St. Cloud Moving Forward With Phase Five of Pan Park Road Project

(KNSI) – The St. Cloud City Council has approved Phase Five of the Pan Park neighborhood road reconstruction project.

City Engineer Zachary Borgerding says the project will cost $7.1 million and help replace obsolete infrastructure that is now compromised by pervasive root growth. The watermains first put in have a high failure rate, which would be resolved with the new 8″ mains being proposed. The project is partially funded through special assessments on property owners in the area. The other 75% is the city’s responsibility.

The work covers 29th Avenue North from 9th Street to 12th Street, 28th Avenue North between 10th Street and 12th Street, 27th and 26th Avenues for a block starting at 11th Street North, 10th and 11th Streets North from 27th Avenue to 29th Avenue, and the associated alleyways.

One person spoke at the public hearing, questioning the assessment policy, particularly how it values costs borne by corner lots versus those on the interior of a block, with only one side of their property affected by the construction. Another person asked the city to consider the older trees, estimated to be between 35 and 50 years old, in the neighborhood.

Borgerding responded that the city is still taking feedback from residents to finalize its plans for the phase. He used an example to highlight the point, saying the city originally intended to redo the boulevard between the street and sidewalk to make it six feet, as found in other parts of the city. Along 10th Street, that isn’t possible, though, due to the narrow setback of the houses from the road. Landscaping and greenery are one of the factors looked at during the process.

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