Meeting by teleconference for the first time, the Backus City Council agreed to seek better prices on several projects during its Monday, April 6, regular meeting.
The council reviewed quotes from Anderson Brothers for crack sealing and paving for several roads. The crack sealing quote came in at $24,469.46, a price the council thought was somewhat steep. Anderson Brothers also provided quotes for street repairs and overlays on Grover Avenue, King Street, Lakeside Drive and Wood Street for $27,392.91.
Council members agreed to reach out for more quotes on both projects; however, they agreed to move forward with the $6,196.80 portion of the quote for repairs relating to excavation for curb stop access at the former Dufour home.
Clerk Ann Swanson said the city could pay for the project from the water fund since the damage was done as part of repair to water systems.
The council also asked Andy Schwartz of the Pine River Area Sanitary District to seek a better price from Generator Power Systems for load bank testing of the city's backup generator. The system is overdue for service, but the cost came in at $2,155. The council agreed servicing is important but hoped for a better price.
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In other business Monday, the council:
- Accepted a $2,800 quote for cleaning and inspection of the city water tower by Tower Clean and Coat, of Lodi, Wisconsin.
- Agreed to adjust a water bill for a seasonal resident whose pipes froze and burst while they were away. Their bill for water and sewer came to nearly $1,000; however, the council agreed not to charge sewer fees on that water since it was not going into the sewer. The property owner will still be responsible for the water fee, which is around $500.
- Asked Swanson to seek information from engineers at Short Elliot Hendrickson to determine what type of documents they need to grant access to cut down trees on private property that are obstructing the runway at the airport.
- Approved payment for purchase of a parcel of tax forfeited property by the water tower.
- Approved street sweeping.
Travis Grimler may be reached at 218-855-5853 or travis.grimler@pineandlakes.com. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Travis.
