Politics & Government

Mendota Paving Project on Track for Summer Completion

A country grant program is set to fund the paving of upper D Street.

Upper D Street in Mendota could be paved by the end of the summer for the first time in its history.

A project is moving forward to use Community Development Block Grant funds administered through Dakota County to pave the road, also known as "High Horseshoe." Residents of Second Street that use the road, including Mayor Brian Mielke, describe it as perilous in the winter and after heavy rains.

The city passively accumulated roughly $32,000 in CDBG funds before the program turned competitive this year. City Administrator Jennifer Bruestle then applied for $20,000 more in 2011 grant money, which was awarded over the winter.

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Mendota competed in a pool of townships and small municipalities within the county for the money.

Budget cuts to the federal source of the 2011 grant then reduced the total award to $16,250, and a portion of the existing balance was used to make repairs to electrical poles at Veteran’s Park after an early winter ice storm.

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What remains is about $45,000 and change, according to Lisa Henning, assistant director of community development with the Dakota County Community Development Agency.

Bonestroo will receive $5,000 of that to solicit and award bids and manage the project.

Bonestroo’s estimate for the project’s cost is $25,000-$35,000 said Henning.

That leaves roughly $10,000 or more to install a storage shed for city equipment at Veteran’s Park. Any remainder could be used for park improvements such as fresh fill at the playground, said Mielke.

When finished, D Street from Victoria Curve to Second Street will be turned into a paved stretch 600-feet long and 24-feet wide.

No stormwater management in the form of curbs or gutters is a part of the project. According to Bonestroo documents, the project does not meet the threshold for review by the Lower Mississippi Watershed Management District.

Because the project covers less than one acre, it’s also exempt from Minnesota Pollution Control Agency construction stormwater permitting.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will also not be involved, freeing the project from most implications of the government shutdown.

If Bonestroo can secure a contractor by the Aug. 12 city council meeting, construction could begin in late August.


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