The Racine Public Works and Services Committee will meet at 5: 30 p.m. Tuesday, August 29 at City Hall, 730 Washington Ave., in room 303.
Racine Public Works agenda items
Holiday parade set for Nov. 11
One of the key items involves a request by Mayor Mason for the city to grant right-of-way for the Downtown Racine Corporation‘s annual holiday parade.
Scheduled for November 11, 2023, the parade would necessitate the temporary closure of multiple streets including Ontario Street, State Street between Ontario and Main Streets, Main Street from State Street to Sixth Street, and Sixth Street from Main Street to City Hall. Staff recommend approval, albeit with specific stipulations attached. The fiscal note suggests nominal costs to various City Departments for implementing the event.
Transit building improvements slated
A professional services agreement between the City of Racine and Kueny Architects LLC is up for approval. This agreement, not exceeding $114,400, focuses on the design of transit building improvements. Funding is said to be available for the building improvements.
The City of Racine has greenlit a $1.775 million renovation project for its Transit Facility located at 1900 Kentucky Avenue, according to a memorandum from The Concord Group dated August 17, 2023. The project is fully funded under a financial assistance contract among the City of Racine, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
The funding mechanism will cover 80% of the budget through state and federal transit operating assistance, while the remaining 20% will come from city matching funds. Renovations will target the office and maintenance garage buildings, encompassing a total square footage of 16,500, and will include a range of improvements such as exterior façade changes, entrance modifications, and potential HVAC improvements.
Kueny Architects, LLC was selected as the design and engineering consultant for the project. The firm was awarded a contract fee of $114,400 to complete the design and prepare construction documents. The selection process included evaluations by Trevor Jung, Transit and Mobility Director, and Ron Pritzlaff, Assistant Commissioner of Public Works from the City of Racine, along with Jim Joehnk from The Concord Group. The consultants were scored based on factors including project experience, approach and understanding, team qualifications, and fee and reimbursables.
The timeline for the project indicates that contract negotiations and the design phase are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2023. Bidding for construction contracts will occur in the second quarter of 2024, with construction expected to commence shortly thereafter. The project aims for substantial completion by the fourth quarter of 2024 or the first quarter of 2025. All stages are subject to change based on the final design process and other contingencies.
Highway 32 Reroute project
The committee will also review bid results for the State Trunk Highway (STH) 32 Reroute project, presented by Alder Jones on behalf of the Transit and Mobility Director, Trevor Jung. This agenda item is for receive-and-file, meaning it’s mainly for informational purposes and likely won’t involve much discussion.
2024 Sewer Management project
Further, a professional services agreement with AECOM Technical Services, Inc. is on the agenda. The contract, not exceeding $166,095, aims at the 2024 Sewer Management project. Funding for this is detailed, spread across various Org-Objects totaling $166,095.
Highway 32/20 Connecting Highway Project
The Committee will review a series of two-party agreements and memorandums of understanding with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).
Among these, the committee will discuss a proposal for a connecting highway change on STH 32/20, which would span from Main Street to Marquette Street and onto Washington Avenue. The fiscal note attached indicates a “cost to cure” for the Marquette Street Bridge in the amount of $455,000, which will be covered in the 2024-2033 capital improvement plan.
Additionally, another two-party agreement is being recommended that pertains to the rescission of a connecting highway on State Street from 6th Street/7th Street (concurrent) to Washington Avenue. This essentially means that the street in question would be reverted back to its original status prior to being designated a connecting highway. Unlike the former agenda item, the fiscal note for this agreement marks it as having no associated cost.
The committee will also review a third two-party agreement with WisDOT. This one involves the designation of a new connecting highway covering the same stretch from Main Street to Marquette Street and onto Washington Avenue. Interestingly, this proposed agreement also comes with a fiscal note labeled as N/A, indicating that there are no anticipated extra costs for the city. All the two-party agreements and memorandums aim to reconfigure and possibly improve the traffic flow and infrastructure along these mentioned routes.
Public Input sought
Public input is welcome for each agenda item, and the meeting will be live-streamed on the City of Racine, On the Lake Facebook page. Accessibility accommodations are available upon request 48 hours before the meeting by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (262) 636-9171.
(Note: Information sourced from the official agenda for the Public Works and Services Committee meeting released by the City of Racine as of August 25, 2023.)