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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Works Committee Minutes 11.08.1999 MINUTES PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 8, 1999 7:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Gay Easton Bud Johnson Mark Mace Lorraine Craig Gary Temple Ed Steffans OTHERS PRESENT: Bill Staudinger Chuck Rodgers Larry McCann Brad Wetch Ken Olson Steve Klotz Clint Reynolds Emie Freund Garbage collection at Sunhaven Trailer Court. Clint Reynolds is the new owner of Sun Haven Trailer Court. He also owns a trailer court in Lockwood, where he picks up the garbage, reads the water meters, and bills the residents for those services. A misunderstanding occurred between Public Works and Mr. Reynolds. When he inquired about installing water meters in the court, Larry told him that it could be done. He told Mr. Reynolds that each resident would require a curb stop and a remote read if the city is going to read them and bill the occupants. The owner only wants us to read the master meter for the whole park, and he will be responsible for the bill. The second problem was the issue of garbage pickup. City ordinance requires all residents to participate in our garbage system. Larry may have mistakenly told him that he could pick up the garbage, but his normal response is to say that he would check the ordinances. On October 27th, Larry received a copy of the new owner's roles that had been mailed to the occupants. The rules stated that the owner would be doing the garbage collection with 90-gallon cans on a once-a- week pickup. When Clint Reynolds arrived at the meeting, he explained that he uses his own automated 16- yard trash truck to collect the garbage at the Lockwood Trailer Court. Since he is responsible to maintain the roads in the trailer park, he emphasized that the use of the smaller truck would be less destructive to the roads than the larger 30-yard trucks, and he feels that the trash pickup is done more efficiently. Also, they pick up large items on a weekly basis, thereby keeping the trailer park cleaner and uncluttered. They would purchase new 90-gallon cans for the residents. He feels that the present 300-gallon containers are constantly in need of repair. It is his goal to present the park with a better image than it has previously had. Mr. Reynolds said that he would not have purchased the trailer park if he could not do the garbage pickup. Mr. Reynolds explained that by metering the tenants' water, it is easier to motivate them to be more careful about the amount of water they use and to see where the water is being wasted. Public Works Committee minutes of November 8, 1999 Mr. Reynolds asked the committee for direction regarding the next step necessary to allow him to do the trash pickup at the trailer park. Gay Easton appointed a task force to examine the garbage situation as it relates to the city ordinances. The task force will check with the city attorney regarding the request. The task force will consist of Bud Johnson, Chairman, Mark Mace and Ed Steffans. Mis .ty Ruttenbur - Complaint on requirements to comply with regulations. Misty Ruttenbur did not attend the Public Works Committee meeting. Steve Klotz checked to see if the Ruttenburs had complied with the city regulations before the committee meeting, and they had not done so. The committee had a lengthy discussion regarding the compliance letters that are sent to residents and the position taken by councilmen who are approached by angry constituents. Brad Wetch, a resident of Aider Ridge Trailer Court, received a letter requiring him to clean the gravel out of the curb. He has complied with the requirement, but he questioned why this type of curb is allowed in the subdivisions. Larry explained that the California curb is presently allowed under the present city ordinances, but it will not be allowed after the proposed roles and regulations are adopted. The new regulations would force the developer to install driveway approaches for new construction. Public Works is developing a sweeper schedule for the city streets for next year, and placing boards, gravel, and sheet metal ramps in the curb would not be allowed. Larry expects the new rules and regulations to be approved before December 31st. Brad also mentioned the need for stop signs in the area of East Maryland and Alder Avenue. Gay explained that this is done through a traffic study. Larry will add it to the traffic study that is being done for the City of Laurel. Emergency Generator at the Water Treatment Plant. As Y2K approaches, Montana Power Company intends to begin watching the electricity at midnight, east coast time, on December 31st. That gives them four hours to address any problems. The city does not have the capability to generate enough electricity to pump water for that amount of time. Larry checked into the costs involved to reserve a generator for the last day of the year. The cost to reserve a generator for two months in Billings is $4,500.00, starting December 1st. Ace Electric would require about eight hours to wire in the generator. The plan is to have the reservoirs full of water at midnight on December 31st. If we lose power, that gives us eight to ten hours to provide a solution. It would cost $1,200 to have the generator delivered on site, and an additional $1,200 to have it removed. Larry stated that it would be critical to continue the water supply, not only for the residents of the city, but also to protect the water lines from running dry. This could cause an inability to bring the chlorine up to required levels because of deposits in the line once any air gets in the lines, resulting in the costly replacement of water lines. Public Works Committee minutes of November 8, 1999 Motion by Gary Temple to recommend that the council approve reserving a generator at the supplier's location at a cost of $4,500.00, plus the cost of electrical installation, seconded by Bud Johnson. The committee discussed whether the generator should be transported to the Water Treatment Plant instead of remaining at the supplier's location. The cost to transport the generator would be $1,200 each way. Ace Electric has the equipment necessary to install the wiring for the generator, and Larry will talk to them regarding a commitment to install it. A $20,000 to $30,000 generator box would be required to have the generator wired in before it is absolutely necessary, so a box will not be installed. If it were necessary to use the generator, the electrician would disconnect the wires from Montana Power and wire them directly to the generator at that time. The generator would only be hooked up if Montana Power goes down. Gary Temple amended his motion to recommend that the council approve the expense of under $6,500.00 to reserve the generator and have it transported to the Water Treatment Plant, seconded by Ed Steffans. A vote was taken on the motion to amend the motion. Motion carried 5-1, with Bud Johnson voting nay. A vote was taken on the amended motion. Motion carried 6-0. EPA $300,00.0.00 Sustainable Development Grant. We are in the program for the $300,000 Sustainable Development Grant, and the selection will be made in April 2000. Yellowstone County was selected to receive the $300,000 Impact Grant. An administrator needs to be hired for that grant. A conference regarding how to mn these grants is scheduled to be held in Washington D.C. in December. Two people could attend, and Larry has requested that a City of Laurel representative be allowed to attend. Rod and Gun Club - Trap Shooting. Emie Freund explained that the club needed to move the trap house because the new owner of the neighboring land intends to put horses in the pasture and does not want the shooting to continue in the present direction. The owner wants the trap moved by February 2000. Gary Temple suggested that the Rod and Gun Club needs an expert to make sure they are conforming to EPA requirements. Motion by Lorraine Craig to allow the Rod and Gun Club to move their trap house, seconded by Gary Temple. Motion carried. Christmas Tree chipping. The Conservation Corp will have the Christmas tree chipping program available again this year. Containers to collect the trees are placed on Main Street and First Avenue. The chips have gone 3 Public Works Committee minutes of November 8, 1999 to Zoo Montana for the last three years, but they will not take all of it this year. Larry has asked for some of the chipping next year to use for the South Pond trails. The $500.00 will cover the cost of participating in the program last year and this year. Swimming pool - cost to repaint and the diving board. We spend $5,000 to $8,000 every year to patch the pool to make it useable for another season. However, we do not really know what is underneath the pool. A representative from Pools USA of Bismarck, North Dakota, recently inspected the pool. He estimated a cost of $16,450 to sandblast the pool, patch the cracks and repaint the pool. The State Health Department has determined that the baby pool is not on the chlorine system. We got t~ough the past season by sprinkling chlorine in the pool at two-hour intervals. Also, the baby pool requires a lifeguard, which is an extra cost. Larry said that many cities no longer have baby pools, but they provide a wading pool with a minimal amount of water. He suggested that the present baby pool could be made into a cement patio and a wading pool could be made elsewhere in the park. A wading pool would not require a lifeguard. Larry emphasized that we need to determine what is under the pool, what repairs need to be done, and whether or not the pool is feasibly repairable. The normal maintenance costs were included in this year's budget. The pool was shut down several times when the filters plugged up because the drains in the bottom of the pool suck everything down into them. When the filters are plugged, the proper chlorination levels carmot be maintained. Larry is uncertain as to why we were often unable to maintain the state requirement for clarity to the bottom of the pool this past summer. The new filtration system would allow the water to be moved properly, but it would not address the piping issue. One of the proposals is to remove the deck, dig down to find all of the pipes, extend a pipe to the baby pool, put in PVC pipe and then repour the whole thing. There was discussion about the type of pipe that is presently under the pool. It was suggested that it would be feasible to use the money that was budgeted for the filtration system to do the project proposed by Pools USA. Fire Inspector position interviews. There were two applicants for the Fire Inspector position. Mayor Rodgers, Duke Nieskens and Larry McCann will be interviewing the applicants on November l0th at 10:30 a.m. Maintenance worker position interviews. There were a good number of applicants for the maintenance worker position. The interview board will consist of Gay Easton, Smokey Staudinger, Roger Briggs, Mayor Rodgers, Duke Nieskens, Andy Loebe and Larry McCarm. The interviews will be held the week of November 15th. 4 Public Works Committee minutes of November 8, 1999 Branstetter - legal action. The city's insurance company has turned this case over to the law firm of Moulton, Bellingham, Longo & Mather. We have completed and sent in our reports regarding this incident that occurred in July 1999. Thomae Lumber. More residents have complained recently about the condition of the streets and the unloading zone at Thomae Lumber. The current ordinance gives Thomae the right to use Wyoming and Washington Avenues as unloading zones. The street is in definite need of repair. If the council wants to continue to allow Thomae to use the streets for unloading, the street needs to be improved to a level that would allow the street to handle forklifts with narrow tires. That would be an expensive project, probably $30,000 to $40,000. The committee had a lengthy discussion about this issue. Bud Johnson questioned whether or not the state is aware that the street is used for unloading. Public Works will visit with Mr. Thomae about the issue. He will suggest that Thomae could blacktop their parking lot and use it for unloading purposes. Enforcement of City Ordinances. Larry stated that it is easier for Public Works to deal with complaints from constituents if councilmen support the department's policies. The proper processes and procedures will be easily defined after the adoption of the Rules and Regulations Manual. The committee discussed the issue with regard to a recent complaint from a citizen regarding enforcement of ordinances. There was a lengthy discussion about the wording of non-compliance letters, education of citizens about regulations, and various aspects of this issue. Bud suggested that education of regulations could be sent with the water bills. He stated that people might be responding to the treatment they receive rather than the rule that is being enforced. Steve Klotz has changed the wording of the letters to make them friendlier, and the letters offer the opportunity to contact him with questions or concerns. Bud emphasized that a definite procedure needs to be followed to get on the agenda with complaints. Town Pump building permit update. Town Pump has been issued a stop work order on their remodel project. The City of Laurel will enforce compliance with our codes, and they will not be allowed to do what they did the last time they remodeled their building. They submitted plans that were not to scale. Landscaping will be required. Intake channel bids. Bids were received for digging a channel from the river to the intake. Ganco Environmental Construction, out of Portland, Oregon, bid $41,437.92. Cop Construction bid $47,862.00. Larry anticipates that the low bidder might present some change orders. Cop Construction measured Public Works Committee minutes of November 8, 1999 and surveyed the bottom of the river. Larry estimated it to be 378 cubic yards, but Cop measured it at 458 cubic yards. Larry recommended accepting the bid from Cop Construction, since they have done work on the project in the past. The work needs to be done before bad weather sets in, and the other company would have to transport their equipment to the site. The committee agreed to ask Joe Leckie to review the bid process to see if the higher bid could be accepted. Gay Easton stated that the committee accepted the high and low bids and the information would be turned over to Larry and Joe for research and review. The matter will be on the November 16th agenda. Work truck bids. Work truck bids were received from three dealers: Laurel Ford bid $13,952.00 with a ten-week delivery; Montana Dodge bid $13,988.00 with a 50-day delivery; and Archie Cochrane Motors bid $15,660.00 on an in-stock truck. Public Works recommended accepting the bid from Laurel Ford. Motion by Gary Temple to recommend that the council approve the bid from Laurel Ford for $13,952.00 with a ten-week delivery, seconded by Mark Mace. Motion carried. Jet Rodder bids due 11-12-99. The bids for the jet redder are due on November 12th and should be under $100,000. The bids were put out for a new jet redder or a 1999 demonstration unit. The committee recommended accepting the low bid. This item will be on the November 16th agenda. Cemetery fire insurance payoff and costs. There is a $6,000 difference between the cost of the new cemetery building and the settlement fi:om the insurance company. The restroom is now inside the building, and a 12-foot door was installed to accommodate the equipment. The insurance company will pay the total cost to replace the lawnmower with a demonstration model from Yellowstone Implement, and we can keep the old lawnmower. The insurance company will pay the cost of $28,000 to repair the backhoe. RDO Equipment would not guarantee the condition of the backhoe. RDO Equipment has a backhoe available for $41,000, and they are trying to find out what the government discount would be. The insurance company will allow us to sell the old backhoe. Larry is hoping that the cost of another backhoe and the sale of the old ene would make the cost even. If not, money that was budgeted for a man lift could be used for this expense. Request for proposals - Corp of Engineers recommendations for weirs and water intake design problems. The city will have to request for proposals for the engineering on the weirs. Larry wants to include the water intake design problems in the request for proposals so the problems are fixed simultaneousl.~. Any comments on the draf~ from the Corps of Engineers are needed by November 15~'. The cost of the bendway weirs would be about $160,000. 6 Public Works Committee minutes of November 8, 1999 UNSCHEDULED MATTERS. Resolution for annexation of park into the ci .ty~. Although Ken Olson did not yet have a resolution for the annexation of the park into the city, he asked the committee to consider recommending approval of this resolution. This park would be used jointly with the school system, the City of Laurel and the Laurel Soccer Club. Motion by Gary Temple to recommend approval of the annexation of the county park into the City of Laurel, based upon Ken Olson's description, seconded by Ed Steffans. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cindy Allen City Council Secretary 7