ELLSWORTH — As part of a list of approved motions regarding streets and sidewalks in the village, the Ellsworth Village Board approved a Wall and Morse Street intersection reconstruction design Feb. 2.

The section is a key one in the village’s East End Redevelopment Plan, and its design is seen as a crucial one for the future of the area. Village staff and the Street and Sidewalk Committee recommended the same design.

The approved design includes parking stalls along the south side of Wall Street and a small parking lot and motorcycle parking area to the north. A median would be introduced on the final stretch of Wall Street before reaching Morse Street.

The board approved East End reconstruction amenities, including specific benches, lights, garbage cans and trees. Trustee Tony Hines asked the board to remove any berry trees in the proposal to avoid the berries falling onto cars. Village President Becky Beissel said she will look into the trees with berries proposed, and the motion was approved by all with the exception of Hines.

The board authorized special assessments for Wall Street, Broadway Street and Morse Street reconstruction. Assessments are for 50% of curb, gutter, sidewalk and water/sewer construction costs and 100% of driveway aprons for “property owners that the project benefits.”

The repayment period is 15 years with an interest rate 2% above the village borrowing rate. An approved motion takes the item to the engineers, where it will return to the board for a public hearing with more specific information.

A pair of residents spoke during public comment to ask the village board to reconsider Broadway Street designs. With 14 feet of sidewalk on each side, one commenter spoke about the difficulty for property owners to maintain that much sidewalk between salting, shoveling and other maintenance. The other commenter said the change from angled parking to parallel eliminates too much of the parking right in front of the Broadway Street businesses. He said as they try to eliminate blighted property and get more customers in the businesses’ doors, switching to parallel parking is a step in the wrong direction.

Straying from angled parking costs about a dozen parking spaces, with East Wall Street parking spaces added in the proposal to fill the gap.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation tentatively scheduled a Highway 65 resurfacing project from Main Street to River Falls in 2031. Village Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer Brad Roy said the DOT is requesting information from the village, which the board approved.

Roy mentioned the Street and Sidewalk Committee recommended no changes to the parking areas and not to repave the parking lanes due to asphalt quality in the areas. Roy also said the committee asked for pathing to be extended beyond the DOT proposal.

“Currently there is a mix of sidewalks and a multi-use path (County Fairgrounds) in the project area. The DOT will replace the sidewalk/path up to Industrial Drive. At that point, the DOT believes that alternate routes on local roads would provide better pedestrian access. If the Village wishes to request sidewalk/path beyond Industrial Drive, it must formally make the request with justification. The Village should also determine if a uniform sidewalk or path should be constructed. The Street and Sidewalk Committee recommends that the multi-use path be extended beyond Industrial Drive,” village documents state.

The committee also recommended a form of traffic control at Overlook Drive due to a long crossing, whether it be a stoplight or pedestrian crossing light. MSA engineers recommended a pedestrian crossing light at a minimum.

The final request of the board was for a crosswalk at Cairns Street for eventual access to Cairns Woods. The recommendations will be sent to the DOT.

MSA Contracts

The board approved a pair of contracts with MSA. The first was for $4,000 to assist in the sale of the old library at 312 W. Main St. MSA would assist in the development of a request for proposals, where people could submit their plans for the building, and village representatives could review and select a proposal.
MSA would also review site records, studies and other background information.

The village also approved a $3,500 contract for a year of GIS services. The village has averaged $6,600 per year in GIS service costs over the last three years under the previous provider.

Other Business

• Accepted a $14,080 contract with Bliestem Forestry to take individual tree inventory and prepare an individual urban forestry operations plan. Because of a grant received by the village from the DNR, funding will be matched 50%.
• The village got the results of their East End Industrial Park floodplain study and wetland delineation back. The village approved the study because it owns 17 acres of land in the area that could not be sold or built on without the results. Results showed a portion of the land can be used for development, a larger chunk can be used if built up above the floodplain and the final piece can be used for things like parking lots.
• Approved the façade improvement program for the Main Street and East End business areas.
• Appointed James Mennenga to the Plan Commission to replace Mike Bull.
• Discussed a CBS squared amendment for the Grant and Piety Street project during closed session, but no action was taken upon reconvening.