Maple Bluff News & Information

DAY 198 Mon Oct 18th

2010-10-18T05:58:00.000-07:00

Most of you have had little contact with the infrastructure contractor the past couple weeks; but, they have still been here. Their work has mostly consisted of the final stitching of putting the Village back together again.

Almost all areas have received Hydra-seeding. They are finishing a few other restoration projects but mostly just cleaning up signs and other miscellaneous stuff around the Village. There are a few punch list items that are still being remedied. But, we anticipate a skeleton crew showing up today but not staying around the Village too long this week.

For those of you who must drive through the Lakewood Blvd corridor, we are trying to get some prices from either of the two contractors in the Village to get those road segments repaired.

If you have not taken the time to look over the new pond area between the Village and the MBCC tennis courts, that project has progressed quite far as well. The pond is dug out completely and they have stopped pumping water out of it so it is slowly filling in with ground water and several springs that are feeding it. The pipe to the lake is still blocked so we are not getting water yet flowing from the lake to the pond.

The storm water pipe thru the MBCC driving range is installed. There are still a few more storm structures in various parts of the project, and, the connection near the maintenance shop that need to be installed. Another week or two on this project and they should be wrapping up as well!!!

As a reminder, once construction is done, I will start using the BLOG for ongoing Village News, so stay tuned to this communication method for ongoing information!!

Day 184 Monday Oct 4th

2010-10-04T06:09:00.000-07:00

For the Street and Infrastructure Construction, restoration will continue this week. There was alot of Hydra-seed put down last week and more will occur this week; we are still hoping that they may be completely finished this week, but that may depend on the weather.

For our friends on Farwell who have been getting mail pick up at the gang boxes at Lakewood, very soon your delivery back to your homes should resume. We will provide you a notice when you can expect that change.

In another area of the Village, digging began last Friday for the storm water retention pond at the MBCC. This pond will be located between the Village tennis courts and the tennis courts at the MBCC. A good start on Friday gives good hope that that the pond will be completed in just a few short weeks. The storm pipe construction from the MBCC Maintenance Shop, across the driving range, to the point where it will drain into the pond will also begin soon.

As construction ends, please stay tuned via this Blog for other Village news. My intent is to move completely toward the Blog for the source of communication.

Lower Bluff--Re-seed Coming!!

2010-09-24T07:03:00.000-07:00

To our friends in the Lower Bluff, we anticipate that the contractor will be coming back for another application of hydra-seeding very soon, especially in those areas where the grass is thin. They may complete this as early as next week!!

To make this work better, you should plan to MOW that grass low, and rake off any dead materials or leaves.

Friday 9/24 DAY 174!!! Almost Done!!

2010-09-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

Well my friends, work has continued. The last 2 weeks, there has been direct communication with the residents within the construction zone. The direct commuication was the result of a fluid schedule on the work that was being completed.

Let me bring everyone up to speed on where we are.
Surface blacktop was put down on McBride, Magdeline and Summit last week. Asphalt driveways were completed in that section yesterday. Restoration of grass will continue with hydra seeding taking place next week.

Farwell Drive received binder asphalt yesterday.

We expect the SURFACE on Farwell to be put down on MONDAY!! Notices will be delivered to Farwell homes today that they will need to have cars out of driveways by 6a on Monday morning. The asphalt contract intends to apply "Tac"--a very sticky material used to adhere the two layers of asphalt together, so they can begin paving by 7am. If you drive over the "tac", it may get onto your vehicle and be VERY difficult to get off!!

Asphalt driveways on Farwell will get their surface material next Wednesday and Thursday. Restoration will continue on Farwell all of next week as well.

Monday 9/12; Day 162

2010-09-13T19:47:00.000-07:00

Late last week, there was binder layer of blacktop put down on McBride, Magdeline and Summit!! How nice is that too drive on!!

Today, surface was applied to New Castle, Charring Cross and Laurel as well as the rest of Roxbury. Final restoration still needs to take place but those crews are busy getting final elevations and are prepping to grow grass.

We are expecting the concrete contractor to be back again tomorrow after spending a good share of the day in the Village today. There were a few driveways to be re-poured on New Castle and McBride and then they moved over to Farwell. Tomorrow, anticipate additional concrete driveways getting poured on Farwell. Tentatively, we are looking for binder to get started on Farwell on or around Sept 23rd.

Thursday 9/9; Day 158

2010-09-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

Below is a letter delivered to homes in the areas that were expecting street surfacing today. I am constantly amazed on how weather impacts schedules of contractors; but it apparently does quite a bit!!

September 9, 2010

Residents along the 2010 Street and Utilities Improvements Project

Subject: Asphalt Paving

Dear Residents:

You recently received a letter indicating that the paving schedule for Roxbury Road, New Castle Way and Charing Cross Road was for September 9. As you can see, the paving contractor had a delay in his schedule.

Paving of the surface layer of asphalt on Roxbury Road, New Castle Way, and Charing Cross is now scheduled to be completed on Monday, September 13.

We thank you for your continued patience as these critical infrastructure improvements are made in the Village. Please do not hesitate to contact Village Hall or the project engineer (Brian Berquist at Town & Country Engineering, Inc. (608) 273-3350 with any questions.

Very truly yours,
VILLAGE OF MAPLE BLUFF

Tim Krueger
Village Administrator

Wednesday 9/8 Day 157

2010-09-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

I made an error yesterday in suggesting that the pipe work was now completed. That actually happened today. I had the good fortune to witness the ceremonial laying of the last segment of pipe!! How Exciting is this!!! About a 6' section of storm water pipe.....not very ceremonial but, it is officially completed now!!!

We are still anticipating concrete coming in tomorrow and pavement both Thur and Fri and possibly Monday if needed. Surface could be put down on Roxbury, New Castle and Charring Cross. When surface blacktop is put down, anticipate being off that surface until 8p or later for that night. Binder layer will allow you to drive on it shortly after it is put down and rolled.

Tuesday 9/7 Day 156

2010-09-07T20:24:00.000-07:00

Due to some less than desirable weather last week, we have been told that the concrete contractor will not be in the Village until Thursday in stead of Wednesday.

Also on Thursday, we are anticipating that Frnak Brothers will be coming into the Village to pave in the afternoon. This paving will be focused on the Surface of New Castle and Charing Cross. You should plan that once these streets are paved, we will need to keep traffic off the road for numerous hours so plan to park away from your home until later that evening. We are planning to open the road after 8pm.

Binder paving on McBride, Magdeline and Summit will either take place on Friday or Monday. However, there will be limited closure for the binder layer of pavement.

Storm system connections were concluded today. There is still some electrical undergrounding and gas main projects for MG&E taking place around the entire Farwell zones so stay alert for those changing conditions.
.

Friday 9/3 Day 152

2010-09-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

Leading into a long Holiday weekend, the construction crews spent most of the day cleaning up the work areas.

All of Farwell Drive has been rebuilt; there is still a small amount of storm pipe crossings that have to be installed.

Next week, preparation will continue for paving to take place on Friday. Tentatively planned is binder on McBride, Magdeline, and Summit and the Surface layer of pavement on New Castle, Charing Cross and small amount of Laurel. The concrete contractor should be back to finish some additional work on Wednesday.

The binder can be driven on shortly after getting put down. The surface will need to have vehicles stay off until late in the evening, so if you live on a road receiving surface, plan to park away from your home until late in the evening.

Wednesday 9/1 Day 150 (Date for Paving!!)

2010-09-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

Only a moment to report tonight...so here goes a quick summary:

All water main and all residential services are on new water main on Farwell and the entire upper bluff project zone.

The road rebuilding on Farwell is down to several hundred feet in the 400 block. That should be completed tomorrow. For residents on Farwell, that work zone window has shrunk for road building, but there are still some areas where storm system crossings are being made so access will still be limited tomorrow.

MG&E Gas main installation on Farwell is still taking place but we hope that they will complete that project in the next week or so.

For residents on McBride, Magdeline and Summit, the concrete contractor is scheduled to be in the Village tomorrow (Thursday). If you have a concrete driveway, you should be sure to get all of your vehicles out of the driveway/garage before the driveway gets poured.

A tentative date for the paving contractor to return to the Village is Friday Sept 10th and Monday, Sept 13th. On the 10th, we would anticipate binder on McBride, Magdeline and Summit and a Surface layer on New Castle, Charing, and Laurel. The 13th, would tentatively bring the binder surface for Farwell!! Still some work to do to prep for that, but that is still the tentative plan; lets hope it works that way.

Restoration work will continue on all the upper bluff project zones. Stand by for changing conditions!!! Good night.

Monday 8/30; Day 148

2010-08-30T06:27:00.000-07:00

Today, a water main tie in will be taking place at the Wilder and Farwell Intersection. That work should be concluded by mid day today. However, it will leave Farwell and Coleman quite inaccessible. The road re-building will continue on Farwell in the 400 and 300 blocks today.

After the pipe crew finishes the water main tie in, they will work on storm system connections. All of the residential water services are connected to the new water main!!

We have been told that the concrete contractor could be coming into the Village towards the end of this week to get additional driveways completed before the next round of paving. As that information is firmed up and we know exactly where they will be working, we will provide more information then.

Wed/Thu Days 143 & 144

2010-08-26T03:40:00.000-07:00

Below is the information that was distributed last night to homes on Farwell Drive in the 200-500 Blocks. These blocks of Farwell will have the most activity over the next week.

AUGUST 25, 2010
Dear Resident,

The progression of work in the 2010 Village Infrastructure projects has narrowed to a small area in the 200-500 blocks of Farwell Drive. Within these blocks, we will have two crews working. One crew will be installing residential water services and installation of new storm sewer. The other crew will be rebuilding the road.
Each of these crews will be disturbing the entire width of roadway, making passage of motor vehicles between the two crews virtually impossible. Emergency vehicles will be able to get through with very short notice. As our work progresses, the window of construction/disturbance will get smaller and smaller.
To accommodate this final segment of construction, we respectfully request that you remove your vehicle from your driveway by 7am each morning of the dates listed below. Vehicular access back into your driveway will be limited until work ends for each day. You may find additional parking available on Lakewood Boulevard, Butternut, Summit, or in the 600 block of Farwell. Please be aware however that there will be dump trucks and other construction vehicles travelling those nearby roads.
We apologize for this inconvenience and we appreciate your patience as we try to finish up the few last construction tasks associated with these projects. If you have any special needs or questions, you may contact an A-1 Excavating Foreman on site, or Tom Schroeder or Tim Krueger with the Village of Maple Bluff. Thank-You.

DATES OF CONSTRUCTION: 8/26, 8/27, 8/30, 8/31, 9/1, 9/2, 9/3

Tuesday, Day 142

2010-08-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

As I wrote last week, the water main installation on Farwell was very close to being completed. This work was actually finished yesterday, as the pipe crew finished up the last 40' of water main for the 2010 projects. This marks an important day in getting these projects wrapped up when the completion of thousands of feet of water main is now installed.

The last segment of water main from the 400 block down to the 200 block has already passed pressure testing, flushing, chlorination, and the test sample has already been taken to the state lab for testing. We should have that result in the next day or two.

On Wednesday, there will be some work conducted right away in the morning at the Farwell/Wilder intersection as the tie in water mains are completed. Immediately after the pipe tie in, the road crew will rebuild that intersection.

Residential water services are being completed on Farwell in the 400 and 500 blocks, in those areas that were already tested. That work will continue Wednesday, so Farwell will stay difficult to pass. Also, there may be some isolated water shut downs as they work on specific residential water services.

The road on Farwell Drive has now been rebuilt in the following blocks--800, 700 and 600. They hope to have road base built down the hill on Farwell into the 500 block yet this week and possible they could get into the 400 block.

Still no word on the date that the asphalt contractor will be returning to the Village.

Thursday; Day 137

2010-08-19T18:49:00.000-07:00

Today, the water main crew on Farwell installed about 380'. This leaves approximately 300' left and one more hydrant to install.....close, very close!! However, Fridays are normally a shorter work day so it is not too likely that water main will be done this week. But, early next week we should get accomplished with the water main.

Additional services were completed today and for the most part, all of the services on Farwell are connected to the south Butternut intersection. As the newer main is filled and tested, additional services will get completed in the 500 and 400 blocks, and then followed down the Farwell hill into the 300 and 200 blocks as the main is completed and tested, services will be connected.

For our friends on McBride, Magdeline and Summit. We know you are waiting patiently for your road, but we have some other prep work to get completed. The concrete contractor was in town today prepping for driveway aprons. We anticipate some concrete driveways getting poured either Friday or Saturday. This work is weather dependant.

McBride will have new MG&E gas main starting next Tuesday, not Monday as expected. That work will take 3-4 days on McBride. That MG&E crew will then begin work on Farwell Drive, replacing gas main on Farwell between Butternut and Butternut. The work on Farwell will take 3-4 weeks.

Wednesday, Day 136

2010-08-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick summary for you from today:

Laurel, Charing Cross and New Castle:
Received first layer (Binder) of asphalt today. Wow, this gives that area a new look and really shows the progress toward completion in these streets!!. The surface layer will likely not happen for a couple weeks because the asphalt contractor has some work to get completed around schools and the timing is such that they need to complete that work in the next couple weeks.

The new water main was installed into a tricky private driveway in the 800 block of Farwell. There has been much planning for this area because of the complexity. Late in the afternoon, all was looking good with this connection and it feels good to finally have that difficult work behind us.

Farwell: There was no water main installed today as both pipe crews needed to complete other tasks (the private drive mentioned above and a sanitary repair and residential water service that each required MG&E to support a pole because of the proximity of the excavation to those poles.

There was road built on other areas of Farwell, including the Farwell and Summit Road intersection.

As you can see from the work listed above, there was ALOT of action in the Village today. Getting around may have been a bit difficult at time due to the numerous work zones so we extend our apologies for those inconveniences.

Tuesday 8/17 Day 135

2010-08-17T13:28:00.000-07:00

Changes Changes Changes.......but they are relatively minor.

We learned early today that Frank Bros could not make it on Thursday to pave New Castle/Charing Cross due to a double booking.. Mid afternoon, we learned that they had an opening develop for TOMORROW!! So, as of right now, anticipate that those two roads will have their Binder layer of asphalt put down on Wednesday afternoon.

For residents on those two streets, the binder can be driven on relatively quickly. There may be some inconvenience as the trucks and other equipment are getting the work done, but the road will be open for traffic shortly after it is down.

That small lane unpaved on Roxbury will get pavement put down this afternoon.

Ok then, we turn our attention to water main on Farwell. On Monday, the water main crew began down the hill on Farwell from Butternut. They ran into alot of rock initally, taking many hours to get just a couple pipe sections put in. That rock went away a bit further down the hill.

For residents on Farwell, a reminder that as you see the crew approaching your property, you may want to get vehicles out of your driveway before you get cut off. The crews are supposed to be checking at each home, but that may not always happen.

