West Liberty City Council received updates on construction projects happening in town from the city engineer last week.
Well No. 2
City Engineer Leo Foley told city council during their meeting Tuesday, July 18, construction on Well No. 2 hasn’t started yet but it’s getting close.
“We have received some submittals,” Foley told city council.
“You received what?” Mayor Ethan Anderson asked Foley.
“Submittals, so they tell us what pump, what motor, what things they need to supply and they have a number of different vendors they can get them from,” Foley added.
The supplies are reviewed by Foley to make sure they follow the criteria for the job, he added.
“Little things like the wire conduits, they have not submitted yet,” Foley added.
The owner of the electric company the city is working with is working on getting that done so construction can start right away, he said.
Maxson Street and Rainbow Drive
The work on that project is moving slower. Foley asked the construction company for a better schedule but they didn’t provide one.
“They have started doing the trail part of the project,” he added.
The project is moving along but Foley would like it to be done as scheduled, he told city council.
Columbus Street sidewalk
The plan specifications for the Columbus Street sidewalk have been submitted to the Department of Transportation.
“They gave us comments,” Foley said. “We resubmitted (the plans) to the DOT last week. We haven’t seen any comments back.”
Some of the comments from the DOT were about adjusting the sidewalk for ADA (American Disability Act) guidelines, he said. The sidewalk is being installed on Columbus Street in front the car wash over to Giri’s BP.
A fire hydrant will have to be moved and a few other items that weren’t on the estimate for the sidewalk project, Foley said. This will cause the project cost to go up. Once the approval from the DOT comes, the construction company will start the project.
“I just want to say while you’re on the sidewalk, it’s pretty great to hear that happening,” Anderson said. “You’ll be able to walk from downtown to Subway. Cross the street and take the nice new trail down to Dutton Park. It’s a big improvement.”
Knotty Circle and Division Street
“We are done with the design,” Foley told city council.
The only part of the project holding them up is acquiring easements from property owners for the sidewalk to be constructed in the right of way, he added. These streets right of ways are less than the average six feet in size.
“What I would do is come back to you at the next city council meeting with plans, specifications and the final cost and then the schedule,” Foley said. “You can review that and if you approve it, we’ll move forward with it.”
Other items covered at the city council meeting included:
• approving the appointment of Chad Thomas for another three year term to the Planning and Zoning Commission;
• approving Ron De Voo Park to be used as a beer garden by Liberty Public House during RAGBRAI Saturday, July 29;
• approving a resolution setting the wages and salaries for city departments for the 2023 - 24 fiscal year;
• approving a resolution to amend the hours of service for the West Liberty Ambulance in the city handbook;
• and approving an agreement with One Design & Engineering for the pool feasibility study.