Baxter looks to keep Isle Drive project on track

Isle Drive currently comes to an end in the woods beyond the Essentia Health Baxter campus. A proposed extension would take Isle Drive to the south to connect with Highway 48 and Ironwood Drive. Renee Richardson/Brainerd Dispatch

By Renee Richardson

September 09, 2014 at 9:56 PM

BAXTER - Fall approaching quickly and a desire to keep the Isle Drive project on schedule was before the Baxter City Council in a special meeting Tuesday.

Gordon Heitke, city administrator, said going outside city staff for wetland delineation - defining and mapping the wetlands - and field survey work will help the Isle Drive project get back on schedule. Heitke said in order to accomplish that task before it gets too late into the fall, Widseth Smith and Nolting (WSN) would do the work for an estimated $5,000 for the wetland delineation and $16,000 for the field survey work. Heitke said WSN has a lot of the existing data already and, if the council agreed, a contract will be brought forward for approval at the Sept. 16 council session.

Consensus from council members Rob Moser, Todd Holman and Mayor Darrel Olson was to keep moving forward with the project by utilizing WSN.

"I think it's imperative we keep moving forward on this," Moser said.

Council member Jim Klein questioned WSN slipping in with more and more work on the project. Klein asked what happened to the city's process to request proposals from contractors. Olson said he understood Klein's point and the city has tried to do that.

"There is hardly a meeting I go to that people don't ask me, 'When are you going to get this road done?'" Olson said.

Heitke noted the wetland and survey work is a smaller portion of design costs and the design consultant contract has yet to be approved. The schedule calls for a review of the final concept and request for proposals in early October.

A public information meeting on the Isle Drive Extension plan is expected in mid-October with a public hearing to look at potentially approving the project and the design contract on Nov. 5. Construction is expected to begin next spring in May and be completed by November 2015.

The council looked at the right-of-way plat for Isle Drive. Holman asked if there would be enough room to extend a trail south of Highway 48 to connect businesses and offices with the plans for mixed use development there. There would be room for the trail if the street has an urban design with curb and gutter. Whether there is room for the trail with a rural design may depend on how large the ditch has to be, but it could fit.

After meeting in closed session to talk about land acquisition negotiations, the council authorized the presentation of offers to property owners to purchase property areas needed for the Isle Drive extension project.

Council member Mark Cross was absent.

If the proposed schedule is approved, Isle Drive would extend through these trees to connect with Highway 48 and Ironwood to the south, creating a southern route to the growing medical providers in Baxter. Renee Richardson/Brainerd Dispatch

By Renee Richardson

Renee Richardson is managing editor at the Brainerd Dispatch. She joined the Brainerd Dispatch in 1996 after earning her bachelor's degree in mass communications at St. Cloud State University.
Renee Richardson can be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or by calling 218-855-5852 or follow her on Twitter @dispatchbizbuzz or Facebook.