Lake Hallie goes with west side extension

Last modified: Monday, September 15, 2008 12:07 PM CDT

Lake Hallie goes with west side extension

By The Chippewa Herald

LAKE HALLIE — After months of deliberation, the the Village of Lake Hallie Board has decided to extend water pipes on the west side of the Highway 53 bypass.

The extension is being created to run water service to a new retail center being built at 122nd Street and Melby Street.

Lisa Stelter, the owner of the retail center, planned to have a health spa and cafe opened by the end of the year, but that may be delayed as the decision for the extension was made Sept. 2, almost three months after it was first brought to the board.

The Village Board opted for the west side extension as it will provide water services for those properties which are seeking development. Future development plans were discussed with surrounding landowners before the board came to this decision.

“Everybody agreed that that area was more desirable (for development),” Village President Pete Lehmann said.

The board formally approved the development agreement with retail center developer Mark Held and approved Ayres Associates to do the engineering design work for the project.

The timetable for the completion of the project is unknown. The village still needs to go through the process of accepting construction bids after the engineering plan is completed. Those bids will determine the extension schedule.

The west side extension will run from12th Avenue to 118th Street down the west side of the highway, then underneath the highway to the retail center.

The village’s costs will be about $268,000, which will come from tax incremental district expenditures. Held is contributing $75,000 to the project. Zacho Sports Center would be assessed about $96,000 and Haselwander Realtors $52,000, though a time frame for payment of those special assessments has not been worked out.

The other option the village was discussing was to move water service down the east side of the highway.

Although they are still considering that option in the future, they decided the west side would be most beneficial as of now. The village also decided not to complete that extension this year in part because of the $512,000 price tag.

Lehmann said awarding a water extension contract withing a few months is faster than usual as the average decision can take closer to six months.

The village board worked to make this decision quickly, as Stelter had originally planned the center with the idea that water was readily available, only to find out later that it was not.