As of mid afternoon today, the crew was approaching the mid 500 block of Farwell and they may breach into the 400 block yet today. We anticipate that by the end of the week, assuming good weather and no other problems, that the water main may be completed on Farwell Drive.

We are still waiting for MG&E to come into the Village to install new Gas Mains in two locations. This includes on McBride north of Butternut and also around the hair pin corner on the 700 block of Farwell Drive. We have a tentative date of Monday August 23rd for the work to begin on McBride. Farwell will be done after McBride.

Friday 8/13 Day 131

2010-08-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

What is a good Friday the 13th without rain to interrupt construction!! But, what a great week of progress last week, even with the rain on Friday!! There was one day this past week when the water main crew had put in over 420' of water main!! That is ALOT of pipe! We expect that water main should be completed in the next two weeks--assuming good weather and no other problems/issues.

As of Thursday, the water main was completed to the Farwell/Butternut intersection on the south. One reason they did not continue further is that under the asphalt, as you go down the Farwell hill at 500 Farwell drive, there was found a substantial amount of concrete again. Thursday was spent trying to get that concrete removed.

Also on Thursday, residential services were completed in the 700 block of Farwell Drive. There are still 2 services to be completed in that block, but those have to be completed after some sanitary work is completed.

Really good news:
All roads, except Farwell, have now been rebuilt with rock!! Even Farwell, where the water main started, has even started to get rebuilt!! This work will continue this week too.

There was additional concrete installed on New Castle and Charing cross this past week. We are now closer to being ready for those two roads to get the binder layer of asphalt this Thursday, 8/19.

Also, you may some some landscape restoration taking place in the Charing Cross/New Castle neighborhood. This is another good sign that the end may be near for those two streets.

Roxbury received its binder layer this past week, except for a couple hundred feet of one lane just off of Lakewood. Why was that left without asphalt you may ask?? I know, you assume it was for some critical reason. Unfortunately, the only reason I can tell you is that the asphalt contractor ran out of asphalt.

This week, look for more water main work in the 200-500 blocks of Farwell. This will make Farwell mstly impassable. Additional prep work will take place to be ready for asphalt on Thursday.

It may occur that later in the week, a private drive off Farwell will have their main and residential services replaced.

Finally, the last bit of news for this past week.....the last permit we were waiting for from the DNR has been issued for the pond area of the MBCC. There are no barriers remaining. We are about a month away before that project can begin, but we are holding a construction meeting this week to get the contractor and all utilities coordinated.

Have a good week and be aware that Farwell Drive in the 200-500 block will be severely limited for traffic this upcoming week.

Wednesday 8/11/2010 Day129

2010-08-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

Progress, Progress and more Progress!!

Early today, there will be a water shut off affecting 8 homes in the Wilder, Coleman, and Farwell areas. The shut off should last approximately 4 hours as one of the crews makes a water main tie in to the existing main in front of 201 Farwell. Each of the homes affected were noticed; however, early this morning, we have received a few calls of a few other homes on Farwell in the 500 and 600 blocks who are without water. Staff is trying to find out why this loss of water is taking place.

The water main crew on Farwell is making great progress. Almost another 380' yesterday!! They are now past the curve, working in the 600 block of Farwell.

Also on Farwell, back at the water main start point, the other pipe crew has been making residential service connections. This means that the new main in the first sections were pressure tested, cleaned, and then water samples taken and sent to the state for testing and they received a clear sample.

ROXBURY!!
The asphalt contractor has a few hours available TODAY in their schedule so they will be coming in to the Village to put a binder/1st layer of pavement on Roxbury!!

New Castle/Charing Cross: The next date available for the asphalt contractor to get to the Village will be next Thursday, 8/19. That is the tentative date for paving the binder layer on these two streets.

Day 123 (Thu)/Day 124 (Fri)

2010-08-08T03:12:00.000-07:00

On Both Thur and Fri, work continued on water main with the crew getting past Summit and near the hairpin turn on Farwell--so they are still in the 700 block.

The road crew was rebuilding road on Thursday with Magdeline having a fair amount of road now rebuilt. They are only 3-4 houses from reaching Summit Drive!! ON Friday, the road crew was doing a variety of house cleaning tasks around the project zones; those are miscellaneous jobs to help keep the areas as tidy as possible. So, there was no road building going on Friday.

We anticipate seeing the asphalt contractor in the Village some time early this next week for Binder on New Castle, Charing Cross, and Roxbury. There was discussion at the construction meeting on Thursday that we may be able to have the "Surface" asphalt put down relatively quickly then and hopefully begin the restoration on New Castle and Charing Cross within a week or two. As these plans get more detailed and firmed up this week, I will keep you informed!!

Day 122, Wed 8/4

2010-08-04T04:01:00.000-07:00

Another great working day yesterday except for the mosquitos.....Yes, those buggers attack the construction workers (and those watching construction) pretty hard during the day. They are especially bad in the heavy foliage area of the current work zones.

Yesterday I mentioned that that water main crew on Farwell had placed 120' by lunch; well that day, they installed over 320' of pipe. Yesterday however, they did not get the same distance. In fact, by mid afternoon, they had just completed their second 'stick'--each stick being 20' for a total of 40'. But, they were just as productive.... You may ask, "How can they be just as productive with such varied distances?"

Well, in addition to the 40', they were able to set a new fire hydrant, just outside of 822 Farwell. In this section of Farwell, the main is being laid closer to the lake side of the edge of roadway. The hydrant however, is on the non lake side of the road. To get to that hydrant location, the crew had to maneuver and clear a path (7-8' down) that included gas lines, laterals and mains for both sewer and water. This is very delicate work with lots of hand digging which is very time consuming. So, you may not see alot of "distance" covered, but, they took care of some very monotonous work.

A couple other points of interest. Residents in the 800 block of Farwell, though driving on asphalt all these years, also had a base consisting of a concrete road under the asphalt. There is a very narrow path of a concrete road, likely put in many decades ago, when cars were not as big, not as fast, and the need/desire for wide roads was not yet established. As Tom said, these roads were built for the Model T type cars.

Also during this phase of construction, several "mysteries" have been solved. The pulverizer found a manhole that staff was never able to locate....it was buried by about 8-10" of ashpalt. While trying to find that manhole, many "readings" were taken with equipment that always lead the staff on wild goose chases as there was indications everywhere. Well, those readings were searching for the hard metal of the manhole and the false readings were based on the rebar that was in the concrete deeper under the pavement. Mysteries solved.

Work continues on Farwell water main, still getting through the 800 block. For those off the private drive in the 800 block, the crew will go past your road and then return after the main in your section is activated. We will correspond with you directly when that will occur.

New Castle/Charing Cross:
Concrete driveways and curb was installed yesterday and they looked pretty good. A reminder to keep off those for several more days while the hardening process takes place. Also, the concrete curb is only going in those extremely flat areas where drainage is a problem. So, if you dont have concrete in front of your home, they did not forget you, you will have asphalt coming soon. If you want to see how this works, take a look at Woodland Circle.

Day 121 Tues 8/3

2010-08-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

Well my friends, Farwell Drive seems to be getting busier and busier with construction. I strongly encourage those who do not need to travel this road to get to their home, to take a different route. See notes below on active zones on Farwell.

As of yesterday, the "gang" mail boxes were put in place for residents of Farwell (200-800 blocks) to get their mail at the alternate location on Lakewood Blvd. This mail deliver change applies ONLY to those homes who received the notification last week. We anticipate this delivery location to stay in place until the majority of construction is completed on Farwell. The one good thing mail delivery man Duane reports is that your mail will be delivered much earlier now--you should have mail in your box by 10:30a or so in the morning, versus later in the afternoon!! See, a bit of sunshine with every negative!!!

FARWELL: Water main installation continued yesterday with 120' of main installed before lunch. They also had the entire afternoon to add additional water main. They are still hovering in that 800 block but pushing toward that 700 block of Farwell Drive today. HOWEVER, if you drive on Farwell, you will see piles of gravel, dirt, water main pipes, etc all along the entire Drive.....as I mentioned earlier, it is a very busy and very narrowed road; please use alternate routes if possible.

On the lower end of Farwell, MG&E continues working on the undergrounding project. Considering the problem they had last week boring into our sanitary sewer line, they have requested to open trench a section of their undergrounding in the 500 block. We are trying to coordinate a scheduled spot repair of our sanitary line in this same area before they begin their work in the open trench. Once again, the work zone really limits this road for thru traffic. If you dont need to travel on Farwell, please avoid.

I was recently asked a question about mail boxes and their replacement. Generally, mailboxes are removed from their location and placed deeper into the yard, (sometimes just laid on the ground) and that will continue to be the delivery location. But at the end of the project, the contractor should return that mailbox to a proper location at the street. You should not need to replace that mailbox.

New Castle/Charing Cross: The road crew completed final preparation of the surface yesterday so that today we have confirmed that the Concrete Contractor is in the Village!! Curb and concrete driveway aprons are being installed today!!

Work for this week-Monday Aug 2d (Day 120)

2010-08-01T05:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a rundown of work we can anticipate for this upcoming week:

New Castle/Charing Cross (ROXBURY Binder): The concrete contractor (Augelli) is anticipated to arrive on Monday to begin pouring driveway aprons and concrete curbing.

A couple quick points about the use of concrete curbing and for the aprons. First, concrete curbing is only being used in those areas of very flat roadway to give the asphalt company reference points as they put down the roadway surfaces. This gives greater assurance that the road will drain properly. There will be transition points where concrete changes to asphalt. The concrete will need 5-7 days to cure before it should be ok for vehicular traffic, so if your driveway is concrete, plan to park off your driveway for several days.

With the concrete work getting completed, we anticipate that the asphalt contractor will be coming into the Village within the next week or so after concrete is completed. At that point, we should see the binder layer of asphalt being put down on New Castle, Charing Cross as well as RoxBury Road.

Please note however that asphalt driveways will not be completed until after both layers of pavement are down.

Farwell Drive: Much of the pulverizing is complete, but there is still a few more stretches of roadway to finish.

Water main installation began in the 800 block of Farwell Drive on Friday. About 80' of water main was installed that day so starting this week, one crew will continue that installation. The other crew will move to service installations on Farwell as mains are tested and ready

Magdeline/Summit/McBride: The other pipe crew will be working on finishing storm and sanitary sewer work on these streets. There are also service laterals left to be installed on Magdeline between Butternut and Summit. The road crew will be working on road rebuilding.

MG&E Gas Main.....The Village is still anticipating MG&E completing a gas main installation on McBride as well as Farwell Drive. The MG&E crew has been busy on a project in another town.

This upcoming week should show good, visible progress!! We will keep you informed!

Farwell Drive Traffic Problems Today

2010-07-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

OK.....First, I must apologize for Farwell Drive being such a mess today and virtually unpassable in the 500 block. Let me briefly explain what happened.

Late Thursday afternoon, we learned that KS Energy who is working on the undergrounding of utilities on Farwell, had bored into the sanitary sewer on Farwell. In short, there was so much damage to that line that today, we had to have an emergency repair of that sanitary line. Thursday night, we were able to stabilize the line until morning, but it had to be fixed today. This made the 500 block of Farwell extremely busy with contractors and the road was filled with dirt, machines, and other stuff we dont need to talk about. As I write this shortly after 5p, they are finishing that work and retro fitting a storm line they had to move to fix the sanitary line.

Yet this weekend, I will give a more detailed update on the upper bluff construction. You will want to come back and read that because alot of progress was made this week so that early next week (Monday), we anticipate some curb and driveway work to take place. Come back and get more details this weekend!!!

Farwell to get Pulverized Tomorrow

2010-07-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

Farwell Drive is scheduled to get pulverized starting tomorrow (Thursday 7/29). This may be a two day operation.

After the road is pulverized, it will be rolled and left in place. As they begin water main installation, they will remove the top materials for use in other parts of the project.

Day 108 - Day 115

2010-07-28T06:30:00.001-07:00

Good Day. I was gone for a long weekend so I need to do some catching up. Here is a day - day summary of the last week:

Wed 7/21: Two pipe crews got alot of work done on both Magdeline. The majority of the water main was installed.

Thur 7/22 & Fri 7/23: Welcome back rain!! On Thursday we had a construction meeting but for themost part, heavy rains made any construction impossible.

The original schedule had completion date in Mid-September. We have granted some extension to that plan due to weather considerations, but we have askd A-1 for a more consistent presence. I think a reasonable completion date would be early October. Also in our construction meeting, we decided that Farwell would be pulverized some time in the next week, anticipating crews being ready to install water main on Farwell fairly soon.

Mon 7/26: One of the pipe crews was working on some storm sewer and unfortunately, the other pipe crew had to chase a leak in a newer valve.

Tues 7/27: Storm sewer work continued on New Castle. The other pipe crew was able to start water main on Summit. They completed a significant portion of Summit from Butternut up towards Farwell. As they were a couple sticks away from Farwell, the hit a deep layer of hard rock. This rock always slows a crew down, but they dug hard and were able to get one more stick in. They should be able to complete summit today. Once complete, they will pressure test, then start the cooking process for the new pipes. Services will then begin.

In the Lower Bluff, landscaping crews made significant progress yesterday. Regarding landscaping, we are seeing fairly rapid grass growth with the hydraseeding process they are using.

Wed 7/28: Work today continues on water main on Summit and the storm sewers. If a crew breaks free, you will likely see some services getting completed as well.

As soon as we get a date specific for Farwell to get pulverized, we will let you know. But, plan that it would be yet this week until we hear different.

Day 106 (Mon 7/19) & Day 107 (Tue 7/20)

2010-07-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

Landscaping work continues in the lower bluff with the primary work taking place on Woodland Circle. The 400 block of Kensington was completed last Friday. The work consists of adding top soil to get the grade back to where it is supposed to be. There is then a process of Hydra-Seeding used which shoots the seed, fertilizer etc into the seeded areas.

In the Upper Bluff, we now have another pipe crew on our work site and this crew has started with water main from Butternut heading up the hill toward Summit. At mid day today, they were about halfway through that block.

The other pipe crew installed the temporary water service line and now today, they have completed a tie in on Magdeline at Butternut and they will start working their way back toward McBride. This installation will be a bit more difficult as the location of the new main crosses the existing main in several locations. This is why they had to install the temporary water delivery system to 6 residences along this corridor.

We have noted that people who have their homes inaccessible are parking on Butternut. Unfortunately, that street is too narrow to allow parking on both sides of the street, so we will be placing temporary 'no parking signs' on the side of Butternut where there is already ...."No Parking"!!!!

Speed-speed-speed--continues to be a problem. This is in the newly constructed area of the lower bluff, but, also in the construction zones of the upper bluff and especially where MG&E crews are working on Farwell. As another reminder, please watch your speed and if you have teenagers, be sure to remind them as well---that is the age group that we seem to be having the most reports about. Thanks.

