Update on third street for May 28

The following is a letter we got from our construction crew working on the third street loop project. I wanted to share the current plans with everyone so that they knew as much as we do as far as the project status.

 

Good Evening,

This email will serve as a notification of the work to expect within the week for the 2019 Street & Utility Improvements project which encompasses work within Walnut Street, 3^rd Street, Clay Street and the intersections of Clay St & 4^th St and Walnut St & 4^th St.

Construction items completed last week:

• Elcor Construction has in place the temporary water throughout the project.

Please avoid handling temporary water lines. 

• Elcor has done the connection tie-in on West Street & 3^rd Street, Clay Street & 4^th Street and Walnut Street & 4^th Street.

Traffic control signage is up and will remain in place for the remainder of the project. 

• Sanitary Manhole and it’s connections were completed on 4^th Street & Walnut Street intersection.
• Silt Fence to protect any project runoff has been placed through the park and on the backside.

Please avoid tampering with the silt fence as this protects any runoff into the bodies of water along the park.

• Elcor provided a temporary rock entrance on West Street & 3^rd Street to ease in/out vehicular traffic.

Below are a list of Construction items scheduled to take place this week:

• Elcor Construction (Contractor), now utilizing two crews, will perform watermain mainline work within the intersection of 4^th St & Walnut Street and continue the mainline heading south from both intersections on 4^th Street (Clay St & Walnut St).
• Watermain shutdown to make connections to existing main– Impacted residents will be notified prior to shut down.
• Storm Sewer along the way on the south side of the project is also projected to be done (scheduling tentative).

This schedule is weather dependent and is subject to change.

*Reminder: Please mark garbage cans with your address and set them out near the road the night prior to your scheduled garbage day.  Elcor will bring them to a central location to be collected and bring them back at the end of the day.

Mantorville Morns the loss of Chris Bruns

The City received some bad news this week. The City lost one of our newer Firefighters, Chris Bruns, this past weekend. Mr Bruns apparently suffered a heart attack while off-duty. Mr. Bruns was added to our FD team in January of 2018. He was just 28 years old. Funeral arrangements are pending. Please keep the Bruns family in your thoughts and prayers this week.

City votes to save covered bridge

On a 4 to 1 vote the Mantorville City Council voted to invest in the repair of our covered bridge to safe guard this historic asset. The foundation of the bridge had been under-cut and needed to be shored up.  After a meaningful discussion, the council voted for the bridge.

River Ice Formation

This past winter, when temps drooped down to negative 30, the river had some amazing ice formations. When the temps came up from -30 to around -19 and small holes in the ice appeared in front of the dam, ice formations developed from the water shooting up out of the holes to build spires of ice. These formations were not around long and many people have told me they were not able to see them before they fell. I wanted to get this picture up so everyone could get to see these unique formations.

Zumbro River Ice Formation

Grinder Pumps on-site

The Grinder Pumps that are to be installed as part of the Cemetery Road waste water project are on-site but have not been installed yet. I took a picture of these pumps to illustrate just how much storage capacity these pumps have. The entire pump is installed below ground with an "access" to the top for any needed maintenance. The mechanical parts of the pump once installed are designed to be able to be replaced within an hour to get the system back up and running.

Ten Grinder Pumps waiting to be installed

Thank You Ryan

Ryan Christensen had to resign his position on the Council because he is moving to Kasson. There were two strong candidates that came forward to fill Ryan's vacancy. Ms Fernandez and Mr Nash. Luke Nash was appointed last night to fill Ryan's seat, but we are working with Ms Fernandez to utilize her talents to help our community. In recognition for his service and dedication to the City of Mantorville, I presented Ryan Christensen, with a certificate of appreciation. I have included that certificate below. Thank you again Ryan and good luck on your next adventure.

Former Mayor rejoins Mantorville City Council

Luke Nash, a former Mayor of the City of Mantorville has been appointed to fill a seat vacated by Ryan Christensen. Council member Christensen is moving to Kasson and had to resign his position on the City Council. I presented Mr. Christensen with a certificate of appreciation last night prior to Mr. Nash's appointment. Luke has a a large breadth of experience with how the City of Mantorville runs and I know he will be a great addition to our council.

Arbor Day Celebration

The City of Mantorville, received it's official "Tree City" plaque last week. City staff is looking at sign locations to announce that our City has this designation. The program asks that those cities with this designation, plant 2 trees a year and the City of Mantorville will be doing a planting in recognition of Arbor day in Dennison field at 2:00 pm this Friday.

