First Avenue project closer to completion

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All water and sewer hookups have been completed along First Avenue in a project that has extended far beyond its deadline but is nearing completion.
“We’ve made some progress albeit not as much as we’d like,” Shane Waterman with Clark Engineering, the company overseeing the project for the city, said last week. The contract subcontractor has completed its work and asphalt work is ready for completion with one intersection still being prepared, he said. Patch work on areas, including by the Boys and Girls Club of Moody County, also are ready for completion.
“If the contractor (H&W) can stay organized, things should fall in place fairly readily,” Waterman said. It’s possible the project could be completed, with the exception of reseeding grass, by the end of the month, he said.
The city will need to decide if it wants that done yet this fall or would be willing to keep the contract open and have it done in the spring, Waterman said. The decision may depend on the weather, he said.
“If push comes to shove, I am not opposed to holding the contract open until spring if the council desires,” he said.
Contractor H&W out of Sioux Falls already has been charged about $100,000 in liquidated damages because it is late in finishing the project by the contract deadline. That dollar figure was calculated as of last week.
“It is impacting the contractor, and I believe it is driving them to continue to work on this project despite the weather,” Waterman said. Warmer weather the second half of October has helped with being able to get more done.

The city was able to find a shut-off valve that before workers had been unable to locate. By getting to the valve, the city saved about $17,000 that it would have had to spend for some special equipment.
Phase two of the sanitary sewer and watermain replacement project’s original contract price was $4.05 million for work that should have been completed in November 2017. With change orders, the project is $4.95 million with a completion date of Aug. 16.
In other city business,
•With the increase in political yard signs, Sutton said the city ordinance for what is allowed should be followed. With residential-zoned properties, signs have to be within four square feet in size and must be out of the right-of-way. Within industrial areas, larger signs are allowed, but rules still apply under city ordinances.
Signs must be removed 10 days after the election. The candidate or the campaign manager are responsible for making sure the signs are taken down.
“There’s lots of signs, which is great,” Sutton said.
•Rural electric companies are expected to bring a bill before the Legislature that would limit the ability of municipal utilities, including Flandreau’s, to expand as communities grow, Pederson said. “It’s a serious, serious threat to municipal electrics in South Dakota,” he said.
•Pederson said he would like council members to look at how the planned safe house at Prospect and Crescent would look in relation to the park and playground equipment. He will stake out the building for council members to get a better visual.
“It’s going to redefine that park,” he said. “Assuming we would follow the setbacks, it’s going to be, among other things, fairly close to the playground apparatus.”
•The city plans to apply for a grant for playground equipment at Trailer Court Park. A previous grant request for that equipment was denied a few years ago, but the equipment has deteriorated even more, he said.
“I have real concerns about it,” he said, mentioning a plastic slide with a long crack in it. “You can’t send kids down a slide that has a crack in it.”
City crews also will inspect the equipment again and remove anything that is a danger, he said.
Council member Don Whitman, former city administrator when the grant was first applied for, said he was in favor of reapplying.
“It has outlived its useful life,” he said of the equipment.
Council members were scheduled to approve the grant application at a special meeting on Monday of this week.