City's alley improvement program draws some citizen comment

Last year the City of Decorah's sidewalk improvement plan brought out members of the public to complain about the plan.  This year the same reaction is happening with the City of Decorah's alley improvement plan.

Nine people spoke at Monday night's city council meeting, although some in support of the plan.  Opponents included Betsy Busch of 207 Highland Drive, who questioned the need to pave an alley that is only used by a few people.

But the biggest opposition came to a project to redo the Walnut Street Alley between Linden and Park Streets.  Neighbors such as Roger Donnelly, Richard Simon Hanson and Jim Beeghly said they were concerned about the impact an alley paving might have on the four or five huge trees that are next to the alley.

City Engineer Lindsay Erdman said there are no plans to cut down the trees, but he can't promise the project won't put stress on them.  However, he says steps will be taken to minimize any potential stress.

The Decorah City Council approved a resolution setting August 6th as the date for a public hearing on the 2018 Street and Alley Improvement Project.  City council member Steve Luse was the lone opposing vote, saying he didn't think three weeks was a long enough time for city officials to meet with Walnut Street neighbors in order to answer the questions they have.