Day 101 (Wed) thru Day 103 (Fri)

2010-07-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

A great week of progress!! As of mid day today, let me recap where we are.

Lower Bluff:

Paving Done; this includes many asphalt driveways. The Village may have 1 or 2 left to complete due to some structural issues that we have to deal with in the driveway. If you are doing your own driveway, then you are not completed yet.
Finish Landscaping. Some start to this but the majority of the work should be done next week.

Upper Bluff:

New Castle: Road built, some storm work complete, more being done today.

Charing Cross: Road Built

McBride: Water main complete. Mains tested and clear. Residential services completed. Road built from Summit to New Castle and now, working from LeRoy up the hill; but they will probably not finish the road building on McBride today. Also on McBride at New Castle, they are installing a rather large storm system box today.
Magdeline: Pipe crew has started water main installation and is down the street from McBride toward Butternut. That same pipe crew had to pull off to work on residential services and now, putting in storm system. Also on Magdeline, 5 or 6 residences will get a letter today about the change in how they receive their water. That will take place next week.

The Electric Utility undergrounding project continues on Farwell. Please be careful of the trucks in that area!!!

Have a good weekend!!!

Day 100---Good News for Everyone!!!

2010-07-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

Great News.....after a couple of long, hot days surrounded by several hundred degrees of asphalt, everything we wanted to get surface paved in the lower bluff is done. This includes:

Kensington
Fisk
Cambridge
Woodland Circle

Each of these roads/areas are still blocked off to give the asphalt the most time to cool and set. Tonight, after the Village Board meeting, I will open each of the road blocked areas and allow traffic to flow freely.

Asphalt driveways are tentatively planned to be paved on Thursday of this week. Finish restoration will be occuring within the next week. Our hope is to be completely out of the lower bluff (except for Roxbury) within the next week or two.

UPPER BLUFF

More Good news!! McBride Water main pipe is now completed. Today, the pipe crew began water main installation on Magdeline starting at McBride. So, far, they have gotten half way down the block toward Butternut. The pipe crew will be working on residential services on McBride on Wednesday. So far, they have a clean water sample up to the valve near New Castle and the pipes were pressure tested on McBride north of New Castle today. Also today, a water sample was taken. Assuming we get that test back tomorrow, services will then continue on McBride.

Other Good News: New Castle has been built out with rock. This will make the driving surface much better, though still not the equivalent of pavement, but much better. This also allows them to get the storm pipe installed on New Castle and that was being worked on today.

Charing Cross will start getting rebuilt tomorrow; lets hope for the rain to hold off.

As we sit right now, we may be looking at getting a start on pulverizing Farwell Drive in the next couple weeks. This means that with the progress we are making, and, with another pipe crew tentatively planned to come into the Village next week, we will be looking to get started on Farwell Drive in early August.

Still Day 99--Just much later!!

2010-07-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

Woodland Circle did not get paved today as the contractor ran out of time. Woodland will be completed first thing in the morning tomorrow. After Woodland is done, Kensington will be completed.

Currently, Fisk and Cambridge are closed completely. These two feeder streets towards Kensington will likely stay closed to limit traffic getting to Kensington tomorrow.

How do you leave or enter the Village?? The easiest route may be to take Lakewood straight out. I would plan on coming into the Village the same way. Oxford, before you get to Kensington will be closed completely early tomorrow morning as well.

Again, we appreciate your patience and your consideration of slowing down. Earlier today, I was told by a resident that "cars are flying" down Kensington. Please, slow down.

Day 99--MONDAY 7/12 PAVING CHANGE!!!

2010-07-12T07:13:00.000-07:00

Good Morning.

Many residents in the lower bluff are anticipating the final layer of pavement for tomorrow. Earlier today, we learned that the paving contractor had a change to their schedule that will allow them to come to Maple Bluff TODAY. So, we anticipate seeing Frank Brothers Contractors in Village some time after lunch. Staff is making their way around the Village and knocking on doors to inform residents of the change.

Because they only have a 1/2 day to work here today, Frank Bros will focus on paving the following streets for today:

Fisk
Woodland Circle
Cambridge

On Tuesday, Kensington will be paved.

Please note that Paving is subject to the weather. If there is rain falling or wetness on the ground, there will be no paving.

We appreciate your patience in the adjustment of the schedule.

Day 92 (Mon)--Day96 (Fri)

2010-07-09T06:50:00.000-07:00

Good Morning.

Though the week started slow for many, with Monday off for the Sunday (4th) holiday, there was still plenty of activity in the Village. Let me recap some of this week and then, get you prepared for the upcoming activities today and next week.

MONDAY: There were no construction crews active in the Village, though a few A-1 representatives were here doing miscellaneous activities.

We did however, have the paving contractor in Village on Monday. As most people in the Lower Bluff now know, we have pavement throughout much of the construction zone except for Roxbury and a small lane on Kensington near Roxbury.

TUESDAY: The A-1 contractor crews were back, but they were slowed by equipment issues and, a substantial rockbed where they needed to dig. Sanitary sewer was being installed on McBride but the work was very slow and tedious.
The road construction crew was slowed by the sloppy conditions, and that lasted for them through Thursday when they were finally able to get to work.

WEDNESDAY: Very little accomplished as the heavy, periodic rains made the work zones difficult to work around.

THURSDAY: Finally, the road construction crew was able to get started yesterday on rebuilding the road on New Castle. They started at the Lakewood instersection and started working west. That work will continue today (Friday). Also, the pipe crew was continuing their sanitary line installation through the heavy rock bed. This makes their work very slow.

FRIDAY: Today, we expect the concrete contractor to be finishing up some miscellaneous sidewalk ramps, curb areas and other re-work, like a driveway apron on Kensington. Road reconstruction will continue on New Castle and pipe installation on McBride.

Let me speak to other general aspects of the construction. First, many in the Upper Bluff have noticed that there are alot of trucks on Farwell. This is the contractor working for MG&E for the undergrounding project. They arrived in the Village this week and have begun their activities. We are expecting this project will take from 4-6 weeks.

Vehicular passage on Farwell has been very narrowed to almost one lane in many spots. We have posted Farwell Drive in this zone as NO PARKING. I would encourage your avoiding the area if possible. Since Lakewood and New Castle has now been rebuilt (not paved--just rebuilt), this can easily serve as another route to the upper bluff. New Castle may not yet be fully completed to handle all traffic, but with good weather, by next week, it should be ready.

We received word yesterday afternoon, that the lower bluff will be getting the final layer of pavement on TUESDAY of next week (7/13). That is great, but we need to prepare for this now. The existing pavement needs to be cleaned off and prepped. This means we can have NO PARKING on the lower bluff streets and, you may need to park away from your home for a period of time. A LETTER IS BEING DELIVERED TO ALL AFFECTED HOMES THIS MORNING!! This letter will give specific details and instructions but please be patient and we get to the finsihing points of this lower bluff project.

We are anticipating another pipe crew coming back into the Village some time next week. A-1 has also been working on a small project in Shorewood Hills and they are about completed with that pipe work so they should be coming back here.

Please slow down in all the construction areas. Even with new pavement, we still have crew working in and near the roadways. In the rougher areas still under construction, driving slower will protect your vehicle more from the potential of damage.

Day 82 (Fri) Thru Day 91 (Sun Jul 4th)

2010-07-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! I hope many of you enjoyed the Fest on the 4th activities today!! Unfortunately, the heavy wind, causing big waves on the lake today, made the Village Fireworks display unable to take place. A new date will be identified soon.

The same weather system may cause some problems in the early part of the week for our construction. Lets recap where we are heading this week.

Lower Bluff: Wow.....yes, the day has arrived!! We are scheduled to have the majority of the construction zone in the lower bluff paved (Binder) starting on Monday. Roxbury is not quite ready yet but Kensington, Cambridge, Fisk, and Woodland Circle will be get completed if weather permits.

Please note that there are 2 layers of pavement--the first layer (binder) and then the final layer. Tentatively, the final layer would be scheduled for week of 7/13. After the first layer is completed, the landscaping restoration will then take place. When the asphalt is put down, it just needs to be rolled to be made ready to be driven on by automobiles. There should not be any extended period of time that you can not drive on the newly paved road.

Also in the lower bluff, additional prep work will be taking place in the Roxbury corridor and although we are not anticipating getting the asphalt down on Roxbury, with an unplanned delay, maybe it can get done.

Upper Bluff: New Castle and Charing Cross are ready to get rebuilt; we hope to have the road crew free and working on that rebuild by the middle of this week.

Water Main installation will continue on McBride. The connection was made at the McBride/Summit intersection and main installation was almost near the New Castle intersection mid afternoon on Friday.

Hopefully, the weather treats us well this week and the paving contractor works with no delays.

Day 79 (Tues) - Day 81 (Thur)

2010-06-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

So, as I am out east, work progresses; this is info from a couple days ago so work has advanced from that update....but,this is what I have to offer:

Roxbury street is built out. Work on sidewalk on Roxbury is continuing with removal and prep for new concrete.

Woodland circle concrete is in. Lakewood Blvd concrete and aprons are in.

Lower Bluff....right now, we are tentative for Frank Brothers Asphalt to come into the Village to put down the binder coat of asphalt the week of July 5th. After binder asphalt, the contractor will finish the landscaping restoration and then, the final layer of asphalt will be completed.

New Castle: Water Main is in. Services are connected in the 200 block. If testing is not already received for the balance of New Castle, it should be completed soon. Once completed, the balance of services will be switched over.

Charing Cross: Water Main was being worked on earlier in the week and if it is not completed, should be done soon. Then, main testing and transer of services to the new main.

Day 75 (Fri) - Day78 (Mon)

2010-06-21T05:10:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, we made progress with water main installation on New Castle. This particular water main keeps crossing the sanitary main so it is slow and tedious work. There is not alot more distance to cover on New Castle with water main, so once that is completed, they will move over to Charing Cross.

We are still needing to get Roxbury Road rebuilt. The extreme wet conditions and then other tasks that came up, prevented this from getting completed last week. Hopefully, they get that tackled today.

Anticipate ongoing preparation and pouring of driveway aprons, sidewalks, and additional road prep for this week. You will also see rough grading of restoration areas getting started in the lower bluff this week!!

I will be gone for this week and early of next week. Tom will be sending me updates if there is newsworthy information to get posted.

Day 73 (Wed) & Day 74 (Thur)

2010-06-17T14:10:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday, there was some work done on sanitary sewers on Woodland Circle. However, the dump pit where the contractor takes much of their 'spoils', was closed due to all the rain we have gotten recently.

In fact, that pit was also closed for much of today (Thursday), so the rebuilding of Roxbury Road was delayed until that pit could be opened later in the day today.

Water Main work continued on New Castle. Another water main break occured up there today so that slowed their progress a bit. This is the 2d break the contractor has experienced on this section of road.

The concrete contractor is expected in the Village tomorrow and will be pouring more driveway aprons, sidewalks, and curbs.

We learned yesterday that the sub-contractor doing the asphalt paving will NOT be willing to do any private driveway work. This means that if you have an asphalt driveway, you will need to get your own asphalt contractor to do your driveway IF you wanted the entire driveway completed. The contractor WILL do that portion of your driveway that we remove---usually back to a saw cut on the existing driveway. We are working with another local contractor to allow residents to get the best price possible should they want to replace their entire driveway. We will be meeting with that contractor tomorrow and we will come up with more information and let you know about that tomorrow.

Day 68-Day72; Some ?'s Answered

2010-06-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, need a quick summary? Here ya go:

Friday Day 68: Some Rain....water main installation on New Castle; they only worked until noon. They did stub out for the main on Charing Cross.

Saturday/Sunday Day 69-70: Contractor Off and gone home

Monday Day 71: Rainy, but a bit of work was completed. The 3 residential water services on Roxbury got completed. Concrete contractor had a few staff in Village doing some miscellaneous work.

Tuesday Day 72: Rain again both today but overnight we had rain as well. Soils are too difficult to work in. Some maintenance work will be performed to assure storm water and erosion control are being taken care of.

I had a resident email me with a couple questions which they thought might be helpful to blog about; and I agree. I will try to be brief:

Question:
If we start parking on a side street during construction, do we need to do anything special so we can leave the cars on the street overnight? Do we need to display anything in the window?

Answer:
No, you really dont. During the period of road and infrastructure, we are not issuing parking tickets to those cars that are forced onto the street to park. In some cases, you may not be able to get to your driveway, or, maybe you have chosen to park outside the active construction zone. This exception does not exist in locations where there is not construction.

Question:
I know the construction workers are probably watching out for kids as best they can, but what do you recommend I tell my kids so they cross through the construction zone safely (either on foot or on their bikes)? Should they try to make eye contact with the equipment operator? Find someone to help them through? Just make a run for it? Any advice you (or the contractors) can provide would be very helpful.

Answer:
First, avoid just making a run for it--darting into traffic or around a work zone is not safe. Never assume that the equipment operators can see you; in fact, assume the opposite. Trying to make eye contact is good and we have found these operators are keenly aware of their surroundings, but never assume things are safe. The operators will give you way.
Remember that the active work zone is limited to a fairly small area but you can still have equipment moving about. Encourage your child to take the most direct route to get out of the active construction zone. Let say you live on McBride, and they are working on McBride or New Castle, you may want to have your kids go down to LeRoy and the then to Del Mar, Lakewood and down to the Beach. Or, take Magdeline to Butternut and over to Farwell. There should be several routing options available, especially since there is only one pipe crew for the time being.
If you have taught your children good pedestrian habits, and, assuming they practice them, they should be fine. Reinforce to them that they should avoid getting in the way. It is ok to watch, but do so from a safe distance.

For Wednesday, the Road Crew will be reconstructing Roxbury, starting near the intersection with Lakewood. Because of several factors influencing that crew, they may be starting a bit earlier in the morning. There are a few miscellaneous tasks for the pipe crew to work on in the lower bluff, but ideally they will then resume water main installation on New Castle.

Day 67

2010-06-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

Rain Rain come again on Friday!! Or so it appears. We shall see if we can get any work completed tomorrow or if we get rained out again.

Today, Woodland Circle road base was completed. That will sure make any rain this weekend easier to take!! It does not mean that it will be perfect though, so still drive cautiously.

The Road Crew then went down to get the intersection of Kensington and Roxbury rebuilt. However, they cant rebuild Roxbury until residential services are completed next week. The test sample for the Roxbury main was sent in and should be back tomorrow. Services will be completed on Monday. You should avoid driving on Roxbury between Lakewood and Kensington. A Cadillac Escalade found that out the hard way. Yup, buried up to the floor boards.

A good amount of sidewalk and some driveway aprons got poured on Kensington today.

Water main crews worked installing main westbound on New Castle today. There was a stretch of Sanitary Sewer that they had to dig under so that slowed progress but they were heading toward Charing Cross at lunch time today.

Day 66

2010-06-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

Good Day today!!! Beautiful weather; good work completed!!

