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Council hears updates on lead-service-line grants, sidewalks and street assessments
Summary
Acting city manager briefed the council on lead service line replacement grant outreach (grant appears to cover homeowner-side lines), state-reviewed sidewalk and bike-walk projects, and upcoming appraisals and special-assessment hearings for several street and sewer projects; exact counts and homeowner assessments were not specified.
Morris — The acting city manager updated the Morris City Council on several infrastructure matters, including lead service line replacement grants, state-funded sidewalk and bike-walk work, and planned street and sewer projects that will require appraisals and special assessments.
On lead service lines, staff said the city applied to be included in a grant program that appears to pay to replace homeowner-side service lines up to the water main; Morris property owners are typically responsible for the service line from the house to the main, including shutoff valves. The acting city manager stated, "The grant pays for everything" for the homeowner portion, and said engineers have identified three areas with a higher likelihood of lead lines and that a more complete map can be provided. He explicitly said the total number of affected lines was not available during the update.
Council also heard that state reviewers are finalizing plans for Highway 9 sidewalk and bike-walk path reconditioning. Those projects are grant-funded; the city will be responsible for a local contribution on some elements. Staff said appraisals for two proposed special-assessment projects (one covering 3rd–5th Streets, the other Lindale Avenue/Sunset Place into Albany) are underway. The acting city manager explained the timeline: complete appraisals, determine assessments, hold an assessment hearing in summer or early fall, finalize plans and specifications by December, bid in January and complete construction the following year, subject to funding and approvals.
On sewer work, the city described a plan to put a lift station with a force main at Fresha; the lift station will not be owned by the city, though the city may maintain it under agreement. Staff noted MnDOT right-of-way constraints affected earlier gravity-line plans.
Council members raised concerns about making assessments affordable and asked for clarity on sidewalks associated with a new apartment project on 5th Street; staff said formulas for assessment differ between apartments and single-family houses and that more detailed figures would be provided when appraisals are complete.
What happens next: Staff will share maps showing likely lead-service-line locations, complete appraisals for the assessment projects and return to council with assessment calculations and bid-ready plans.
