Hortonville trustees debate Main Street 90% designs, rapid‑flasher crosswalks and construction timing

The Village of Hortonville board reviewed 90% engineering designs for Main Street, focusing on pedestrian safety, construction phasing and potential impacts on trees and downtown business access.

Staff and engineering representatives walked trustees through design details and responded to trustee questions. A central question was placement of rectangular rapid‑flashing beacons: designs cannot pair those flashing beacons with stop signs at the same location under the guidance cited by staff, so the team considered alternate locations. Staff identified three candidate locations: Pine Street (where crossing activity is already high), a crossing by the bridge adjacent to the fishing pier on Nash Street, and an east‑side Main Street crossing near existing retail and the bowling alley.

On cost, staff said two rapid‑flasher sets (both crossings) are budgeted and would total about $24,000 for both. Nathan, the village administrator, said the village would discuss cost‑sharing with Outagamie County but had not finalized county participation: “Most likely, we would like to have the county pay for a portion of it,” he said. Trustees voiced safety concerns (visibility, parking and children crossing after events) and debated whether to keep the east crossing or the west one; several trustees favored retaining the east crossing because it is already heavily used.

Trustees and staff also discussed tree impacts where grading will meet existing ground; engineering noted that some trees (including large specimens near the Yellow House on Whigs and Main) fall within grading areas and are likely to be adversely affected. Staff acknowledged community sensitivity about tree removal in the wake of a recent tornado and said they will ask the engineering firm to review grading impacts and possible alternatives.

Board members raised event‑day concerns — notably the Memorial Day parade — and asked whether construction timing or phasing could be adjusted to avoid the event. Staff said bids will include schedules, contractors will propose construction sequencing, and the village will request a meeting between the contractor, engineer, county staff and business owners to discuss access and timing. Staff also proposed possibly accelerating the schedule if a contractor offers to perform all work at once rather than in halves, which could shorten the overall construction window.

What’s next: Staff will circulate a front‑page plan (not the full large file) for public posting, continue coordination with county and engineering partners, and bring any substantive design changes back to the board before bidding or contract award.