Plans coming together for retention pond, road work and trail

Talk about it

WORTHINGTON — With a $100,000 commitment from the Minnesota State College and University (MnSCU) System, plans for a regional stormwater retention pond on the campus of Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Worthington are finally moving forward.

The funding, recently awarded to the college with a stipulation that it be allocated by the end of June 2012, will cover approximately one-third to one-fourth of the overall project cost. The MnSCU funding will specifically target construction costs.

“Over the next couple of weeks we’re going to get everything locked up and see what our potential costs are,” said Jeff Harms, director of facilities for Minnesota West. “The cost is going to be somewhere between $300,000 and $400,000.”

Part of the uncertainty is that the college is now looking at expanding the size of the pond from 1.5 acres to approximately 2 acres, and perhaps making the pond deeper than initially planned. Soil borings taken from the proposed site — behind the campus softball and baseball fields — showed the dirt to be excavated can be repurposed for future Nobles County road projects planned along County State Aid Highway 35 and Crailsheim Road.

Nobles County Public Works Director Stephen Schnieder said it’s a win-win for the county and the college.

“(The county is) saving money by using this material rather than hauling it in from somewhere else, and the school wins because a major part of the cost is digging the hole,” said Schnieder. “They won’t have to pay for that as we’re taking the dirt.”

Harms said a meeting has been organized for the end of next week with many of the project’s players, including Nobles County, the city of Worthington and District 518. In addition to discussing the scope of the project, they will also talk about funding. The E.O. Olson Trust has committed $20,000 toward the retention pond, while the Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District has set aside $10,000. The Nobles County Soil and Water Conservation District is also hoping to chip in. SWCD Manager Ed Lenz said their office has applied for $150,000 in Clean Water Legacy Funds. Those grants won’t be awarded until December. If Nobles SWCD is a recipient, Lenz said the funds will allow their agency to commit some in-kind services to the project.

The retention pond will serve approximately 120 acres of land that drains from and around the college campus. Its purpose is to slow water flows into Lake Okabena from the northwest side of town, and act as a filtering device for stormwater runoff.

The pond has been on the drawing board at the college for several years, and is required before Minnesota West can move forward with any additional building plans on campus.

“Our next project on our list that we’re hoping to get funded this coming legislative session is an expansion of our gymnasium,” said Harms, adding that the expansion project has been in the works almost as long as the stormwater retention pond.

In 2005, plans began forming for an expansion and renovation of the campus gymnasium. An addition is planned on the north side of the building to create a connection point between it and the YMCA. Also, existing locker rooms will be updated, two new locker rooms for visiting teams and a couple of classrooms will be added and a new front entrance will be constructed.

“We’re designed out and bid-ready,” said Harms. “All we need are the funds.”

Now in the process of updating the master plan on campus, Harms said other projects have also been identified over the course of the next five or 10 years, although he wouldn’t elaborate on them.

Spring 2012 construction

Harms said his hope is to begin construction on the stormwater retention pond early next spring, which means that Nobles County will need to move up one of its road projects to make use of the excavated dirt.

“Hopefully we can put together a bid letting and the project could begin in June or July 2012,” Schnieder told Nobles County commissioners in their meeting earlier this week. The CSAH 10 and 35 (Crailsheim Drive and Oxford Street) road construction project was slated to be done in 2013 or 2014, when the state finishes using it as a detour route during the Minnesota 60 expansion project.

Because of this summer’s lengthy state shutdown, the Minnesota 60 expansion is no longer on pace to be completed in 2013. As a result, Crailsheim Drive will not be used as a detour route next summer, as initially planned. That allows the county to move up the project and make use of the dirt from the college’s stormwater pond.

Schnieder said the road project will include putting curb and gutter on the south side of Oxford Street along the Worthington Country Club, and along Crailsheim Drive as well. Right-hand turn lanes will also be created, and crosswalks will be improved to increase safety. A planned trail system will then be built along the roadway, beyond the curb and gutter.

Because the road work is being moved from 2013 to 2012, Schnieder said the county will need to request an advance in state funding to complete the work.

The trail system is still targeted for construction in 2013, with federal enhancement dollars already approved for the project.

Tags: minnesota west, nobles county, city of worthington, news