Lake Street Heated Sidewalk Project On City Council Docket

At Tuesday’s Wayzata City Council meeting, officials will review a proposal from a local business owner to install heated sidewalks along the 600 block of Lake Street.

600 block of Lake Street is pictured. Image courtesy City of Wayzata.

At the April 7 City Council Workshop Meeting, Stacy Carisch of the Marquee Place, LLC requested to be allowed to install a heated sidewalk system in the public right-of-way along Lake Street as part of Phase I of the Panoway Project.

RELATED CONTENT: City Council Discusses Panoway Business Mitigation During Workshop Meeting 

She also requested the city pay for half of the roughly $400,000 cost.

“The heated sidewalk is perfect,” said Carsich.  “It is right to do it.”

Carisch admits she is struggling with the economics of the project especially now. She said that
the building’s (Marquee Place) margins have always been tight.

In general, city council members saw the public benefit of heated sidewalks given that the system would cut down on the use of salt and sand and be safer for pedestrians during the winter months.

There was concern about the cost as it was not budgeted and the delay in the construction project.

City staff is recommending the council authorize a 25% contribution up to $100,000 toward the heated sidewalk project.

City staff noted that the $100,000 is a construction cost contingency.

“We don’t just want to do this for Marquee Place, we want to do this for the community,” said Carisch.

You can read more about the project here beginning on page 164 of the City Council Meeting agenda.

Marquee Place in Wayzata. Image courtesy Hennepin County.

 The meeting will be shown on Channel 8, WCTV, and streamed on the City’s website at http://www.wayzata.org. 

Members of the public may submit comments or questions about items on the agenda in advance by   emailing PublicComment@wayzata.org, calling City staff at 952­ 404-­5300, or mailing comments to Wayzata City Hall at 600 Rice St E, Wayzata, MN 55391 (Attn: Public Comment). 

To speak during the Public Forum and/or Public Hearing portions of the meeting, you may call 312.­626­.6799, enter Zoom Meeting ID 963 1094 4756, and press *9 to speak. You will be placed on hold and muted until you have been recognized and invited to speak.