Glen Strandberg
Staff Writer

The filing deadline for the Columbus special election has passed, which gives an indication of the quick process when changing from a township to a city. On Thursday, Aug. 31, two days after the candidates names were finalized, the Forest Lake Chamber of Commerce held a candidate forum so the citizens of Columbus could meet the people who want to serve their community.

For the position of mayor, current Town Board Chairman Mel Mettler will face Michael Wood. Running for the four city council seats are two current town board members, Renae Fry and Mark Walsh as well as Myron Organ, Dennis Peterson and David J. Povolny. Mr. Povolny was the only candidate who did not attend the forum, which was moderated by Alan Bakke.

ìMr. Bakke did a nice job of moderating,î Mettler said. ìEverybody got a chance to say a few words on a number of topics.î

Mettler felt the evening was informative, and that the small group who turned out to watch the forum was able to get a glimpse of the personality of each candidate.

ìWeíre taking off here on sort of a new thing as a city,î Mettler said, ìand we just as soon get it right and make this a good thing here for everybody in the township.î

From members of the chamber of commerce to the staff at Columbus Township, everyone felt the night ran smoothly.

ìI thought it was run very well, extremely well,î Wood said. ìHe (Bakke) did a fabulous job.î

Youíre Invited

As part of the transition to becoming ìthe City of Columbus,î the public is invited to attend the final meeting of the Columbus Town Board, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. Members of the town staff are hoping residents will turn out and enjoy coffee and cake.

On the previous day, the special election will have taken place, and once the election results are verified, and the new officers take the oath of office, the town will become a city.

147th Ave. Project

At its August 23 meeting, the town board voted 3-2 in favor of Alternate 4 for the 147th Avenue Project. The project will have road construction and the addition of utilities, which brought the issue of dealing with a section that is approximately 400 feet in length where soft soil would ìconsolidate under the extra weight of new road construction and will cause settlement of the street and utilities if not handled properly,î according to the report submitted by the townís engineer, Larry Bohrer.

Soil borings were taken for the final design of 147th Avenue, and those revealed deep peat deposits; the deepest being 26 feet. The purpose of Bohrerís letter was to evaluate the alternatives for managing the soft soils, and to compare them to the previously estimated project cost of $1,566,900.

There were four options for the board to consider, and Bohrer listed the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative.

Alternate 1 was the most reliable to eliminate settlement, but it had the highest cost at over $2.3 million.

Alternate 2 would reduce excavation, but with the water main installed above the sewer it would be difficult to repair, and the cost was also above $2 million.

Alternate 3 of using a light-weight fill had only a slight risk of settlement, but it is unfamiliar to most contractors, and the estimated cost is $1,852,833.

Alternate 4 had the lowest estimated cost of $1,563,010 and uses common construction and de-watering techniques. However, it does run the risk of long-term settlement of 1-2 inches.

Bohrer reached his decision based on three factors.

ìMy conclusions were cost; it didnít change our cost from what we had estimated earlier in the feasibility report,î he said.

ìNumber 2, this method is something familiar to contractors, and number three, I guess (there was) less impact on wetlands, and so on. You take all of those together so I came up with that conclusion.î

Two property owners petitioned for these improvements, - the Preiner family and North Metro Harness Initiative - and they will split the entire cost.

ìWe call it a 100% petitioned project,î Bohrer said.

Bids will be going out this fall with the work following shortly afterward. Bohrer expects the project to be fully completed around this time next year, and that would meet the timeframe needed for the opening of the harness race track and card room.

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Forest Lake Times
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880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
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