These projects are really messy and disruptive, but we know that infrastructure matters, and we know that getting this done is really important work for our community.”

Mayor Laurie Elliott

The Newport City Council approved several changes and payments related to major street and utility projects during its Thursday, Aug. 20 meeting, including a $632,735 addition to the Third Avenue improvements project to complete delayed work on 17th Street.
The council also approved a temporary gravel parking area for Americold, heard that Newport is now receiving treated water from Cottage Grove and reviewed additional costs caused by conflicts with pipelines beneath the 17th Street construction area.
City Engineer Jon Herdegen said the water system interconnect with Cottage Grove is operating and supplying the entire city with treated water from Cottage Grove’s water treatment plant.
Startup, testing and employee training for the new equipment, including a water meter and pressure relief valve, had been completed. Herdegen said the city was still adjusting system pressures, but the interconnect was working well.
The project’s original contract, including an approved change order, totaled approximately $1.546 million. The final construction cost is expected to be $1,520,716, placing the project slightly under budget.
The council approved an $8,360 partial payment to A-1 Excavating while retaining approximately 5 percent of the contract for remaining punch-list work and a final inspection.
Mayor Laurie Elliott reminded residents that the interconnect is being funded through the 3M settlement. The city initially pays the project bills before submitting them to the settlement trustees for reimbursement.
The Cottage Grove connection is intended as an interim solution while Newport works toward construction of its own treatment system for removing PFAS from the city’s water. Elliott said the interconnect is expected to bridge the anticipated three- to five-year period before Newport’s treatment system is available.
Herdegen also reported steady progress on the Third Avenue improvements project. Geislinger and Sons had completed the water main and sanitary sewer work, and homes along the project had been reconnected to the main systems.
Most storm sewer construction north of 17th Street was also complete. Crews had moved to Third Avenue and 16th Street, where shallow bedrock slowed progress.
Herdegen said workers encountered approximately four feet of bedrock that had to be broken apart, creating extended periods of jackhammering for nearby residents. He expected another week and a half of storm sewer work, potentially extending into early September.
The road-grading crew had also begun preparing the northern portion of the project for gravel, curb and gutter.
Elliott thanked residents near 16th and 17th streets for tolerating the noise, dust and access disruptions.
“These projects are really messy and disruptive, but we know that infrastructure matters, and we know that getting this done is really important work for our community,” Elliott said.
The largest project action involved adding unfinished 17th Street work to Geislinger’s contract. The work had originally been part of the city’s 2025 street and utility project with Meyer Contracting but could not be completed after conflicts were identified with an existing ONEOK pipeline.
Following discussions among the city, ONEOK and Geislinger, the parties agreed on a construction method that would allow the street, storm sewer and sanitary sewer force main work to proceed.
Geislinger’s estimated price for the additional work was $632,735. Herdegen said that was approximately $215,000 more than the amount associated with the work under Meyer’s original contract.
However, the overall cost of the original project was approximately $350,000 to $365,000 below what the city had anticipated. Herdegen said the added expense would reduce that savings, but the city would still be able to complete the street.
The force main work was expected to begin as early as the week following the meeting. The arrangement will also allow Geislinger to coordinate curb replacement and paving on 17th Street with the Third Avenue project.
Herdegen said the goal was to have both streets paved before the end of the construction season.
The council approved the change order. It also approved a second change order reducing the Geislinger contract by $24,226 after the city reconciled differences between estimated and actual storm sewer quantities.
With the changes, Geislinger’s revised contract stood at approximately $3.694 million. The council approved the company’s second partial payment of $735,553.37.
The council then considered several compensation requests from Meyer Contracting stemming from its work around the pipeline conflicts.
Herdegen said Meyer had completed the portions of the 2025 street and utility project that it intended to complete, including storm sewer construction from the Mississippi River through an unimproved right-of-way near the Circle K tank farm and into the Cedar Lane and 17th Street intersection.
The contractor also installed a stormwater grit chamber, curb and the first layer of pavement. Geislinger will later complete the final paving.
Herdegen reviewed six requests from Meyer and recommended approving five.
The first was $4,929.50 for hydro-excavation used to determine pipeline and bedrock elevations. The work involved creating approximately 15 to 20 small test holes with high-pressure water and a vacuum truck.
The council also approved $6,927.50 for additional traffic-control devices that remained in place longer than anticipated, $3,993.75 for remobilizing equipment after the winter shutdown, $1,281.47 for placing gravel and improving the temporary driving surface before winter, and $9,115.50 for modifying precast storm sewer structures after the sewer depth was changed to maintain clearance over the pipelines.
The five approved requests totaled $26,247.72.
The council did not approve Meyer’s $16,522 request for the additional time required to back construction equipment into the site from 16th Street.
Meyer chose that method to avoid driving across the shallow pipeline. Herdegen said the pipeline owner had offered other options, including building a temporary gravel ramp or using a timber or steel bridge over the pipeline.
Because Meyer selected the more expensive method, Herdegen said the added cost remained the contractor’s responsibility.
“Our contracts with the contractor are pretty clear about they own their means and methods,” he said.
Meyer may ask the council to reconsider the request or pursue mediation under the construction contract.
The council also approved a $34,291.12 partial payment to Meyer. Herdegen said the final project cost would likely be slightly more than $3 million, compared with an original contract amount of approximately $3.92 million.
