Uptown project forges ahead, seeks council action

Today, the first phase of Creston’s Uptown Revitalization Project will seek council action. Before then, Mayor Doug Daggett hosted a public session Saturday to for Creston residents and business owners to ask questions.

Leaving most of the talking to the project leads Austin Smith, Mindy Stalker and Jeremy Rounds, the session illuminated information on development to Adams Street. As construction is expected to begin in conjunction with the water main improvement project now heading west on Adams, Tuesday’s action will be incredibly important for the city.

Since the last city council meeting Tuesday, March 3, the Update Uptown committee has revised their initial proposal to a $2.2 million project. Part of this first phase will have the north side of Adams see construction to expand the sidewalk, add bump outs at street corners and other improvements.

“We have called this a linear park. It’s really now streetscaping,” Stalker clarified. “When it was on the south side it was really more that linear park, that connection from McKinley to the Uptown. It’s really now a streetscape, but probably won’t change the terms a whole lot.”

Along with the Adams Street changes, which will shrink the road but keep the three lanes of traffic, opening bids for widening Elm Street will be a part of today’s action.

Water mains

Part of the construction on the revitalization project has already begun. As part of Creston Waterworks’ water main improvement project, the north side of Adams Street from Walnut to Sumner will see construction move west. This project is expected to be completed by August.

Construction for the water portion of the project is expected to be finished in Uptown by the end of May.

As the water project heads west, contractors will work on one block at a time for at least 30 days in each block. The project leads presented a loose schedule for the project on a typical project as follows:

- Day 1 - Saw cuts and removals

- Day 2-7 - Water main

- Day 8-9 - Fire hydrant

- Day 10-12 - Pressure testing and sampling

- Day 13-18 - Water services

- Day 19-20 - Connection to existing mains

- Day 21-30 - Resurfacing

To save costs for both waterworks and city, gravel backfill will be left in the section between Pine and Division streets. If the first phase of the revitalization project is approved by the council, the city can open bids and begin construction on the project as soon as May. Smith estimated this would save the utility and the city about $100,000 to $150,000.

The work on water mains will cut through the parking lane on the front end of businesses. While all storefronts will still be accessible and parking will still be possible after the gravel resurfacing, the city knows this could impede local business.

“Businesses will just have to work around it,” Smith said. “I mean, there’s no easy way to do this type of work. It’s probably why nobody’s done it since 1889.”

Smith answered a few criticisms which have come to the water main improvement project since they began last year. Keys being left in construction equipment alarmed some residents, but Smith said he was told the equipment can’t be turned on without a keypad entry.

Additionally, the choice to use contractors outside of Creston comes down to grant requirements and bid availability. For city projects, Smith said he keeps local contractors in the loop, but often doesn’t receive bids despite this. The revitalization grant requires the city to go with the lowest bids.

“With this being a federal grant, it’s the lowest responsible bidder,” Rounds said. “We don’t want cheap. We don’t want cheap with a bunch of change orders, but it has to be the lowest responsible bidder. ... If you want a local contractor, which — I would love to have local contractors — they need to be on the project and be competitive."

Streetscape

The revitalization project will be used on needed infrastructure improvement in Uptown while following the beautification elements the grant requires. With the grant allowing the city to save costs on the project, pushback from the public and council confused Smith.

“If we’re [$260,000] into it as a city and the thing’s $2.2 mil, I’m at a loss on why we’re even arguing about it,” Smith said.

Bump outs will be placed on street corners, designed to help pedestrian flow and walkability. For commuters, visibility of pedestrians on crossings and sidewalks will be easier to spot. When public input was requested for possible changes to Uptown, walkability was one of the consistent top priorities the public wanted the city to have. The improved sidewalks will be ADA compliant and less steep than current walkways.

“We’re trying to get as far as we can with the money that we have,” Smith said. “All these reports, we got this giant stack of reports going over 10 years of history, and the all come back to the lighting, beautification and walkability. So, we’re trying to hit all of those bullet points.”

Street lights will be improved, with an expected 10 to 12 street lights on Adams. Beautification has been limited to segmented planters which will contain ornamental grass and trees, the last remainder of the proposed linear park project.

“The only beautification piece to this left really is the planters on the extended sidewalk the potential for that corner of the plaza,” Stalker said. “There’s no real beautification.”

Elm Street will see two to three feet of sidewalk removed on each side to allow for traffic to pass easier. Smith said the current dimensions of the street makes traffic difficult.

“It’s very tight,” Smith said. “You can see that when you drive through there. Any time when there’s vehicles parked on both sides, you’re rubbing mirrors essentially. So, we’re going to get rid of a little bit of the sidewalk to expand with the road and make that a little easier to navigate.”

The total $2.2 million project that will be presented to the city council as the first phase of the revitalization project will contain the streetscape of Adams Street, expansion of Elm Street, corner bump outs, street lights, residential sidewalks and housing improvements in three to four locations.

If accepted, bids are expected to be open in April, with construction expected to start in May.