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East Grand Forks City Council weighs feasibility report for 2027 street improvements
Summary
Council members discussed commissioning a feasibility report under Minnesota Statute chapter 429 to plan citywide bituminous street improvements last done in 2015–2017, consider assessment options, and evaluate whether 5th and 20th streets need full reconstruction rather than routine maintenance.
The East Grand Forks City Council on Tuesday discussed authorizing Widseth to prepare a feasibility report for citywide bituminous street improvements planned for 2027, and reviewed how property assessments might be used to help pay for them.
Mr. Emery told the council that the city’s most recent citywide bituminous projects were completed between 2015 and 2017 and that typical pavement maintenance cycles run seven to ten years. “If we’re following Minnesota Statute chapter 429,” he said, “the first step in completing an assessment project is really to complete a feasibility report.”
The feasibility report would estimate total project cost, propose an assessment rate and document the methodology staff would use to apportion costs. Mr. Emery and Patrice described two options councilors could choose after the report: (1) award the project after receiving bids and then hold a final assessment hearing based on final costs, or (2) hold the final assessment hearing before awarding the contract so contested assessments may be addressed prior to award. Staff said holding the final assessment hearing before award has been common practice.
Staff recommended bidding the work as one large project to achieve better pricing and more consistent assessment rates, with the option to extend construction over two years if the package proved too large. They also flagged 5th and 20th streets as candidate sites for separate analysis because those corridors may require full reconstruction rather than the maintenance treatments planned for most city streets.
Mr. Emery said staff will prepare an authorization for professional services that lays out the scope and cost to prepare the feasibility report; he expects that authorization to appear in next week’s council packet. If the council moves ahead after the feasibility report, staff said it would prepare plans and specifications, solicit bids, and follow the assessment hearing sequence required by statute.
Why it matters: a feasibility report will set the financial and procedural groundwork for a major public-works program that could use property assessments to fund part of the work, affect timelines and potentially change how residents are assessed for improvements.
Next steps: staff will bring an authorization for services to a future meeting and the council will decide whether to authorize the feasibility study and, later, how to proceed with hearings and bidding.