Emerald Ash Bore - Treatment

The City of Mantorville is treating some of our Ash Trees to prevent infestation by the Emerald Ash Bore that has been affecting our State in recent years. The company that is treating up to 17 of our trees said that any private property owner that would like to treat their trees at the same time, would be eligible for a discount for this service. Anyone that would like additional information about this discount should contact City Hall.

Possibly another 36 hours w/o power

Possibly another 36 to 48 hours with out power

City Hall Closed

Due to the City wide power outage, City Hall is closed today.

State of the City

March 21, 2019

Friends and neighbors, we have two new developments underway in town, we are improving our infrastructure, we have secured grant funding for our Waste Water Treatment plant and we have keep downward pressure on our tax rate. The State of the City is healthy and strong!

Quick Review
The City of Mantorville has prevailed in a law suit brought by a citizen and the City will continue to protect our Tax Dollars by aggressively defending our City. The City was able to work with AT&T and extend cell service to the residents of Mantorville while adding a new non-tax based revenue stream to the City's bottom line. The City was able to complete the Waste Water pipeline project and secure $1.8 Million in grand funding. The Annual custom of decorating our town with harvest celebrations returned to Mantorville last year. New water stewardship Kiosks have been installed in Riverside Park. The City of Mantorville now is offering lifetime pet licenses which are also branded with the new City logo.

Communication
The City, EDA and our staff have worked diligently on our communication efforts. The Mayors blog had 78 entries last year, we published our notices in the paper as well as copied them onto the public access cable channel and placed updates on our web site. The City and the EDA have been actively working on branding efforts to achieve a consistent community image and identity. We are looking at even more communication vehicles this year including expanding on our social media presence.

Oversight and leadership
I had the opportunity to attend the Minnesota Mayor annual conference this past year. This year we meet in Perham Minnesota up by Ottertail. This years conference was well attended and I had the opportunity to speak with some Mayors from across Minnesota from large metro cities to some small communities.

I have worked aggressively with presenting to the State Legislature our proposal for collaboration on Waste Water Treatment and exploring grant and other funding opportunities for our community. These efforts paid off with the City being awarded low interest loans as well as a grant of $1.8 Million.

AT&T Update
It was a cold snowy Wednesday in the middle of April but that did not delay the start of the AT&T equipment installation. After several years of discussions and planning Mantorville was one of the first sights to receive the new smaller foot print equipment shed. The new shed is about 6 foot square and is a much welcomed upgrade compared to the old style shed which would have been several times larger. In exchange for providing a home for AT&T's antennas the City will receive about $12,000/year. The project will help AT&T, add an additional revenue stream for the City and increasing the competitive options for cell coverage in Mantorville.

Fifth Street
The City was able to get the roadbed of Fifth street rebuilt and the first layer of pavement installed before winter. This spring we will finish the surface of fifth street as well as finish the trail along side of fifth street, fix some discovered drainage issues and complete the landscape restoration of the project. This leaves the final stage of Fifth Street to be completed in conjunction with the Highway 57 rebuild that will take place in 2022 for the Mantorville section of the highway.

Street Surveys
The City Engineer worked with the City Streets department a few years back to develop a comprehensive Street Condition survey. Each year the City revisits the survey and updates the conditions as things change. I have had several questions regarding streets and I wanted to share the Survey Image so that everyone can determine where in the priority list their street fits and also to help communicate the big picture for the town in general. Below is a link to the survey the City is currently working against located on my blog entry for August 28, 2018 here

Mantorville Theater Celebrates a Century of Show
The Mantorville Opera House which is maintained by the Mantorville Restoration Association turned 100 years old this year. The Opera House is home to the Mantorville Theater Company. The Mantorville Theater Company has been holding plays and melodramas in this historic building for over forty four years. Happy Birthday Opera House, and here is to another century.

Last year was a productive year for the City of Mantorville we are seeing our efforts to push for lower taxes payoff in terms of new developments. The City was rewarded for our collaboration with Kasson through grants and reduced interest rates. The City and the EDA will continue to push out our new brand image. The City leadership will continue to seek new grants, funding options and new non-tax based revenues for the City. The State of the City is Strong and Healthy, and we are looking forward to another great year.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford
Mayor - City of Mantorville
MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Feb 25th meeting cancelled

Due the cold, snow and a limited agenda for tonight, our City Council meeting is cancelled

Travel Emergency

Dodge Co. has pulled the plows off until Monday morning.
Emergency travel only, many area roads remain non-passable

Please stay home and be safe.

New Council is sworn in

The City Administrator administer the "Oath of Office" during our First meeting in January. The new council now has two meetings under it's belt and everybody is getting used to how the City runs.