BAXTER — After years of planning, the South Forestview project to extend city water, sewer and update streets, lights and trail options is on the verge of a vote.
The Baxter City Council is expected to vote on the project, which could then begin construction this spring, at the Tuesday, March 19, meeting.
The project’s origins began in 2005 with an original feasibility study and was improved over the years, but first a boom and then a bust and finally a pandemic delayed action. The city’s South Forestview neighborhood is one of five neighborhoods without city utilities. Thursday, about 16 residents were before the City Council for an assessment hearing on the project. The session provided an overview of its history, purpose and timeline should it move forward.
The project involves street segments of: Forestview Drive — south of River Vista Drive, Maryland Road, River Vista Drive, River Vista Court, Medford Road, Riverwood Road, and Parkview Circle. The streets, originally paved from 1986-1997, are in poor condition, rating between a 2 and 4 on a scale of 10 and will need to be reconstructed. Plans call for a paved trailhead on the south end of Forestview Drive and a gravel trail through a wooded city parcel from the trailhead north to Maryland Road. The gravel trail will be used as a temporary access for local traffic during construction. Trees will be planted and the trail narrowed following the completion of construction.
Renee Richardson / Brainerd Dispatch
Thursday there were specific questions from residents on access for package and mail delivery during construction, whether there would be additional lights installed and whether the trail was needed. One resident, who contacted the city previously about drainage issues from their street, wondered why that wasn’t considered before the bidding process, which means a change order will now be needed.
Walter said they spent hours discussing best options to fix the drainage issues from snowmelt and rain events but apologized for not updating the homeowners along the way. Mayor Darrel Olson also said the homeowner contacted the city in plenty of time before to have it addressed and he thought it was in the city’s pipeline to be taken care of earlier.
Renee Richardson / Brainerd Dispatch
Preliminary estimates were for a total project cost of $8,901,909. The project represented a savings with the lowest bid at $8,296,650.16. A resident suggested the savings be used to lower the assessment to what the residents paid on the North Forestview project completed earlier instead of the savings going back to the city overall. With rising assessments and a previous formula for costs divided between the city and homeowners based on a percent, the city put a cap to keep assessments from climbing and the city took on a bigger funding role in those established neighborhoods as city services were added based on a fixed rate tied to inflation. The city cost is 69% with assessments bringing in 31%. The city is paying all the costs related to lighting and trails. The lights are being replaced with downward-cast LED lights that will be brighter but will be directed down to the specific location without wider spread of lighting. The city lights intersections, 90-degree curves and will add two lights to the project at the trailhead parking area.
The total assessment — for water, sewer and road work — for a property, based on an equivalent residential unit, with a home is $19,720. The assessment for a single ERU without a home is $18,520.
Payments would begin annually with property taxes beginning in 2025 for a 15-year term. The interest is expected at 7% but won’t be known exactly until the bond sale. Interest-free prepayments or partial payments must be made up to 30 days after the city adopts the assessment, anticipated to be March 19, which means the payments would be due by April 18.
Residents won’t have to stop using their wells and septic systems immediately and will have five years to connect to the new services.
Residents can continue to use well water for gardening or lawn watering into the future.
(This story will be updated online)
Renee Richardson, managing editor, may be reached at 218-855-5852 or renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at @DispatchBizBuzz.
