Chaska council accepts feasibility study for 2026 downtown reconstruction, outlines options and assessments

The City of Chaska council on March 30 accepted a feasibility study to guide a 2026 downtown street and utility reconstruction covering Elm Street (4th to 3rd Street) and a section of 3rd Street to Hickory. Staff presented construction and utility-replacement options and committed to neighbor outreach before any assessment hearing.

The study, presented to the council by staff and project presenter Alex, lays out four options ranging from a base street-and-utility rebuild to larger alternatives that would remove the 3rd Street bridge and fill the adjacent drainage channel. Staff said the base option that includes removing and replacing the 3rd Street bridge and rebuilding streets and utilities is estimated at about $2,045,000. A fuller option that would pipe and fill the drainage channel would add roughly $688,000, and would require permanent easements from adjacent property owners.

Why it matters: the project finishes remaining unreconstructed downtown blocks, replaces aging underground water and sewer services, and addresses a drainage channel that staff described as an obsolete portion of downtown that could be put underground if property owners grant easements. The council’s acceptance of the feasibility study is a procedural step that enables staff to advance neighborhood outreach and later hold the statutorily required improvement and assessment hearings.

Details from staff’s presentation: Alex said the drainage channel varies in form — rock-and-mortar sections, metal edges, and concrete walls — and that one of the bridges dates to 1939. Staff outlined four options and explained the tradeoffs: leaving the 3rd Street bridge in place would require special (and costly) utility-installation methods, while replacing the bridge and installing utilities with conventional methods brought the base project cost into alignment with available funding and potential state bridge-replacement eligibility. The larger option that would also replace the Hickory Street bridge was not recommended because that bridge (built in 1981) is in sound condition and not eligible for state reimbursement.

Assessments and schedule: staff told the council that the initial assessment amounts proposed to property owners would be uniform with past downtown projects (the staff figure discussed during the meeting was $7,500). Staff plans outreach in April with nearby property owners, an improvement hearing in May, an assessment hearing in June and then mid-summer authorization and bidding; construction is expected in the back half of summer into fall if the project proceeds.

What council members asked: council members pressed staff on how the drainage-channel option would affect private yards and peak-flow events; staff said the proposed pipe would be sized to convey at least the current volume and to provide additional stormwater storage, and that the design accounts for gate-closure (levee) conditions. Staff emphasized that channel filling would require easements from neighbors and that the base rebuild would proceed regardless of whether the channel-fill option moves forward.

Next steps: staff will meet with affected property owners in April to gather feedback and to discuss permanent easements if the pipe-and-fill approach is favored. The council accepted the feasibility study by motion (resolution 2026-23) and the item will return for an improvement hearing and later assessment votes if outreach yields the necessary agreements.