Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Works Garage topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Verona hears five-site analysis for new public works garage; Alders to submit priorities
Summary
Architects presented five candidate sites for a new DPW garage and a 17-criteria selection matrix. Alders will privately score nine highlighted criteria and return them to staff for compilation ahead of concept designs.
VERONA, Wis. — City consultants presented five candidate sites Jan. 26 as part of a Task 2 site-selection process for a proposed new public works garage, and the Common Council agreed to supply prioritized weights on a selection matrix to help identify finalists.
Architect Norman Barrientos said the team evaluated five sites — Shady Bend (40 acres), Valley Road North (27 acres), Pine Road (27 acres), Wayland Road (31 acres) and a Business Park parcel — and prepared 'test fit' diagrams showing how a 12-to-18-acre garage, parking, salt storage, fuel stations and public drop-off areas might be arranged. He noted utilities, grading, stormwater and access improvements would vary significantly by site.
On Valley Road North, Barrientos warned of poor drainage and low-bearing soils that would require up to roughly four feet of engineered fill for development. Pine Road, he said, is L-shaped with substantial grade changes and offers limited flat development area. Wayland Road and the Business Park sites have more area but would require utility extensions and, in the business park case, some intrusion into an environmental corridor.
The consultant outlined 17 selection criteria, including traffic/road impact; compatibility with adjacent uses; reasonable site development costs; adequate area for expansion; sustainability and resilience; and infrastructure improvement costs. Barrientos proposed a 1.0–1.5 weighting scale and asked the council to provide policy judgments on the more subjective (teal/green) criteria.
Council members debated whether to submit numeric scores or a simpler high/medium/low ranking. The group reached a practical approach: each Alder will mark three top priorities, three middle priorities and three low priorities for the nine highlighted criteria and submit them to staff member Jamie by the next meeting. The consultant said once finalist sites are selected, schematic concept designs will take approximately two weeks to prepare.
Alder Tucker Long and others expressed interest in balancing fiscal constraints with long-term expansion needs; residents who spoke during public comment urged the council to respect the comprehensive plan and neighborhood compatibility when choosing a location.
Next steps: staff will distribute the spreadsheet, collect individual alder rankings, compile results, and the consultant will return concept schematics for the highest-ranked sites.
