City Council Recap: Avery Street Construction

Wendie Preiss addresses Lowell City Council

Lowell City Council had a relatively short meeting on Tuesday night as they addressed four pieces of business related to trails, housing projects and a 2025 road project on Avery Street. All councilmembers were present for the meeting except Councilmember Marty Chambers.

Public Comments: Update from FROM

During the public comments portion of the meeting Wendie Priess, executive director for FROM, shared an update on the non-profit’s affordable housing project on E. Main Street.

She said that of the $3.3 million needed, $2.5 million has been raised so far. A public campaign to collect the rest will be launched in the middle of February, and FROM is targeting a May 1st groundbreaking.

Lowell Trail Agreement

Under old business, councilmembers unanimously approved a governmental real estate permit with Lowell Township. This permit is needed for about 30 feet of trail between an existing path and a trailway that will be constructed along the north side of the Grand River.

“No money changes hands,” said Dave Austin, who has been working with the Lowell Area Recreation Authority (LARA) on the trail project. “It’s just an agreement between two government agencies.”

City Partners with County for Brownfield Redevelopment

Councilmembers also unanimously approved a resolution to allow Kent County to administer projects approved under the city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. Projects initiated under the authority are eligible for tax incentives, and state law recently expanded these projects to include housing.

City Manager Mike Burns said the city had not yet received any applications for brownfield redevelopment projects, but “I anticipate future applications, some of which may involve affordable workforce housing projects.” Those workforce housing projects may be what prompted Chambers to suggest at last week’s Planning Commission meeting that more details be placed in the Master Plan about housing.

Burns said these housing projects could require annual reports for up to 25 years, and for that reason, he felt Kent County would be better equipped to administer them. By passing the resolution, the city isn’t obligated to partner with the county for brownfield redevelopment projects, but it has the option to do so.

Avery Street Project

The final two pieces of business on the agenda addressed a road project on Avery Street which is scheduled for this year. The project is for the section of street between Division and Grove.

While Avery Street was not included in the city’s 7-year street plan, it was added after the Planning Commission approved a multi-use development on the 800 block of E. Main Street between Main and Avery Streets. Neighboring residents objected to the project for a variety of reasons, including planned use of on-street parking to meet the development’s needs. As a narrow road, Avery becomes a one-lane street when cars are parked on both sides.

In approving the design engineering for the roadwork on Avery Street, it was noted that the city would look into the possibility of widening the road. There was also some discussion about adding a water main on Avery. Currently, there is no water main there, and properties use long lateral lines to reach a water main on other streets.

Council Nixes Widening Avery Street

On the subject of widening the road, a representative of engineering firm Williams & Works presented their findings. She noted that homes on the south side of the road have short driveways, and vehicles would overhang the curb if the street was widened on that side. To the north, there is a stone culvert that would be cost-prohibitive to move.

“Simply put, we don’t believe administratively that it’s a good idea to widen the street,” Burns said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

The city manager mentioned that he had spoken to Fire Chief Cory Velzen who said he was confident his department would be able to respond to an emergency on Avery even if cars are parked on the road. Burns said that if there was still a safety concern, the city could prohibit parking on one side of the street to create a fire lane.

By consensus, Lowell City Council agreed not to pursue the widening of Avery Street.

Water Main on Avery Tabled

As for the water main, Burns said $206,000 had been budgeted to run a water main down Avery. However, he has since learned that special assessments were used in the past to pay for new connections to the water system and suggested that the budgeted money could be reallocated to pay for lead line replacements instead.

The special assessments cited by Burns included the extension of water service to properties on Gee Drive and Alden Nash Ave. on the west end of town in 1994. A news report from the time notes the project had a total cost of $1.35 million, and residents were assessed for $197,000 of that. Another special assessment example in the meeting packet cited a $2,899 assessment to a resident of Riverside for the installation of a water main in 1990.

Burns said councilmembers could install a water main on Avery without a special assessment, but he thought residents who paid assessments in the 1990s would complain. “You’re going to hear about it,” he said.

“Isn’t it more of an upgrade than a new line?” asked Mayor Mike DeVore.

Councilmember Eric Bartkus noted that a special assessment wasn’t done when water lines were replaced on Washington and Monroe Streets. Burns thought that was different since there was an existing water main on those roads, and there isn’t one on Avery.

Resident Perry Beachum stood and asked about the status of the legal case involving CopperRock Construction, which is planning the multi-use development. Before the company can begin work, the court needs to approve the vacation of Horatio Street. However, about 10 nearby property owners – including the author of this article – have filed an objection with the court on that matter.

Beachum also said he thought it would be foolish to repave the road and not fix the water lines at the same time.

“I don’t think it needs to be assessed any different because it’s not a project itself,” DeVore said.

“I agree, but how do we decide between Avery and Riverside?” Bartkus asked.

Some residents of Riverside have water lines similar to those on Avery in that they run underneath other properties to reach a main on Hudson. They had hoped the water main on Riverside would be extended to their block during a road project this year, but the city did not get a hoped-for grant and says there is not enough money available to add the line without it.

Assistant City Manager Rich LaBombard said that some of the lateral lines going to the homes on Avery Street are quite long. For the health of the system, it would be better if they could connect to a closer water main. What’s more, if the current service lines are made of galvanized steel, the city would be responsible for replacing them.

Councilmembers agreed to table the issue while it was determined if any of the homes on Avery have lead or galvanized service lines that must be replaced.

The meeting adjourned at 7:46pm. The next regular meeting of Lowell City Council will take place on Monday, Feb. 3, at 7pm in Lowell City Hall.

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