Preliminary Woodland Hills plat approved

Nick Johansen
The Red Oak Express

The Red Oak City Council has taken another step towards completion of the townhome project at Woodland Hills.
At the regular meeting Feb. 5, Red Oak Mayor Shawnna Silvius and the council discussed a recommendation from the Red Oak Planning and Zoning board to approve the preliminary plat for Woodland Hills Subdivision II.
“This is the official name of the subdivision. It will be located to the west of 4th St. and Woodland Hills. They are making one adjustment to the plat, which will be discussed at the next planning and zoning meeting. On the south part of the land, they will go straight across so there are no angles and the plat is cleaner,” Silvius said.
Issac Kreikemeier, land development project engineer with JEO Consulting Group was present at the meeting. Kreikemeier said the specific lot lines being adusted were lots 22 and 23. Kreikemeier gave the council a description of the timeline.
“The first lots, which are one through seven will be the first phase. A developer is ready to build multiplexes. They will be a combination of five plexes, four plexes and townhomes. The bigger lots are in one through seven as well as eight and nine. Lots 10 through 18 are a little bit smaller, so it will either have duplexes or single family dwellings depending on the developer’s decision,” Kreikemeier commented. “Out lot A is going to be used for detention and drainage purposes to limit our run-off post construction. We’re going to be implementing a lot of impervious surfaces such as roofs and streets so that will be an area for stormwater to collect and ultimately connect to the storm sewer system. Out lot D will college drainage on the rear side of the lots from four through 8. Out lot C is planned for a future park and a possible trail connection.”
Kreikemeier said there were also some proposed easements between lots five and six for a storm sewer pipe, as well as between lots six and eight for the proposed storm sewer system.
Silvius said Marty and Larry Barnett, the land’s original owners, were given the opportunity to name the streets.
“Misty Lane turns into Misty Circle, and there’s Megan Circle and Mendy Drive. Those are named after their three girls. Mindy Drive will go right back over into 4th Street,” Silvius said.
Kreikemeier said the final plat discussions would take place at the March meeting of the planning and zoning board and the council meeting.
“This is our 30% design. When we discuss the final plat, it will be a design that’s between 90% and 100% completed. Once the final plat is approved, we’ll authorize bids, get some bids back in the spring, and possibly start construction this summer and try to wrap everything up before the winter of 2024, in December. We’re going to try to get close to substantial completion by then,” Kreikemeier explained.
Silvius said if dirt was moved May or June for the infrastructure, construction could begin in the fall. Kreikemeier said the worst-case scenario would be substantial completion in the spring of 2025, but he felt December 2024 was a reasonable goal.
Councilperson Brian Bills asked what the market was like for engineering firms to do dirt work. Kreikemeiersaid the market was good.
“We’ve seen bids be pretty favorable over the last 12to 18 months, and prices seem to be going down. To give you an idea, for the high ticket number, which is pavement, a year or two ago it was $80 to $90 per square yard, and now it’s down to $60 to $70 per square yard, which is a considerable reduction,” Kreikemeier said.
Also, boring and soil testing was recently completed, and Kreikemeier expected the results and report of that sampling would be available in the next two weeks, but the preliminary results were favorable. Also, some of the trees along Ratliff Road would be able to be maintained, rather than removed.
“At this point, we believe we can save for of the five trees on the west side, and three of the trees on the east side we’ll be able to save. They all look like they’re in good condition. A few of the younger trees we might be able to relocate. They look like they’re young enough, but we’ll determine that a little later,” Kreikemeier said.
Councilperson Adam Hietbrink said if there were trees that were Cottonwood or something of a junk tree, now was the time to get rid of them.
“We don’t want to leave them and have them become a city issue somewhere down the road,” Hietbrink stated.
Depending on the type, Silvius said the trees could potentially be relocated to the Evergreen Cemetery.
With no other discussion, the council approved the recommendation from the Red Oak Planning and Zoning board to approve the preliminary plat for Woodland Hills Subdivision II.
Silvius added the sighing and closing of the general obligation bond had taken place.
Also during the meeting, St. Croix hospice nurse Tiffany McArdle was given a certificate of gratitude for her leadership and dedication to her patient by braving the blizzard in January to provide hospice care for a family in need.
McArdle reiterated that she simply felt she was doing her job, and recognized the story had traveled across the nation.
“It’s made more of an impact than I ever thought was imaginable. I’m grateful I was in the position I was and able to do what I could along with law enforcement, and the county’s assistance,” McArdle commented.