City of Delafield - The Common Council is expected to discuss at its March 2 meeting the possibility of creating a Nagawicka Lake Management District which might be formed to help pay for dredging Lake Nagawicka.

Council President Erv Sadowski asked the issue be placed on the next meeting's agenda following a two and half hour public hearing attended by about 130 lake shore residents, most of them protesting proposed special assessments they might have pay to reimburse the city if it dredged six areas of the lake at an estimated cost of about $3.5 million.

Some of the residents suggested the city explore the feasibility of creating a lake district.

City Administrator Tim Schuenke said some research has already been done into the creation of a lake management district based on a request from about a dozen homeowners who live along a mill pond by a privately owned dam in the city.

The home owners want the city to acquire and maintain the dam.

Council members also urged the mayor and city staff to meet with state and federal officials in hopes of securing some funds for dredging from the $787 billion economic stimulus package approved by congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama.

The city has previously sought federal assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers but corps officials said they did not have sufficient funds to help pay for the dredging.

City of Delafield - A public hearing regarding proposed special assessments to help pay for Nagawicka Lake dredging is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16 at the Delafield Hotel. The meeting time has previously been incorrectly reported as 7 p.m.

City of Delafield - The Lake Welfare Committee has uanimously urged the Common Council to ask voters in the April 7 municipal election to approve up to $7.4 million for Lake Nagawicka dredging even though the city has disqualified the only competitive bid it has received on the project.

 The committee recommendations appears to be contrary to the mood of the Common Council. Four council members have told Lake Country Publications that they will not support calling the referendum because there is no way to accurately estimate the cost of the project without a qualified construction bid.

Committee Chairman Kent Attwell said numerous contractors have told him they did not bid on the project because they were not certain voters would approve the funding. Committee members argued the best way to attract new bids on the project was to win voter approval.

The committee also agreed to add 25 percent to the original estimated $3.5 million cost of the project in order to be sure the city would have sufficient funds to dredge the five areas in the lake if voters approved the referendum.

A public hearing on proposed assessments on lake front properties to pay for the project is scheduled for Monday, Feb 16 and 6 p.m. at the Delafield Hotel. 

City of Delafield - The Common Council is expected to vote Monday to cancel the Nagawicka Lake dredging referendum that was going to be scheduled for April 7.

Four Alderpersons have told the Lake County Publications that they cannot support calling the referendum since the city apparently does not have a qualified bidder to complete the project.

The only bid received Tuesday was for about $5.5 million, about $300,000 higher than the city anticipated, from a Texas frim whose proposal does not appear to meet specifications required by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Mayor Ed McAleer said today he wanted to await a recommendation from the Lake Welfare Committee, which meets tonight, before deciding whether to ask the council to cancel the referendum.

Council President Erv Sadowski said it makes no sense for the city to scheduled the referendum if there is not a qualified bidder for the project. Council members Michelle De Yoe, Beth Leonard and Ron Miskelly said they concurred with Sadowski.

McAleer said the city will continue with its plans for a public hearing Monday night at the Delafield Hotel on whether to specially assess 300 lake shore properties for the cost of the project.

City of Delafield - City officials will await a recommendation from the Lake Welfare Committee before deciding whether to proceed with a referendum scheduled for April on a Nagawicka Lake dredging project that appears to have failed to attract any qualified bidding contractors and may be more expensive than anticipated.

Meanwhile, Mayor Ed McAleer says the city will continue with plans to hold a public hearing on Monday, February 16, at the Delafield Hotel into whether the Common Council should specially assess lake shore residents to pay for the nearly four million dollar project, if it is approved by voters.

Only one contractor, Eveready Industrial Services of Houston Texas, submitted a competitive bid on the project. The proposed  $3,541,800 is about $300,000 higher than the city expected, according to Pubic Works Director Tom Hafner.

The bids do not cover an estimated more than $300,000 the city has already spent on research, development and regulatory approvals for the project.

Hafner said city consultants are concerned that the bidder's method of dredging the lake will not meet Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource requirements.

McAleer said the Common Council will decide whether to proceed with the referendum after the Lake Welfare Committee advises them on whether the city should try to seek voter approval without a qualified contractor on the project.

Lake Welfare Committee Chairman Kent Attwell said he is trying to determine why 20 contractors who sought bid applications on the project failed to submit them. The committee will meet Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, more than two dozen lake shore residents from two neighborshoods indicated at a public information meeting Tuesday night that they may ask to be allowed to opt out of the dredging plan.

The proposal calls for dredging in the west, northwest, and north east channels of the lake along with Zastrow's Bay and the Bark River inlet. Lake shore residents living near the dredged areas would be expected to reimburse the city for most of the costs of the project through special assessments levied over a 10 year period.

City of Delafield - A Houston Texas firm is the only contractor to submit a bid to city officials for dredging Lake Nagawicka and the company's proposal may not meet bid qualifications and is seeking construction costs about $300,000 higher than city consultants had anticipated.

 Public Works Director Tom Hafner said city consultants have expressed concerns that the bid from Eveready Industrial Services Inc. of Houston, Texas is "non responsive to our requests."

Hafner said the consultants will conduct a detailed review of the bids but are initially concerned that the methodology proposed by the company will not meet Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource requirements for the dredging six locations on the lake.

City officials had anticipated that the construction costs for the project would total about $3.2 million. The bid that was opened this afternoon was for $3,541,810.

City of Delafield - The Common Council may be asked next week to decide whether the city should continue to seek permission from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to dredge small portions of Lake Nagawicka.

Mayor Ed McAleer said newly appointed City Attorney James Hammes has recommended the council make a determination if it wants to continue the project before submitting a revised application for a permit from the DNR.

McAleer said Hammes made the recommendations after reviewing the minutes of recent Lake Welfare Committee meetings.

The committee has spent the past four years researching the ecology of the lake, developing preliminary plans for dredging, and negotiating with DNR for the agency's approval of the project.

DNR has indicated they it will not approve dredging areas of St. John's Bay and near a kettle that is located on the north shore of the lake. A recent letter from DNR indicated the agency wanted more information from the city and might apply additional restrictions before allowing the dredging.

Several members of the Common Council have privately expressed frustrations over the DNR requirements and the delays in issuing the permit. The council members have questioned whether the benefits of the dredging will match the amount of time and money the city may have to devote to the project.

The project is estimated to cost about $2 million and will require voter approval.