Ripon Common Council approves bids for bridge, trail projects | News

Road construction projects will be occurring in the near future at the Tygert Street bridge, State Street and Murray Park.

These projects were largely part of the 2023 capital improvement plan, which was approved last November.

In February, the Common Council voted to vacate another portion of Tygert Street due to its closure several years ago.

The Tygert Street bridge was discontinued for vehicular traffic in 2017 after it was found that the base was failing. Discussion on the structure resurfaced in 2020 after a pothole developed along the stretch of roadway and has since been repurposed into a pedestrian walkway.

Last summer, however, a new hole damaged the walkway and the path has been off-limits for all kinds of travel. Since then, the Common Council had approved the bridge’s removal, which paved the way for the riverbank to be stabilized in Horner Park.

At its meeting last week Tuesday, the group voted to award a $262,000 bid to Egbert Excavating for the bridge’s removal and the installation of a trail through Horner Park.

City Administrator Adam Sonntag told the Common Council that benches will be installed near the creek, but there won’t be water access for safety concerns. Additionally, he said there are reserves for water and fishing access in the future for Selfridge Park.

The council also approved a $846,000 bid from Rlam, Inc. for the full reconstruction of the State Street bridge from Union to West streets.

The State Street bridge has been a topic of interest for the community in recent years as it has been susceptible to flooding in major weather events and has been noted as deteriorating since 2019. The council recently allocated $350,000 toward its repairs in the 2023 Capital Improvement Program.

When MSA conducted its road surveys last year, the State Street bridge was noted as an increasing safety hazard and because it’s technically a culvert, per WisDOT specifications, Sonntag previously told the Commonwealth the city was ineligible for bridge funding through bipartisan infrastructure legislation.

Sonntag told the Common Council that this project has been prioritized because previous inspections had recommended it be replaced within the next year due to rising safety concerns with the structure.

Dan Schmitt from MSA Professional Services told the council that the bridge replacement accounted for about half the overall project cost on State Street. Sonntag added that the path to the cemetery area will remain, and that there were no special assessments taken out for homeowners to assist with the project payment.

Ald. John Splitt requested a change be made from the proposed chain link fence to something more aesthetically pleasing, while Ald. David Gallops inquired about background information about Rlam.

Schmitt assured Gallops that Rlam is a reliable contractor with whom he’s worked on other projects.

The project is expected to start sometime after the Fourth of July, Sonntag and Schmitt said.

And, as a continuation of last year’s Senior Activity Center trailhead project, a $96,000 bid to Northeast Asphalt was approved to install a trail through Murray Park, where there is an existing gravel path.

In other action, the group approved an amendment to city ordinance 10.19 pertaining to grass clippings, adding that it shall be cleared from sidewalks for environmental and safety precautions.

Several members of the community also came to last week Tuesday’s meeting to contest the move of the Little White Schoolhouse to Fond du Lac Street. With the structure’s 170th anniversary approaching in 2024, they are asking for transparency in city staff’s due diligence.

Katie and Mark Dudzinski said there was no application for a certification of appropriateness, and that some information was withheld from the public’s knowledge.

“Understanding that you are (under) no obligation to comment or answer or take action tonight, what mechanism is in place for this body to officially comment on the statements and actually answer these comments? You guys seem to just ignore us,” Mark Dudzinski said. “… Do you consider this body to be honest? Open? Transparent? Obviously, you’re none of these if this is the case. You let them move it without any paperwork. Why has so much of Ripon’s history been destroyed for your personal gain of letting the Boys and Girls Club have the property?”

Rob Wittchow also said “such disregard is unacceptable and needs to be rectified.

“Unfortunately, we have yet to receive any form of acknowledgement or satisfactory response,” he added. “This raises concerns about the city’s governing body, as it seems to operate like an exclusive club.”

The Commonwealth reached out to Sonntag last week Friday to get his response to the allegations.

He noted that he believes as this progresses that the Historic Preservation Commission will come forward with an explanation, but that it’s the city’s position that it was not in violation of any city ordinance regarding the move of the Little White Schoolhouse.

“The chamber of commerce merely asked and requested that the Historic Preservation Commission review the proposed move of the Little White Schoolhouse under the general oversight and guidelines provided by the Historic Preservation ordinance,” Sonntag said.

He added that “the certificate of appropriateness was not issued [and] the process was not followed as laid out in the ordinance because the Little White Schoolhouse was not properly designated a historic site or structure per section 20.43130F of the city of Ripon Historic Preservation code, which requires that all historic properties be deed restricted with the local designation status to ensure that the property owner is aware and the property is following and required to follow the steps laid forward in the ordinance.”

He noted that the city is not disputing that the Little White Schoolhouse is a locally historic site, structure, but that it just didn’t meet the requirements needed to require that process.