Woodland Circle:
The road reconstruction really made good progress on Woodland Circle today. With still a few hours left in their work day, they were getting close to completing that road base on the rest of Woodland.

Roxbury:
The new water main was done being cleaned/"cooked", so today they needed to blow out the line. No, there is not a new geyser on Roxbury at Lakewood; however, without having a fire hydrant to clean out the new line, they install a valve which is used to clean out that line. Once the line is run freely open for a long period of time, then the water samples can be taken and submitted. Most likely, we will not get those sample results back until late Friday or even Monday. This means that residential services will not be started until those results are completed.

Assuming that Woodland Circle road base is/was completed, they will be moving over to the Roxbury/Kensington intersection next to rebuild. After residential services are completed on Roxbury, they will move to rebuilding the road.

Also in the lower bluff, street clean up and preparation
continued for the concrete contractor to come and begin to set up frames for aprons and sidewalks. Look for them to be here possibly tomorrow.

Upper Bluff, New Castle at Lakewood Blvd;
As I ran into an upper bluff resident late afternoon today, we had a discussion which in short, revolved around the fact that we need additional signs just past the "Road Closed" signs that says..."Yes, we meant it" and/or, "Yes, this includes you too!!"

There was a hole in the road today at Lakewood and New Castle that we could have fit a bus inside. There was no way any vehicle was getting through that intersection; but, many people drove up to the intersection only to find that in fact, it was closed. That will happen; we simply don't have sign boards that can cover all possible messages. We just beg for your patience and do the best you can to find your way on alternate routes to avoid these locations.

The water main tie-in was started at Lakewood/New Castle and they will continue westbound on New Castle from there. Remember they can lay several hundred feet of water main per day if the conditions are good, so their work zone will move swiftly down New Castle.

Day 65

2010-06-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

Well, once again with the rain, there was very little accomplished in terms of construction. Crew members were around the sites doing some general maintenance, cleaning up piles of concrete, removing unused pipe, etc.

Tomorrow is supposed to be better weather so if we get some drying, we will get the crews back at it.

Monday, DAY 64

2010-06-07T21:49:00.000-07:00

Good work completed today.
WOODLAND CIRCLE: Several storm inlets were installed today. Also, road reconstruction made it about halfway down the interior block. They hope to finish that road reconstruction tomorrow---though rain is also expected so be cautious about that.
ROXBURY ROAD: Water main was just about completed when I left that area at mid-afternoon. I would think that it got completed today. That means that the new main will begin getting tested for pressure, filled, and then water sampled very soon. Once all tests are completed, the three residential services will be done.
NEW CASTLE/CHARING CROSS: Based on weather, these two roads should start as a crew is made available. The Village has all permits necessary to begin work in the upper bluff.
Kensington sidewalk and driveway work was also a focal point today. Concrete was scheduled for tomorrow but based on weather, we may not see them.

Hope for clear weather.....

Day 60 (Thu) & Day 61 (Fri)

2010-06-04T07:28:00.000-07:00

Today (Friday 6/4) we sit with another rain day with No construction work being conducted in the Village.

Here is an update with current status of construction on various roads/areas:

The storm system work at the Beach has been completed and the new outfall has been installed. To help clean up that area a bit, we took down the orange fence and cut down the long grass.

Woodland Circle: There is a very little amount of storm sewer work left to be completed. What remains is the installation of two storm inlets on the northern leg. Woodland has had both of the blocks straight off of Kensington already reconstructed. There will be additional road construction to be completed before asphalt, but this indicates, for the most part, the completion of pipe work!! The part of Woodland Circle that parallels Kensington still needs to be rebuilt; which means with this rain, it is still pretty soft. Early today, Village staff went out to shore up some soft areas giving residents access to their driveways. The balance of that road reconstruction will take place early next week. But, all residential services are now put onto the new main.

The majority of all old water main in the lower bluff project zones, has now been shut down, pipes cut and capped. The exception is Roxbury.

Roxbury: The Sanitary sewer system work has been completed. The pipe crew began installation of water mains. We anticipate, with good weather, that the water main will be completed early next week. While that water main is filled and tested, the pipe crew will move to the upper bluff until the three residential services are ready to be completed on Roxbury. This should be completed by the end of next week.

With the completion of Roxbury pipe work by the end of next week, the focus will then be toward road pavement. To get to that end, we need additional prep work to be completed on driveways and sidewalk areas.

The concrete contractor is expected back in the Village on Tuesday of next week. If you are on Kensington south of Oxford or if you are on Woodland with a concrete approach/apron, you should be seeing that work completed next week.

UPPER BLUFF: We had anticipated the crews to get to the upper bluff this week, but that really did not happen for any substantial pipe work. We do anticipate that happening next week however. The current plan is to focus work on New Castle and Charring Cross first.

Day 59

2010-06-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, a lack of rain overnight allowed us to get some good work done today. That is of course until late this afternoon/early evening when we got the heavy stuff!!

Two crews on Woodland were anticipated to get the residential services completed by early afternoon.

Another pipe crew started work on Roxbury today with some major sanitary replacement work which took place at the Roxbury/Kensington intersection. After additional storm work, this crew will begin on water main on Roxbury.

The road crew was doing additional final preparation on the 400 block of Kensington today. That is really a good sign that we are soon heading for pavement. Of course the driveways still need to be prepped on Woodland and in the lower 200 block of Kensington.

We have a construction meeting tomorrow morning at which I hope to have more schedule details to share.

Days 52-58

2010-06-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

Good Evening,

As I wrote on Tuesday of last week, I had the good fortune of chaperoning my son's 6th grade, 3 day field trip at the end of last week. What a great trip to have been a part of!! Though away, I was still connected via contemporary methods of communication.....ie. The BlackBerry!!

I got an email in the early afternoon of last Thursday that the Village had received from the DNR, our Chapter 30 permit for the Storm Water work at the Beach. I immediately notified Tom back in the Village; unfortunately, the Contractor was unable to complete that work as they were already scheduled to be gone on Friday for a long holiday weekend.

That means that early today (Monday), work was started and by mid afternoon, the balance of the storm work was completed at the Beach outfall!!!

Elsewhere in the Village today, there were two pipe crews working on residential water services on Woodland Circle (this means the water tested clean and homes are being switched over to the new water main).

We learned today again that not every residential water service has minimal intrusion. Another home today had a HUGE hole in their front yard. A similar problem came up on a home on Kensington Drive. In those particular circumstances, the Village, via the Contractor, is attempting to save a substantial tree. This requires additional excavation around a healthy tree speciman to save the root structure, and the life of that tree. The argument is one of grass vs. tree. I think this is an easy decision; however, people dont always agree.

There was some street construction prep work completed around the entire lower bluff today. This is a good sign as we prepare or asphalt in the next couple weeks.

UPPER BLUFF
Though we had positioned ourself to move a pipe crew to the upper bluff starting this week. There is a significant amount of work left to complete in the lower bluff, with another 6-8 water services on Woodland, a bit more of storm work on that same street AND, one block of Roxbury needs to be completed yet with water and, some sanitary sewer work. We also may be looking at a few problems with weather for this week so we are trying to factor those variables into our planning. We also may be looking at a reduced construction presence as a crew or two may have to pull out of Village. More details must be reviewed yet this week.

Please stay tuned as we learn more information as the week goes along. Regards.

Day 51

2010-05-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here is an update for each of the crews working in the Village. I think for the balance of the week they will be working on same issues. I tell you that because I have volunteered to chaperone a 6th grade field trip which will last from Wed-Fri. So, this will be the last update you will get until next week.

General Information:

A resident was unable to get their car out of their driveway today. As I have suggested in the past, you need to respond to knocks on the door early in the morning, especially when you are in an active work zone. In this case, one occupant was asked/told that they would be cut off from leaving unless they moved soon. That message did not get to another occupant, or, the warning was simply ignored.
The Contractor is intending to not work on Friday. I think progress may dictate that but dont be surprised if they pull out for a long holiday weekend.
Wed forecast is calling for periodic showers which could alter construction production.

Woodland Circle:

One crew was still working on sanitary lines at the souther corner as the rain started to fall late this afternoon. They were close to completing that work. Another crew was on the norther corner of Woodland also working on sanitary lines.
Once the sanitary main lines are completed, they will begin with residential sanitary laterals and residential water laterals. This means that the water test has been approved.
This road is STILL extremely rough, especially with the rain late in the date. I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE RESIDENTS TO PARK OFF THIS STREET IN A LOCATION WHERE YOU CAN MAKE EASY EXIT.

Fisk/Lakewood (Near Beach)

The sanitary reconfiguration was completed today and the crew began working on the storm system tie in through the intersection and working it toward the Beach outfall. This was not going particularly fast as the crew and the trench inwhich they were working was filled with storm water. It was a continuous struggle against the water so not alot of progress was made.
As an aside, the traffic pattern change seems to be quite the complicated maneuver for many making the trek north on Lakewood. Barricades, a sign that say "Lane Closed", a no right turn arrow, and, a detour sign pointed traffic in the direction they are supposed to go are STILL not enough to get people to comply. 1 out of every 3 cars drives down the closed road anyway, then being forced to turn around and/or back up the road. We have to leave enough room for dump trucks access, so we can not block the road completely. Instead, we have caused a surpentine to get people not to drive down the road that is completely and unequivocally blocked.
This traffic change will be affecting the southbound lane as soon as the crew reaches that point of their work. So, be prepared to have that pattern altered.

Road Reconstruction on Cambridge

Good progress made today. The rain early and then late in the afternoon caused substantial delays, but they worked regardless. If they make the same progress on Wednesday, they could finish; but again, potential weather conflicts may cause a few problems.

Kensington Aprons/Sidewalks

The early rain chased off the concrete contractor so very little was accomplished today. There were a few driveways that were framed. They are still in the upper 200 block yet on Kensington--north of Oxford.
As a policy reminder, the Village will replace driveways with either concrete or asphalt, based on what was removed. Specialized surfaces, colored or stamped concrete, will be the responsibility of the home owner to coordinate and to pay for additional charges for those features.

UPPER BLUFF

Pulverizing continued today. As a reminder, we are anticipating that the internal streets will all be pulverized, but Farwell will not.
We have our archeological permit for the upper bluff.
Depending on weather this week will determine pipe construction for next week. At the construction meeting on Thursday, we may have a better idea of when it can be anticipated to have pipe crews beginning work in the Upper Bluff. As I hear and as I can post, I will relay the info to you.

For Monday 5/24 Day 50

2010-05-25T03:58:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, the Lakewood traffic was changed to 2 lanes in the NB lane as a large Sanitary project was started in the Lakewood/Fisk intersection. That traffic plan will be like that again today (Tuesday) and will switch later in the week when the other lane needs to be closed down. This crew will be starting a bit earlier (6a) to be able to accomplish this extensive project yet this week.

A couple observations from the traffic flow change: Follow the signs, which means you cant be talking on the phone and having your attention elsewhere--which we saw. Slow down. Avoid the area if possible.

Besides the Lakewood/Fisk work, crews were also still on Woodland Circle finishing some storm connections. They also moved to some sanitary repairs that were needed. The Water Mains are installed and now we await testing results so that residential services can be started.

Another crew was working on Cambridge yesterday rebuilding the road. That crew kept running into a conflict with a storm pipe, but they made some progress. They will continue that work today.

Concrete was also being poured as they finished driveway aprons in the 300 block and then moved to pouring sidewalk and some driveways in the 200 block. That work will continue southbound today.

In the upper bluff, the pulverizer arrived in the Village in the early afternoon. The New Castle and Charing Cross area were the extent of the work they accomplished yesterday. Today will be a full day of pulverizing.

Day 49; Traffic Change On Lakewood Blvd

2010-05-23T21:31:00.001-07:00

This is a friendly reminder of the traffic changes at the Beach (Lakewood/Fisk) this week. Traffic will be funneled into one lane for a short segment. To avoid this area, you may want to leave the Village using the northern route past the Village Marina. Good Luck. T

Day 47; Another Washout...

2010-05-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon.

Well, a week that showed good promise, ended with a wash out due to the rain last night. There is nobody feeling it any worse than our friends on Woodland Circle. What a soft and gooey mess.

Road Crews worked all morning to get enough secure material down to provide a driving surface. It was really not good down there today with at lease one resident getting stuck in some mud. It is still not that good on Woodland....if you can park off that street for the day/night, please do so. If you need to get directly to your home, I wish you well in your attempt. It will continue to improve as the soils dry out.

NEW FEATURE: I have been having a multitude of "Rumors" pointed out to me that I want to address. So this is a new feature call RTR---RESOLVE THE RUMOR!!!

"The Lower Bluff projects are behind". No, not even close. We are actually probably ahead as indicated by the move to the Upper Bluff next week with removal of pavement and pipe work beginning up there the first week of June.
"The street projects already have cost over runs and they may be as much as a $1 Million in over runs". Again, No, not even close. We have made 1 payment which was considerable less $ than expected. A greater indicator however is those unanticipated expenses of which we have had very very few.
"We thought all the sanitary mains were getting replaced". No, we are doing spot repairs to both sanitary and storm lines. There was a major storm system enhancement in the Lower Bluff. We televised all of the sanitary and storm lines when we planned these projects so we know where problems may exist and we are making repairs where needed.
"The DNR is still holding back the Village Permits so we may have to wait until next year to do these projects in the Upper Bluff". This is partially true in that we dont have the permits yet, but we are awfully close. I was expecting our Chapter 30 permit from the DNR for the Beach outfall this week as I was told by the DNR that it would be mailed midweek....it must be with the check cuz it did not get here yet. Also, the Historical Society has promised me that I would get our clearance letter from them on Monday or Tuesday of next week and then we just need to deliver that to the DNR who will be ready with our permit. Close, we are very close and we are moving ahead as though permits are in hand.

....As a reminder, you can ask me questions as a part of this blog--it is interactive. You ask a question and I can then reply. If you dont want to have everybody know that YOU asked the question, that part can stay anonymous. If you have questions, please ask and I will clarify. Quite honestly, it is discouraging to have such inaccurate rumors floating about the Village and I want people to be fully informed.

Thats it for now. Have a good weekend. T

Day 46; Thur 5/20

2010-05-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

See Village Email for updates.....

Day 45; Aprons & Curbs (Upper Bluff Info)

2010-05-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

As anticipated, we found ourselves with a concrete contractor in Village today. We were told they would be bringing in a "football team" worth of employees and they sure did. Alot of sidewalk and many driveway aprons were poured today.

Let me briefly talk about sidewalks. The original bid called for specific squares of sidewalks to be replaced. This however caused a somewhat chaotic approach for the concrete contractor to remove 2-3 squares, leave a couple, pull out another handful, leave some, pull some, etc etc etc. So, with some assistance from the Village Operational Budget, we are looking to relace much more if not all of the sidewalk squares in construction areas.

We also continue to work with residents on driveways. The Village repairs what we remove. Some residents are working to have the balance of the driveway replaced---that is at their cost. Be sure to be in contact with us if we have not already contacted you.

The water main crew on Woodland Circle had a rough 24 hours having to pull and re-lay many feet of pipe as the angle of the main was not hitting its exact mark and then there was an elevation problem as well. Re-work is very destructive to momentum. But, they move on.

The services on Kensington nearing Roxbury are nearing completion if not already done by end of day today.

OK, for my friends in the upper bluff, get ready. There is some great potential that the contractor could be starting in the removal of the pavement next week--as early as Monday. Now, when we say the removal of pavement, they pulverize and then would roll the remaining material in place, which can often get quite firm again. BUT, I want to start preparing you that your construction will be starting soon.

Also, on Monday, anticipate traffic limitations at the south end of the beach which the construction crew is working on some sanitary system manholes on Lakewood Blvd. This work will last the entire week and it will include the completion of the new storm line to the outfall of the beach.

We have a construction meeting on Thursday morning and after that meeting, I anticipate sending additional information and details about project schedules. I will most likely also send an email in addition to the blog to make sure that others who do not read this blog but check that email, can get caught up.

Day 44; Tuesday Concrete Already???

2010-05-18T22:53:00.000-07:00

I knew that Monday was a good weather day, but what a bunch of progress. The water main crew on Woodland Circle on Monday put in 330' of water main. That is phenomenal work.

Similar progress was made today. We added another crew onto Cambridge to work on residential services. This means that the water tested clean on Cambridge so they are now attached to the new main. Residential Services also continued southbound on Kensington.

Road reconstruction also continued; there were actually two road reconstruction crews in the Village today to begin preparation for the concrete contractor to arrive yet this week.

The concrete contractor is expected on WEDNESDAY to begin work. We anticipate driveway aprons, curbs, etc to be getting poured yet this week. This will take place in those areas where there is no pipe work or other road work left. Kensington in the 300 and 400 blocks, Fisk, etc.

Keep you attention as conditions are changing fairly quickly.

I will have new details soon on the move to the upper bluff; that too is coming quickly so stand by up there.......

Day 43; Beautiful week ahead

2010-05-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

Crews were back at it today working on those areas that we anticipated in my post from last Thursday. Tomorrow, another crew will be in Village working on a few last connections to the water main at Cambridge and Lakewood. Services will then be completed and the balance of the road will be rebuilt. You may notice that Lake Anderson is now gone, replaced with the start of a rebuilt road!!!

Our friends on Woodland Circle are receiving water main installation this week. They will also then move to storm system enhancements. As a reminder, there is no parking on any street directly under construction. All we ask is that you work with the contractor to get your car moved to a reasonable location.

I should have some new details on the upper bluff construction starting date soon. Stand by and watch for that information.....

Day 39; Take a long weekend...

2010-05-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

The contractor did a little road maintenance this morning to make sure streets were passable, but with the rain overnight, there is way too much moisture for them to work today. With more anticipated yet today or tonight, the contractor has sent crews home for the weekend.

I heard an interesting story today which is normally told to me the other way around. I hear from many residents how happy they are with the contractors and the care/concern that they are showing. Today however, I heard from one of the contractors how impressed they are working here in the Village of Maple Bluff. This particular employee said how tolerant residents are of such horrific conditions. And, in fact he talked about the friendliness; people waving at them, the kind words and gestures. His point was that they NEVER see this kind of behavior........how does that help????

Well, this is how it all fits together.......this same contractor told me how THEY react to these positive reactions and behaviors and in essence they, (the contractor) become even MORE willing to move, help, get out of the way, etc. They get treated nicely and they do even more to make the hassle more tolerable.

I was told of one resident in the Kensington Drive area who has provided NUMEROUS cases of adult beverages for the crew members---for after work!!!. This same resident has even found himself up and in some of the apparatus while working. That is neat. I would suggest to you that such hospitality really pays dividends with the crew members. If you have opportunity, make the crews feel welcome. It does not have to be an adult beverage; but, cookies or other baked goods would also be warmly received. Remember, these guys are away from home for the entire week so any outreach would be warmly received.

On Monday, anticipate the following work:

Road construction will continue between mid block of Kensington North of Oxford to the point where they left off near Cambridge. [Our apologies for Lake Anderson on the corner of Kensington/Cambridge].
Water main will continue on Woodland Circle. The south entrance of Woodland at Kensington will remain blocked off. All entrances into Woodland Circle will need to come from the North.
Also on Monday Services on Kensington South of Oxford will continue.
They are treating the newly installed water main on Cambridge and letting it "cook". They hope to get the first test sample taken and submitted today. On Monday, they hope to have that result so that on Tuesday, they can begin Water Services on Cambridge Road.

See ya on Day 43!!!

Days 34-38; Back to Work!!

2010-05-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

Ok, lets see where we left off. On Monday of this week (Day 36), we had a couple crews in Village and they were finishing some clean up from a messy weekend. Some road work was completed and the storm line was started on the south side of Woodland Circle.

Yesterday, (Day 37), we got completely rained out. What does a construction crew from out of town do on a rain day?? Well, there were rumors of a bowling day, but I dont think that happened. Lets just assume that they stayed in and read all day!!

Today however, crews are back to work. We are fortunate to catch a break from the rain; though the construction areas are quite sloppy. There are several crews working on the following jobs:

One crew has started residential services on Kensington South of Oxford.
The road crew is rebuilding the Kensington/Oxford Intersection and they will continue working north to where they left off near the intersection of Kensington and Cambridge.
There is another crew that has started working on Water Main on the south side of Woodland Circle. They will be working from south to north.

If you live on Woodland Circle, you should anticipate being directly affected today and the next days that they work. With the recent rain, keep in mind that the roads, even when backfilled, may be very soft. As they near the end of the work day, they will make them as passable as they can.

As another reminder, the plan for next week was to continue StormWater work on the Lakewood/Fisk intersection. This work may impact traffic through this area. Be aware of changing traffic patterns.

We have a construction meeting tomorrow morning so I will have more schedule information after that meeting.

Day 32 & Day 33....

2010-05-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

Day 33, Today--Friday 5/7 is quite easy....rain, and no, or very minimal work.

Day 32, Thursday, showed progress in the water main installation on Cambridge Road. They have completed a bit more than half of Cambridge. I can tell you however in that construction, that we are finding some horribly soft base under the roads. This makes road rebuilding more difficult and temporary roads even more difficult to make passable for traffic. If you go by Cambridge Road, you will notice that it is mostly closed down.
This crew will begin water main installation on Woodland Circle after Cambridge Water Main is completed. Work will begin at the south intersection with Kensington and will proceed north.
Other work on Thursday included road reconstruction southbound on Kensington that has reached Oxford. Residential services south of Oxford are now ready to be completed as the new main has passed the water tests. One service was already completed as crews fixed a break in the old water main. Others will continue next week.

Tentative plans to complete work in the Lakewood at Fisk Place intersection is scheduled for the week of May 17th. Please recognize that traffic on Lakewood will be affected. We anticipate one lane through this area and possibly having the need for a flagman. Consider this if you pass this area frequently, as you may want to consider leaving the Village through the outer drive of Farwell. More information will be posted as we get closer.

Day 31;

2010-05-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, 3 pipe crews really can make a mess of Village Streets!! Work continued today in the same areas as earlier this week.

Storm sewer main continued southboundon Kensington and they were sure to be past the Woodland intersection.
Sanitary sewer should have been completed today on Cambridge. That same crew was going to go back near the intersection with Kensington and begin the water main installation on Cambridge.
Additional water services were completed in the zone near Kensington and Oxford that had a clear water test. There was also some miscellaneous sewer work completed near that same intersection.
Finally, road crews kept rebuilding Kensington southbound in the mid 300 block. They are right on the heels of the storm sewer crew.

A few more days left in the week so stand by for more work coming to you.

Day 30; Lakewood at Beach Info

2010-05-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

I think considerable progress was made again today. The weather, when it cooperates, can help make construction go smoothly. Though, too dry of conditions also makes construction dusty. That said, if your home is in the vicinity of the construction areas, you may want to keep windows closed to minimize the dust getting into your home.

Here is a summary of the progress today.

Storm sewer continued down Kensington in the 300 block and they are nearing the intersection with Cambridge.
Sanitary sewer work began on the 100 block of Cambridge, starting in the Kensington intersection. There was a new sanitary man hole/structure put in place in the middle of that intersection. Then, about 75' of sanitary line was put in place heading back into Cambridge Rd.
At the end of the day, that sanitary sewer crew had to replace/repair a water main shut of valve that was leaking in that same intersection. Many homes received phone calls in the Kensington/Woodland Circle area regarding the water shut off. This was unplanned but we did what we could to notice residents. That was good; what was bad was that when the calls were made around 4:15pm, we anticipated that the contractor was ready to have the water shut off. Residents were prepped that water should be turned back on by 5:30pm; unfortunately, the contractor was not ready to have the water shut off until after 6pm.......DRAT!! That frustrates US, so I am sure it is disheartening for homeowners as well. Sorry for that inconvenience.
Down the street further on Kensington, residential water service connections continued. As of right now, we only have water tested and cleared a bit south of the Oxford intersection with Kensington. Until we get the lab reports back on the water tests for the water main further south, we can not continue service connections. But, we hope to get those back soon.....samples have already been submitted to the lab for testing.

Finally, discussions with the contractor are leading us to believe that next week and the week after, crews may be in the vicinity of Lakewood Blvd/Fisk Place near the Beach making the connections of the Storm Sewer to the outfall at the beach. They also must complete a fairly substantial Sanitary Sewer Re-work in that intersection. I dont know how this will affect traffic just yet; but it may be substantial. Stay tuned for more information.

Day 29

2010-05-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

I will be to the point to catch you up on progress since last Thursday.

Crews did the best they could to prep the roads before the weekend. I was in Village on Saturday for the Walk for Courage and found standing water on Kensington, but very passable. Please remember that with no road pavement, storm water does not have any place to run. Thus, rain is not always our friend in dealing with construction zones.

UPDATES:

Residential service installations are in the 250 or so block of Kensington; this is several houses south of Cambridge and just 2-3 houses north of Oxford.
Last Friday, water main reached Roxbury on Kensington so they went as far as they could. Those mains were filled with water on Friday and now they are working to get the water tested/passed. This allows the residential service crew to continue making progress all the way to Roxbury.
Roxbury will have to be the last street to have water main installed, otherwise we would isolate Woodland Circle with no water.
On TUESDAY (tomorrow), please note that Sanitary Sewer work will begin on CAMBRIDGE. This work will last all of this week. Those of you living on CAMBRIDGE will find "No Parking" signs. Plan on this street as NOT being available for traffic during the construction day.
Storm sewer is continuing southbound on Kensington. That crew is approaching the intersection with Cambridge and Woodland Circle. As they make more progress southbound, the road crew will again begin to rebuild the roads. If you recall, right now Fisk, the 400 block of Kensington, and 5-6 houses south on Kensington in the 300 block have road rebuilt with rock.

Please stay in touch.

DAY 25; Thursday 4/29

2010-04-30T04:01:00.001-07:00

We had a construction meeting this morning (Thursday) and we discussed with the Contractor about notices to residents when driveways were going to be blocked. We had a few examples where people were not notified as trucks and construction moved in front of their driveways. However, if you find yourself in your house, do not hesitate to walk out and ask one of the crew to assist you in getting out. They will make a path and guide you out.

Work consisted of more services on Kensington and they have progressed to the Cambridge/Woodland Circle intersection.

There may on occasion be unforseen shut off of water. Ideally those will only be for a short duration.

Day 24; Wow, now THAT is a Big Hole!!

2010-04-28T19:30:00.001-07:00

Today sure seemed as if there was just work and progress being made everywhere.

The Storm pipes were completed in the 400 block of Kensington, so that crew joined another crew working on installation of services in the 300 block. They are trying to get far enough down the block with residential services so that one of the crews can go back and start progress on the storm system heading south on Kensington.

So, this is where that BIG HOLE came in to play today. Let me first explain the process. In front of each home, is a water line that connects the home to the water main. There is also a water shut off valve that allows the Village to shut off water to individual homes if needed. Each home in the project zone will have that water shut off valve replaced with a new one as they are connected to the new main.

In the 300 block of Kensington today, one of the old water shut off vales was in a path that took it under some very important root structures of a fairly large and substantial tree. In order to save that root structure, the crew conducting the service connections had to create a new path to get connected to the home's water service line. To accomplish this route, a substantial hole into the front lawn of one of the homes was needed. And let me tell you, it was a BIG hole.....I've never seen a residential water connection need such a large trench to get a good connection. Now, it really was not bigger than big holes in the street, but into the front lawn of a home...that was big!!

While still thinking about this aspect of the project, renewal of the grass surfaces that are disturbed will be completed with grass seed. In 2005, we used sod to renew surfaces, but what we found was that sod was not as durable as grass seed would be. In several cases, homeowners did not take ownership of the new sod and it died and caused much re-work. Grass seed allows for a bit less care and really in the long run, becomes a better surface.

Elsewhere in the Village, Water main intallation continued down Kensington into the 200 block south of Oxford. I did not make it down there at the end of the day to see how far they ended up.

Also, the road crew rebuilding Fisk completed that street and they moved over to the 400 block of Kensington and was getting some rock installed there. I also did not get down there at the end of the day to be able to give you a full report of where they ended up.

Once the service connections are far enough down Kensington, the crew working storm sewer installation will go back and pick that up in the interseciton of Kensington, Fisk and Woodland circle. So far, the new storm goes down Fisk from Lakewood, turns and goes north into the 400 block of Kensington where it ends. We are working to begin installation southbound on Kensington, south of the Fisk intersection. They also need to get across Lakewood and install over to the Lake outfall. We need to wait until the DNR issues our permit after May 3rd to do that work.

Here is an update I sent to a resident on the upper bluff construction status...:

We are still in a DNR/State Historical Society imposed delay for the upper bluff and for the MBCC pond project. Also, we are still in a 30 day waiting period for our permit to be issued for the beach storm outfall. That beach outfall will be/should be issued next week.

The consultant we have hired for the burial issues has been authorized by the DNR and Historical Society to do exploratory digs in the upper bluff where needed and we will be taking core samples from the pond site that will analyzed. Once information/data is collected from those exercises, reports will be furnished to the DNR and Historical Society to hopefully convince them that we are OK to construct. My optimistic estimate is that we are probably still 4 weeks away from getting those permits issued to begin work in the upper bluff.

Day 23; Water off Water On

2010-04-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

Many of you in the lower bluff were without water today as new connections were again made. The specific connection/tie-in was at the Oxford/Kensington intersection. That connection went well today and water was restored by late afternoon.

