At its regular meeting Wednesday night, the Emporia City Commission approved the resurfacing of Commercial Street from Third Avenue to 12th Avenue, a project for which the Kansas Department of Transportation will pay $200,000.
The resurfacing was chosen for KDOT’s FY 2011 KLINK Project, a continuing program in which the department pays half of the costs up to $200,000 for construction on and maintenance of state highways or connecting links that run within a city’s limits.
The estimated cost of the project is $420,021, and work on Commercial Street will take place next year.
Commissioners also awarded a bid of $5,000 to Alliance Benefit Group for an actuarial study regarding the city’s post-retirement benefits. The city is required to undergo a Government Accounting Standards Board No. 45 study every other year.
Commissioners authorized Mayor Bobbie Agler to sign a proclamation honoring Angela Anderson, outreach coordinator for the David Traylor Zoo, as the Kansas Wildlife Federation Conservation Educator of the Year. Anderson is responsible for developing education programs for the zoo and works to educate the public and encourages people to enjoy nature and practice conservation.
The commission appointed Tom Soetaert to the Building Trades Board to replace Ardie Lauxman, who will be moving. Soetaert’s term will run until Dec. 31, 2010, at which time he will be eligible to serve two full terms. Soetaert is co-owner of Mark II Lumber.
Happiness09 (anonymous) says...
$420,000!!! I must be in the wrong business. I'd be willing to jackhammer it up by hand and pour the cement myself for half that!
March 19, 2009 at 5:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
eatasheep69 (anonymous) says...
How about 30th street? That one is a freaking mess! Just trying to get to Holiday Resort from the East is like running an obsticle course. Many other streets in Emporia are in a lot worse condition than Commercial IMO.
March 19, 2009 at 6:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthinkin (anonymous) says...
YEAH !!!! Thanks for not re-surfacing 6th Ave --- AGAIN !
March 19, 2009 at 7:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
orlando (anonymous) says...
Wasn't Commercial done not long ago? Does anyone remember how long ago it was? I agree, there are lots of streets that need fixing before Commercial does.
March 19, 2009 at 8:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
b3bill (anonymous) says...
A much cheaper and effective solution in making the drive on Commercial from 3rd to 12th smoother is to tear out those awful brick crosswalks and replace with asphalt. The rest of the Commercial is in decent shape.
Those brick crosswalks are rough to drive over, they create a lot of traffic noise, and are very dangerous when wet since they are slick. Asphalt is much safer to cross the street on. The brick crosswalks were a very poor idea and removing them would be a big improvement.
March 19, 2009 at 10:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
josiesbar (anonymous) says...
I don't understand what the big deal is! I mean the city has MORE than enough of a budget surplus to EASILY cover the costs assoc...
What's that? They really don't? Ohh, well how do they expect to pay for this?
March 19, 2009 at 11:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mythoughts (anonymous) says...
Commercial doesn't seem to need the work, and its going to really impact the businesses there if they don't do it in a quick manner. How about 12th Ave or Rural? Rural between 6th and 12th is just awful. What makes Commercial the target, City Guys?
March 20, 2009 at 7:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthefacts (anonymous) says...
Probably because it is Highway 99 and the state helps pay for it. All the others cited would be 100% the city. You all get what you pay for. Best way to pay for street maintenance and repair is to assess the properties alongside the city streets annually to keep them in good repair. Let the knife throwing and back stabbing begin!
March 20, 2009 at 10:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
djdiablo (anonymous) says...
Ah, great, just what we need…hopefully this project can drag on for a couple of years, like the “6 month” or so project on Graphic Arts road (which still isn’t actually finished…)
But, as great as business is downtown, I guess we shouldn’t care if it takes 4 or 5 times longer than the contractors predict, that is status-quo.
Lets say they start on the south end, you all know perfectly well, with the kind of quality Emporia lets the contractors get away with, that by the time they finish up on the north end, the south will need further work.
Speaking of construction, has anyone noticed that the builder of the new building at 8th and Commercial must have some real connections? I find it odd that they close down 8th and the accompanying alleyways ANY TIME that they seem to feel like it. The other day the street was blocked and the “workers” were standing around in the middle of the street eating lunch…does the city just hand out the barricades? I'd love to have some, do I have to leave a deposit on them, or can I just haul them around and close down any street I feel like closing any time I feel like doing it?
If you own a business downtown, I would say fear this product very, very much. It might be time for a lo-o-o-ng vacation.
March 20, 2009 at 12:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )