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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Works Committee Minutes 02.12.2001 MINUTES PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 12, 2001 5:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1V~MBERS PRESENT: Chairman Gay Easton Gary Temple Ed Steffans Lorraine Craig Marvin Carter Mark Mace Dan Mears John Oakes OTHERS PRESENT: Steve Klotz Jeanette Koch Rules and Regulations ; Steve Klotz distributed copies of the Standards for Public Works Improvements Parts 1 - 7 that have been compiled by the Public Works Department. The manual is being prepared for the purpose of adopting minimum standards for the design of improvements, kind and use of materials, methods of construction, and the preparation of plans for construction, repair, or alternation of streets, roadways, alleys, drainage, sewer, or water facilities which lie with/n municipal fight-of-way or easements. The Public Works Department will be submitting the Rules and Regulations Governing Utility Services and Streets in sections at future committee meetings. Steve explained that adoption of the Standards and Rules and Regulations by ordinance would allow specific requirements to be changed by resolution in the future. Some present ordinances would be rescinded since they do not meet current standards and needs. Gay stated that the Public Works Standards would protect the city by requiring contractors to meet the same specifications in their work throughout the city. Gay asked the committee to examine the first section before the next committee meeting and to contact Larry or Steve with any comments or suggestions. The next section will be distributed at the March 124 Public Works Committee meeting. Thomae Lumber Paul Thomae's attorney recently contacted Matt Erekson to inquire as to the city's guidelines for the loading zone at Thomae Lumber. Gay stated that Thomae should be proposing a solution, but that is not happening. Gay emphasized that guidelines need to be set before June lst' Unscheduled matters Diagonal parking Public Works Committee minutes of February 12, 2001 Steve informed the committee that the trial period for angle parking has been successful. Public Works wants to implement diagonal parking in the downtown area between Colorado Avenue and rd - 3 Avenue, excluding 1st Avenue, the north side of 1~ Street, and Main Street. The committee discussed whether or not to implement diagonal parking on Main Street. Diagonal parking was used on Main in the past, but it was discontinued due to safety reasons. Some committee members are in favor of and some are against angle parking. Gay stated that the city should discuss the idea with the Montana Highway Department. Steve explained the different widths used for parking stalls and how handicap parking is provided with angle parking. Handicap accessibility guidelines require one handicap parking space for every twenty-five spaces. Parallel parking handicap spaces require cutting into the sidewalk to provide an eight-foot unloading zone. The space next to the angle parking handicap stall can be used for the unloading zone, requiting only a small curb cut for a ramp. Our present angle parking stalls are eleven feet wide, but Billings uses nine-foot stall widths. We recommend using larger than nine-foot stalls. Smaller stalls may not yield more parking due to the length of the curb. The larger stall width allows for more room to get in and out of cars, resulting in less damage to vehicles. Gary stated that the problem of enforcement of parking violations continues and the problem needs to be addressed with the City Judge. Motion by Gary Temple to recommend to request the Mayor to write a letter to Judge Kerr to schedule a meeting to discuss the enforcement of parking tickets in the City of Laurel and to work up an equitable solution. Motion died for lack of a second. The committee discussed the enforcement issue further. Gary stated that it is difficult for the Police Department to continue writing parking tickets if they are not enforced by the judge. Motion by Gary_ Temple to recommend to request the Mayor to write a letter to Judge Kerr to request a meeting to discuss the enforcement of parking tickets in the City of Laurel and to work up an equitable solution, seconded by Lorraine Craig. Motion carried. Swimmin2 nool Steve stated that the bids for the remaining work at the swimming pool have been received. This work includes the 5-inch slab, grouting of the cracks in the walls, filling in the gutters, and the painting and striping. The bids totaled approximately $48,500 and the remaining budgeted amount is approximately $51,500. Both diving boards are broken and need to be replaced. Steve suggested installing at least one and possibly two water slides in place of the diving boards, as water slides are very popular right now. Water slides are less expensive and would present a lesser liability to the city. Dan Mears suggested replacing the diving board in the pool in addition to providing a water slide. 2 Public Works Committee minutes of February 12, 2001 Plans are to paint the interior floor and to fix some plumbing inside the building so the showers work properly before the season begins. Budget billing and automatic withdrawal Ieanette updated the committee on budget billing. Black Mountain Software informed her that a budget billing customer's amount would be figured from the previous twelve months. A rate increase or a change of occupancy would not allow the bill to fluctuate with consumption. At the end of the first year, each account would be reviewed and adjusted. Any additional charge for the previous year would then be figured into the coming year, causing the charges to be collected behind schedule. It would be a budgeting and revenue issue because the proper amount would not be collected every month. Of all the towns that Black Mountain services, only one town is on budget billing. This small town reads meters only once a year and the charges are divided between the next twelve months. Black Mountain does not recommend it as it would cost several thousand dollars to implement it because of necessary revisions to our utility billing, and the present bill cards could not be used for budget billing. Anyone who has studied budget billing is concerned about the losses incurred. Jeanette stated that someone from the City of Billings told her that budget billing would be a nightmare that they hoped to avoid. He was concerned that cities would lose too much revenue. Black Mountain also stated that budget billing would provide no benefit to the city and could cause higher losses. Jeanette explained that occasionally a customer asks regarding automatic withdrawal or use of charge cards for payment of bills. There was a question regarding the bank charges for these services. Use of automatic withdrawal or charge cards would require a change in accounting procedures through Black Mountain Software. Jeanette will check into this. Garbage service concern Gay stated that a bill before the state legislature through BFI would make it illegal for cities to adopt any ordinances to prevent private industry from hauling garbage out of the cities. Many cities would be affected by approval of this bill. It was not known if the bill had been dismissed or approved, but Mark offered to provide the correct information to the committee members. The meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cindy Allen Council Secretary 3