The Worthington City Council will face a short agenda when it meets at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall.
One item scheduled to be addressed by council members is a potential professional services agreement for a Lake Okabena dam feasibility study. At a meeting of the E.O. Olson Trust Fund Committee back in April, board members discussed the condition of the lake outlet dam and inquired if city engineering staff had taken steps to review the condition of the structure. Ultimately, the trust board committed $92,780.36 to the city to perform a feasibility study and condition assessment of the outlet dam.
The city’s engineering staff requested a proposal from Short Elliott Hendrickson for a feasibility study of the dam, which was built in the early 1900s, to review the condition of the dam and develop alternatives if replacement or rehabilitation is necessary. The SEH proposal includes: inspection of the dam, trail bridge and trail bridge abutments; evaluation of alternatives to rehabilitate or reconstruct the dam structure and how those may impact the existing spillway, adjacent roadway, timber trail bridge and trail; preparing conceptual layouts of various alternatives; addressing long-term operations and maintenance; preparing a summary of permitting requirements; and preparing cost estimates and identifying funding opportunities.
The work would be performed on an hourly basis for a fee not to exceed $49,500, and the council will consider and take action on this proposal Monday.
City council members will also consider three separate engineering department task order requests, as well as the awarding of a conditional use permit for an auto repair business at 88 1/2 East 12th St. The Worthington Planning Commission, during its Oct. 5 meeting, formally recommended granting the CUP. The abutting property owner expressed questions and concerns about why the subject property was ever allowed to be sold separately from 88 E. 12th St., and asked that the city force a reversal of the property sales. Staff has confirmed through legal counsel that it has no authority to reverse any property sales.
