Charles City Council OKs feasibility study on Main Street, Gilbert Street bridges

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Council has approved funding a feasibility study to help identify what will be needed to replace the Main Street bridge and the Gilbert Street bridge when replacing those two century-old structures becomes necessary.

City Engineer John Fallis had brought up the proposal at a council workshop meeting held last week, saying the bridges had been getting “fair” ratings on their biennial evaluations and to be proactive the city should have a plan in place to replace them if funding becomes available or if the bridges’ condition deteriorates.

The feasibility studies on the two bridges will be performed by Calhoun-Burns and Associates engineering firm of West Des Moines, for a price of $30,900 for both bridges. Fallis said at the regular council meeting Monday evening that figure is a not-to-exceed price, so the total cost could be less if the studies take less time than expected.

The price includes $25,000 for the feasibility analysis, which will include determining the type, size and other particulars of the new bridges and how a new bridge would fit into each site, as well as preliminary cost opinions.

The rest of the price, $5,900, will be for historical and cultural review, because the Main Street bridge is listed on the federal Registry of Historical Places and the Gilbert Street bridge is of the same age and type.

The proposal letter from Calhoun-Burns says, “Given these bridges’ historical significance as well as their size and location in the heart of Charles City, these projects will have significant administrative review by multiple agencies. That being said, we propose beginning with a feasibility study to determine the required steps to satisfy the appropriate review agencies as well as determine appropriate long term options for each site. The goal for the feasibility study will be to determine the needed reviews, an expected timeline of the process as well as some budgetary cost figures.”

The next step after the feasibility studies would be preliminary design work, Fallis told the council Monday. That would again involve working with the Charles City Historic Preservation Commission and also include gathering public input.

The arch design of the current bridges would likely not be allowed to be reconstructed on the river, Fallis said, because the higher the river level gets the more that shape constricts water flowing under the bridge. But because of their historical significance and cultural significance in the community, some elements of the original design might be able to be represented in the new designs, he said.

The last step after preliminary design work would be going to final designs, and then the city would have “shovel-ready” projects available when needed, Fallis said.

Some of the billions of dollars in funding that have been coming from the federal government to respond to the COVID pandemic, update the country’s infrastructure and to bolster the economy have placed emphasis on shovel-ready projects.

Also at the City Council meeting Monday, the council:

• Approved two applications for funding from the city Facade Improvement Grant Program. Grants are available to cover up to 50% of the cost of a project, up to a maximum grant of $10,000 per project.

The first application approved was for $4,450 for Diamond Corp. at 625 N. Main St., to paint the exterior of the building and replace missing faux brick panels. Total cost of the project is $8,900.

The second application was for $10,000 for Stewart Realty Co. at 503 Kelly St., to help with the cost of window replacement and trellis repair on the company’s office building. Total cost of that part of an exterior renovation project on the building is $43,940.

The city program pays 35% of the grant up front, then the remaining 65% when receipts are presented at the end of the project. Charles City Community Development Director Mark Wicks said there isn’t enough money left in the Facade Improvement Fund to fund both projects right away, but there will be when the fund is replenished at the beginning of the city’s new fiscal year on July 1.

Dean Stewart of Stewart Realty, who was at the meeting, said that would be fine because with building material availability delays it is doubtful his project will begin before fall.

• Approved the second reading of a new city dumpster ordinance that will require anyone renting a dumpster that is placed in the city right-of-way on a street or between the sidewalk and street to apply for and receive a permit from the city. There is no cost for the permit, and the intent of the ordinance is to make the city aware of the location of dumpsters in the city right-of-way, if work would need to be done in that area.

• Approved the monthly payment request to Portzen Construction, for $220,615.03, for work on the water resource recovery facility (WRRF). City Engineer Fallis said with this payment a total of almost $16.163 million has been spent on the project, with about $500,000 of work left to do on the project that was estimated at $17 million.

Fallis said he expects the project to be finished before the end of the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

City Administrator Steve Diers said the project will have its substantial completion walkthrough next Tuesday.

• Approved using a “standard revenue loss allowance” model for calculating revenue loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will avoid having to itemize actual revenue losses to qualify for the total $1.09 million in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds the city is receiving.

City Clerk and Finance Officer Trudy O’Donnell said the money can be used on any government activity. The uses must be specified by Dec. 31, 2024, and the funds must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026.

• Approved spending $9,500 to purchase the nuisance property at 1800 Rolfing Ave. and an additional 15-foot strip from the adjoining property, with the purpose of demolishing the dilapidated home at the address and creating a buildable lot.

• Approved closing streets by Central Park on Saturday, June 25, for a Corvette car show held by Craig Hamm.

• Approved the appointment of Krista Noah to the Board of Adjustment and Rachel Mack to the Library Board.

• Approved a proclamation declaring May 1-7 to be Youth Week in Charles City, for the Charles City Elks Lodge which will sponsor an observance that week paying tribute to the youth of the community.