Early estimates of bringing Spring Creek Road, now gravel, between Superior Drive to Huron Court up to a paved road were $1.3 million, according to Public Works Director Dave Bennett. The actual estimate came in at twice that at $2.6 million. The biggest cost are the retaining walls that would have to be built on the west side to support a trail.
SEH consultant, Aaron Ditzler explained that their preliminary design included some retaining walls but to keep those costs at a minimum, they proposed to shift the road and the trail 6 feet to the east. That did not fit with staff’s vision, which was more to the center of the proposed 80 foot right-of-way. That meant more retaining walls measuring from 3 to 10 feet in height. Ditzler said the extra $1 million is due to the retaining walls and associated earthwork needed. SEH prepared 4 alternatives. They range from $1.9 to $1.5 million. I have a link to those options on kymn.net. The intention had been to go out for bid and start construction in the Fall. They may be able to do some preliminary work this Fall but the bulk of work would take place in 2019. Bennett said they would come back to Council in July for further direction.
Fire destroys garage
“It’s a total loss”. Fire Chief Gerry Franek reported this morning on a garage fire last night. NAFRS was called to E. 90th St. in Northfield around 7 o’clock. Franek could see huge plumes of smoke from HIS home and knew it was an active fully involved fire. Firefighters had the blaze under control in a half hour but remained on scene for a couple of hours. The fire did not breach the barrier to the home, which is attached. The owners had just finished mowing the lawn and put it inthe garage. The Fire Marshall was on scene this morning. While he’s not commented, the thought is the lawnmower may have started the fire. The homeowners lost a vehicle parked inside as well as everything else. Franek said on their way back from that fire, when they responded to a medical call. And earlier in the day was a kitchen fire on Linden St. S. The neighbor came over and covered a pan that was on the stove but a half hour later, the microwave was on fire and the home has some smoke damage.
With over $6 million in Fire Relief Fund, NAFR is requesting highest allowable increase for firefighter pensions
The NAFRS joint powers Board met yesterday. On the agenda was a request from the Northfield Fire Relief Association (NAFR) to increase the firefighters pension benefit from $8500 to $10,000 a year, the most allowable and one of the highest in the state. As of the end of 2017 there was $6.7 million in Northfield’s fund. After 5 years of service, firefighters are 40{b5761be34e80a16b6d0e4dabc1869c131a263f96a745c82bebdd3b8a4330bfa9} vested and are fully vested after 20 years. Currently there are 2 firefighters with 46 years of service. If they retired at the end of 2018, they would each receive $460,000 lump sum pension benefit. The Board will vote on this in July. Our firefighters receive, on average, an hourly wage of $21.63 on fire calls and $16.17 for meetings and trainings. Annually, according to the department, the average paid on-call firefighter earns about $4,000 per year. Glen Castore gave an update on NAFRS becoming a Taxing District, which must be approved by the Legislature. That bill was included with the omnibus bill, which was vetoed. It’s not clear yet, if the bill can be reintroduced at the next session.
Ramp work in Faribault
The southbound ramp from Co. Rd. 48 in Faribault to southbound I-35 will close for bridge maintenance on Monday the 25th. Motorists will be detoured to Hwy 60 to access I-35 southbound. Local traffic will remain open to businesses and residents along Co. Rd. 48. Crews will be sealing bridge deck cracks and joints on the ramp. They expect to finish the work by the end of the day.
