North English Council Discusses Roadwork

NORTH ENGLISH – During the Nov. 6 meeting of the North English City Council, Mayor Dan Strohman asked what the council thought of the road work on Washington Street, which is mostly completed. City Clerk Tara Heyne stated that she had heard positive things. Councilman Lou Garringer asked how much it would cost to stripe the street, noting that it was striped in the past. Strohman stated the cost would be substantial. Strohman stated that the street ended up being “wavy” near the nursing home. City Employee David Knipfer stated this was due to how the milling process was done, and that the east side was milled better than the west side. Strohman said “it is what it is” and that they’d have to wait and see how it looked in a few years. Knipfer said the “sad part” was that it would only go “downhill from here.” Knipfer stated that there was an outstanding issue on Washington Street, where contractors took manhole covers off to work, then “dumped stuff” down them, leading one manhole to be damned off. He stated that the contractor would send someone to clear the line.

The mayor brought up a bid from Pelling to resurface Main Street. The bid was split into two options, with it costing $235,000 for most of Main Street and $342,000 to also do the part of the street north of Washington. Strohman stated he wanted the council to commit to discussing this during the budget discussions in January. Heyne stated this could be paid out of Local Option Sales Tax, but that the city would not have the money for the project until July of next year. Strohman noted that doing the full project would “pretty much wipe out” the local option funds. Garringer stated that the city wouldn’t have to do any other major roadwork for a few years. Knipfer stated that there is always something minor to work on and that the city rotates streets. Strohman stated that it was high if the city also did north of Washington.

Strohman again brought up a resident who keeps his boat trailer parked on Lakeview Street for extended periods of time. He stated the city couldn’t justify telling him he had to stop parking his boat unless they put up a no parking sign. Garringer stated that he didn’t want to ban parking, just wanted the resident to stop parking there constantly. Knipfer stated the boat needs to be moved for snow clearing.

Councilman Red Haugland stated there needed to be handicapped parking in front of the community center. He also brought up the fact that the community center was officially listed as the city’s storm shelter, saying that this could be a problem because of a lack of room or bathrooms. He suggested listing the school as the official shelter. Strohman explained that the community center is the first shelter listed, and that if it is full the school is used as a second shelter. Knipfer stated this is because the school doesn’t have a generator.

Knipfer stated that the city had to spend $872.50 to replace a broken dial at the water plant, $2,145 to replace a heater that is causing soot damage, and roughly $10,000 to replace a damaged high-service water pump.

Haugland stated a woman with a steep incline in her alley had asked him if there was anything the city could do for her. This woman’s car is normally okay, but she recently broke her foot, and people coming over to help her out have had their cars bottom out. A lot of the alleys in North English are owned by the city, but as a general policy are maintained by property owners. Haugland asked if the city could cut the woman’s slope. Knipfer said the problem is other people would want their alleys fixed too. Haugland asked if the city could at least pour gravel as a good will gesture. Knipfer said a truck of gravel would cost at least $600. Strohman stated the city shouldn’t maintain this alley.