BROOKINGS – The Brookings City Council passed a resolution Tuesday to proceed with construction of the sidewalk assessment project.

Councilor Holly Tilton Byrne said concerns have been raised about the timeline for the repairs.

The deadline to complete the work is Oct. 21, City Engineer Jackie Lanning said. She said contractor Clark Drew Construction has been asked to keep the time between the removal of the sidewalks and the installation to a minimum, which will help reduce their liability, as well.

The work area is east of Medary Avenue South and between Sixth Street and Orchard Drive, as well as property owners in the 2017 sidewalk area who volunteered to be in the project, which is north of Sixth Street and east of Medary Avenue, according to the attachment to the agenda available on the city’s website.

The annual concrete project entails construction of miscellaneous concrete work, including curb and gutter repair, fillets, valley gutters, curb ramps, and sidewalk along vacant property.

There are 57 properties listed for work, but no one spoke at the meeting on this topic.

The contract prices for the project, including the 6 percent engineering and administration fee are: remove 4-inch thick sidewalk, $2.86 per square foot; install 4-inch thick sidewalk, $7 per square foot; and adjust curb stop (if needed), $190.80 each. The city will assess the cost of the sidewalk repairs when the assessment is levied.

In other business, the council on Tuesday authorized City Manager Jeff Weldon to sign the bid award and grant documents for Brookings Regional Airport runway 17/35 improvements.

“This project is the reconstruction of the south end of Runway 17/35, which is approximately 1,700 feet long and designed by Helms and Associates. The project work includes grading, subbase course, aggregate base course, underdrain piping, asphalt paving, pavement marking, topsoiling, seeding and other items of related construction,” according to an attachment to the agenda.

Midland Contracting Inc. of Huron was the low bid with $732,763, which is approximately 24 percent lower than the Helms and Associates engineer’s estimate of $961,511, according to Weldon.

The city anticipates receiving a grant for the project, which will be funded by 90 percent federal funds, 5 percent state funds and 5 percent city funds, Weldon said. The city’s estimated share of the construction project is $36,638.

Councilor Patty Bacon asked if the completion of the project depended on the federal funding and said she had heard that federal money would be going away.

The money has been granted, said Bob Babcock, an engineer with Helms.

Bacon also wanted to confirm whether the Brookings Regional Airport was the busiest airport in the state as far as take-offs and landings.

Lanning confirmed it was one of the busiest, but she didn’t know for sure if it is the busiest. She did say that South Dakota State University is responsible for a lot of the traffic at the airport.

The council approved the sale of the Brookings Fire Department’s 1998 Freightliner FL-60 Tender. The high bid was $25,501 from the Gary Volunteer Fire Department.

Fire Chief Darrell Hartmann said the 1998 Tender has been replaced by a 2012 Kenworth 3,000-gallon Tender.

“I think it’s really neat a smaller fire department gets this equipment,” said Councilor Mary Kidwiler.

Hartmann said he thought the 1998 Tender would be replacing Gary’s 1958 vehicle, so it’s a big improvement for the Gary department.

The council amended the zoning ordinance pertaining to wireless communication facilities. The current ordinance was most recently revised in 2005.

New telecommunication facility poles may be built up to 35 feet high when located within the public right-of-way or to a height consistent with adjacent utility or street light poles. New facilities may be co-located on existing poles without a height restriction, according to the attachment.

Councilor Nick Wendell said people were concerned about the aesthetics of the poles and asked if there would be variances for higher poles.

Vernon Brown is with SDN Communications and he said the intent for two of the poles is to apply for a variance so they’d extend over rooftops.

Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.