Lomira Village Board Discusses East Avenue Repavement

Trustee Gary More presented the possibility of repaving and slurry sealing portions of East Avenue in 2027 to the Lomira Village Board at its meeting on Wednesday, May 13.

More described repaving the northern portion of East Avenue, from Main Street to Church Street, and slurry sealing the southern portion, from Church Street to Oak Spring Drive.

The village’s five-year street plan includes repaving both the north and south portions of East Avenue for an estimated cost of $400,000.

Trustee More proposed using Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) 5 funds to finance repaving the northern portion of the avenue.

“TIF 5 funds have $211,000 in them. That will not increase over time. It needs to be used by September 30, 2030. The $211,000 could cover the majority of the north portion because in the initial rough draft of the five-year plan, they figured about $200,000 per section,” explained Trustee More. “I’m just proposing we use the wheel tax to possibly slurry the southern section at this time to buy us ten years. It’s in better shape than the north section.”

Trustee More suggested repaving and slurry sealing in 2027 to avoid conflicting with the upcoming Highway 67 project in 2028 and to mitigate increasing construction costs.

“2027 is probably a good year to work on this thing because . . . 2029 and 2030 might get a little close if we’re trying to get grants and those kinds of things,” added Trustee More.

After his short presentation, Trustee More invited fellow board members to share their thoughts on East Avenue.

“There are spots where I don’t know if slurry seal will do it. There’s some patchwork that would more likely have to be done,” stated President Don Luedtke. “The increased truck traffic from the businesses there and how quickly it would deteriorate is something we also have to keep in mind.”

“The only reason I proposed slurry sealing is because we would have enough money for that. That’s something we could do,” responded Trustee More. “If we start resurfacing the south part, you’re looking at a loan or some kind of creative financing.”

Both President Luedtke and Trustee More invited board members to look at East Avenue before the June board meeting, when discussion on the topic will continue.

Board Matters:
• The board discussed approving pay request #1 of $56,939.64 to Kartechner Brothers LLC for the South Avenue project. The motion to approve the payment was made by Trustee Becky Alf and passed 6-0. Trustee Jessica Loomans was absent from the meeting.
• The board also considered granting a transient merchant/food truck permit to KERVIS LLC doing business as Cousins Maine Lobster to have a food truck parked at the Piggly Wiggly on May 28. A motion to grant the permit was made by Trustee Jenny Priesgen and passed unanimously.

• Additionally, Resolution #1074, update the schedule of fees to include the fee for Lions Stand at Sterr Park, was discussed. Civic, non-profit organizations, and village entities may rent the concession stand for free when renting the pavilion and “shall be assessed $50/hr. cleaning fee if the concession stand is not left clean and orderly according to the contract requirements, with a $50 minimum charge.” Private parties may also rent the stand for a $100 fee, which includes a $50 refundable deposit if the stand is left clean. Trustee More made the motion to approve Resolution #1074, which passed unanimously.
• The board extended gratitude to the Lomira Middle School eighth-grade class and staff for volunteering on April 23 to clean the parks. Thanks were also given to the Lomira Girl Scout Troops 8352 and 8330 for placing a storybook walk at Buerger Trail. The storybook walk will be displayed through June.