Lake County & Madison City Commissions discuss cleaning out creek channels

The Lake County Commission is looking into cleaning out the channel areas near a couple of the county’s bridge structures.  Because the areas are adjacent to property owned by the City of Madison, the county is also asking the city to help split the cost of the project.  Both Lake County and Madison City Commissioners discussed the proposed project during their respective regular meetings on Tuesday.

County Highway Superintendent Nels Nelson told county commissioners that the two areas include a portion of the channel that runs under the bridge structure on 456th Avenue near Stemper Auto Body, and the other is the bridge structure on County Road 40 by the Don Hansen residence.  Nelson described what is happening specifically to the bridge on 456th Avenue. 

Nelson said that getting the water to flow straight into the bridge structures will help save those structures.  A quote from Michael Johnson Construction showed the cost of cleanout near the bridge on 456th Avenue at approximately 85-hundred dollars, while the cleanout near the bridge on County Road 40 would cost approximately nine-thousand dollars.  Nelson said the cost near the second bridge is higher because it is more difficult to get in to. County commissioners on Tuesday authorized Nelson to move forward with the channel cleanout project, contingent upon splitting the costs 50-50 with the City of Madison. 

City commissioners on Tuesday also discussed the project.  City Streets and Parks Director Gary Gonyo told commissioners that Nelson had contacted him about the project and that since the city didn’t have the equipment to do the project, they decided to get a bid on removing some of the trees and straightening out the channels in the two areas mentioned.  

City Engineer Chad Comes said he thinks the County will need to take the lead on the project, with the city then contributing funding toward it.  

Public Works Commissioner Kelly Johnson said he likes the project idea.

Commissioner Johnson did make the motion though to table the city’s action on the project for two weeks.  City Attorney David Jencks said he would like to look into it more to determine if some sort of agreement is necessary between the two entities before proceeding.