Melrose Select Board Awards $356,000 in Street Contracts, Orders Nuisance Abatements

MELROSE — March 21, 2019 — Melrose's Select Board approved more than $356,000 in road contracts and cleared a slate of ordinance changes at its March 21 meeting. The board awarded the 2019 street improvement project to Riley Brothers of Morris, Minnesota, at $287,074.60 — below the $308,455 engineer's estimate — and a chip seal contract to Aztec at $69,195.85 after staff substituted a smaller FA-2 aggregate for safety reasons in residential areas. The board also approved the preliminary and final plat for the Melrose One Stop development, including affirmation of a self-serve truck wash bay, and passed nuisance abatement orders for properties at 304 Third Street SE and 121 Fourth Street SW, giving owners 30 days to comply before any court action. A new sign ordinance permitting electronic changeable-copy signs passed unanimously, and police reserve candidate Reese Regal was approved for hire contingent on a background check and physical exam. A lengthy informal discussion on the Rock Arch Rapids project ended without a vote, with the board expressing reluctance to commit further funds and agreeing only to consider a future workshop with project engineers.