by April Scheinoha
Reporter
The impound lot is moving for the City of Thief River Falls. At its meeting Tuesday, Jan. 21, the Thief River Falls City Council approved a three-year agreement with Falls Towing to provide towing and impound services to the city. The council approved the matter as part of its consent agenda.
The City of Thief River Falls is running out of space at its current impound lot, which is located north of the Public Works Division along Atlantic Avenue. In the past, city leaders have also raised concerns about access to the impound lot.
Vehicles will now be towed to Falls Towing’s property, 16788 120th Ave. N.E., Thief River Falls. It is located south of Hefty Seed Company. Owners will be responsible for towing fees.
As part of the agreement, Falls Towing will provide towing and impound services as needed for motor vehicle accidents, criminal investigations, impounding abandoned vehicles and enforcing motor vehicle traffic/parking violations. It will also provide space for non-vehicle items, like ATM machines that the police department may need to be confiscated as part of their investigations. Those items will be stored in a secure area for an additional annual charge.
Falls Towing will soon begin moving the forfeited vehicles currently located in the impound lot. Falls Towing will move the vehicles at a cost of $50 per vehicle before spring to another location – Falls Towing’s former location seven miles outside of Thief River Falls. The city will be responsible for paying $150 per year per vehicle for the vehicles to be stored there.
The three-year contract spans from now through Jan. 22, 2023. Either party may ask to renegotiate the contract anytime after the first year has elapsed.
Erik Beitel, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2793, appeared before the council. Beitel announced that the 65th Annual Minnesota VFW Bantam A-AA Hockey Tournament will be held March 20-22 at Ralph Engelstad Arena and the Huck Olson Memorial Civic Center. The public is invited.
Sixteen teams will play at the arenas. Beitel expected that the tournament will draw a minimum of 500 people to Thief River Falls. So far, 11 teams have committed to the tournament. They hail from such places as Thief River Falls, Winona, Rochester, Chisholm and St. Peter.
The council approved a feasibility report for the proposed 2020 Street and Utilities Improvement Project. It also called for a public hearing regarding the project. The public hearing has been set for Monday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
The proposal includes improvements to Highways 1 and 59 as well as the construction of a Franklin Middle School Safe Routes to School multi-use trail. Those improvements are estimated to cost $1.5 million. Municipal State Aid, federal aid, a Safe Routes to School grant, Electric Department funds and city funding are expected to cover the project.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation plans to improve Highways 1 and 59, and the city is responsible for an estimated $1,354,000 of the project, which is included in the above total. The project is expected to completed in phases in the 2020 construction season.
MnDOT plans to reconstruct Highways 59/Third Street between Kinney Avenue and 125th Avenue (the intersection near Petro Pumper). Three roundabouts are planned – at the intersections with Brooks Avenue, Barzen Avenue and Highway 59 North. All three will be larger than the current roundabout near Greenwood Cemetery. A median will also be constructed from east of Barzen Avenue to west of Petro Pumper. It will be open at Ruby Avenue with left-turn lanes at that location. A frontage road west of Ruby Avenue will be extended to allow westbound traffic to access Westside Motors. In a separate, related project, the Red Lake Watershed District will improve drainage in the area.
The other proposed project is a Safe Routes to School multi-use trail near FMS. As part of the proposal, a 10-foot-wide multi-use trail would be constructed in the County Ditch 1 easement from Greenwood Street to Edgewood Drive. From there, it will traverse through a pedestrian easement to the east side of FMS. A second trail would be constructed from Edgewood Drive to Spruce Avenue along the south side of Gulf Street (near the baseball fields). In his report, Public Works Director Mark Borseth noted that about 12% of the school’s 488 students walk to school and pedestrian access is limited east and southeast of the school.
As part of its consent agenda, the council approved two purchase agreements with MnDOT for right-of-way and temporary construction easements related to the Highways 1/59 improvement project. MnDOT will purchase 0.13 acres of right-of-way and 0.67 acres of temporary construction easement from the city for a total of $5,700.
As part of its consent agenda, the council approved naming two public roadways as Technology Street and Digi-Key Drive. Both roadways were constructed as part of the Digi-Key expansion project.
Technology Street was constructed on the north side of Digi-Key. It connects Barzen Avenue with County State Aid Highway 16. Digi-Key Drive was constructed on the south side of Digi-Key. It connects Greenwood Street to Digi-Key’s new parking lot as well as Davidson Readi-Mix and a Minnkota Power substation.
Council member Steve Narverud thanked city staff for their work in clearing city roadways over the past weekend. He said he checked Sunday, Jan. 12 and he was able to drive all over Thief River Falls.
Council member Jerald Brown and Mayor Brian Holmer echoed Narverud’s comments. Brown said he heard from a lot of businesspeople who had been out of town that weekend. They were happily surprised the city roadways had been plowed and especially since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was observed that Monday.
Not everyone is happy with city snow removal, Holmer said. He noted that city leaders have received complaints about the city plowing snow into residents’ driveways after the residents have plowed or shoveled their driveways. Holmer said snow ends up in his driveway, too.
Holmer signed a proclamation declaring Jan. 26 to Feb. 1 as Thief River Falls School Choice Week. The proclamation noted that “Thief River Falls is home to a variety of high quality public and nonpublic schools from which parents can choose for their children, in addition to families who educate their children in the home.” It further indicated that “School Choice Week is celebrated across the country by millions of students, parents, educators, schools and organizations to raise awareness of the need for effective educational options.”
The next council meeting is scheduled Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.