Caledonia Argus

City delays decision on taking over school road

Posted: 4/9/02

by Jane Palen
Managing Editor

The City Council will wait until a joint meeting with the school board to decide whether to accept a 33-ft. wide street that is part of Gjere Avenue and leads to the new school.

Typically, the city requires streets to be 37 ft. wide, but the council appeared willing to consider a narrower street as long as other conditions were met. Those conditions include upgrading the road, installing curb and gutter and allowing parking on one side only for certain events, and no parking the rest of the time.

Developers, in this case the school district, generally build a street to specifications and then dedicate the street to the city. Once it is dedicated, it becomes the cityís responsibility to maintain.

The council noted that the street may one day be extended to meet highway 76 on the north. Council members John Klug said he is concerned that he city may one day be expected to put that extension in.

The council will continue its discussion regarding the road at a joint meeting with the school board on April 17 at 7p.m. at the high school.

That date is also the date of a scheduled meeting during the day with representatives of the Minnesota Department of Transportation regarding other issues associated withe the new school, including traffic signals, speed limits, walkways and lighting. Representatives of the school, city, and general population will be attending that meeting in Rochester.

In other news, the council discussed pool policies and procedures with manager Kirsten Hefte, and approved a contract with Community Education for the summer recreation program.

The council directed Hefte to have a lifeguard ìon deckî during all 10-minute breaks in order to watch the children in the pool. The council also agreed to look into buying new lockers and a bike rack for the pool.

The council also agreed to open the pool for lifeguard training only in May. This will allow those students an opportunity to gain experience through the summer.

The council approved a contract with Community Education for $24.66 per hour for providing the summer recreation program. The maximum amount is $5,155. Last year, the maximum was the same but only $3,100 was spent.

Tina Esch is head softball coach and Zach Hauser and Korey Moore are head coaches for the boys baseball program.

Top of Page