Lansing City Council sets Citywide Fall Clean-Up Day for October 11
by B.J. Tomlinson
The Lansing City Council met in its regular session Monday night, September 19 and set the Citywide Fall Clean-Up Day for Tuesday, October 11. Refuse will be picked up at the curb, except appliances, which can be dropped off at the City Shed for a $5 fee.
A Public Hearing was opened by Mayor Mike Brennan to hear a report from Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) regarding the status of the Lansing Owner- Occupied Status of Funds. Michaela Collins from UERPC said four homes have been completed, one is ready for final inspection and one more will be completed by October 1. There were no comments or questions from the public and the hearing was closed.
The Council set a public hearing date of October 3, 2016 to report on the status of funding for the Lansing Water and Sewer Improvement Projects.
Kevin Graves from WHKS Engineering addressed the Council regarding the damage to the sewer main along Clear Creek, advising that a section of the sewer line is now exposed in that area due to erosion from recent heavy rains. Graves said that if the pipe breaks, waste will be dumped directly into Clear Creek, and he offered three repair options for the situation. One was to put in a lift station in at that location, another was to create a siphon structure, and the third option was to replace the pipe and shore it up with large rip-rap boulders to prevent future damage. WHKS said that because of access issues neither the lift station nor the siphoning structure options are good answers to remedy the situation.
Graves said it would be best to fix the problem sooner rather than later. After discussion, the Council agreed that the rip-rap option was the best, but postponed its decision about when to begin the project until the next meeting, pending further information on what disaster funds will be available.
Main Street Lansing Director Craig White addressed the Council regarding upcoming activities. He said the annual Big Pumpkin contest will be held this Saturday on Clancy’s Corner. Several very large pumpkins will be unloaded between 9 a.m. and noon, which may cause traffic congestion. White also said that several Luster Heights workers will be on hand this coming Thursday to help clean the first floor of the Old Stone School in preparation for the upcoming historical display.
Street Superintendent Ken Ripp said he and City crews continue to work on flood clean-up, which he expects to be completed within two weeks, barring any further flooding. Ripp said the storm sewer collapse at 801 North Front Street has been repaired. Upcoming projects include winterizing the pool.
Heath Draeger, People Service Representative, advised that fire hydrant flushing will take place the next few Wednesdays through October 12. He said residents may experience rusty water on those days.
Mayor Brennan reported that vehicles were parked on Allamakee Alley and the ambulance responding to a recent fire call almost got stuck in that location. Brennan said more needs to be done to discourage parked and abandoned vehicles.
In other business, the Council appointed Beth Galema to the Library Board. Citing City Ordinances, the Council denied Jason Brinks’ request for the City to share the cost of repairing a water pipe at 460 Center Street. The Council also postponed considering liquid propane (LP) bids until the next Council meeting, hoping to receive more bids.
