Kimball City Council approved a requested $14,000 increase in the Hazel Avenue reconstruction project made by Randy Sabart, city engineer Monday night. According to Sabart, the money will be used to purchase 30-inch steel pipe casings which will better accommodate the rock and debris the project contractors have been encountering. Despite the casing complications they have been facing, Kuechle Underground is right on schedule. Now that the black top has been removed and the gravel beneath it salvaged, the Hazel Avenue reconstruction process is ready to begin the next phase. “This week we are in the middle of getting utilities and a new water main,” said Jeremy Kuechle, project manager. Anticipated construction setbacks in this phase of the project have been limited to older utilities. “So far everything is going as expected,” Kuechle said. “There are a lot of old gas lines and telephone services that we have difficulty locating and that slows us up.” According to Kuechle, the project extends as far as Highway 55 and Elm Street. Within the next few days Kuechle plans finishing up the sewer and water work between Highway 15 and Magnus John-son Street. Once reconstruction reaches Magnus Johnson Street, the process will continue with the removal of the old curb and sidewalk. “We need to cut the street out so we can build it back up again,” Kuechle said. So far, the impact of the road work on Kimball businesses and citizens has been minimal. “The construction is not really affecting our business,” said Knaus’ owner, Ronnie Knaus. “It may be harder to park sometimes, but then customers just park farther up the hill.” Other business owners, like Penny Callander of Gone to Pieces Quilt Shop, are not as directly affected by the on-going construction. “August is a slow time for quilting,” Callander said. Callander also admitted she was grateful for the location of her shop. “I am lucky to be on a corner where people can still see me and have access to the front door,” she said. But one Hazel Avenue corner-lot resident paying a $10,000 assessment fee for the reconstruction didn’t consider herself quite as lucky. “The road work is an inconvenience,” she said, “But the assessment we have to pay is really frustrating. The people it hurts the most are those on a fixed income.” Residents of Hazel Avenue received an easement via mail prior to the construction that provided them with details of the Hazel Avenue reconstruction project. They were to bring these to a notary public. “But they would have just done the construction anyway,” this resident said. “Why waste time doing that? Sabart also said he will address the minor water problems some residents are experiencing such as faucets not working properly and the appearance of gravel in the water. The Hazel Avenue reconstruction project is expected to be completed in August. “We hope to have it all restored in time for Kimball Days,” Kuechle said.