Many of you trying to gain access to the Village via Oxford (near the Village Center) are finding that intersection completely blocked. That will not change any time soon. Access into or out of the the Village will need to be made via Roxbury or Lakewood. If you are trying to get into the Village Center, then you can enter the Village via Oxford.

The completion of the tie in work has now allowed pipe crews to continue with water main installation south past Oxford on Kensington. I think they were only able to get a couple "sticks" (A stick is a 20' section of water main) south of Oxford today, but tomorrow, they should make good progress again. With good progress the next couple days, they could make it to Roxbury by the end of the week!!

Further north on Kensington, the storm system structures in the Kensington/Northern Woodland Circle intersection were put in place today. Additional storm work will be completed in this area so that the road crew can begin the road rebuild process in the 400 block of Kensington. That storm crew will then continue their work with the storm system into the 300 block of Kensington.

All of the homes in the 400 block of Kensington and several homes moving southbound in the 300 block of Kensington are now receiving water from the new water main system. An additonal crew will be in the Village starting on Wednesday to keep making those residential connections.

Each of these crews are completing alot of work each day so progress is pretty swift. Watch for a crew coming to the street near you!!!

Day 22; Rain & Road Construction.....

2010-04-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

...really dont go very well together. It was a tough weekend with all of the rain, and specifically for those residents in the 300 Block of Kensington. The rain played havoc with their weekend plans and ability to enjoy the freedom of movement.

We talked with the Contractor today about some changes to the maintenance of the roadways to allow local traffic better and more assured access, especially during rain events. That said, the reality is that we may not be able to control all of the extraeneous environmental factors like the weather.

In work today, crews continued making the residential service connections. They are now in the 300 block of Kensington. Road crews spent a portion of the morning/day working to get roads passable again. The objective is to have Fisk Place and the 400 Block of Kensington, rocked and road prepped ready by the end of the week. The additional crew comes into town tomorrow so we will continued progress on water main in the 200 block of Kensington.

Day 19

2010-04-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

Fisk reconstruction began. As a reminder, this reconstruction will only include the rock base to the road.
On the 400 block of Kensington, homes had their water services renewed to the new main.
There was no water main work completed as anticipated at the Oxford intersection. Instead, the pipe crew in Village worked on the water services.
Have a good weekend.

Day 18

2010-04-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

The water main crew on Kensington appeared poised to reach the intersection with Oxford Place by days end. As of late afternoon, we did not expect them to break into the intersection simply because of the complications that intersections bring.

If you have some time when the crews are going past your home, take the opportunity to watch them at work. The heavy machine operators are uniquely skilled and capable of alot of finese work with such large equipment. The crew members excell at their duties as well. Imagine a water service line to a house, a gas line service to a house both cutting perpendicular to the path you want to take, yet, they dig around those obstructions with such precision to be laying a new water main within a 1/4 and 1/2 inch of the proper elevation. Nothing short of amazing.

In addition to the water main work on Kensington, the other crew today worked on laying water main in both directions off Kensington in Woodland Circle and into Cambridge. By late afternoon, that crew was back down at Fisk place continuing the storm sewer installation. That work was delayed while waiting for the proper 45-degree pipe to be built and delivered. But, it arrived this afternoon and they were able to continue with their storm sewer installation.

OK, now some good news for those of you on Fisk Place. The Road Crew is going to start on the rehabilitation of Fisk Place. Just so you understand, this does NOT mean pavement. However, they will be building the road as close to pavement ready as they can. Pavement will still not be coming until June.
Also coming next week for those of you in the 400 block of Kensington will be sewer main and individual residences being reinstated to the new water main.

The next segment of water main from the mid 300 block, up to Cambridge/Woodland Circle was also filled with water. They still need to get heir clean water tests yet on this section.

One more day of work upcoming. One crew left today. The other water main crew will break into Oxford Place tomorrow and then continue into the 200 block south of Oxford. This means that inbound traffic on Oxford will really have no place to go except to turn around and leave the Village and make entry at another point. For Friday, dont anticipate being able to enter the Village via Oxford.

Day 17; Wed 4/21

2010-04-22T03:56:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, crews worked in the areas predicted. Storm sewer crew on Fisk was able to make connections to the new storm line by adding inlets and pipe extensions where needed.
The water main crew had a challenging exercise navigating through the Kensington intersection with Cambridge and Woodland Circle. Part of what makes this intersection difficult to navigate is the amount of services that are within the intersection. Multiple combinations of existing water main, storm line and sanitary sewer, and each of them merging with connections or coming in from different directions, makes it difficult to install new services like a water main. We also need to save room for that large storm pipe to come through this intersection yet!! In short, we are using virtually all of the underground capacity of the roadway. Remember, the old "stuff" like water mains, will be abandoned in place. Many years from now (like 75+) when these projects have to be done again, they will need to really clean house underground!!
On Thursday, look for water main to continue into the 200 block and possibly storm sewer in the 300 block of Kensington.

Day 16; A Day of Good Progress!!

2010-04-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

The water main pipe crew was able to install approximately 250 feet of pipe today!! That is great progress. They are just slightly north of the Kensington/Cambridge/Woodland Circle intersection. Early tomorrow, they will be starting with a new hydrant installation and then continuing south from there into the 200 Block.
The storm sewer pipe crew made good progress today as well, basically cover the other half of the block of Fisk Place. For tomorrow, they will be doing additional work at the storm inlet locations on Fisk. This is alot of small, tedious work to complete that storm system.
Please continue to adhere to the efforts to avoid the work zones. Residents have found difficult travels during the work day when the crews have not yet graded or smoothed out the roadway.
For those residents in the 300 block of Kensington Drive or on Woodland Circle, your best ingress/egress tomorrow may be through the MBCC parking lot and out the drive going to Lakewood. Good Luck!!!

Day 15;

2010-04-19T22:03:00.000-07:00

A good question was raised over the weekend after one resident reported "Cloudy Water". First, cloudy water is often an indication of small air bubbles in the water/system. If you recall, a water shut down took place last week and the system was drained to relieve pressure on the pipes/system. When the system was refilled, inevitably, there will be air bubbles, even though care is taken to bleed the system of as much of that air as possible.
If you have cloudy water, fill a glass with that water and give it several minutes to sit idle. Those air bubbles should dissipate and the water will return to it's normal clear appearance.
Both Friday and Monday, water main progress continued southbound on Kensington Drive. Late Monday afternoon, the pipe crew was at or near 317 Kenington Drive. Village crew was also working to begin filling the first segment of new water main. We are far from using that new system as there still needs to be purification of the system and two clean tests, but this is a good sign of progress. On Tuesday, a water main crew will continue southbound from that location; they should reach and get past the intersection with Cambridge/Woodland Circle.
Also on Tuesday, the other pipe crew will arrive back in the Village and we anticipate that they will resume working on storm sewer on Fisk Place. There was a delay while waiting for the other utilities (electric, cable and phone) to bury a service line under the new storm line.
Many of you watching the DNR related holds on place for the Upper Bluff and the storm water pond near the MBCC will be interested to know that the Villages' consultant will soon be taking some action within those sites to further our clearing of those delays. These actions have been awaiting approval and will include test digs and taking of core samples.

Day 11;

2010-04-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

So, I reported yesterday of the water needing to be shut off in a few areas of the construction zone. Notice was given to that area last night, either in person or a note was left at the home.

Well, let me tell ya, the best intentions never quite work out. There is a reason why these infrastructure systems are being replaced. About mid morning, as the water is getting shut off, it was recognized that several of the valves that needed to be closed to isolate and turn off the designated area, did not close properly or all the way. This meant that crew members had to move to other valves to actually get the system shut off appropriately.
Unfortunately, this caused additional homes, not anticipated to be in the "shut off zone", to, well, have their water shut off as well...... As all of this is taking place in the field, Village Center office staff were taking the calls. We apologize for the lack of notice for those who suddenly found their property without water. That was unanticipated and will likely change how we notify residents next time..
Once again there was some good progress made today. A lateral tie in to the Kensington water main were made down both Fisk and the northern Woodland Circle. Additional water main continued down Kensington deeper into the 300 block.
One pipe crew left to go back home today (each crew works a 4 day work week--10-12hr days). So, the remaining pipe crew will continue with water main on Kensington Drive tomorrow (Friday).
We continue to get an abundance of non-local traffic trying to make it through the work zones. Please, unless you need to get directly to your home, find a route around the work zones. And share those directions with friends who may be coming to visit.
MG&E is still finishing their relocation of some of their facilities which are on Lakewood, near Fisk. That has kept Lakewood Blvd traffic attentive as they drive through that area.
We are hoping for a productive Friday that may allow for the filling of the first sections of the new water main. There are then two clean bacteria tests that must be accomplished and then, the crews will begin attaching homes to the new main. This of course is the short version of where we are heading in fairly short order. So, stay tuned and we will keep working.

Day Ten; Water to be Shut off Thursday Morning

2010-04-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

After a rough start to the week, I have alot of positive energy regarding todays work and the momentum that is picking up.

I must first let you know of a Water Shut off period scheduled for Thursday, 4/15. The areas to be affected include:

300 and 400 Block of Kensington
Fisk Place
A segment ofWoodland Circle

The contractor was going door to door tonight to inform residents directly affected by this water disruption for tomorrow morning. If you were not home, they were going to be leaving a written notice. We apologize for the inconvenience, but necessary evils in the course of construction.

Thursday will be continued work on Kensington Water Main and Fisk Storm Sewer. The Fisk Storm line had a slight redirection this morning as the contractor had to pull out two segments due to unplanned conflicts with their route. Those segments were re-laid and progress continued. They are almost at the half way point of the Fisk block. On Kensington Water Main, they have progressed to the intersection of Fisk/Kensington.

Day 9; Progress

2010-04-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

The schedule for the construction company is that one pipe crew works Mon-Thur; another works Tues-Fri. This will always keep a crew in Village and progress will continue. Our Construction company, A-1 is from outside of the Madison area so their crews are staying over night in a local hotel.

Anyway, we had two pipe crews today working. The focus for ater main continued on the 400 block of Kensington; the other crew was working on Storm Sewer installation on Fisk Place at Lakewood Blvd.

For those persons who thought about trying to get through these areas, they soon found sections of road completely impassable. In trying to understand their work operations, I think you should plan that if/when they are in a specific area, we may find that route completely impassable. You may be able to drive up real close to where they are working, but you may not be able to get through.

That said, traffic signs indicate "No Thru Traffic"; yet, I ran into several drivers today who were trying to take Kensington to Fisk Place to go into the Upper Bluff, and another person trying to access the MBCC via Kensington. As they got close enough, they were soon turning around to go back. Save yourself the hassle and stay away from the active work zones.

For tomorrow, I think you can expect similar work. Water main coming down Kensington is approaching the Woodland Circle/Fisk Place intersection. Sewer main is still coning down Fisk, not far from Lakewood. Anticipate both of those areas being virtually impassable for tomorrow.

Garage Sale Cancelled for 2010

2010-04-13T05:38:00.000-07:00

Good Morning.

In consideration of our street and utility projects, the Village organized Garage Sale for 2010 has been cancelled. This was a joint decision between myself and the organizer. The Garage Sale will resume in 2011. Timk

Day 8; water water water

2010-04-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

Well, lets see, it's Monday and time for some water. Except, for our construction project today, it was not a water problem from rain. Instead, before the first new section of water main was layed on Kensington Dr., a valve gave way on the existing main which in essence, opened a water main into the excavated hole for the new pipe to be placed. It did not take long for water pouring in from a 6" main at 90psi to fill the excavated hole and the surrounding area with water.

For those residents in the 400 block of Kensington, it is awfully wet down in your block right now and may not be passable yet today. Also, for some residents on Kensington and Woodland Circle, you may find yourself without water for a period of time yet this afternoon.

The good news is that the problem was repaired and the crews were able to continue with their installation. As I left the site within the past twenty minutes (now 3:20pm), the first section of new water main was about to be placed. I believe water will be turned on within the next hour or two.

CAUTION: for those who are driving northbound on Lakewood near the Beach. MG&E arrived in Village today to move a gas line that is in conflict with the location of our new storm sewer. On Lakewood just past Fisk Place, MG&E still has alot of equipment and their project appears not to be completed. There is a fence surrounding an excavated hole where they were working. Please be wary of this area. There is enough room for you to get past this work site and stay in your lane. Just drive cautiously. By the way, MG&E's excavated hole is full of water as well; I think there's is groundwater.

4/9/10; Day 5 Misc Info/Bus Info

2010-04-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

Sure enough, the rain went away and in comes some snow....I guess it is true, be careful what you wish for.....

At the end of the week there was a bit more work completed. All road pavement was removed in the Lower Bluff. Most of the pavement that was taken off, was taken away on Fisk and Kensington. Bright and early Monday, we anticipate two pipe crews working. One laying storm line on Fisk Place, starting at Lakewood. The other pipe crew starting to lay water main on Kensington at the entrance to the MBCC.

Anticipate that these crews will lay several hundred feet of pipe per day unless they run into problems.

There has been a change to School Bus Pick up and Drop of Locations. Families affected should have already been notified by the school. In short, all of the pick-up and drop off spots have been moved onto Lakewood Blvd.

This change will affect the pedestrian flow of kids making their way to their bus stops. PLEASE, PLEASE be aware of this change as you drive through the Village.

The Village has made ONE CHANGE to accomodate this change in Pedestrian/Student traffic flow. That change is the addition of a STOP SIGN for traffic on NEW CASTLE approaching Lakewood Blvd.

There will now be a a school bus pick up right at that intersection. Students may end up on either side of the road as they walk to the bus stop or as they are waiting for the bus. The STOP SIGN is intended to cause vehicular traffic to stop and identify if there any children or other pedestrians nearby. This change is for safety reasons.

Finally, we appreciate your patience through this first week and we look forward to swift movement through the Lower Bluff. Remember that this area is scheduled to be paved by mid-June!!!

Day 3; 4/7/10

2010-04-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

Rain Rain Go Away......

I may regret mentioning this...but....Did you know that you can reply to a Blog posting, or, ask a question if you have a need for specific information?? Take a closer look at the bottom of each posting and you should be able to find the tools to accomplish that task. I do look to see if there are comments or questions. I have had some in the past, but none too recently.

Several more streets had the road surfaced pulverized today. The pulverizer has left materials in the road and then they were rolled for compaction. So even with the rain, the roads have not been too bad to drive on.

Earlier today a neighbor mentioned that there were a few storm inlets that were not protected with the fiber material. This material prevents dirt, rocks or similar materials from going into the storm system. This is another environmental friendly used to protect our lakes. As a side note, the Village and our contractor are working to use the best practices to protect our environment. Reusing materials when and where we can is both environmentally friendly and in many cases is cost effective. One such example is the stripping of top soil for later re-use.

Day 2; 4/6/2010

2010-04-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

Not alot of work today due to the heavy rain overnight and into the morning. A bit more asphalt was taken off of Kensington. They will continue that process for the balance of the week in the lower bluff. If you live on Woodland Circle, Roxbury, or Cambridge, be patient, they will get there soon!!

