City approves installing sewer on Libertyville Road

The Fairfield City Council approved at its Monday meeting the drawings and engineer's estimate of cost for proposed sanitary sewer improvements along Libertyville Road.

According to a letter from French-Reneker-Associates to the council, the project consists of laying 6,300 feet of 8-inch diameter gravity sanitary sewer along the north and south sides of Libertyville Road. The new sewer line will begin near the intersection of Libertyville Road and Highway 1, and go 3,500 feet to the west.

Bids for the project are due a week from today, April 4. French-Reneker project manager Stephen Pedrick told the council he should know a low bidder and have a recommendation for contractor at the council's next meeting April 8.

Pedrick mentioned that there will be no construction on the sewer July 25-26 because RAGBRAI is coming to town and the cyclists will likely use Libertyville Road.

'All concrete patches shall be poured back and cured, and there shall be no temporary granular patches in Libertyville Road for these days,” Pedrick wrote in his report.

Pedrick also told the councilors they should be mindful that the construction will disturb grass and trees, so they should be prepared to field questions or comments from the residents affected.

The contract states that the project shall be 'substantially completed,” meaning the sewer is installed and working, by Oct. 31. Final completion is set for May 29, 2020.

The cost estimate Pedrick gave the council included figures for two ways of building the sewer. The cost of installing the sewer using mostly an open-cut method is expected to be $783,000. The cost of using mostly directional boring is expected to be $750,000.

Airport improvements

The council approved the drawings and specifications for a pair of projects at the Fairfield Municipal Airport.

Phase I of the project will involve paving with concrete the taxiways by the T-hangars, along with repairing cracks in the runway. Though it's awaiting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, airport manager Bob Lyons said the plan is to close the final 500 feet of the 5,000-foot runway so it can remain in operation while the cracks are repaired. Engineer's estimate of probable cost is about $450,000. Ninety percent of the cost will be borne by the FAA, while the city is responsible for 10 percent.

Phase II involves work on the entryways off the taxiway and into the hangars. The hangars affected are the west-facing ones and the hangar owned by the city. Engineer's estimate for the probable cost of Phase II is about $195,000. The state is covering 85 percent of the cost of this project, with the city covering the remaining 15 percent.

'Unlike many airports, we're almost self-sufficient,” Lyons told The Ledger. 'We are one of the top airports as far as runway length and the quality of our terminal building. The city has done a wonderful job taking advantage of grant opportunities in front of us.”

Lyons said he cannot thank Mayor Ed Malloy enough for flying to Washington, D.C., to lobby for federal discretionary funds to be spent extending Fairfield's runway from 4,000 to 5,000 feet.

'We have four jets coming here in the next five days, and there's no way they'd come without that extra runway,” Lyons said.

RAGBRAI vendors

The council passed the first reading of an ordinance setting temporary rules in effect from July 25-26 while RAGBRAI riders are in town. One of the rules dealt with requiring those interested in selling items to the riders to purchase a permit, if they were selling outside their normal business establishment. The permit will cost $750, unless the entity is a nonprofit, in which case it will cost $350.

Council Michael Halley said the $750 price tag may seem steep, but reminded those in attendance that the city's population will triple from 10,000 to 30,000 for those two days. He said many vendors make a handsome profit at the booths. At the same time, he recommended the best strategy for existing businesses is simply to do what they normally do at their establishment, and just prepare for a large crowd.

Permitted vendors will also have to pay a $100 refundable deposit to clean up their booth. Providing electricity to a booth will cost $75. All applications for permits are due June 1. Those who apply after June 1 will pay a $250 late fee.

Motorized vehicles such as scooters, golf carts and ATVs are prohibited in event venue areas unless specifically authorized by Fairfield RAGBRAI's public safety committee.

The RAGBRAI ordinance also temporary suspends existing city ordinances for those two days. For those days, the ordinances banning beer in city parks, limiting noise from outdoor entertainment and banning people in city parks after 10 p.m., shall not be enforced.

The six councilors present voted to advance the ordinance: Michael Halley, Doug Flournoy, Tom Twohill, Martha Rasmussen, Tom Thompson and Paul Gandy. Katy Anderson was absent.

Spring brush pick-up

The city will hold its annual spring brush pick-up starting 7 a.m. May 6. The city asks residents not to put out brush before April 29.

Brush should be put in a neat pile adjacent to the street. The pick up is for residential use only, not for businesses. Nothing bigger than 24 inches in diameter will be picked up, nor will anything longer than 13 feet. The pick up does not include leaves and yard waste, which will continue to be picked up in the city yard waste bags with regular trash pick up.

Brush must be placed away from poles, fences and water shutoff valves. Piles must not interfere with traffic.

The city reminds residents that its compost site is located at 20th Street and Jackson Avenue. Residents may haul their own brush, limbs and yard clippings to the compost site. Signs are posted at designated areas for each specific type of yard waste. The compost site is not for contractors.

Residents are welcome to load mulch/compost at the site, and may contact the maintenance shed at 472-4750 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday to make an appointment for a city employee to use a loader to load pickup or dump trucks.