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Suamico seeks input from business owners on Riverside Drive improvements

By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer

SUAMICO – The village board wants to hear what business owners along Riverside Drive between Velp Avenue and Side Street have to say about the possibility of making improvements that could include curb extensions, sidewalks, lighting and storm water management.

Village Administrator Alex Kaker said a 6-foot wide sidewalk with curb and gutter has been proposed along the south side of that section of Riverside Drive.

“I would suggest that we also include some lighting along that strip, and this is all assuming that the business owners, and I think there is a homeowner or two, are agreeable to the concept,” Kaker said. “The preliminary cost estimate for this is about $600,000. It would be funded out of (Tax Incremental Financing District) No. 2.”

Kaker said a project like this costing $600,000 would result in the TIF District still ending up with a fund balance of more than $1 million upon the district expiring in 2026.

“You do have money to do a project like this,” he said. “You do have money to do more than this, if you would like.”
Trustee Michelle Eckert questioned whether there would be enough room to install a sidewalk that wide on the south side of the street.

“It’s a narrow street,” Eckert said. “So, are people going to be stepping out of their door and falling onto the sidewalk?”

Kaker said the space is tight in that area, but there would be room for a sidewalk.

“Currently, they’re stepping out onto the road,” he said. “There is no sidewalk.”

Kaker said he personally doesn’t want to see walkers and cars together in the road.

“If the board wants to see that happen, we can look into it, but I’m very hesitant to promote something like that,” he said.

Though Trustee Sky Van Rossum agreed walkers and cars together in the road are a bad idea, he said he wouldn’t want to force sidewalk and curb and gutter on business owners along Riverside Drive if they wouldn’t find a benefit in it.

“Maybe they have some ideas – looking at some sort of a pedestrian walkway or something like that…,” Van Rossum said. “This is going to be what’s going to define Suamico to a big degree.”

Eckert said she wants to make Riverside Drive “a little nicer,” but not put in everything proposed because of a lack of room.

“How can we just make it a little nicer, if we can keep things simple?” she asked.

Kaker said the Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced application guidelines last month for a new one-time Multimodal Local Supplement (MLS) program in which villages could apply by Dec. 6 for funding with projects of at least $250,000 being eligible with up to 90 percent possibly being covered by the program.

Because of the short time frame to apply for a grant, for which $18.5 million is available, Kaker said it would have to be for a project that is ready to go, rather than one that would take time to develop.

The board directed staff to work with the business owners along Riverside Drive to get consensus on what project options they would favor to bring back at the next board meeting Oct. 21 with additional information to include more specific cost estimates and drawings.

County M bridge

Public Works Director Andy Smits informed the board about the DOT now being in the design phase to replace to the County M bridge over the Suamico River in the summer of 2021.

Smits said now is the time to propose any changes to the project, which calls for a single-span bridge with two lanes 12 feet wide and 5-foot shoulders.

He said the shoulders would qualify for bike lanes, but wouldn’t be conducive to multi-use and aren’t ideal for pedestrian traffic, nor safe.

Village President Laura Nelson said she favored having a safe pedestrian path or walkway with the bridge.

The board directed staff to look at costs related to constructing a multi-use trail across the bridge and bring back options and costs to the board.

The board’s motion passed 6-1. Eckert, who favored 5-foot shoulders for the new bridge, cast the lone dissenting vote.

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