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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial City Council Minutes 10.28.2004MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF LAUREL October 28, 2004 A Special meeting of the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, was held in the Council Chambers and called to order by Mayor Ken Olson at 5:00 p.m. on October 28, 2004. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Dick Fritzler Kate Stevenson Gay Easton Jennifer Johnson COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None Doug Poehls Mark Mace Daniel Dart John Oakes Others attending: City Attorney Sam Painter, Public Works Director Steve Klotz, and City Clerk/Treasurer Mary Embleton The special meeting was called for the purpose of acting on the fiscal requirements of the 6th Street Project between First and Second Avenues. PUBLIC INPUT: None Adopt Resolution No. R04-110 approving a contract with JEM Construction in accordance with JEM's estimated and proposed cost of rebuilding 6t~ Street between First and Second Avenues RESOLUTION NO. R04-110: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN A CONTRACT WITH JEM ENTERPRISES FOR PAVING, SIDEWALK AND CURB AND GUTTER ALONG A PORTION OF 6xn STREET IN LAUREL, MONTANA. Motion by Alderman Fritzler to adopt Resolution No. R04-110, seconded by Alderwoman Stevenson. Discussion ensued. Alderman Dart asked if the $16,824.76 invoiced is part of the original $23,728.60 contract. Public Works Director Klotz stated that it was part of the original estimate. Alderman Mace asked for an explanation of the project. Public Works Director Klotz stated that the sub-grade, which is what is below the pavement, is clay. Normally it is dry under the asphalt. There are areas in town where there were old swamps, and the clay is saturated and very soft. In these areas, as the sub-grade clay becomes saturated with water, it causes the paving to heave up. For this project, when the loader was digging out an area, it broke throUgh a crest, and they encountered a wet area of unknown size. Heavy equipment was sinking into the area. There are two ways to fix this: dig it all out, which would require a track hoe, or build a "bridge" over the top of it to support the asphalt. A similar situation was encountered on another street: a track hoe was used to excavate the material four feet down, and then it was filled with pit nm gravel. For this project, the "bridge" method is recommended, because if it were excavated, more of the soft saturated clay fills the hole, and jeopardizes the sub-grade of the adjacent sidewalks, buildings, etc. It is proposed to use fabric under the geo-grid; anchor the geo-grid with rocks; then a layer of gravel, millings, and more gravel. Then, use light tracks to bring in pavement to bridge the area as it is rigid material. Concrete would be the best material to use, but it is too expensive. This will result in a 1½-inch lift, which will not be level. The second 1 ½-inch lift will then act as the leveling layer. The final lift (layer) will be 3 inches, which was the original design. Due to the sub-base issue, this street design life of 20 years is now decreased to 10 or 15 years. Klotz also stated that asphalt plants stay open as long as weather dictates, up to Thanksgiving. Alderwoman Johnson asked if there are any bad water or sewer lines under this street. Public Works Director stated that this project was chosen for the amount of traffic in the area, and that there are no lines underneath to replace. Alderman Dart stated that :he appreciated the complexity of this project. He also stated that he has difficulty with the process. He has been questioned why this project has taken so long, now almost two months. He asked if this could have been expedited more quickly. Klotz stated that this project Special Council Minutes of October 28, 2004 took longer because the city used their own staff to do some of the excavating, and they were untrained and were ming new equipment. Then the concrete work was done for the curb and gutter, and needed time to cure (about 10 days). After that, the contractor started with the blue-topping material. Staff worked with the post office to keep the access open as much as possible. Klotz went on to explain that he was not aware that a resolution was needed at the beginning of the project. The estimate came in under $25,000 so a purchase requisition was prepared for the Budget/Finance Committee for approval in September. He was also unaware that a contract was needed since the project was less than $25,000. The city attorney is currently working on contract requirements for projects less than $25,000. Alderman Easton spoke in defense of this project. The high water table in this town is always a factor when excavating the streets. The same type of situation occurred several years ago on Wyoming. The city requested funding for salinity study through the Department of Natural Resources a couple of years ago, but was not successful. This should be pursued. Hydrostatic pressure is and will continue to be at issue when construction is performed in Laurel. He further stated that this project should be completed as proposed, since it could otherwise take all winter to dry out. Alderman Easton stated concern that the same issues could be encountered in the East First Street project planned for this spring. Alderman Oakes asked how much more this project will cost the city. PWD Klotz answered that of the original $23,768.60 estimate, $16,824.76 has been done, and it is estimated it will take another $27,000 to complete the project. The extra time and materials will not exceed $20,000, for a total estimated cost of $43,800. Alderman Oakes asked if there was any guarantee that this proposal will stabilize the street. Klotz answered that the materials are already in there, and there is no guarantee. Concrete would have been better. Mayor Olson stated that the PWD was in constant contact with the mayor, and was kept informed of the time frames and anticipated problems. He may have failed to bring it forWard to the council. If the council's constituents have questions} please bring them forward to the mayor or staff. The question was called. Motion tarried 8-0. Adopt Resolution No. R04-111 modifying the construction contract with JEM Construction for the purpose of rebuilding 6t" Street between First and Second Avenues resulting from the existence of unknown subsurface conditions constituting an emergency for the City. RESOLUTION NO. R04-111: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN A CHANGE ORDER TO AUTHORIZE ADDITIONAL WORK ON 6TM STREET. Motion by Alderwoman Johnson to adopt Resolution No. R04-111, seconded by Alderman Oakes. There was no discussion. Motion carried 8-0. ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Alderman Mace to adjourn the council meeting, seconded by Alderman Poehls. Motion carried 8-0. · There being no further business to come before the council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 5:40 p.m. eton, Clerk-Treasurer Approved by the Mayor and passed by the City Council of the City of Laurel, Montana, this 16th day of November, 2004. Attest: /~rmeth E. Olso~,,yI~Iayor ~~leton, clerk-Treasurer