WAUPUN — The Waupun City Council unanimously passed three projects from the Board of Public Works Tuesday evening.
This included a landscaping contract for the new Community Center, an asphalt quote for repairing the Lincoln Street railroad crossing, and the purchase of a new work truck for the Department of Public Works.
Progress on the new Intergenerational Community Center has been going along smoothly, with completion expected this fall or winter. The City has taken quotes for landscaping to the property now that the exterior is mostly complete, receiving a quote from Rens Nursery in Waupun for $19,005 and K&B Trees, Lawns, and Landscaping in Beaver Dam for $23,750.
The DPW Board recommended Rens Nursery for the project, which the Council accepted.
The second project considered was plans to repave the railroad crossing on Lincoln St. The City received two quotes for the project, one from Kartechner Bros for $16,500 and the other from Northeast Asphalt for $10,920. The low bid by Northeast was accepted by the board.
The project timeframe for the railroad repair is this fall depending on if there are openings by railroad work crews, as the project has to be done through the railroad company. The DPW noted that the crossing has a dead-ended track alongside the active track on the road, which will likely be removed during the repair.
“The railroad would like to partner with the City on a repair here similar to what was just done at the Main St. crossing,” Public Works Director Jeff Daane wrote in the agenda summary. “The railroad would remove the old blacktop along with the dead-ended track. They would replace some of the bad timbers along the active track. They would like the City to hire the asphalt contractor and pay for that portion of the work.”
As for the purchase of a new work truck, it was an unplanned and unbudgeted item.
The new truck will be a replacement for a previous truck that was hit by another vehicle on N. Madison St. and totaled a few weeks ago. Due to the truck being an old model, the City only recieved $12,674.75 in insurance for a replacement, which is not nearly enough to cover the costs of a new vehicle in the current market.
The DPW has been looking for a replacement but all the reasonably priced listings are sold within days to the point where the Waupun DPW hasn’t gotten a chance to view them. They also received quotes from Homan Auto and Madison Truck Equipment for between $55,000 and $60,000 for a new truck with the same equipment, which is outside of their budget constraints.
At the meeting they requested the Council to authorize $30,000 for the DPW to purchase a used vehicle within their specifications.
All three were passed unanimously by both the DPW Board and City Council.
Also discussed was the backyard chicken ordinance, for which a survey was released last week and as of the meeting received more than 170 responses. A draft was presented for the youth sports parade/escort policy and a provision was added for organizations to submit a request ahead of time.
The Council also heard department reports, with Waupun Fire & EMS, DPW, and Utilities thanking their workers for being out in the community during the flooding to help others in the community while their own families had to deal with the same issues. Fire Chief BJ DeMaa submitted an application to Wisconsin Disaster Fund for the recent flooding. They also received 60 total cleaning kits to help homes affected by the flooding, and 45 were handed out so far.
The Waupun Public Library is also now considered a “public cooling station” by Fond du Lac County.
