Cornell City Council; Riverfront trail gets final piece of the puzzle
It may be snow-covered now, but as the map shows in green, this summer, the shoreline along the Chippewa River at Cornell’s Mill Yard Park, will see work begin on the new riverfront trail. Photo by Ginna Young
By Ginna Young
It’s official, the riverfront trail along the Chippewa River in Cornell, now has all the pieces in place to begin construction this summer. Finalizing the project plans, a recreational trail easement agreement with Xcel Energy was approved by the Cornell City Council March 16.
Some stipulations with the agreement, are that the easement area shall remain open to the public for recreational purposes, without discrimination, while bicycles will be allowed on the paved trail, but not motorized vehicles.
The trail improvements will be completed along Mill Yard Park, beginning near the blue bridge and extending along the shoreline, all the way to connect to the city boat landing.
“I guess they went the easement route, rather than transfer ownership,” said city administrator Dave DeJongh. “It will still allow us to build that trail where we were hoping to build it.”
Council member Ashley Carothers asked how long the easement is good for, how long it will belong to the city. Thanks to some sharp reading by council member Floyd Hickethier, if, within a 10-year period, the easement area has not been utilized as a trail, as specified, the land will revert back to Xcel.
“I’m pretty sure it’s going to be used,” said Carothers. Now that the easement is in place, the council was able to accept bids for the project. Haas Sons had the low bid of $523,120, beating out Skid Steer Guy ($546,825); Mc-Cabe Construction ($634,380); Janke General Contractors ($644,649.15); and A-1 Excavating LLC ($687,067).
Along with the engineering fee, that brings the city to about the $599,100 amount of grant money they were awarded.
After a public hearing earlier in the night – at which no one from the estates was present – members also approved Ordinance 23-1, rezoning Lots 1, 4 and 5 of Brunet Estates, to an R-2 Single Family Residential District. Following that, Ordinance 23-2 was also approved, changing the minimal building widths for single family dwellings and duplexes in any R-2 Single Family Residential District in the city, along with a creation of manufactured home standards.
They also approved changes to the Brunet Estates restrictive covenants, such as each dwelling must have a minimum fair market value of $100,000. An amendment to the restrictive covenants was also passed, to allow detached garages and an amendment to the development agreement.
“In the past, they were only allowed to have attached garages in this development, because the city owned it,” said DeJongh. “Anybody buying property out there would have to follow these restrictive covenants.”
The council also approved a second amended development agreement with Tim and Sue Smith.
Also discussed, was the Chippewa County Outdoor Recreation plan for a cost of $500, which would give the city help searching for grants and planning for future improvements. However, the city does have their own plan.
“There are some municipalities that haven’t taken their time to do their own outdoor recreation plan,” said DeJongh. “So, for them to get any grants…that would qualify for them for those grants.”
Carothers says she feels Cornell has done well applying for and receiving funding, and questioned what grants the plan could offer that the city can’t apply for themselves. DeJongh said Cornell is as eligible as if they belonged to the county’s plan.
With all in agreement that the money would be wasted, the item was not approved.
The agreement with J& M Displays for the July 3 fireworks, was also left in limbo, as DeJongh reported he is still waiting to hear back from the company, after multiple attempts to contact them. The proposal was for the same amount the city paid last year, with the number of shells significantly reduced in the display.
“They never led me to believe there was much of an increase on shells, as there was last year,” said DeJongh. “I’m trying to get this settled sooner, than later.”
For anyone with an interest in the matter, a Halls, Parks and Recreation Committee meeting will take place Thursday, March 30, at 6 p.m., in the council chambers, to discuss the July 3 street dance and where it will be held. Anyone from the public is invited to attend to weigh in on the matter, with businesses especially encouraged to attend.
Residents are also reminded of the Tuesday, April 4 election, with hopes that voter turnout will be large.
“It’s very important,” said mayor Mark Larson.
