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City to look at Johnson Park designs

NEW ULM — The New Ulm City Council is expected to approve Johnson Park RENU design concepts and order construction documents, Tuesday.

The schedule for the Reinvest in New Ulm (RENU) project is to have design, bid and award contracts this winter for Johnson Park. Construction is planned to begin in early June and conclude by the end of 2019.

Johnson Park was scheduled as the first RENU project as the city wants the baseball park upgraded before the 2020 State Amateur Baseball Tournament here.

The council will also consider authorizing the use of RENU funds to acquire engineering and drafting services and soil borings to design a first base/right field observation deck at Johnson Park.

The observation deck was not part of the original design request for proposal (RFP) and would be an additional cost estimated at $5,800. The soil boring is estimated at $2,000. This addition is related to the 2020 tournament. The observation deck would help accommodate a greater number of visitors.

A similar deck is also being requested by the New Ulm Baseball Association (NUBA) in Mueller Park in advance of the 2020 state tournament. A preliminary cost estimate for this deck is $25,000 to $40,000. This deck was included in the 2019 budget.

After the tournament, the city would have to maintain the deck, which would increase the Park and Recreation Department budget.

In other news, the council is expected to authorize nominating Hermann Monument as a National Historic Landmark. The National Historic Landmark designation provides additional recognition and status, along with greater opportunities for grant funding. The restoration of Hermann Monument will likely require funding other than city funds.

Historian Daniel Hoisington is willing to lead the nomination process for a fee of $4,000. The Hermann Monument Society and Heritage Preservation Commission have offered $2,000 toward this nomination.

The Recreation Center is in need of a boiler replacement. The recreation center’s has two original boilers that are approximately 40 years old and are beyond the manufacturer’s estimated life spans. The new boiler system is expected to be more efficient and will be used to heat the new RENU projects at the Recreation Center.

The lowest bid for the boiler replacement is $58,470 from ISG.

Lamplighter Bar & Grill plans to conduct the First Annual New Ulm Arctic Plunge on Saturday, Feb. 16. The event is a fundraiser for the New Ulm Fire Department, New Ulm Food Shelf and the animal shelter.

The request includes blocking off North Minnesota Street from the Wells Fargo drive-thru to 2nd North Street from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. to allow for VIP tents and bleachers.

In response to a growing number of requests from wireless providers and wireless infrastructure companies to construct small cell wireless facilities in public rights-of-way, the city is considering a new aesthetic standard policy.

Cities wishing to enforce aesthetic requirements on small cell wireless facilities must have requirements approved and published by January 14.

Truck traffic on Washington between 16th and 17th North Streets might be prohibited. In December, the Safety Commission recommended no truck traffic on this segment of Washington Street.

This road abuts the west side of the storage building located at 1615 N. State St. The building is utilized by the local 3M plant to store and shuttle materials to the plant. Residents indicated the building’s rear loading docks could be accessed by trucks without utilizing Washington Street.

The council with consider authorizing moving forward with the city manager recruitment process, which includes a position profile, job description and timeline.

Since November, Assistant City Manager Chris Dalton has taken on the position of city manager. The city delayed seeking a new replacement for the city manager position until after the holiday season.

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