COURTLAND — The Courtland City Council received an update on the Kuester Pit Second Addition from Jason Kuester.

During the October meeting, the council discussed delays in completion of the Kuester Pit Second Addition. The lots in the addition were originally scheduled to be completed by Jason Kuester on July 31 based on agreement with the city. The council recommended the city attorney giving Kuester a revised timeline to complete the project.

Kuester was present at Nov. 2 council meeting. Mayor Al Poehler and the council questioned Kuester about why he hadn’t completed the project by July 31.

Kuester said the project will be completed by the end of next week because more leveling of dirt and the ditch was needed for water to flow toward Collin Drive. He said that not all of the dirt will be leveled, but he will have the erosion control done by the end of next week and the majority of the dirt pile will be gone.

Kuester said the delay was due to waiting for the gas and electrical work to be completed and the extra repair required after digging on the property. He also had a fire on one of his properties in August which he had to deal with that affected 37 of his employees.

Kuester said that all seeding and mulch has been put down, but if it doesn’t grow then he will reseed it in the spring along with the strip along the curb. He will also clean up the mulch in the spring.

Wishbone Way ditch

John Stadick questioned whose responsibility it is to clean out the culvert in the ditch by his house at 107 Wishbone Way as water will pool with only an inch of rain. It pools between his property and his neighbor to the north. Stadick explained there is about a 12-inch rise from his culvert to his neighbor’s culvert.

After discussion, the mayor/council agreed to take a look at the issue and then decide what needs to be done.

Public utilities

Discussion continued about the televising of the sewer lines by Underground Technologies. The mayor/council are concerned they have not received a prioritized report of how laterals should be cleaned.

“When we start jet cleaning, we need to know what should be done first,” Poehler said.

“We received a jump drive with the data; however, it is very time consuming to review that and to set priorities so a report would be very helpful,” Public works employee Dave Ubel said,.

Letters will also need to be sent to properties with problems.

Ubel said that Nuvera continues to work on installing the fiber optic lines. They are not removing the old copper lines which Ubel feels could be a problem in the future if any other digging needs to be done.

City clerk

City Clerk Julie Holm presented the bill from Underground Technologies. After a careful review, council members and the mayor decided to make a partial payment of $57,360 to cover the review of the laterals televised and the GPS. Further clarification will need to be made on the other items on the bill and why they haven’t received a prioritized report.

Two holidays will be observed by the city office: today for Veterans’ Day and Nov. 23-24 for Thanksgiving.

Collin Drive feasibility

Mayor Poehler explained that the city needs to do a feasibility study on Collin Drive before the land can be assessed back to the landowners. They need to study whether or not the proposed projects are necessary, cost effective, and feasible. The work will be identified as the 2024 Street Improvement Project, and plans for completion is by August 2024. Resolution 23-109 Collin Drive Feasibility Resolution was approved.