City Council focuses gaze on downtown

Shakopee Valley News

Macklemore didn't rap about downtown for nothing. 

Shakopee City Council voted to approve bids for $2.2 million in downtown improvements during its meeting on Tuesday.

Planned improvements include new lighting, creating plazas, a "Shakopee" sign, a crosswalk system and new sidewalk pavement.

"Cities invest in their downtown and Shakopee has, from time to time — but I believe this is one of the largest investments and infrastructure that the city has taken and I think that it is right," Mayor Bill Mars said during the meeting.

The city has been saving for the project for years, Councilor Jay Whiting said.

The budget is $2.2 million, with $1.9 million left for actual construction, according to the project memo.

How exactly to pave the sidewalks is still being decided. Installing a cheaper material could result in a change order in the future with savings for the city, according to the memo.

The improvements also include putting an existing bronze statue of Chief Sakpe in the area. The statue is now in a barn, Director of Planning and Development Michael Kerski said.

"I don't think we've fully invested in our brand in certain ways and downtown is part of our identity," Mars said.

Although the city has already budgeted and saved for the project, the improvements set a precedent for other parts of the city, Councilor Matt Lehman said. Lehman voted against approving the bids.

"We are treating different areas differently and if we are starting to go to these other areas and making these improvements, it's going to get really expensive for the taxpayers," Lehman said. 

Downtown is an area the entire community can enjoy, Mars said.

"It's an opportunity to showcase our community and I want to draw people to our downtown," Mars said. "That's the strength of the brand. Get connected and get into the community and find out where those activities are and come."

Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of the month and be completed this year.

In other action at Shakopee City Council's regular meeting on July 18, the council:

• Raised park dedication fees for commercial and industrial development to $9,500 per acre.

• Approved the final plat for the Windermere development, which would include 26 single-family lots, 39 townhouse lots and 9 outlots for the first phase.

• Passed a pension guideline for the Shakopee Fire Department Relief Association. The pension would increase by anywhere from three to six percent depending on what percent the Shakopee Fire Department Relief Association is funded. As of December 2016, it was 114.4 percent funded.

• Agreed to hire a full-time facilities maintenance worker and an administration fire captain.

• Heard presentations on the monthly financial review and 2040 Comprehensive Plan, Envision Shakopee.