Council completes agreement with DM&E for crossings

Crossings at 12 South and 16th South will be

upgraded

By CHRIS VETTER

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The City Council approved a settlement Tuesday with the Environmental Protection agency, while completing an agreement with Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad to upgrade two crossings in town.

The council also accepted a $25,000 grant for soccer field improvements.

Under the DM&E agreement, the city will pay $52,000 for upgrades on two crossings next summer, with the railroad company paying $34,500.

The crossings -- a 72-foot concrete crossing at 12th Street South and a 60-foot crossing at 16th South -- have been slated for repair for a while, said City Manager Dick Salvati.

"Both crossings are in dire need of upgrading," Salvati said.

Councilor Denny Warta said he has heard several complaints about the two crossings from area residents.

"They are definitely in bad shape for trucks," Warta said. "They are bad. They have been for some time."

The city will pay its share with Municipal State Aid, which is an account managed out of St. Paul. The city gets about $600,000 each year in Municipal State Aid, and has about $150,000 remaining in the account from this year.

Under the agreement, DM&E will pay labor costs, equipment costs and expenses for workers, such as hotel and meal payments. The city portion pays for materials and tax on those materials.

City Engineer Steve Koehler said the only current concrete crossing in town is at 20th Street South.

The city and the railroad had an initial agreement to upgrade the two crossings last year, but that proposal fell apart.

EPA agreement

The city reached a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency for its failure to meet sludge guidelines in 1995 and 1996.

"We can bring to and end a process that began in February of 1993," said City Attorney Hugh Nierengarten.

Under the agreement, the city will pay $3,150 of a fine that was initially listed at $12,600, Nierengarten said. In return, the city and the Public Utilities Commission have agreed to build a new $50,000 holding pond at 23rd North Street. The goal of the pond is to reduce erosion and collect sediment from the storm sewer before it empties into the Minnesota River, he said.

"It is likely that within the next 10-20 years, we are going to be required to do this anyway," Nierengarten told councilors.

The fine was a result of the city's delay in updating new federal requirements to create better sludge, which is treated product from the wastewater plant. Sludge is generally applied on land to enrich the soil. The city built a plant that produces "extra high quality sludge," but the plant put the city 18 months behind the required compliance date, Nierengarten said.

Salvati spoke in favor of the agreement, saying it is necessary to protect the river.

"It appeared to us to be a responsible and proactive step," Salvati said. "It would have been cheaper to just pay the fine."

Salvati stressed that no environmental harm had occurred because of the delayed implementation of federal guidelines.

Warta also liked the holding pond plan.

"Runoff into the rivers is something that has to be looked at, and this is a good start," Warta said.

Koehler said that city staff will work on blueprints for a holding pond this winter. He could not guess the size of the pond at this time.

The 23rd North Street sewer outlet is responsible for 25 percent of city runoff at this time, and that percent will likely grow as more development occurs in the northern section of town, Salvati added.

The city will pay $20,000 of the total project cost, with the Public Utilities Commission paying the remaining $30,000 tab.

Soccer fields

The city has received a $25,000 grant from the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission for creating a regulation sized (80 yard by 120 yard) soccer field.

The grant comes with the expectation that the city will pour $100,000 into soccer field renovations.

The MASC had 130 total grant requests, and it funded 68 of them, including the New Ulm proposal.

Council President Dan Beranek said the city still must decide if it will create one field in the Artstone Park, or find an alternative site where three or four fields can be placed side by side.

Dave Wright, president of the New Ulm Area Youth Soccer Association, said Tuesday he was pleased with the grant.

"I'm glad our application was accepted," Wright said. "It's going to be a real boost to our program. I think soccer is a sport that was needing funding in this part of the state.

Half percent sales tax

The city received a report that shows higher-than-expected returns if a half-percent sales tax increase passes this November.

Under the report by Anton, Lubov & Associates of Minneapolis, the city would obtain 17 percent more money in future revenue than predicted last year.

According to the report, the city would obtain $764,000 in 2002, the first full year of implementation, if the sales tax passes.

By 2006, the revenue would increase to $905,000 the report states.

The city has planned a $9 million upgrade to city recreational sites, such as renovating Vogel Arena, creating a new hockey and exhibit facility and expanding the senior center. If city residents approve the plan Nov. 7, the city will sell bonds to construct the projects. A half-percent sales tax increase would then be used to pay the bonds.

The higher sales tax revenue would indicate it would take less than 18-20 years to repay the bonds.