(Arnolds Park)– Arnolds Park residents that have boat hoists along docks on public accesses may soon be paying for that privilige.
City Administrator Ron Walker says the city council is looking at raising the permitting fee, which is currently 400-dollars. Walker says the city is researching to see what other cities are charging. He says the council will consider a recommendation at its April meeting.
The council also Wednesday was updated on a project to install stoplights at the intersection of Highway 71 and 202nd Street, or Taco House Road. The project was awarded last fall in a DOT bid to KWS. Walker says construction is expected to start about April 1st.
The council was also updated on the Sawmill bridge project. Walker says preliminary plans have been submitted to the DNR and U-S Army Corps of Engineers. But he says there’s been some renewed discussion over what the height of the bridge should be. He says it’s currently designed for an 8′ 6″ clearance which would allow for the passage of the fire boat and dock barges. But he says some would like to see it higher to match the highway 71 and Hinshaw bridges. Walker says the council has scheduled a special meeting for March 26th to hear public comments on the proposal.
If things go accordingly, Walker says construction on the Sawmill Bridge could get underway this fall with completion in the spring of 2009.
Preliminary estimates put the cost at roughly 1.2 to 1.3 million dollars. Walker says 80 percent of that, not to exceed one million dollars, is coming from the federal government.
