By Anne Holzman
The stretch of Eustis Street in Lauderdale between Larpenteur and Hoyt avenues is scheduled for repaving this coming summer, with a sidewalk planned for the east side from Hoyt to Idaho Avenue.
Temporary traffic lights at the intersection of Eustis and Larpenteur will likely limit turns for vehicles and cause traffic disruptions on nearby streets for six to eight weeks during construction.
Lauderdale and Ramsey County staff have been planning the project for more than two years, including extensive negotiations over payment and ongoing maintenance.
County officials initially attempted to persuade Lauderdale to assume ownership of the stretch, but the city rejected that request as too costly given its limited budget.
The county then reduced the scope of the work and proposed charging the city some $600,000, citing the city’s ownership of Eustis north of Larpenteur, which is affected by work at that intersection by various state and county policies for charging cities for road work.
Lauderdale staff and city council members negotiated that figure down to about $185,000. During a 45-minute discussion at its regular meeting on Nov. 12, the council expressed frustration that cities under 5,000 population do not qualify for the state street maintenance aid that larger cities receive. They said the county’s policies, unlike policies in nearby counties, ignore that disparity.
The project, likely to begin in late spring, will extend the sidewalk that stops at the city boundary north of Como Avenue, although not all the way up the hill as some residents had hoped. It will address some drainage problems around the apartment buildings on the east side of Eustis and will improve the intersection at Eustis and Larpenteur to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Lauderdale Administrator Heather Butkowski said there will be “a lot of utility work” in the area around the roadway in addition to the road construction.
Butkowski clarified the state aid issue for the Bugle in early December. “Cities over 5,000 (in population) get somewhere around $40-$60 per capita annually for road improvements,” Butkowski said. “There is no reason residents of smaller cities should pay more for street repairs than larger city residents.”
At the Nov. 12 meeting, council members expressed interest in asking the county to partner with them in seeking to eliminate the state’s disparity in street aid. They also aired annoyance with what they felt was disrespect from the county.
“It sticks in my craw,” said council member Evan Sayre, who has participated in negotiations. “[The county] just dictates these policies.”
Mayor Mary Gaasch said, at one point, “I struggle with the contemptuous tone” from the county. But she added, “I think this project is going to be in the best interest of our citizens.”
Anne Holzman is a freelance writer who covers Lauderdale government news for the Bugle.
Photo cutline: A stretch of Eustis Street in Lauderdale is scheduled for construction this coming summer. Map illustration from Ramsey County.
