Charles City Council OK’s pool repair borrowing and contracts, truck route change regarding bridge

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Council approved contracts for a swimming pool renovation project and approved borrowing to pay for the repairs at a special meeting Wednesday evening, July 24, as well as changing the city traffic code to better control access to the Main Street Bridge, which has had a weight restriction applied because of concerns about deterioration due to flooding.

In a council workshop meeting after the special meeting, the council also held a discussion on awarding a franchise to the Soo Green underground energy transmission project through the city, heard an update on the Main Street rehabilitation project and discussed maintenance concerns with a part of the city’s water treatment process.

The council agreed to borrow up to $910,000 – the maximum it can borrow without seeking voter approval – to finance the swimming pool project, then accepted a bid for mostly concrete repair from Woodruff Construction of Waterloo for $355,300, and accepted a bid for $214,000 from Carrico Aquatic Resources from Jefferson, Wisconsin, for mechanical system repairs and replacement.

Total cost of the two parts of the project is $569,300, about 14.8% less than the engineer’s estimated cost of $668,000. The funding will also pay for the addition of a climbing wall to be added to the deep end of the pool.

The project is expected to begin shortly after the end of the pool season in August, and be substantially completed by the time the next season begins in the spring of 2025.

The funding will be used for the cost of improvements to the municipal swimming pool, costs of engineering and oversight, and the issuance of the borrowing and capitalization costs associated with the loan, according to City Administrator Steve Diers. The funds would be repaid as a 10-year note.

The council held public hearings on the pool loan agreement and the pool renovation project and received no public comments.

The council also approved change in the city traffic code regarding the definition of trucks and city truck routes, because of concerns regarding the Main Street Bridge.

Engineers from Calhoun Burns and Associates examined the bridge after it had been closed because of flooding of the Cedar River and found “continued deterioration and spalling of the arches and facia walls … that appeared to be accelerated by the recent flooding.”

They recommended the bridge be posted restricting use by trucks with a gross load weight of more than 28 tons, which it was before it reopened.

City Engineer John Fallis said a review of the city’s traffic code regarding truck routes found that trucks were defined as vehicles weighing more than 3 tons (6,000) pounds, and it is felt that should be increased because the city’s non-truck route streets can handle more weight than that.

He recommended the weight limit be increased so that vehicles heavier than 10 tons (20,000 pounds) be prohibited from using streets off the designated truck routes.

Fallis also proposed that the city truck routes be amended so that the part of Main Street containing the bridge, from Gilbert Street to Clark Street, be removed from the truck route and be posted with a weight limit of 10 tons.

City Council member Patrick Lumley said he was concerned about emergency vehicles such as fire trucks being restricted from using the bridge, and City Council member DeLaine Freeseman said he was concerned about trucks that need to make deliveries to Main Street businesses in the first block of South Main Street north of Clark Street.

Fallis said emergency vehicles and trucks that are making deliveries are exempt from truck route restrictions.

City Administrator Diers said the concern for the bridge was over continuous use by heavy vehicles. Occasional use by emergency equipment, trucks on deliveries or even snow plows would not be a problem.

Mayor Dean Andrews wondered how the change would affect school buses not being able to go over the bridge, and he said staff should contact the school district and let it know about the change.

Fallis said the city had done feasibility studies for replacing the Main Street Bridge over the Cedar River and the Gilbert Street Bridge over Shermans Creek, and because of the bridges’ historical nature the city will work with the Charles City Historic Preservation Commission regarding any bridge projects.

After the action items had been taken care of the council closed the special meeting and went into its regular workshop session.

Jason Petersburg with Veenstra and Kim said the Main Street rehabilitation project is ahead of schedule and about three to 3½ weeks away from opening the north end of the project to traffic.

Milling and asphalt overlay work on Main Street through downtown will probably begin the second week of September and will do one lane at a time so Main Street remains open, although no parking will be available along Main Street during that process.

Petersburg also said he had been made aware of several workmanship concerns and the contractors were addressing those.

Main Street will not be resurfaced over the bridge, he said. The machine to do that weighs almost 50 tons, plus the weight of the truck pulling it.

The council also discussed a concern with the lime lagoons that are part of the city’s water treatment used to soften the water.plant. One of the lagoons needs to be completely emptied so residual lime can be removed, and the other lagoon will need the same procedure in two to three years, then they will need to go on a cycle of one lagoon every three years after that.

The cost is about $400,000 to completely empty one lagoon.

And the council discussed the possibility of having one of the city’s “Town of Colors” murals on the brick wall that extends from the south side of City Hall. The murals would not be painted on the brick, but would be painted on panels that would be mounted to the brick.

Council member Phoebe Pittman said once the panels are mounted the artist would paint the joints so they couldn’t be seen between the panels.

Council member Lumley said he wasn’t in favor pf the project if any tax dollars had to be spent on it.

Mayor Andrews said there would be no cost to the city for it.