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City Council talks city revaluation, library expansion and more to come

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By Caitlin Bittner

The Prairie du Chien Common Council met on Tuesday, July 21, at 7 p.m.

The first order of business was to hold a public hearing about a potential change to the library expansion project. City Planner Garth Frable outlined the proposed addition of a safe room below the library. “The idea is that there is a grand opportunity to provide safety in case of a tornado or high winds, and include a basement in the library,” Frable explained.

With this plan, it would also be possible for the library to construct an elevator, which would be paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant.

The room, according to Frable, would be 1,800 square feet and be able to hold 300 people. “This project would cost $350,000 and 25 percent of that would be the responsibility of the city. It’s only an application at this point and the [funding] match would be the responsibility of the library capital campaign,” said Frable.

Councilman Ron Leys was curious about who the safe room would serve.

“In an emergency situation, it would serve anyone who can get there,” commented Frable.

Councilwoman Karen Solomon clarified that this project was not a part of the original plan and wondered if this room would be available for other uses.

The room, if it is built, could be utilized for any number of purposes including a conference or event room.

Mayor Dave Hemmer noted that safe rooms such as these are becoming popular additions to many area communities. “At the last FEMA meeting I went to, it was clear that more and more communities have been adding these.”

After the discussion was over, Solomon motioned to approve the resolution, allowing the city to move forward with the application process, and it was seconded by councilwoman Jean Titlbach. The motion was carried unanimously.

In other business, the Prairie du Chien City Council also:

∙held a public hearing regarding the sale of unused city land. According to City Administrator Aaron Kramer, the parcels are all located in the southwest area of Prairie du Chien and packets will be available to interested parties.

Bidding on these parcels will remain open until Aug. 17, at which time the bids will be looked at and either accepted or denied. “In total, [the properties] add up to slightly more than two acres. It’s buildable if raised,” explained Kramer.

Solomon motioned to declare a finding of no public need, which was seconded by councilman Nate Gilberts and unanimously approved.

∙was addressed by Todd Crotty in order to clear up questions from an area business owner. He asked them to address the removal of the ‘sidewalk closed’ signs along the railroad tracks, as well as the banners that used to hang on the street lamps downtown.

Kramer addressed the first question by saying the council understood the questions about the sidewalk closed signs, but it was not the city’s jurisdiction to have them moved. “They were put there by the DOT and the railroad. We just don’t have the jurisdiction to move the barricades, but we have been in contact with [these agencies] regarding this issue.”

As for the street lamp banners, the mayor and city administrator both explained that the size of the banners chosen for the posts was not cost-efficient.

“In order to have readable banners from the road, they’d have to be much bigger,” stated Kramer.

“And in order to get bigger banners, we’d literally have to go up there and bust the welds to make them work, or we’d have to place new ones altogether,” Hemmer continued.

As to the location of the old banners, Hemmer said that they have been searched for, but have yet to be found.

∙Aug. 1, 2015, was officially recognized as Relay for Life Day in Prairie du Chien.

∙discussed the Parker’s Repair parking lot, which was recently acquired as part of the library expansion project. It was declared a blighted area in order to begin inspection of the land by the Redevelopment Authority (RDA).

∙the city administrator’s report honored city attorney Tom Peterson for his 36 years of work as the city attorney, as well as Mark Peterson’s 40 years of service on the planning commission.

∙discussed the four-year citywide revaluation to take place starting in the near future.

∙talked about the new LED conversion happening to the city’s lights. The project’s cost is $40,000, but the city expects to see that amount returned in energy savings within two years. “We’ve seen dramatic decreases in cost,” said Kramer.

∙mentioned the water quality issues at LaRiviere Park. The city administrator noted that the issues that were being experienced have since been dealt with and cleared up.
∙discussed the new multi-use trail to be added to LaRiviere Park.

∙commented on the construction of a new terminal at the Prairie du Chien Airport, which would be completed by 2016 and is supposed to complement the design of the Crossing Rivers Hospital.

Councilman Leys suggested that, before the city spend money to facilitate this project, the council tour the current terminal. “I don’t feel comfortable spending sizable funds without having seen it,” commented Leys.

∙added discussion of drones to the Aug. 4 meeting agenda. It was noted that because of the Prairie du Chien Airport, the city is actually a drone-restricted area, but that the issues still need to be further discussed.

∙approved the minimum hourly salary of $16.50 for public works (streets, water, WWTP) employees and the job posting of street department operator.

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