By Brandi Makuski

City leaders on Monday will decide the future of the Business 51 project.

The Stevens Point Board of Public Works last week approved hiring engineering firm AECOM to complete one final document for the reconstruction of Bus. 51; a measure which now moves on to the full Council.

Council Members will need to decide whether to approve completing the Environmental Document- a study which will show how the new roadway would affect the community along the entire Bus. 51 corridor- at a cost of $300,000 already earmarked for the project.

The Council could also decide to transfer those funds to a proposed overpass at the Country Club Drive railroad crossing, leaving the Environmental Document unfinished and the future of Bus. 51 uncertain.
In April city leaders voted to formally switch focus away from the much-debated Bus. 51 project in favor of the overpass. Now, city leaders have to decide whether they want AECOM to complete the design contract to 30 percent completion of the final project, even though the information compiled by the company might not be used for the next decade, as the roadway overhaul has now been pushed to 2024.

“It looks like a no-brainer on paper like that. Ten years from now it’s going to cost us $1.1 million to do it again, plus what we already have into this,” said Alderman George Doxtator.

Alderman Randy Stroik cast the lone no vote, saying it made no sense to spend money on a document which wouldn’t be used for another decade.

“Even if we made that decision today, and we’ve all moved on to greener pastures in ten years, a new Council can agree to throw that out,” Stroik said during the Board’s meeting on June 9. “The Council can say, ‘Wow, what were they thinking ten years ago?’.”

Mayor Andrew Halverson said the weight of the Environmental Document doesn’t wane over time.

“It would indeed be binding, especially if the same exact regulations for the Federal Highway System, as well as DOT interaction, continue,” Halverson said. “It will carry force that will bind in a future Council to build it under those parameters if reconstructed. If not reconstructed, Council could do whatever it would like. But at some point, the Council will be locked in to a total reconstruct, either given continued pavement deterioration after ten years, after the maintenance that’s done (today) or eventually at some point the failure of the utilities.”

Storm and sewer utilities beneath Bus. 51 are as much as 70 years old in some parts- one reason other roadways in the city, include Ellis St. and Michigan Ave., have also been rebuilt in recent years.
Scott Schatschneider said the document would likely take another 18 months to complete; and another 8-10 years before it’s used.

“But what this document allows us to do is move forward and take steps, so when we are at that point (for construction), we can do this project,” Schatschneider said. “This isn’t just a document that gets finished and then gets shelved. It’s going to be a working document; it’s going to give us direction as we get closer to the date when we do rip up Business 51.”

Alderman Mike O’Meara called the document a “comprehensive look at the entire roadway” and said completing it now would mean future plans wouldn’t be completed in segments, preventing inefficiencies in the final rebuild.

“You want to be able to say whatever you do will fit into the vision you have for this roadway,” O’Meara said. “We’re going to have to go through public involvement, and it’s going to be messy, it takes a little while, but I think it’s important we decide on a vision for this road.”

O’Meara also said having the document completed now means the city can keep an open eye for any property sales or foreclosures within lots it would need to acquire for the reconstructed roadway.
“It could save us money if we don’t have a relocation, just a sale,” he said.

But O’Meara’s argument was met with resistance.

“We’re talking about planning a document that’s not going to be used for ten years,” said Alderman Mike Wiza. “Wednesday night we’re set to review the city’s comprehensive plan. Why? Because it’s too old; it’s outdated. When was the last time any of you voted for any project that was considered complete ten years ago?”

Wiza also noted the Portage Co. Board of Supervisors has conducted three different studies on the jail within the last decade but have acted on none of them.

“Those studies are outdated,” Wiza said. “In ten years do you really think the people sitting in these chairs are going to trust a document that is ten years old? Who’d have thought, ten years ago, that today we’d be talking about no mall, Strongs Avenue run through, Third Street run through, a fountain in the farmer’s market, thousands of students with the new Mid-State downtown? All of those things, ten years ago, weren’t thought of. A lot can change in ten years. Maybe we just take the advice of everybody that’s shown up at the public meetings and let the people ten years from now decide what’s best for them.”

The Council meets Monday, June 16 at 7 PM in the courthouse. The public is welcome.