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Kenosha Public Works Committee approves resurfacing, sidewalk contracts, event permits and an ordinance change
Summary
At its March 9 meeting the Kenosha committee awarded resurfacing and sidewalk contracts totaling roughly $1.44 million, approved several event and closure permits, and amended a bidding ordinance to reduce a safety-violation lookback from 10 to 5 years; motions passed on all items presented.
The Kenosha Public Works Committee on March 9 approved multiple contracts, event permits and an ordinance amendment, and took several routine actions affecting city operations and upcoming events.
The committee awarded three construction contracts: $446,500 to La Londe Contractors Inc. for 45th Street resurfacing (project 26-1042), $442,500 to Beardsley Concrete LLC for the north sidewalk and curb/gutter program (project 26-1207), and $550,300 to Forward Contractors for the south sidewalk and curb/gutter program (project 26-1208). Committee member Paul Kennedy moved to approve items 9, 10 and 11 together and the motion passed.
Staff explained that the city calculates sidewalk assessment rates annually by averaging the bids on the sidewalk projects and adding a $30.30 administrative fee; the committee approved the recommended 2026 sidewalk rates. Staff also presented an ordinance change to subsection 5.001 c 0.17 to reduce the contractor safety-violation lookback period from 10 years to five years to align with OSHA practice. "All we're doing here is asking that we bring that 10 years down to the industry standard, which is the 5 years through OSHA," a staff speaker said; the motion to amend the ordinance passed.
The committee also approved a right-of-way encroachment agreement allowing Jockey to hang banners downtown for a company anniversary, event permits including an American Legion Easter egg hunt (Parcel J, April 4), the Kenosha Law Enforcement Memorial (May 13) and a June 21 closure for Agape Love Christian Ministries' community event. The Kenosha History Center's recurring Cruisin events and Rustic Ventures' Lakeside October event were approved; one member abstained from the Rustic Ventures vote for a conflict of interest.
Other business included a termination of the existing La Londe Contractors alley-paving agreement so staff can re-design vault closure details and re-bid with clearer consultant requirements; staff emphasized the termination was a project-specific decision and not a reflection on contractor quality. The committee also approved a contract with Carlson Plumbing Inc. to replace the municipal building's water heater (cost reported as over $5,000) and a mayoral resolution to approve a three-lot certified survey map on 55th Street.
Votes at a glance: items 1–2 (sidewalk assessments) — approved to proceed after hearings; item 3 (Jockey encroachment) — approved; items 4–8 (event permits) — approved; items 9–11 (construction contracts) — awarded; item 12 (sidewalk rate) — approved; item 13 (ordinance amendment reducing safety lookback to 5 years) — approved; item 15 (termination of alley contract) — approved; water-heater replacement — approved. The transcript records voice votes with chair voting aye; exact roll-call tallies were not specified for each motion.
What happens next: awarded contracts will proceed to contracting and construction schedules; staff will publish any required notices and finalize assessment calculations after construction bids and project completion. The ordinance change will be processed per city procedures.
Clarifying details: contract amounts were read into the record ($446,500; $442,500; $550,300); staff said the municipal water heater replacement cost is over $5,000 and that three proposals were received for that work; staff said the sidewalk-rate calculation includes a $30.30 administrative fee added to the average of bid totals for the two sidewalk programs.
