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Onalaska board approves $155,500 in design amendments for US‑53 / Sand Lake Road regional pond and street extension
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Summary
The board approved roughly $155,500 in contract amendments for design work on the US‑53/Sand Lake Road regional pond and a North–South street extension, including wetland delineation, archaeology and relocation of an altitude valve needed for water‑system hydraulics and FEMA map revision work.
The Onalaska Board of Public Works and Utilities on April 7 approved a package of design amendments totaling about $155,500 to advance the US‑53 / Sand Lake Road regional pond, sewage and road‑extension work in the city’s tax‑increment district.
Public works staff said the amendments include a $19,500 wetland delineation, $109,000 for design of a North–South street extension, and a $27,000 design item to relocate and provide access to an altitude valve at the Hauser Reservoir. Jared Holter, presenting staff recommendations, said the work is intended to move stormwater out of a FEMA‑mapped floodplain and to provide sewer, water and storm infrastructure that will make nearby parcels buildable.
Holter told the board the design package is needed before the city seeks a conditional letter of map revision from FEMA. “We need a 60% set of plans, which is anticipated to be approximately November; that then would be submitted to FEMA for a conditional letter of map revision that takes about nine months to review,” he said.
Staff said the total design spending to date on the larger project is approaching $400,000 and that the full-build cost could be on the order of $5 million. The board and staff discussed timing and financing: the work will be tracked in the TID and capital improvements budgets, and staff said tax‑increment revenues that post one to two years after assessment should cover much of the construction financing.
Board members pressed staff on development impacts, construction timing and archaeology. Holter said archaeological review and wetland delineation are being done now to avoid construction delays and potential redesigns once excavation begins. The board approved the amendments by voice vote without recorded roll‑call tallies.
Next steps described by staff include completing the 60% design package, submitting the FEMA documentation, finalizing construction sequencing, and returning to the board during capital‑improvements budgeting to identify construction funding and phasing.
