Residents of the city’s west side brought a 138-signature petition to the common council’s Sept. 14 meeting asking the city to abandon plans to widen streets and add sidewalks as part of a planned reconstruction of the Spruce Street neighborhood.
The petition, titled “Petition to Maintain the Status Quo of Street Widths and Sidewalks within the ‘2027 Spruce Area Project,’” was included in the council’s meeting packet and addresses the city’s planned reconstruction of Spruce, Birch, Balsam, Sanns and Hemlock streets. According to the petition, the city’s current plan calls for all of the streets to be rebuilt at 36 feet wide with sidewalks on both sides “where feasible.”
The petition asks the council to preserve current street widths, install no new sidewalks where none currently exist, and permanently fix flooding at the intersection of Spruce and Phillip streets.
West side resident Paul Mueller told the council the project area includes 104 properties — including a handful on Crescent Street that front Hemlock, and a few on Davenport Street that front Sanns and Balsam streets. Of those 104 properties, Mueller said five owners could not be reached, and of the remaining 99, six declined to sign “for a couple of reasons, which is irrelevant really.” That left 93 property owners, or 94%, who signed the petition, he said. The petition ultimately gathered 138 signatures — more than the number of properties, Mueller said, because some properties have two owners who both signed, and a few renters signed in addition to the property owner.
“Everyone literally is grateful that the streets in the neighborhood [will] get the maintenance that they deserve,” Mueller told the council, adding that he remains available to walk the neighborhood with anyone who wants to discuss the project further.
Mueller also read a letter authored by neighbor, Delmont Spiegelhoff. In the letter, Spiegelhoff wrote that he supports the street reconstruction but opposes new sidewalks, noting his corner lot is 90 by 212 feet and would require clearing 302 feet of snow if sidewalks were installed. He argued a 30-foot street width would be sufficient, noting some sections of Hemlock Street are currently only 24 feet wide, and said “the savings on concrete, asphalt and labor would be considerable” without added sidewalks.
Jeff Margenau, who owns property on Birch Street, also addressed the council, saying new sidewalks along the frontage of his 0.9-acre lot would remove at least three mature trees. He said most neighbors walk on a nearby trail rather than relying on sidewalks, and raised concerns about future homeowner responsibilities for shoveling, edging and eventual sidewalk repairs, as well as possible retaining walls given Birch Street’s grade. He asked the council to consider directing any project savings toward other city needs instead.
The petition’s supporting documents cite Department of Transportation crash data indicating no accidents in the Spruce Area project footprint over the past 25 years, and reference a 2025 academic study suggesting wider streets can be associated with higher vehicle speeds and increased injury-crash risk. Residents also asked the city for assurance that a partial storm-sewer rerouting on Balsam and Hemlock streets — made after neighbors raised concerns with project engineer Mark Barden earlier this year — will fully resolve chronic flooding at Spruce and Phillip streets that has affected nearby basements and backyards.
Later in the meeting, Barden, of Town and Country Engineering, told the council the Spruce Area project remains in preliminary design, with a public information meeting scheduled for Sept. 24 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall to present preliminary plans and take resident questions on tree removal, road widening and retaining walls.
Closed session
In other business, the council went into closed session to discuss city administrator recruitment with the interim administrator and a representative from Innovative Public Advisors, the consulting firm assisting with the search. When the panel returned to open session, Mayor Kris Hanus announced there was “nothing to report.” The administrator position has been vacant since last month when Patrick Reagan left his employment here to take a job as city manager of Sault St. Marie, Mich.
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