BREEZY POINT — In its Monday, May 1, meeting the Breezy Point City Council voted unanimously to approve a shared services agreement with Ideal Township regarding upcoming improvements to Buschmann Road, a portion of which is shared between the two entities.
The half-mile section of road was excluded from the original contract because the city was not sure Ideal Township would take part in the improvement project.
With the addition of Ideal Township, the projected timeline we had for this project is changing a bit.
The council also approved a contract amendment with WSB Engineering for the project, contingent on the approval of the shared services agreement by the Ideal Township Board of Supervisors.
The cost of this first phase of the project is $68,580, which is to be split evenly between Breezy Point and Ideal Township
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“With the addition of Ideal Township, the projected timeline we had for this project is changing a bit,” City Administrator David Chanski said. “Originally, when this was approved, the anticipated timeline was Phase I would be done early summer … then Phase II in the fall, and we would have a final design and engineering, and then be able to go out for bids in January 2024 with the goal of potentially doing construction in the summer of 2024.
“With Ideal being on board now, that is going to stretch it a little bit. Now we are looking at Phase I in 2023 … then Phase II in 2024 and construction in 2025.”
In other action Monday, the council:
- Approved an agreement with Baker Tilly Consulting for municipal adviser services.
- Accepted ownership of the Charter Communications building on North Drive and released Charter from its lease obligations. Chanski said there is no outlined plan for using the building, but the building is in good shape and discussions are ongoing.
- Scheduled a workshop from 1-3 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, to discuss the City Hall Facility Assessment final report. At the workshop, council members and staff will take in a presentation from Widseth engineering firm on their report and will conduct initial discussions on how to proceed. The workshop is open to the public.
- Classified a number of tax-forfeited properties as “non-conservation.” Chanski described this action as a “formality.”
- Voted to move toward an “open book” format regarding property valuations.
- Agreed to enter a contract with Heartland Animal Rescue Team in Baxter. The city had been taking all impounded dogs to the Babinski Foundation since 2016, but the city recently received communication from Babinski saying they were not to bring any dogs to them as they are “unable to fill a shelter contract at this time” due to an influx of unwanted animals currently at the shelter.
“Unfortunately, this is really the only option we have,” Chanski said. “It is either take this option or don’t pick up any more dogs.”
In April, the Breezy Point Police Department responded to 335 incidents, an increase of 166 from April 2022. Among the incidents were 205 traffic stops, three traffic arrests, three crashes and one theft.
Council member Brad Scott was not in attendance Monday.
Dan Determan, sports writer/staff writer, may be reached at 218-855-5879 or dan.determan@pineandlakes.com. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Dan.
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