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06-05-87 Public Works Comm MinutesJune 5, 1987 PUBLIC WORKS COMPIITTEE 8:00 A.M. Chairman Ruiz and Councilman Schindler in attendance. Mayor Kennedy, DPW Hammer, Surveyor Zavodny, Construction Inspector Van Dyke, Street Superintendent Brady, Fire Chief Larson, Asst. Fire Chief Waggener, Herb Sandon, Kyle Yearout (Aamco) and Laurel Alexander (Taco Johns) also present. There was pre -meeting discussion of the status of various reconstruction projects. SANDON CURBING - Mayor Kennedy stated that this was added to the agenda because of letters received from Marriott Concrete objecting to the quality of the curbing on Kinshella and Husky and the accusation that the curbing did not meet City Standards. C. Ruiz said he and C. Schindler had met and inspected the curbing. DPW Hammer stated that he had required Sandon to tear our and replace 80 feet, and that the curb was basically a good curb but off on the width. Mr. Sandon Felt that it was not so much the specifications as it was the end of an era - forms vs. machine curbing. C. Schindler pointed out that the machine was much faster and able to keep up with our accelerated street reconstruction schedule. St. Supt. Brady stated that he has tested the strength of the curbing and proven it because loaded trucks had driven" over it the day after it was poured. Mr. Sandon explained that the questionable curbing had been the first of the year and the problems had been corrected. DPW Hammer, when told that the curbing was 1 - 1'2 inches short compared it to the existing curbing in the area, which was laid by either Bell or Marriott • several years ago, and found that curb short also. Surveyor Zavodny relayed that C. Nystul had said to him that two councilmen could not make a decision to over -ride specifications that had been approved by 8 council members. C. Ruiz stated again that he and C. Schindler had not made a decision, but had given an opinion when they were ased to do so, and had left the decision up to the paid professionals on the staff. TACO JOHNS DRAINAGE PROBLEMS - Surveyor Zavodny drew an illustration on the board showing the present drainage linewhich runs from the Taco Johns basement to the curb, the suggested line which would run from the basement to the storm drain at the corner of Main and W. Montana, and the area of curbing and street damaged by the drainage. He explained that when Oscar Olson replaced the curbing along Montana Street in 1985 he told the Public Works Department that there were problems in the building requiring a sump pump. The two alternatives to solve the problem were to install it as it is, which was cheaper, or to go directly to the storm drain, which was more expensive. The problem is that this sump pump runs at least several hours a day, 365 days a year, and because of that it has ruined the curb and street between where it empties into the gutter and Main Street where the storm drain is. Laurel Alexander, owner of Taco Johns, pointed out that at the time of the main break in Main Street there was water running over the lot and it caused damage to the parking lot and the sidewalk. There was some discussion of the source of the water that must be pumped - including old service lines the City is not aware of, underground springs, main leaks, and finally the water table. Ms. Alexander felt that the amount of pumping was increasing. DPW Hammer stated that two things needed to be answered: What is the source, and once that information is available, who is responsible. If there is a leak in the main, the City is responsible, if not, the City is not responsible. It was agreed that the Water Department would try again to discover the source. It was also agreed that Ms. Alexander would turn off the sump pump and see how high the water rose, on the assumption that if it was ground water it would seek its own level and go no further. At the time of typing these minutes it appears that this was a groundwater problem, but that will be verified further. PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE June 5, 1987 Page 2 AAMCO CURB CUT - Kyle Yearout, owner, in a previous agreement with the City, was to widen the curb cut that serves the garage door at the rear of his building off 2nd Street West, and eliminate the curb cut on the same street near the corner. He is now requesting that he be allowed to leave the curb cut close to the corner as it is, as well as widening the one according to the original agreement. The Committee based it's past decision on the fact that the widening of the curb cut would result in the loss of several parking spaces, so they would allow the widening by eliminating the cut closest to the corner. This would also bring the curb cuts in line with present policy that a cut should be 30' from the corner for safety purposes. A variety of possible entrance and exit scenarios were discussed. DPW Hammer stated that his recommendation would be to stay with the original agreement. The Committee asked Mr. Yearout to work out whatever details he could with the Public Works Department and bring them before the Council on June 15th. CENTRAL GARAGE BUDGEV CERTIFICATION OF AERIAL LADDER TRUCK - Chief -Larson explained the need to certify the ladder truck and the events that have led up to this point. This must be done every three years, but this year they hired Underwriter's Labratories to do the certification and they found deficiencies that had been there since the truck came from the factory, but had not been • found before. The cost to the Central Garage budget to take care of the deficiencies is approximately $1200. And the time limit is July 7. If they go beyond that it will cost an additional $500 to bring the inspector back again. C. Schindler asked how many fires had been fought with the truck since it was purchased in 1978 and the Chief responded that there had been three. New trucks coming from the factory are certified. DPW Hammer stated that he had put a hold on the Central Garage budget because he was out of funds, and explained that the reason for the shortage of funds was because he had asked for the same budget this year as he had previously, and