Montrose council directs staff to resume design, pursue trail grant for Clementa Avenue

The City Council of the City of Montrose voted to direct staff to resume design work and pursue executing a grant agreement for the Clementa Avenue improvement project, which includes a 10-foot paved off-road trail extension.

A city engineer told the council the project previously reached roughly 90% design and that the city received a $250,000 DNR local trails connection grant in 2024 for the trail portion from Whitetail Lane to First Street North. Staff said the trail grant funds must be encumbered by June 30, 2026 unless an extension to June 30, 2027 is approved; to preserve funding, staff recommended executing the grant agreement soon and combining the trail and the larger street rehabilitation into a single contract to avoid conflicting construction schedules.

The engineer outlined a preliminary schedule: plan approval in May, bid opening in June, grading for the trail in August 2026 and street construction beginning in May 2027 with completion anticipated by August 2027, subject to available Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP) funding. Staff noted right-of-way coordination with adjacent property owners will be required and that some previously incurred design costs are included in the project estimate.

Council discussed intergovernmental coordination after staff reported that Mary'sville Township initially indicated it would not submit an LRIP application. A council member urged keeping communications open and said joint applications strengthen funding chances; staff said the township was holding a special meeting to reconsider and that city staff would attend to support a joint application.

The motion to direct staff to proceed with the Clementa Avenue project and pursue the grant agreement passed on a roll-call vote.