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Grant for safe room in library expansion approved by Prairie du Chien council

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By Correne Martin

The proposed renovation and expansion for the Prairie du Chien Memorial Library may also include a safe room in the basement to be used in case of emergency. During its regular bi-monthly meeting Tuesday night, the city council accepted a FEMA grant for $262,336.37 to construct the safe room, which would occupy 1,782 square feet of the 4,960-square-foot basement under the addition.

According to City Administrator Aaron Kramer, the space would also be multi-purpose, allowing for a host of uses when there is no emergency. Kramer said accepting the grant would not obligate the city to take the FEMA dollars and construct the basement. Library Director Nancy Ashmore as well as City Planner Garth Frable both voiced their support of the basement layout, including a safe room.

2017 road project
The council also approved a number of Community Sensitive Design projects associated with phase two of the Marquette Road project, from LaPointe Street to Crawford Street. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has allocated $274,000 to the city for such improvements. The DOT will utilize 10 percent of that total in its portion of project design.

Plans for design, which the DOT wants completed by Aug. 1, 2016, include:

•Street trees on the west side of the roadway between Parrish and Mooney Streets.

•Rapid flashing beacons placed at the crosswalks at Wells Street and Campion Boulevard.

•Colored concrete crosswalks, with the color and finish to match the crosswalks constructed on Marquette Road in 2014.

•Colored concrete medians, also matching phase one designs.

•A colored concrete terrace.

•Street lighting to match phase one.

Surplus expenditures
An excess of $427,902 in funds in the city’s undesignated reserve account and a set of plans to use that surplus was presented to the council Tuesday night. The council approved a half-dozen projects to be completed this year under the reserve money:

•Provide $49,999 in funding to the Tourism Information Center, which has been wanting to expand.

•Resurface McLeod Street, from Wacouta to Michigan ($9,504); Blackhawk Avenue, from Main Street to the railroad tracks ($75,000); and Pine Street, west of Michigan Street ($4,277).

•Grind and overlay Parrish Street, between First Street and the project limits of the 2017 Marquette Road reconstruction ($83,628); and Webster Street, from Fremont to Ohio, including the Fremont intersection ($111,429).

•Purchase a new pickup truck for the public works department ($21,000).

•Fund part of a compensation-salary study ($5,000).

•Install additional playground equipment at Lawler Park ($12,000).

Other business
The former Parker’s Repair facility on Beaumont Road, which the city purchased to become a parking lot for the library, is slated for demolition sometime before Dec. 2. All of the material will be removed and recycled or disposed. Frable told the council that the asbestos abatement included in the bid for demolition was no longer necessary, as that component is minimal.

The council approved a proposed contract with Tri-State Regional Ambulance, pending review and approval by the city attorney. The current contract expired at the end of 2015. The new contract contains two modifications: a perpetuity clause with typical termination clauses, and language to allow Tri-State to submit TRIP claims to the Department of Revenue to collect outstanding bills.

Kramer explained the 2015 audit, which showed the city finished the year with a surplus of $305,362. The city’s reserve account for the year ended up at $1,722,115.

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