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Franklin board backs 2026 road program, staff to seek council authorization
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Summary
The Franklin City Board of Public Works voted to support the proposed 2026 road program, which staff estimated at $2.56 million with additional alternate bids that could raise total work to about $4.1 million; the package will go to city council for bid authorization.
The Franklin City Board of Public Works voted Feb. 10 to endorse the city's proposed 2026 road program and asked staff to take the package to the common council for authorization to advertise bids.
City Engineer Mike Paulus presented a map of proposed work and described the base bid focused on the Rawson Homes/Tifton area—Tifton Drive, Jody Place, 30th Street, Minnesota Avenue and Madison Boulevard—with alternate bid streets including Chapel Hill Drive/Chapel Court, Friar Lane, Monastery Drive, Southwood Drive and Briarwood Drive. Paulus said the base-bid estimate for the Ross and Holmes area is about $1.9 million and alternate work is estimated at roughly $2.2 million, making a combined estimate of about $4.1 million. "We'll pare back to see how the numbers come in and pick which ones make sense as far as selecting which bids we go forward with," he said.
Paulus told the board the 2026 road program budget includes $2,560,000, plus a $90,000 LRIP (state grant) allocation and a $20,000 carryover for ADA curb ramp upgrades. He said staff expects an additional carryover from 2025 in the "$400,000 range" but that final figures remain subject to outstanding invoices. On condition assessment, Paulus said the city recently completed PASER ratings and can provide a 1–10 condition chart to support prioritization.
Board members asked whether the board should take an explicit position before the council meeting; Kevin Schleeter, representing DPW staff, recommended the board take action so council understands the board has reviewed and favors the proposal. One member pressed for more detail, saying in prior years the board saw a spreadsheet assigning estimated costs to each segment. Paulus said estimates had been prepared but were not included in the packet; he offered to provide the PASER and estimate details to the board before bidding.
Staff outlined a proposed procurement schedule: advertise Feb. 25 and March 4, bid opening March 12 and common council award March 17. (Transcript contains both Feb. 18 and Feb. 19 references for the council authorization meeting; staff discussion referenced both dates.)
Alderman Hassan moved that the board support the road program; Clark Johnson seconded. The board approved the motion by voice vote with no recorded opposition.
The board directed staff to finalize the estimate materials and return with the condition ratings and a longer-range capital plan to guide multi-year programming.
