Hillsboro saves money on sewer work
Staff writer
Hillsboro will save $25,146 on sewer lining work by having the work done in November instead of after the first of the year as originally planned.
City council members agreed to move the work forward after the contractor, Johnson Service Co., said it could save money on materials by buying needed supplies at the same time it buys supplies for a project in Mankato.
“Johnson Services Company offered an opportunity to save on the cost of liner and mobilization if we would consider a contract at the end of 2023,” city administrator Matt Stiles told council members. “Johnson is putting in an order for liner to do a project in Mankato. Adding our quantity to the order and being flexible in scheduling around the Mankato job would allow the city to save $25,146 compared to doing a standalone job in 2024.
“The work would occur in November, but Johnson offered to defer billing until January 2024.”
With the amended work date, the total cost of the work will be $186,815.
Stiles said he didn’t think the city should move forward with cleaning and camera inspection of sewer lines.
“Cleaning and cameraing now would provide little benefit at this point,” Stiles said. “That service should be completed closer to a lining project to yield its full value.”
Council members voted unanimously to have the sewer lining work done in November.
Council members set a Nov. 7 enforcement hearing for a dilapidated property at 306 W. Grand Ave.
Stiles said the property owner contacted him several months ago and offered to donate it to the land bank, but he had heard nothing further from her.
Property inspector Doug Dick’s report to the council said the property is unsafe because of deterioration and neglect that allows both weather and wildlife to enter the building. It is unfit for human occupancy, a blight to surrounding properties, and increases the risk of accidents or other calamities to children.
A food trailer will replace a vandalized concession stand at the Memorial Park ball park vandalized last year.
“Due to the age and condition of the building, repairing the building wasn’t worth the investment,” Stiles said.
A local family with a number of food trailers, now replacing its fleet, offered to sell the city a trailer for $12,500.
Stiles said the fire suppression system would need to be recertified and all its systems would need to be serviced before use.
The trailer could also be used for other events or potentially rented out to businesses to use.
Council members voted to buy the trailer.
After a month and a half of wrangling between the city, its roofing contractor, and its insurance provider, a hangar roof at the municipal airport torn off during a July windstorm will be repaired. The work will cost $28,700 from the city on top of $18, 500 from the city’s insurance company.
Stiles said work could begin as soon as next week.
After a brief public hearing in which no one had any objection, council members unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday to exceed the city’s revenue-neutral rate.
Mayor Lou Thurston asked the only member of the public who attended the meeting whether she had anything to say about it, and she answered that she only had lived in Hillsboro a short time and did not know enough to comment.
Members also voted to adopt the proposed 2024 budget of $21,629,970.
The current year’s estimated budget is $19,847,518.
The 2022 actual budget was $19,002,097.