With rain expected yet again tonight, we are not expecting any pipe installation to take place this week.

I have heard several positive comments from neighbors who have encountered some brief access issues but those were quickly remedied by construction crews. If you experience something different, please let me know.

As an aside, a neighbor in the Kensington Drive area today observed some young children walking with their parents and the kids were carrying marking flags which had apparently been pulled from their designated locations. Please be sure to maintain the integrity of any marking flags, wood/lattice or similar posts, etc. Those markings have specific meanings and may be a safety or security indicator for construction and engineering crews.

Day 1; Monday 4/5

2010-04-05T15:02:00.000-07:00

Well, today went about as expected. Pavement has been removed from several streets throughout the lower bluff. Fisk Place and several blocks of Kensington specifically. Because of the depth of the pavement on some streets (they had many many layers of overlay through the years), it took a bit longer than expected.
In addition to pavement being removed, top soil was removed to allow for it's re-use during rehab.
Rain is anticipated over the next couple days so the contractor had to lower inlets on those streets that lost pavement. As you see, weather becomes critical and the continued functioning of the systems during a rain event are important as well. If we get an inch or two of rain and the pavement is gone, the rain water will not drain, creating lakes/puddles of water.
With the forecast of rain, you may see limited progress; that applies for the next couple days, but throughout the summer. Rain makes the work zones too sloppy to work.
Access should be made completely available very soon as the contractor is winding down for the day (5:50p). Earlier today, I saw a few neighbors who needed to get in/out of driveways; the contractor was very accomodating to assist them. We like this attitude and approach by the contractor. For residents, be patient and be sure to plan if there is work being conducted directly around your property.

Construction Begins Monday!!

2010-04-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

CONSTRUCTION SEASON HAS ARRIVED!!!

Maple Bluff’s 2010 Capital Improvement Projects break ground this coming Monday, April 5th.

There are two starting points:
1) A storm sewer replacement from the Beach Park along Fisk Place to Kensington Dr.
2) Water main replacement will begin on the 400 block of Kensington Dr. and the MBCC parking lot and continue to the intersection of Roxbury/Kensington.

The western block of Roxbury, 100 block of Cambridge and all of Woodland will soon follow. This southern portion (Lower Bluff) of the 2010 CIP should be nearing completion sometime in June.

When the Village obtains the necessary DNR permits, the northern portion of the 2010 CIP will begin. These areas are as follows:
Farwell Dr. (Lakewood thru the 800 block);

Summit Rd. (Butternut to Farwell)

Magdeline Dr;

McBride Rd.;

New Castle (Lakewood to Kings Way)

Charing Cross (New Castle to Laurel Ln)

This project will address water main, storm sewer, sanitary sewer, street reconstruction. There will be burial of overhead utilities on Farwell from Lakewood to Butternut (south end) and some gas line replacement in the 600-700 blocks of Farwell as well.

The contractor, A-1 Construction, has been mobilizing their equipment in preparation of next week’s start. As you can see, the excavators are very tall. We have and will continue as necessary, to provide clearance pruning on street trees to minimize potential damage during the project.

Trash and Recycle collection will begin at 6:30 am on your collection day so as to minimize conflicts in the active work zones. Please have trash and recycle out extra early.

Yard waste and brush collection will be suspended in the active work zones until opportunity allows for our collection equipment.

Use caution as a pedestrian and as a motorist. Everyone should have access to and from your home during this project. There will likely be times when delays or limitations will occur when excavations are taking place at or near your home.

Thank You for your patience and understanding …

Tom Schroeder
Director of Public Works

Construction Info

2010-03-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

Construction:
A Pre-Construction meeting was held yesterday, 3/25, with staff, the Contractor, utilities, Bus Companies, and other interested parties in attendance. Coordination between all of these entities is strong and we hope to keep these relationships just as strong throughout this construction process.

Starting next week, the week of March 29th, you will begin to see more mobilization. Heavy equipment will be arriving and staging, pipe and other miscellaneous construction materials will also be showing up.

Construction will start the week of April 5th. We anticipate that the roads in the Lower Bluff project zones will be removed that Monday. This will include Kensington, Cambridge (10 Block), Woodland Circle, and Fisk Place.

On Tuesday, will be start of installation of Storm sewer on Fisk and WaterMain on Kensington from North to South.

The overall schedule for the Lower Bluff appears to have a mid June completion.

The Upper Bluff project zones remain under a DNR imposed suspension until clearance is given. No schedule is available yet because of this halt.

Please stay in touch regarding these projects; we will share any information that we have regarding schedules or specific impacts to your property!!

"DO NOT REMOVE"

2010-03-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

If you live in the street and utility construction zone for this summer, you may soon find a stick with blue paint on the top placed in your front yard that reads "DO NOT REMOVE".

These sticks have been placed by Village Crew who are tasked with locating the water shut off valve for every home in the construction zone. That stick indicates the location of your water shut off valve under the ground.

Please oblige the request on the stick and DO NOT REMOVE. If it is removed, Village Crew will have to come back out and relocate your valve and mark it again.
Thanks. Timk

Construction Sequence Change

2010-03-17T12:35:00.001-07:00

During our pre-construction/design meetings with residents over the past several months, we had been talking about the construction sequence of our street and infrastructure project would likely begin in the upper Bluff area. The logic of our thinking being that the contractor could start inside the Village and work their way out. This allows heavy trucks not to be driving over our nice and newly paved roads.

Unfortunately, the regulatory arm of the Wisconsin DNR and the State of Wisconsin Historical Society, have impacted this sequence. Thanks to new regulations since we last completed our street projects in 2005, the village must now provide clearance of any cemetery or possible burial sites in a conflicted area. There are numerous locations in the Upper Bluff where these sites may be located. We are working ernestly through consultants to get these issues cleared. If you are following along with our StormWater project at the MBCC, the same conflict exists at that site.

This means that our street and infrastructure construction sequence will be flipped; the Lower Bluff (Kensington, Cambridge, Woodland Circle, Fisk Place) will be started first and the upper Bluff (Farwell, Magdeline, Summit, McBride, New Castle, Charing Cross) will be started after the lower Bluff AND, after we get the bureaucratic clearance from the DNR and Historical Society.

I will confirm more of this information on sequence after our Pre-Construction meeting next week. Timk

Let Construction Begin

2010-03-16T16:25:00.000-07:00

Good Evening....Lots going on with Village Street and Infrastructure projects.

Contracts are signed with A-1 Construction
Pre-Construction Meeting for staff set for 3/25; construction schedule will be unveiled at this meeting and I will share with you once I have it
Village Board meets on Final Financing package on 3/25
Anticipate start of construction VERY soon.
Stay tuned as I will be using this blog more frequently to pass on information.....

Flood Insurance Press Release--Dane County Emergency Management!

2010-02-09T16:02:00.001-08:00

Ask about Flood Insurance NOW!

Dane County residents are encouraged to look into flood insurance for their property. There are many myths about flood insurance that expose residents to unnecessarily high levels of risk. For more information about flood insurance, visit www.floodsmart.gov or the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance’s web page about flood insurance http://oci.wi.gov/sm_emp/flood.htm

Consider the following myths surrounding flood insurance:

Myth: Properties are not at risk of flooding if they are not located in a mapped flood plain.

Fact: From the 2008 floods in Dane County, FEMA awarded 1,627 claims for Individual and Household Assistance. Of those awarded claims that could be mapped (non post office box addresses), 34 were in the 100 year flood zone and 46 were in the 500 year flood zone. Only 4.9% of those awards for flood assistance were in mapped flood hazard areas!!

Myth: The property is in a mapped 100 Year Flood Zone and it flooded in 2008 so it won’t flood again for another 100 years.

Fact: The 100 Year and 500 Year Flood Zones actually indicate the chance for flooding to occur. The 100 Year Flood Zone indicates the property within that zone has a 1% chance of flooding EVERY YEAR! The 500 Year Flood Zone indicates the property within that zone has a 0.2% chance of flooding every year.

Myth: Properties are not eligible for flood insurance if they are not in a mapped flood plain.

Fact: Any property in a National Flood Insurance Program participating community is eligible to purchase insurance against damages from flooding.

Myth: Renters aren’t eligible for flood insurance.

Fact: Persons living in rental property ARE eligible to purchase flood insurance (i.e. the renter’s personal belongings / contents).

Myth: Existing property insurance will cover the damage from flooding.

Fact: Most property insurance does not cover damage from flood conditions. Damage can also include mold!

Flood insurance is underwritten through the National Flood Insurance Program and usually takes no less than 30 days to take effect. From the date of this release, the soonest property could be covered by flood insurance would be the beginning of March, just before the start of the spring melt! The only way residents can know their options is to do their research and speak with their insurance agent.

Lakeview Elementary Silent Auction

2010-02-09T06:11:00.000-08:00

IT TAKES THE VILLAGE!!!

This year, Lake View Elementary School’s annual silent auction has an online version! You can easily go to www.32auctions.com and sign on using the auction id "lakeview" and the password "lizards". There you will find many exciting items to bid on. You can get a great deal while also supporting Lake View! This is the PTA’s main fundraiser of the year. Its success guarantees many enrichment programs for the students at Lake View, which includes many children from the village and surrounding neighborhoods. Thanks so much for taking the time to look and consider bidding! If you have any questions, please contact Bethney Pickhardt at gunderb@uwalumni.com or 244-6998.

Snow, Leaves, & Meetings

2009-12-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

Good Day.

I hope you are preparing for the snow storm approaching us over the next two days!! Remember to drive safely and if you dont need to go out, stay out of the way of the storm and the trucks clearing our roads.

With the recent snow and especially with the upcoming storms anticipated to bring maybe as much as a foot of snow, the Public Works Department has shut down their leaf collecting equipment until spring. Hopefully you were already done with your leaves!!

We have a bunch of Village meetings scheduled for tomorrow evening. I will list the meetings here and give a brief detail of the agenda:

5:15p Building Board; 1 project on the agenda for a sun room at a home on Farwell

6:00p MBCC Committee; The Village Committee assigned to serve as a liaison to the MBCC will be meeting to discuss recent Club/Village issues

6:45p Finance Committee; The agenda will include topics surrounding the infrastructure bonding for next year, sewer and water rate charges

7:30p Village Board; topics will include sewer and water rates, swingset purchase and installation, employee manual updates, AODA policy, Infrastructure plans and MBCC Stormwater Project, along with monthly financial reports.

Open House Tonight!!

2009-11-16T07:22:00.001-08:00

This evening, Village Staff and our Village Engineer will host an Open House for residents interested in construction projects scheduled for next year. The Open House will start at 4:30pm and go until 7pm in the Village Center Gym. You can come when convenient and stay as long as you like!! There is no formal presentation for the general public.

In 2010, numerous streets in the Village will have infrastructure work completed. The primary work will consist of Water Main replacement but also, there will be stormwater and sanitary main maintenance conducted as well. All of the streets will be fully reconstructed.

In addition to street projects next year, the Village is working cooperatively with the MBCC and the City of Madison to address storm water issues around the area of the MBCC. An element of this project will be the construction of a stormwater retention pond between the Village and the MBCC Tennis Courts.

This evening, you will have opportunity to review the plans, talk with the Engineer about specific project elements and Village Staff about the overall administration of the projects. Hope to see you tonight!!

Request for Assistance

2009-10-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

Hi, I have received a request for neighbors to assist with some gardening around a Village Triangle. Please see the information below and if you can help, I am sure they would love to have you!!

Hello Maple Bluff Neighbors,

I know how much we all enjoy and appreciate the beautiful plantings throughout the Village. With this being said, we're looking for some volunteers to help us save the Magdeline & McBride Triangle which was planted in 1993. This triangle has several thousands of dollars of plant material as well as hours and hours of love and hard work. While we're very thankful for the new roads and improved infrastructure that will be taking place in 2010, it will negatively impact the triangle during this upgrade. With some help from our friends and neighbors, we can save the planting and replant the triangle next spring!

A group of Village residents will be working to dig up and containerize the plant material, so that it can be saved over the winter and replanted after the improvements are completed. Your help will be greatly appreciated!

Please join us on *Monday, October 26, 2009, from 9A until 1P.

Please bring any containers that you can spare.

Please e-mail or call to confirm that you can help!
Cynthia Johnson, cynthiabjohnson@gmail.com, 230-5080
or
Elizabeth Erickson, RErick825@aol.com, 241-8618

*weather permiting...The alternative date is Monday, November 2, 2009, from 9A until 1P

Thank you and we appreciate your help!
Cynthia & Elizabeth

Meetings Tonight

2009-10-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

Good Morning.

There are a couple village meetings tonight.

Public Works Committee will meet starting at 5pm. The agenda will mostly involve discussion and updates on the 2010 infrastructure projects and storm water projects near the MBCC.

At 6:30 tonight, there will be a special meeting of the Village Board. The Village Board will be in closed session working on a negotiation regarding the storm water projects.

News & Info (Same as Email!!)

2009-10-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

Good Evening!!!

It has been many weeks since I have sent email correspondence. There have been a few postings on the Blog about meetings the past couple weeks, but no emails. But, dont take the lack of emails to indicate that nothing has been happening around the Village!! There has been alot taking place, so let me provide a few snippets about these items. Please also note below 2 additional articles; one from the Boy Scouts regarding their Wreath Sale and the other from UW Habitat for Humanity doing a fundraising Rake A Thon.

CONTENTS

*Tim's Update:
Fire Department Open House
Meetings next week
H & H;
2010 Infrastructure;
Power line UnderGrounding Project;
MBCC StormWater Project;
New Home Construction;
Budget
*Boy Scout Wreath Sale
*UW Habitat for Humanity Rake a Thon

**********
Tim's Updates:

Dont forget the Fire Department Open House on Sunday, Oct 11th!!

Meetings Next week:

Tuesday Oct 13th
Building Board 5:15p
Village Board 7:30p

H & H: Unfortunately, the Hoses & Handcuffs Golf outing for this year had to be cancelled due to low registrations. Many people expressed an interest in playing, but that never showed up in registrations. The good fortune in this cancellation is that the date of the event, was horrifically cold, wet, and windy. Though there has been some discussion of a reschedule for spring, there is equal discussion on letting the event rest for a year or two. Regardless, we would like to express our gratitude to Kristen Carreira and Michael Browne for their coordination of the event this year. We also want to thank those residents who made donations and were kind enough to let us keep those donations even though the event was cancelled. Thanks for your thoughtfullness!!

2010 Infrastructure:
PLANS: The Village Engineer has completed construction plans and has developed new cost estimates based on those plans. We will be setting another Village meeting to be held in an Open House format to allow residents to come in and review the plans, ask questions and make any final suggestions. During our neighborhood meetings, we took the feedback we were given and incorporated what we could. It is still not too late to give additional comments or make suggestions. Large scale ideas may not be feasible but some suggestions are still possible to implement. We are looking to hold this meeting in early November. The date time will be determined soon and we will begin to advertise immediately.

