CHIPPEWA FALLS — Patti Boeve was awakened by the sound of a tree and utility pole crashing down late Thursday night outside her home on the East Hill of Chippewa Falls. She said police later checked on her and made sure she was okay staying in her home. She didn’t know exactly what had happened outside until the sun rose.
“It was the next morning that I saw the bank had slid down into the river,” Boeve said Tuesday.
Boeve has lived in her home since 1996 and had never seen anything like it. She was relieved when she was told the city is working on a plan to fix it.
“I have hardly slept for a couple of nights, wondering what would happen,” Boeve said.
A sewer pipe failure caused the sinkhole to form late Thursday night, and city staff are working on a plan to pay for the repairs.
The Chippewa Falls revenues committee discussed the needed repairs Tuesday.
The pipe failure occurred near the intersection of Bluff and Grove streets, said Public Works Director Brandon Cesafsky.
“You’ve got a 24-inch storm sewer pipe that discharges directly to the river,” Cesafsky told the committee. “It failed at the midpoint, on a hill that is made up of sand. We don’t know why (it failed).”
It knocked down the utility pole and some trees.
“We want to bypass the bidding process,” Cesafsky said. “There is going to be some funding needed here.”
Cesafsky said his office came up with an internal estimated cost of about $86,000. He hopes to have a contract signed today with a construction firm to fix the problem, and he hopes it can be repaired within two weeks.
Councilman Rob Kiefer asked if there are any safety issues. Cesafsky said there are.
“The bank has eroded to where it is right at the edge of the roadway,” Cesafsky asked. “The fear is you get another big storm, and you could lose the roadway potentially.”
The road is currently closed, and a nearby bike path at the bottom of the hill is also closed, he added.
The problem isn’t rain affecting the surface, he added.
“That pipe drains 86 acres of stormwater,” Cesafsky said.
However, Cesafsky said he doesn’t believe any houses in the area are in danger.
New IT systems contractIn other business, Chippewa County IT manager Andy Bauer discussed a possible new contract for shared information technology services between the city and the county, with the county seeking the city to pay closer to 20% of the costs for the office. Bauer said his department has seven employees, and roughly 1.4 workers do work for the city. Chippewa Falls currently pays about $51,000 for IT services, he said.
“We are short-staffed in IT. There are numerous things we’ve taken over,” Bauer said. “Things have continued to grow; it’s not going to slow down.”
Shared data includes cyber security, phone systems, wifi and police body camera video storage. They also purchase new computers together in volume, which also is a savings. The current agreement with the city and county runs through 2025.
Councilman Kiefer said it’s clear the city has gotten a good deal for the past 17 years with the agreement, but he said an increased fee will need to go through the city’s budget process.
“We obviously want to work with you, but giving you a number today would be a challenge; a number would almost be meaningless,” Kiefer told Bauer.
Councilman Paul Nadreau asked if surrounding towns get charged. Bauer said the county doesn’t do any IT support for the towns other than emergency management.
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