planned to hire a third mechanic. The Council chose to deny the third mechanic, and at the same time cut $37,000 in addition. All equipment maintenance items such as these for the ladder truck come under this budget (administrative transfer). It was decided that the work would be done and Chief Larson will check with the companies providing the parts and labor to make sure that payment can be made after July 1, therefore out of the new budget year. LANDSCAPING ALONG HIGHWAY 93 SOUTH - DPW Hammer explained that Construction Inspector Van Dyke has spoken with the adjacent property owners and all are willing to do the maintenance except two. The Street Department will tear out the asphalt and put in black dirt sometime this summer. SUNSET BOULEVARD/SPEED ZONE CHANGE - DPW Hammer stated that he talked with John Marin of the State Highway Department and this matter must be taken up on the Council floor as an information item. A Public Hearing is not required. Once it is in the minutes the 60 day protest period will begin. Depending on the response the Highway Department will carry out the plan or change it. • Mayor Kennedy and several council members indicated they had already received negative input. REMOVAL OF MEDIANS was also discussed. DPW Hammer reported that after the Highway Department denied this request he met with John Marin and he agreed to remove the medians from half a block south of Wyoming Street north. The State will also attempt to make a left -turn lane. , PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE June 5, 1987 Page 3 THIRD AVENUE EAST (SOUTH) - It was reported that Surveyor Zavodny had researched the ownership of this street and had convinced the County Road Superintendent to cooperate in the rebuilding of this stretch if the City will annex the street and therefore maintain it in the future. The City will provide the engineering and labor, the County will provide a front-end loader, tandems, pit run, and paver. CALL FOR BIDS FOR VEHICLE STORAGE BUILDING - The Committee to Council approval for calling for bids for the storage building. DPW Hammer explained that the bids call for either a wood or metal structure so that the best price can be obtained. CALL FOR BIDS FOR FUEL SYSTEM - The Committee will recommend approval to call for bids to the Council. ORDERING IN CURBS ON WEST MONTANA, 4TH STREET EAST AND 6TH STREET EAST - The Committee will call for bids for West Montana between 5th and 8th Streets West (which will totally complete the reconstruction of Montana Street), and for 4th Street East between wnd and 3rd Avenues, and for 6th Street East between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. C. Schindler asked about the area at 4th Street and 4th Avneue East. This area must be reconstructed for several blocks in each • direction in order to solve the drainage problems. It is on next year's recon- struction schedule. Since the heaving is such a problem it was decided that the Street Department will dig out as large an area as necessary and lay some asphalt. This should solve the problem until it can be reconstructed next year. DPW Hammer explained that LHC had offered to excavate Montana Street at no charge to the City in order to get the job done. HELMAN/ZAUNER REQUEST RE: SYLVAN COURT - The street in question is the one the City agreed to pave for the O'neil's when they were planning to subdivide, which they are no longer going to do because it would not have been cost effective. DPW Hammer said he had no problem paving a 14' to 16' stretch to the end of the Helman and Zauner driveways. C. Schindler pointed out that they are both paying corner lot assessments, which are for streets on two sides. It was mentioned that there may be possible development of condominiums on the O'Neil property by Fred Zauner. Surveyor Zavodny reminded the committee that the City will still owe the O'Neils a favor to balance a previous agreement. The question was asked if the City would do the driveways at the same time, and charge the owners. DPW Hammer stated he would not go on private property as it would set a precident. CRACK SEALING MACHINE/REVENUE SHARING - DPW Hammer explained that there is $8900 left in Street Department revenue sharing funds after the purchase of the snow plow. Since the Street Department must come up with $22,000 that was not budgeted for to cover the extra paving on Sylvan Court he requested that this revenue sharing money be put toward the crack sealer. The sealer will cost less than $10,000, so to avoid the delay, and because they have • researched and will be purchasing the machine receommended by both the state and county they will not go out for bids. The machine will be purchased from a Bozeman distributor and should be available 45 days from date of order. The funds will need to be re -allocated. PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE June 5, 1987 Page 4 DPW Hammer told the committee that in the next several weeks the Street Department will have completed 12 - 14 blocks of totally reconstructed streets. If he is given an additional $125,000 from tax increment in the next budget year he can overlay 30 - 40 blocks. He compared overlaying with chip sealing and explained where each would be best used. The overlay adds 10 - 15 years of life to the street. DPW Hammer also told the committee that the STreet Department was on target both with the reconstruction schedule and the budget. GARBAGE DEPARTMENT - DPW Hammer reported that Rick Baker and Gene Lauman had been hired back for one week to replace the defective lids. The universal arm is here but not yet installed. County residents using City containers were discussed, as well as the fact that there doesn't seem to be any recourse with teeth. C. Schindler will research this and report back to the Committee. The dog catcher position was discussed in light of the closure of the dog pound. Mayor Kennedy said that Dr. Ross has a kennel the City can use and the City Attorney is checking on liability. The City is also checking - into shared running of the dog pound with the City of Kalispell. BETHLEHEM LUTHERAN CHURCH HANDICAP PARKING - This was passed to the Safety Committee. • ajg Is