Kalona City Council met November 6. Photo by Sam McIntosh.

The City of Kalona is taking initial steps for a street project between City Hall and the Kalona Public Library.

City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh presented preliminary budget numbers for a plan to remove and replace the portion of C Avenue between 5th and 6th Streets at Monday’s city council meeting.

Schlabaugh explains the need for this project, “We have some stormwater issues with a line that’s probably collapsed where it’s at, and there’s some voids, there’s some unknowns underneath the street. The street as well needs to be replaced, we have some sidewalks that need some attention there on the south side. And as we’ve talked about the library main entrance with some of the issues that we just resolved, potentially coming up with a more aesthetically more usable entrance for both ADA and the public.”

The total estimated cost of the project is $237,500 which would come out of the city’s road use funds budget, and the proposed timeline suggests completion by the end of spring 2018. The council approved to move forward with design engineering with City Engineer Jack Pope of Garden & Associates, Ltd.