Politics & Government

Woodbury Approves Assessments For Summer Roadwork

More than seven miles of road will be fixed up in Woodbury.

The Woodbury City Council on Wednesday approved assessments for 2011 , which are among the most ambitious the city has undertaken in recent years.

The two areas that will see the most work are the Woodlane Hills neighborhood and Wooddale Drive and Woodlane Drive.

The project will fix up more than seven miles of Woodbury roads and cost nearly $4.3 million, with the bulk of the money coming from the city’s street reconstruction/maintenance fund. A third of the costs—more than $1.7 million—will be assessed to residents.

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The assessments vary depending on the properties in the area. For example, work on Chochrane Drive, where there are primarily multi-family homes, will be assessed at $148 per unit. In Woodlane Hills, mostly single-family homes, the cost will be $1,678 each. (For further details on the assessments, check out the PDF with this story.)

No one spoke during Wednesday’s public hearing on the matter, though the city did receive three letters of appeal, one of which was related to a senior deferral.

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Residents will have the option to pay off the assessments in one lump sum, or have it go to the county to be placed on the tax roll. The assessments have 15-year terms with 4 percent interest.

The work is expected to begin June 6 and be substantially complete by the end of September. City Engineer Klayton Eckles assured residents that the roadwork will be completed in sections and likely disrupt neighborhoods for six-week stretches.

One bonus for the city is the competitive bid market for contractors—the bids for the 2011 road projects came in under staff estimates.

“We’re still getting good prices at this point,” Eckles said.

The council also awarded the contract for the work to Asphalt Surface Technologies Corp., which came in with the lowest bid.

School Drive

One unique aspect of this summer’s roadwork is School Drive, which the city is planning to turn over to District 833 once the work is complete.

Changes to the road over the years have turned it into a glorified driveway for the there, and it makes sense for the city to relinquish responsibility for its future upkeep to South Washington County Schools, Eckles said.

Councilman Christopher Burns asked why the city would spend the money to fix up the road only to hand it over to the school district.

The city can’t compel South Washington County Schools to take the road, City Administrator Clint Gridley said, and the upcoming project provides and incentive for the district to assume control of the street. The procedure is similar when counties turn streets over to cities, he said.

“It’s a pretty standard practice in the transportation industry,” Gridley said.

Sherwood Road

One matter that city staffers are still working on is how to curb speeding along Sherwood Road, which is slated for construction this summer.

There are two opposing forces that make traffic calming in the area difficult, Eckles said. Reducing the width of the road would slow traffic, but also bring pedestrians closer to vehicles. He said staff would continue to examine its options and meet with residents about the matter in early June.

In other action, the council:

  • Recognized the local with a proclamation. Organizers told the council there are 1,400 people signed up this year for the American Cancer Society fundraiser.
  • Approved a beer and wine license for Asia Bistro, a new restaurant slated to open near at CityWalk in mid-June.
  • Approved a liquor license for Carmine’s, a new Italian restaurant set to open in August at 9900 Valley Creek Road.


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