Abby council

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■ ■ Central Fire and EMS District chief Joe Mueller attended the public comment portion of the council meeting to brief the council on a proposal for a new sign for the Abbotsford fire hall. Mueller said the district has been getting more and more questions about whether the three stations in Colby, Abbotsford and Dorchester are connected or not and said he would like to redo lettering on the building that currently says “Abbotsford Fire Hall.” The new signage would say, “Central Fire and EMS District.”

Mueller said the change is to help create uniformity among the district’s identity.

“All our trucks say that. All our ambulances say that. But our stations don’t,” Mueller said.

Mueller said his proposal would have each city take care of the cost for their own building’s signs. He said he spoke to representatives from Colby who said the city would be willing to cover the cost of the sign.

“I don’t want to do it on valuation because the city of Abbotsford has the most valuation and I don’t think it’d be fair to have the city of Abbotsford pay for part of the sign in Abbotsford and Dorchester.”

The item was part of the public comment section of the meeting so nothing was decided upon by the council.

■ ■ Dan Borchardt of MSA said the Fifth Street reconstruction project is on hold until the Local Roads Improvement Program (LRIP) funds are announced later this spring.

In his update, he also said raze orders have been issued for multiple properties throughout the city and all have been in contact with the city with plans for either razing or repairing properties.

■ ■ The council approved a fireworks display for the Fourth of July celebration in which they are spending $4,625 for about a 15 minute display from J and M Displays out of Iowa. The council discussed increasing next year’s budget for fireworks as the cost of the displays have gone up, but the city has kept the same amount budgeted for fireworks.

City Administrator Josh Soyk made a note to add that to the budget for 2025 and no formal motion was made.

■ ■ The board approved a conditional use permit for Natalyn and Cole Jannene and First City Storage at their property on the corner of East Linden Street and South 11th Street. The council also approved vacating a portion of its lot at the intersection to make the parcel square for the storage facility that will be built there.

After approving both of those measures, the council also approved a developer’s agreement with the Jannenes. The agreement allows the Jannenes to purchase the property for $1 while completing the storage facility before December 1.

■ ■ Public Works Director Craig Stuttgen gave the council a pair of bids to perform crack sealing work on streets within the city. He said the cheaper of the two bids includes job specifications that have been performed in the past and he has been satisfied with that contractor.

Alderman Jeremiah Zeiset asked what the difference was in the two bids, other than the price. Stuttgen said the more expensive bid makes the crack bigger and plugs more material into the crack. He said he still prefers the cheaper way of doing crack sealing. The council approved Precision Sealcoating to perform the job this summer.

■ ■ Soyk said the city’s new website is up and running. The site can be found at www.cityofabbotsfordwi.gov .