The McLeod County Board of Commissioners on May 20 approved a series of public-works items including a $38,270 final payment to Design Electric Inc. for the Pippenberg Park campground electrical project, accepted a Minnesota Department of Transportation lighting maintenance agreement for the intersection of Trunk Highway 212 and County State Aid Highway 7, and agreed to a joint powers agreement with the city of Silver Lake to add a 2.5-block stretch of County Road 92 to Silver Lake’s USDA Rural Development-funded infrastructure project.

The approvals also included the board’s concurrence with the city of Glencoe’s decision to award the Hennepin Avenue reconstruction project to Holt Meyer Construction of Mankato, which the county official said was the low bidder at $5,432,104.36.

County Public Works staff told the board the Pippenberg Park work, funded with American Rescue Plan Act coronavirus relief funds, was completed satisfactorily and recommended final acceptance and payment. For the Trunk Highway 212/CSAH 7 light, the maintenance agreement (MnDOT agreement 01/9374) assigns minor maintenance to McLeod County, major repairs to MnDOT and the power bill to the city of Stewart; the agreement was presented as a housekeeping fix after a recent lighting issue.

On the Silver Lake project, county staff said the village obtained a sizable United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development grant for a broader downtown utility and street rebuild. A 2.5-block portion of County Road 92 (Main Street from Grove Avenue to Century Lane) had initially been omitted from the design to stay within the grant award. Favorable bid results freed roughly $1.2 million in grant funds that Silver Lake proposes to use to reinstate the county segment by change order. Staff estimated the total cost of adding the segment at about $1.3 million; McLeod County’s share would be approximately $250,000 while Silver Lake would cover the remainder, with about $943,000 coming from the USDA grant. Silver Lake will serve as lead agency for final design and will return construction costs to the county prior to work in 2026.

Board members also reviewed the Glencoe Hennepin Avenue project phasing and access plans submitted by county staff and the project engineer. The project is divided into three phases; staff outlined detour routes and said alternate hospital access points will be signed and maintained during closures. The board was told a short closure of Highway 22 will be needed later in the schedule to tie in a water main.

Motions to approve the items were made and seconded on the record and carried without recorded opposition.

Why it matters: The Silver Lake agreement uses existing federal grant funds to add a county-owned road to a larger municipal reconstruction, reducing expected county expenditures compared with doing the work later. The Glencoe contract and the lighting agreement affect local traffic, safety and maintenance responsibilities.

Details and next steps: Silver Lake will finish final design and return detailed construction costs to the county for approval before work proceeds in 2026. Staff said some lighting luminaires have a six- to eight-week lead time, and crews continue to update maintenance agreements across county intersections. The county’s final payment to Design Electric closes out the Pippenberg Park electrical contract.