Setting priorities

A second estimate of what it will cost to repave Main Street in Royal confirms what the first one indicated – it will be expensive.

Several months ago a paving contractor estimated that to completely rebuild Main Street from Huberg Trucking to the fire station, as well as three intersections, could cost approximately $900,000. Brian Schmidt, an engineer with Kruse, Cate & Nelson, P.C., recently offered a similar estimate.

According to discussion at the July 12 council meeting, Schmidt also estimated that milling off 1-1/2 inches of existing pavement and then adding three inches of new asphalt could cost approximately $400,000. The street surface of Main Street would be higher, but it would also be more level.

"That is around a 20-30 year fix, or patch, while a complete redo would be a 50-year fix," said Mayor Josh Toft.

"That's a lot of money, but there are a lot of other areas in town to fix," said Council Member Jim Virelli. "I want to see Main Street done, but you can't put off forever the other streets."

Council Member Matt Goyette suggested that a list of city projects should be compiled.

"There are a ton of projects, but we have to set priorities," he said. "We have to save the infrastructure first."

The other council members agreed to discuss those priorities at future meetings.

• Nuisances, hazardous trees

The city sent 10 letters that gave residents another 30 days to meet the requirements of the nuisance ordinance. Northwest Iowa Planning and Development prepared abatement notices for three other properties where little progress was seen.

"It's a never ending process pressuring people, but the others have made significant progress," noted Council Member Mitch Fahnlander.

Discussion about nuisances transitioned to how the city can deal with dead or dying trees.

"There are tons of them. They're everywhere," said Goyette.

"Because of the ash borer, there will be a lot of trees," said Maintenance Superintendent Sherman Nielsen. "What's the definition of when a dead tree is a hazard?"

The council decided to contact other cities to see how they are addressing the issue.

• Fireworks limitation

A resident asked the council to consider limiting when fireworks can be fired in the city limits. The request was not to ban fireworks completely, but to reduce the timeframe in which they can be set off.

The city currently follows state law regarding when fireworks may be used. The law permits fireworks to be set off from June 1-July 8, and from Dec. 10-Jan. 3. General hours are 9 a.m.-10 p.m., except for special dates such as July 4 and New Year's. Cities have the authority to restrict when fireworks may be shot off.

According to discussion, the matter is "an enforcement issue." City Clerk Barb Fletcher will check with other communities to see what restrictions they have regarding fireworks.

"Let's reach out to other towns and see what they are doing," said Goyette. "I'm fine with limiting it to the week before and the week after."

"If someone still breaks it, our hands are kind of tied," Toft responded.