FINANCING: The Finance Committee has reviewed several financing options and we continue to seek additional proposals and structures for the debt service for these projects. As an aside, I have heard several comments regarding the timing of these projects in the challenging financial/economic times. Valid comments. There are however, comparable rationales to suggest that the current economic conditions provide for an opportune bidding environment. In addition, the long term stability of our infrastructure pushes us to continue with these projects.
Power Line Undergrounding Project: Many of you who live on Farwell are well aware of the undegrounding project. That is still being planned for these projects as well. There will be an assessment hearing that will be set up soon. As this hearing may establish a policy about how the Village will approach these undergrounding projects in the future, the entire Village will be notified about this hearing and be given opportunity to be heard.

MBCC StormWater Project: Work on this part of the project for next year continues. The Village Board considered an agreement with the City of Madison at their meeting last month, however they wanted a minor language change so that agreement will be brought back again at their meeting next week (Oct 13th). The Village is still awaiting a counter proposal from the MBCC regarding their involvement; we anticipate receiving that proposal yet this week.
You may already see some work beginning. This includes the placement of stakes to outline the location of the sediment retention pond between the tennis courts of the Village and MBCC. Dont lose perspective that this will be a fairly large retention area (1.25 acres) so when you see the stakes, you get a sense of how large that area will encumber. Please provide feedback about the placement of those stakes.
Other work will include the removal of trees and shrubbery around the MBCC Tennis Court area as well as the larger trees in the area of the pond. We are still intending to bid this project in conjunction with our street projects, though they will be separate bid projects.

New Home Proposal- Many neighbors who live in the Kensington Drive/Roxbury area are aware of a new home proposal for the open lot at that intersection. That project will be before the Village Building Board next Tuesday Oct 13. That meeting begins at 5:15pm

Budget: The Village Budget is still being developed. The Finance Committee and Village Board directed staff to work towards developing a neutral operational budget change for this next year. To that end, staff have also been placed on limits to discretionary spending. Staff wages will be frozen for this next year except for those pre-determined by bargaining agreements/union contract. The Capital Equipment Budget will be fixed again this year but not fully expended. Overall budget increase will ideally be limited to 2%. The Finance Committee will be meeting again on Monday October 26th to review the next draft of the budget.

**********
Boy Scout Wreath Sale

Troop 5 Maple Bluff is again holding its annual rope and wreath sale. You should have received the Troop's mailing recently for this important sale/fundraiser.
The Troop is selling 25 foot balsam ropes, as well as balsam, pine cone decorated wreaths in a variety of sizes.
The quality of the products is excellent and the prices are competitive. Best of all, the boy scouts will deliver the ropes and wreaths to your door on Saturday, November 21, just in time for the holidays.
Proceeds will support the Maple Bluff boy scout troop's activities.
If you did not receive the Troop's mailing, or have any questions about the sale, please call Kim or Blaine Renfert at 241-3159.
Thank you for your support!

Troop #5 Maple Bluff

**********
UW Madison Habitat for Humanity RAKE-A-THON (See attached Flyer)

Thanks for your help in getting the word out about our fall fundraiser! We've had many families from Maple Bluff participate in the past and we've had lots of success. This year's Rake-a-thon will be held over three days from Nov. 6-8, and all donations will help us build our first green, LEED-certified house in Madison ever to be built by Habitat for Humanity. We're looking forward to a great year!
I've attached our flyer with all the details and contact information for people to sign up. If you have any questions or further suggestions on how to spread the word, please let me know!
Thanks again!Bridget RobyUW-Madison Habitat for Humanity
Rake-a-thon Coordinator
(651) 249-4636

Meetings & Other Info

2009-09-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

Good Morning.

MEETINGS: We have a couple of meetings for tomorrow. The first will be for the Police and Fire Committee who will be meeting at 4:45p. The agenda will consist of updates from each department. At 6pm, the Board of Appeals will be meeting for a contested hearing on an appeal from a decision of the Building Board.

OTHER INFO: Last week, the Village Engineer and staff staked an area behind the Village Tennis Courts at Beach Park and the MBCC Tennis Courts for the outline of a potential stormwater retention pond. Staff is looking for feedback on this area as we go to the Public Works Committee and eventually the Village Board for final approvals.

Thanks to Michael Browne and Kristen Carriera for their efforts at planning the Hoses and Handcuffs Golf outing. Due to low registrations the event was cancelled. Seeing the weather today, reinforces that it was a lucky thing that we are not out playing in this weather.

Finance Committee Meets Tonight

2009-09-21T06:17:00.000-07:00

At 5pm tonight, the Finance Committee will be meeting to discuss several items including the 2010 Village Budget and Financing proposals for the 2010 infrastructure project. If interested, please attend this meeting at the Village Center.

Meetings Next Week

2009-09-04T04:09:00.000-07:00

Good Morning.

Next Tuesday the Village will have several meetings of interest.
The Building Board will meet at 5:15p. On the agenda are several fence proposals as well as a new home construction on the corner of Kensington and Roxbury.
The Village Board will meet at 7:30p. Items of significance at the Village Board will be consideration of an agreement between the City of Madison and the Village on the Stormwater solution around the MBCC. We will also review a draft of the maintenance agreement for those same structures and an update on a significant loss of water from the water utility. After many months of research and exploration, the determination of the cause of the loss has been identified. Further, we will discuss updates on the infrastructure projects for next year, including the financing status and also discuss the Emergency Radio System and the maintenance being proposed by Dane County.

If you can attend the meetings, your presence is very welcomed. Have a great Holiday weekend!!

Street Maintenance On SATURDAY 8/22

2009-08-21T12:46:00.000-07:00

Good Afternoon.

The Village was notified today that FAHRNER Asphalt Sealers will be performing street maintenance
TOMORROW-Saturday, August 22d.
Here are the specific areas that will be affected:

100 Block of Lakewood Blvd (North and South Lanes)
200 Block of Lakewood Blvd (Northbound Lane)
Intersections at following locations:

Roxbury/Lakewood
Cambridge/Lakewood
Kensington/Bayside/Lakewood

The maintenance will be a process similar to what is called Chip Seal. It will involve an aggregate and the use of black slag and then streetsweeping to clean everything up.

The benefit to this process is that the street is completely usable immediately after the application is applied. Some of you may remember a process in the past that required vehicular traffic from staying off of the surface for a day or two after; this is a different process. It should cause minimal disruption.

There will be no parking in the areas mentioned above. The contractor has already posted those areas where parking will not be allowed.

We anticipate that the contractor will begin their work around 8am tomorrow and should be completed within a few hours.

Have a great weekend--enjoy the fabulous weather!!

Farwell Drive Water Main Flushing

2009-08-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

The Outer Farwell Drive area had a Hydrant Flush conducted so if you experience some water discoloration, please go to the lowest level of your home and turn on your cold water until the water clears up!!

Gypsy Moths

2009-08-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

We have had reports of gypsy moths in concentrated areas of the Village. If you have noticed, observed, or experienced gypsy moths in or around your property, please let me know.

If you email me, I can also forward information from the DNR regarding the Gypsy Moth program.

Construction Details

2009-08-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to those residents who have chosen to attend our neighborhood meetings regarding the street construction next year. At these meetings, we tried to provide information about the construction process and how it will impact your street, your access, and overall, the general infrastructure and street impacts.

One example of this discussion is related to the width of Kensington Drive. This particular street is quite wide in some areas and realisitically, staff felt that it could be narrowed. At the neighborhood meeting, residents shared their thoughts, some in support of narrowing the streets and some in favor of keeping the width as it is now, which in most areas of Kensington Drive is over 36' wide.

A variety of concerns were discussed for both sides, including parking, saving or trying to limit the damage to the street tree's, costs, traffic calming, traffic routing and similar concerns.

Staff took those concerns and reached a compromise, which ideally accomplishes everyones objectives, on the width for this street. Our initial recommendation brought that street into comparable width as other Village streets (28.5') but after listening to points of neighbors, we proposed to the Public Works Committee a street width of 32.5'. That committee accepted that proposal and will make that recommendation to the Village Board tonight.

Please stay informed on construction for next year and if you have questions or concerns, please be sure to bring them up to someone (staff or elected officials or committee members). We are working diligently to keep information free flowing!!

Dailey Service Award

2009-08-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

Start thinking about the next Dailey Service Award Winner. Remember that this award is for a Village Resident who has gone above and beyond on behalf of the Village.

Nomination forms will be disseminated soon....but start thinking now!!

Hoses & Handcuffs!!! SEPT 28th

2009-08-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

Good Afternoon,

Many people, including myself and founder of the event Dave Bruns, thought that the Hoses & Handcuffs Golf Outing had seen it's last year. However, two Village Residents have decided to grab the baton and take off running with the event!! Quite frankly, I think I may have trouble keeping up!!

Kristen Carreira and Michael Browne had such a great time at the event last year, that they wanted to help plan and organize the event this year. Unfortunately, most associated with the event did not think any new leadership would step up to take over. But alas, it has happened; Michael and Kristen are just those leaders!!

Look for more information soon, including the registration form. But for now, set aside the date of Monday, September 28th for this great event!! As the golfing season comes to an end, what better way than to have one last, nice friendly casual scramble with some friends!!

In the meantime, if you want to help with this event, please let me know and I will get you intouch with Kristen!!!

General Info

2009-07-27T09:18:00.000-07:00

Good Early Monday Morning.

Please note the following articles of information:
Contents:
*LakeView Elementary Informational Meeting
*BLOG address
*Plant/Install A Vegetable Garden!!!
*Youth Sailing

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LakeView Elementary

Are you interested in learning more about Maple Bluff’s community elementary school? If so, please join your neighbors, and Lake View Elementary School leaders for an informational meeting on Wednesday, August 5th at the Maple Bluff Village Hall. The meeting will run from 6:30 to 7:45 pm.
The objective is to discuss in an informal environment:
Lake View experiences from the perspective of neighboring families

What is going well?
Ideas from families to continually improve the learning environment
Ideas for new, after school enrichment programs (e.g. foreign language, advanced mathematics, etc.)
Lake View student performance based on standardized test results
Questions from meeting participantsKristi Kloos, Lake View’s Principal, and Maple Bluff residents who serve on Lake View’s Parent Teacher Association (e.g. Karen Carroll, Sarah Redemann) will be present to facilitate the meeting and answer questions and gather ideas.For your ease, meeting organizers have arranged for child care at Fireman’s park, so please feel free to bring your children with you!Please RSVP for this session with Karen Carroll at carrollcrew@sbcglobal.net.

Thank you for your time and interest in our community elementary school!

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BLOG Address http://maplebluffvillagecenter.blogspot.com/

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Community GroundWorks @ Troy Gardens

Plant a Vegetable Garden this FallCommunity GroundWorks at Troy Gardens has launched a new vegetable garden installation business to bring the values and vegetables of Troy Farm to homes and businesses in Madison. Madison FarmWorks will design, install and maintain an organic vegetable garden of any size in your yard. We provide crop harvest and delivery to your doorstep as well as a monthly newsletter filled with stories from the gardens, harvest tips and information about the local and national organic movement.

If you would like to create and maintain your own garden, we offer professional instruction and consultation specific to your goals. We can help you with site analysis, design ideas, monthly consultations, written instructions, planting schedules, and personalized instruction on a variety of topics.

It’s not too late to plant a fall garden! There is still time for fall successions of some of the cooler weather vegetables such as beets, garlic, cilantro, salad greens, spinach and kohlrabi. We can also install your garden beds this fall to help you get a head start on next spring.

Join the urban organic agriculture movement by growing vegetables, herbs and flowers in your backyard! Contact megan@troygardens.org or troygardens.org for more information and a free site visit.

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Youth Sailing

The Madison Youth Sailing Foundation still has openings in their sailing and windsurfing August classes.Check it out at http://madisonyouthsailing.org.This is an incredible program and it’s located at the Village Marina. Take advantage of it!

Marina--Parking and Plans!!

2009-07-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

Good Day Maple Bluff.

The Village Marina continues to be a great asset for Residents. Both for those who have in water storage but for those who need a place to park their boat during the boating season as well as during the off season. There has long been a desire to upgrade the Marina to make it more user friendly. But also, a more attractive destination for those who love to watch the water from dry land.
An ad-hoc committee recently completed some plans to give the Marina a face lift for next year. This plan will likely coincide with changes to rules on storage.
Village staff is continually chasing trailers, boat lifts, campers and other "stuff" that is dropped at the Marina. If you do not have the proper registration stickers afixed to both your boat and trailer, you need to contact the Village Center and speak with Rene about storage. Yes, there is a fee involved but comparatively speaking, this is a reasonable amount. Failure to have the proper registration stickers could result in the removal of your property and a daily storage fee charged.

Traffic Traffic Traffic Plus Fun Stuff!!!

2009-07-16T03:57:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Maple Bluff!!

Some of you who drive through the beach may have recently noticed additional cones to get your attention to slow down. Beach staff and Recreation Director Curt Erickson have noticed many vehicles driving through at considerable speeds. Squads have sat down there and some enforcement has been taken but mostly, people slow down when a squad is there. So far, it appears as if the cones are getting peoples attention; it just needs to change behavior. Staff have identified certain commercial vehicles that also offend and phone calls have been made requesting their compliance.
Where is this leading......well, if there is not voluntary compliance with the lower speed at the beach, the Village Board, at their meeting this week, has authorized the deployment of temporary speed bumps. Take care of your self first and slow down, but also talk to your neighbors to make sure that they slow down as well; this pertains at the Beach but also, at the other lower speed zone near Johnson Park on Bayside Drive and Old Shore Road.

The Village Board also discussed PODS at their meeting this week. The issue has been referred back to the Bylaws & Ordinance Committee for additional study/work/refinement.

Here are a few fun events for this upcoming weekend!!!

Fun Event For Friday:
Event: Kids vs. Parents Kickball Game "Let the kids show off their skills in kickball as they beat you parents"
What: Sporting Event
Host: 2009 Maple Bluff Lifeguards
Start Time: Tomorrow, July 16 at 5:25pm End Time:
Tomorrow, July 16 at 7:00pm
Where: Maple Bluff Beach Park

Fun Event for Sunday:
Event: Sunday Concert in the Park
What: Concert
Host: Park & Recreation Committee
Start Time: Sunday, July 19 at 4:00pm
End Time: Sunday, July 19 at 6:00pm
Where: Maple Bluff Beach Park

US Bank Championship in Milwaukee starts today. Jerry Kelly will be playing and teeing off at 7:55 this morning and hopefully will have a great week and play into the weekend!!!

Congratulations!!

2009-07-14T13:37:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Village President Eric McLeod to be the Very First person to join this Blog!!! I dont know if I have even joined yet...or if I have to....so much to learn.....