A separate $33,318 amendment was approved for additional engineering work performed by MSA Professional Services because of the pipeline complications.
MSA tracked approximately 121 hours spent developing concepts, coordinating with ONEOK and Circle K, meeting with residents and preparing revised plans that Geislinger could use to bid on the unfinished work.
The total included $18,948 for ONEOK coordination, $4,566 for work involving the Circle K pipeline and $9,804 for final design plans.
Elliott said separately tracking those expenses would be helpful if the city later pursued reimbursement for costs associated with the pipeline conflict.
Herdegen said MSA did not expect to seek another amendment if the remaining construction proceeded as planned.
Council Member Josh Schmidt asked for a complete project cost summary after the work is finished. Herdegen agreed to prepare a recap including construction, change orders and professional service costs.
Elliott said underground construction in Newport is complicated by the city’s proximity to the Mississippi River, shallow bedrock and numerous pipelines.
“These are things you do your very best to predict in advance, and then you start digging,” Elliott said. “This is not the first project we’ve worked on where we’ve been surprised by what we found.”
Public Works Superintendent Matt Yokiel reminded residents that Aug. 28 was the deadline to apply for the city’s tree removal and replacement grant. Funding remained available but was limited.
Yokiel also asked drivers to slow down near 17th Street and Cedar Lane. The first layer of pavement had been installed, but construction remained underway.
The council later approved an ordinance amendment and interim use permit allowing Americold to temporarily use an approximately 17,000-square-foot gravel area for trailer and equipment parking.
City Planner Nathan Fuerst said Americold constructed the gravel pad on a roughly 2.8-acre triangular parcel along Maxwell Avenue before receiving city approval.
After the city began code-enforcement action, Americold immediately stopped work and did not begin using the site. The company then applied for the necessary zoning amendment and interim use permit.
The property is zoned light industrial but is also within the River Development Overlay District, which generally prohibits outdoor storage of vehicles, materials and equipment.
Fuerst said the overlay was established to give the city greater control over redevelopment near the river and encourage future uses compatible with residential and commercial development.
The ordinance amendment allows outdoor vehicle storage as an interim use when it covers less than 20,000 square feet or 20% of the parcel, whichever is less; is screened from public roads; uses an existing private or internal driveway; and remains incidental to an adjacent permitted use.
Americold proposed parking eight to 10 trailers or other pieces of equipment on the pad. The area is accessed through an existing private driveway and is screened from Maxwell Avenue by natural vegetation.
The permit will expire after 18 months unless the council approves an extension. Americold must then remove the gravel and restore the land to its previous natural condition.
Because the work was completed without a permit, the company will pay double permit fees under the city’s standard enforcement policy. The permit also prohibits vehicles or equipment outside the approved 129-foot-by-136-foot parking area.
Americold attorney Jim Yarosh thanked city employees for quickly guiding the company through the approval process after what he called its “oops moment.”
Randy Lewis, Americold’s director of district operations, apologized for beginning work without permission. He said he mistakenly believed the parking pad was on the same parcel as the company’s existing operations.
Lewis said the temporary parking was needed to accommodate a customer that was considering leaving the Newport facility while constructing its own building in Jordan.
Providing additional trailer space helped Americold retain the customer and approximately 14 jobs associated with the business, he said.
The Newport facility handles approximately 120 to 150 shipments or deliveries per day, resulting in more than 300 vehicle movements on many days. Lewis said the additional eight to 10 trailers would have little effect on surrounding traffic.
The council unanimously approved the zoning amendment, interim use permit and publication of the ordinance summary.
As part of the consent agenda, the council also approved updated electric and natural gas franchise agreements and fees with Xcel Energy, an application for a grant to improve security at the City Hall front counter, the hiring of firefighters, a temporary liquor license for the Newport Firefighters Fund and a revised final plat for Eastridge Heights.
The council approved bills totaling $220,279.69. Newport’s franchise fees had not changed since 2011 and are collected by Xcel Energy from customers before being remitted to the city quarterly.
During council reports, Elliott praised organizers and volunteers for a successful Pioneer Day.
Elliott also encouraged Newport residents to consider serving as election judges for the Nov. 3 general election. She said that when she voted in the primary, she was told there were only a couple of election judges from Newport working at the polls and that more local election workers could be needed in November.
Elliott said the required training can be completed online and applications are also available online through Washington County. She directed interested residents to the Elections and Voting section of the Washington County website and its election judge information.
“If you’re interested in doing that,” Elliott said, residents could find the application and eligibility requirements through the county.
Elliott also discussed a council and staff tour of M Health Fairview’s emergency medical services facility in St. Paul. Fairview was expected to begin serving as the first ambulance provider for Newport and St. Paul Park on Sept. 1, pending state approval.
Council Member Tom Ingemann promoted Washington County’s free food-scrap collection program, while Council Member Bill Sumner highlighted Metro Micro and a Wednesday community bus that takes Newport residents to Walmart and Hy-Vee.
Sumner also announced a city cleanup event planned for Oct. 10 and reviewed activities at the Newport Library and Community Center, including a silent book club, youth reading program, adult craft group, senior coffee hour and family story time.
The council then recessed before entering a closed session to discuss offers or counteroffers involving the possible sale of city-owned property at 155 21st Street.