By Kellen Olshefski
SLN Staff
At its Oct. 24 meeting, the City of Elkhorn Municipal Services and Utilities Committee voted in favor of recommending the approval of the repair of roof drain leaks at the library.
The committee voted in favor of the recommendation 2-1, with Alderman Michael Kluck and Alderwoman Cathy Bensaid voting in favor. Alderman Hoss Rehberg cast the dissenting vote.
Department of Public Works Manager Neal Kolb said the library has two interior roof drains that come down through the building, one of which is leaking significantly and the other is about to start leaking as well.
Kolb said if approved, the vertically running, cast-iron pipes would be replaced with PVC pipes and the pipe would be ran out to the street through the foundation.
The project would be awarded to Siegler Grading-Excavating at a cost of $4,300, if approved by the full council. The other of the three companies approached, Odling Construction Inc., offered a proposal at nearly $15,000.
When it comes to who pays for the project, City Administrator said this is one that would likely be split in half, the city paying 50 percent of the cost.
Tapson said this is where an operating agreement between the city and library would come in to play, though he thinks splitting the project equally is fair with this project.
In other business
In other business, the committee voted in favor of sticking with the purchase of 100 trees for the city’s annual holiday display.
The committee had previously requested information on the cost of purchasing a handful of trees that could be planted the following spring, rather than simply disposing of all 100 at the end of the holiday season.
“I believe there would be some additional time and energy put in by DPW dealing with the balled trees and I think our time is just a little bit short right now to move forward for the 2016 season,” Kolb said , recommending the committee hold off on the idea until next year.
The committee voted in favor of recommending the full council approves the traditional approach, purchasing 100 trees at a cost of $1,500. The motion was approved unanimously.
