BAXTER - Baxter will begin looking at how it would pay for a roundabout intersection at Cypress Drive and Excelsior Road.
The city council Tuesday approved having staffers put together financial packages and to have an appraisal on property needed for right-of-way acquisition for trails and ponds.
In March the council approved designing a roundabout instead of a signalized intersection at Cypress Drive and Excelsior Road. The design would be part of an estimated $3 million overall project also including reconstruction of part of Excelsior Road and Golf Course Drive and a three-quarter access at Golf Course Drive and Highway 210.
Finance Director Jeremy Vacinek said the entire project wouldn't be done all at once, but instead in sections.
Council member Jim Klein expressed concerns with moving forward without final approval from the Minnesota Department of Transportation or issues with Dondelinger Chevrolet-Cadillac and BNSF Railway resolved.
Staffers informed the council that with the exception of the intersection at Golf Course Drive and Highway 210, MnDOT has signed off on the project.
Public Works Director Trevor Walter equated the project to the Highway 371 bypass, which took 60 years to come to fruition. Like that project, the roundabout will need to be planned and implemented in little pieces.
"We have to keep biting away," Walter said.
In other action, the council:
Directed staffers to work with Northland Arboretum to have the city pay the arboretum to maintain the city-owned stormwater pond.
Approved an alternative urban area-wide review environmental assessment for Potlatch-owned land in west Baxter.
Approved a liquor license for an applicant from Georgia who intends to open a Mexican restaurant at the former site of Dave's Pizza, which was located at the former site of Reed's Sporting Goods.
Was informed by Police Chief Jim Exsted that three officers, Sgt. Vic Sofie, Matt Maier and David Timm, were awarded a livesaving award from North Ambulance for their efforts in reviving 6-year-old Jessica Lindsey, who was pulled unconscious Aug. 24 from Whipple Lake in Baxter and died Sept. 1 at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. Exsted said an angler who helped Jessica also would be receiving the award. "Though it was a tragic outcome, the officers efforts that night at least allowed for a chance for Jessica," Exsted said.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.
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