Council approves extra funds needed for Artstone stabilization

Also votes to start cable TV franchise process for New Ulm Telecom

By KREMENA TODOROVA

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM - Slope stabilization at the new Artstone baseball field will cost an extra $98,861, the City Council learned Tuesday night.

However, this cost will be reduced by $35,625, thanks to excess fill from other city projects that was provided by the City of New Ulm, rather than by contractor Heymann Construction.

This amount shows up on contract accounts as a contract price reduction, or a credit, bringing the cost of the original contract to $1,236,324, up from $1,173,088.

The resulting increase, or $63,236, was unanimously approved by the City Council at its regular meeting Tuesday night.

The slope stabilization was necessitated by hill erosion at the site in late April, according to a report by City Engineer Steve Koehler, also unveiled Tuesday.

The erosion happened during excavation to construct the footing for the third-base dugout retaining wall, according to the report.

"Subsequent to this work, the unconsolidated soil on the slope area above and west began to creep and fall away from the upper portion of the plateau area adjacent to the Johnson Park running track," Koehler explained.

According to Koehler, an investigation found that the problem was most likely caused by a shale deposit, found under the fill previously placed east of the running track.

"The toe of the slope of this fill was most likely removed when the contractor excavated for the Artstone dugout footing, and the fill overburden began to creep along the moist face of the shale layer."

Koehler recommended that the problem should be corrected by "a 30-degree-sloped embankment method" ­ which means building a 30-degree slope reinforced with horizontal layers of special material. Two other methods were considered: an additional concrete or block retaining walls, and an anchored steel sheet pile wall, Koehler said. However, the embankment method was found to have the lowest initial cost ($98,861) and, unlike the other two, "would most likely provide a maintenance free repair."

The Artstone project is funded with a $500,000 private donation and some $736,000 in city funds.

According to City Manager Richard Salvati, the entire public portion of the funds consists of excess revenue from tax increment financing (TIF) projects.

These funds, if not used for a qualifying project such as Artstone, would go into the general funds of local government- including city, county and school district, Salvati said. Artstone funding has had "no impact on property taxes whatsoever," he stressed.

* In other business, the council started the process of considering a cable TV franchise for New Ulm Telecom, Inc. In line with state law, the process will begin with soliciting franchise proposals and a public hearing scheduled for July 8.

The existing 15-year franchise issued to Time Warner Cable in 1999 is non-exclusive, which means the city is free to issue additional franchises, City Attorney High Nierengarten stressed.

"I've been informed that the company (New Ulm Telecom) would accept a franchise which is essentially equivalent to that just issued to Time Warner Cable," he said.

"For years I have been advising the City Council and the City's Cable Television Advisory Commission that the only real solution for New Ulm residents' complaints about cable TV issues is through effective competition," Nierengarten also said.