruction approaches, process final SCADA pay requests and return updates on the listed projects.