Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sioux Falls council approves small design amendment for Minnesota Avenue Phase 2 amid concern over medians and consultant fees
Summary
The City Council approved an amendment to HDR Engineering’s Minnesota Avenue Phase 2 design contract to cover extra design work related to a larger water main. Councilor Sale voiced opposition to planned medians and asked for a public policy discussion despite voting for the amendment, which passed 7–0.
Sioux Falls City Council voted 7–0 to approve an amendment to the design contract for Minnesota Avenue Phase 2, authorizing HDR Engineering to be paid for additional work tied to changes in the bidding package and water-main procurement.
Andy Berg of Public Works Engineering said the amendment (identified in the record as amendment number 3 to contract 22-3041) covers consultant work to revise bid documents after procurement lead-time issues were identified for a new water main. Berg described the new pipe as a 42-inch ductile-iron main intended to replace an older 36-inch concrete line, and said that main carries roughly one-third of the city’s water to customers. The amendment amount was stated in the meeting as $23,765 to cover the consultant’s added design work.
Councilor Sale said he supported paying the consultant for work already done but raised broader policy concerns. He said consultant fees on the overall project have pushed “over $1,000,000” and objected to installing medians on Minnesota Avenue, arguing medians could limit traffic access to businesses and harm retail customers. “If we cut down the amount of traffic that a business can get by half, we are taking away their ability to make a living,” Sale said, while adding he would vote for the amendment today and requested a larger public discussion about whether medians belong on Minnesota Avenue.
The council approved the amendment with no further debate, 7–0. Several presenters said the project will also include sanitary sewer improvements, new valves and pedestrian-friendly boulevard work along the corridor between 2nd and 7th Streets.
Next steps: the amendment will be incorporated into the project contract as the city moves toward bidding construction work.
