Brookfield Common Council Talks Trash And Construction Tuesday

BROOKFIELD, WI — The Brookfield Common Council will hold a special meeting Tuesday to discuss Moorland Road construction and its options for garbage collection.

The city will vote on an agreement between Waukesha County and the City of Brookfield to add sidewalks and a retaining wall to a mile of South Moorland Road from Interstate 94 to West Blue Mound Road. The construction project will replace pavement in 2022, according to the meeting agenda.

The city will also discuss what garbage collection contractor it will choose for services in 2022. The meeting will be held in closed session, according to the meeting agenda.

The Waukesha County Department of Public Works plans to replace the pavement on South Moorland Road in 2022, according to the meeting agenda. The city is interested in having sidewalks included and emergency vehicle preemption devices replaced or relocated during the project, it added.

The city and county can have the Wisconsin Department of Transportation pay for 80 percent of project costs as long as it can cover the remaining 20 percent, according to the meeting agenda. But if the cost of adding sidewalks and retaining walls goes over the agreed capacity, the county will have to pay the full cost, it added.

If the city pays over the limit it agreed on with the state, it will have to pay the full price for the construction project. The state and municipal agreement capacity is set at $7,410,000, according to the agenda document.

If the city votes to include sidewalks and retaining walls, it will have to pay $115,725 to update its sewers and utilities, according to the meeting agenda.

"This could range from a low of $115,725 for aforementioned costs to a high of $1.76 million inclusive of all costs, including sidewalk and retaining walls," said the city's public works director, Tom Grisa, in a letter to the city. "At this point, the engineering firm estimates the project will likely come in over the cap."

The city will have to vote to approve soon if it wants sidewalks, Grisa said in the letter. "Construction costs are extremely volatile and it is impossible to predict what they will be when this project bids later this year," he said.

The Community Development Department said that adding a sidewalk would help transform Brookfield Square into a surburban town center with pedestrian amenities that align with city planning goals, Grisa said in the letter.

Contractor And Garbage Service Options

The city is talking to several contractors about solid waste collection and disposal, Grisa said in a report. Brookfield currently offers up-the-drive service, where residents buy their own garbage cans and leave them outside of their garage, where they are collected from their property.

The city can choose to continue up-the-drive service, curbside collection service or a combination of curbside collection, with up-the-drive service as an optional subscription, according to the meeting agenda.

The special meeting may come into open session if the common council members decide to do so, City Clerk Kelly Michaels told Patch. Only the garbage contract discussion will be held in closed session, according to the meeting agenda.

The city is talking about contracts in closed session so offerings can't be disclosed publicly, Alderman Mike Hallquist told Patch. Previous meetings over garbage contracts were closed as well. "The reason that was discussed in closed session to not discuss the specific amount to not allow vendors to undercut," he added.

Currently, the city is contracted with Waste Management after the company bought Advanced Disposal. Waste Management bought Advanced Disposal in 2020, according to a waste management company statement.