|
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.
1. Introductions/Roll Call
Commission members present: Steve Gjerdingen, Dwayne Stenlund, Jan Vanderwall and Jim DeBenedet
Commission members absent: Joan Felice
Staff present: Duane Schwartz, PW Director
Others present: None
2. Public Comments
No public comments however Member Vanderwall mentioned the Taste of Rosefest is on Thursday night and is open to the public.
Member Stenlund mentioned the idea of storm water management drain construction on Roselawn. There has been a fair amount of water which can cause difficulties for the public. He also mentioned the contractor has an obligation to keep the streets open.
3. Approval of May 26, 2009 Meeting Minutes
Member DeBenedet asked about item three on the May 26, 2009 meeting minutes. The member’s name of who seconded the motion to approve the April 26, 2009 meeting minutes at the next meeting was missing from the minutes. Member Vanderwall seconded the motion.
Member DeBenedet pointed out the wording at the bottom of page four of the May 26, 2009 meeting minutes should be changed from “storm water away from the site” to “storm water on site.”
Member DeBenedet requested to have the numbered list of conditions for Bituminous Roadways from the City Council meeting be added to the May 26, 2009 meeting minutes at the top of page six.
Member Vanderwall moved to approve the May 26, 2009 meeting minutes at the next meeting after these changes have been made.
4. Communication Items
Construction Update
Duane Schwartz mentioned the construction updates that were given to the commission members. One project is the Roselawn project which is continuing with utility work and curb and gutter work.
Duane Schwartz announced the City Council awarded the bid for the Twin Lakes project to Eureka Construction in Lakeville. The contractor has started with tree removal just south of County Road C2.
Duane Schwartz mentioned the Snelling Avenue MnDOT project is underway with some delays. There will be some additional road closures.
Duane Schwartz mentioned that Ramsey County has completed the mill and overlay on County Road B west of Snelling. Rice Street has also been milled and will be paved later in the week.
Member Stenlund mentioned the contractor for the Roselawn project has not been protecting inlets properly and have made it very difficult for the public to get through. He suggested the commission take a field trip out to the site to see first hand what is happening to the road.
Member Vanderwall asked Duane Schwartz how the Twin Lakes bid outcome was compared to what he was expecting. Duane Schwartz responded it was 16% under the engineer’s estimate. The City Council did award two of the alternates. One was the building demolition and the other was to have the storm water reuse facility connected to Roseville’s SCADA to be monitored remotely. Duane Schwartz mentioned the Public Works staff decided to stay with the LED lighting for the project. The staff also chose to not accept the alternate raingarden landscaping proposed for the project due to the uncertainty of where driveways would go.
Member Stenlund asked if it would be possible for the commission to go hear someone talk about or for someone to come and talk to them about porous concrete that Shoreview is using. Member Stenlund stated he is interested in the process of how this is used and feel this could possibly have future applications in the City of Roseville.
Member Vanderwall suggested having photographs taken instead of the members going out to see the project in person since things are changing each day on the project.
Duane Schwartz mentioned a water main project that was bid on a year ago but the bids were rejected. The project will be out for bid again this year with a different approach.
Duane Schwartz talked about another project that is out for bid right now for TH 280 Lift Station PaCal site connecting to Lauderdale.
Duane Schwartz mentioned the Shoreview Green Community awards. There were eight total applicants, two applicants were from Roseville. There will be a self guided tour on August 1st and 2nd.
5. Topics for June 29, 2009 Joint City Council / PWETC Discussion
Member DeBenedet asked to verify the time of the meeting. Duane Schwartz answered the meeting will start around 6:15pm.
Duane Schwartz stated the City Council wants a list of topics before the meeting. Topics that were mentioned at a previous meeting were:
· Organized waste collection
· Trail and path funding
· Financial Policy related to assessments
Member Vanderwall mentioned the topic of long term funding for infrastructure. Member DeBenedet stated this is an adequate maintenance effort as an ongoing investment to preserve infrastructure in the most cost effective manor. Member Vanderwall stated this should be applied to not only street projects but also other things like sewer.
Member Stenlund suggested to go along with this topic to look at was done in the past year for infrastructure.
Member Stenlund suggested the topic of asking the City Council what roll is for the PWET Commission and are there standards for how the commission should operate.
Member Vanderwall stated he was concerned about taking too much time in the meeting going over what was done in the past year.
Member Vanderwall suggested the topic of how the Twin Lakes project is a form of payback. Member DeBenedet stated the City Council is more involved in this project than the commission is because of the financial aspect so this may not be a good topic to discuss at the Joint Meeting.
Member Vanderwall suggested a topic to discuss with the City Council would be the Highway 36 and Rice Street interchange layout recommendations dealing with the pathway.
Member Vanderwall also suggested the topics of the Twin Lakes Storm Water Management design and erosion control ordinance control and enforcement.
Member Vanderwall suggested investigating the idea of sweeping the streets a second time during the year after the seeds have fallen from the trees. Assets are not in place yet to do this however.
Member DeBenedet restated the list of topics to be discussed at the Joint Meeting:
· Assistance to the City Council as to the review of the asphalt plant aspects
· Review of the Rice Street and Highway 36 interchange
· Twin Lakes storm water plant
· Storm Water Report
· Discussion with Eureka recycling a second clean up date
Member Gjerdingen asked about the out of date minutes for the PWETC meetings on the City website. Duane Schwartz stated he would discuss this with his staff to get it updated.
Duane Schwartz asked if discussing the organized waste collection topic should be discussed at the Joint Meeting. Member DeBenedet stated it should be discussed.
6. Rice Street Interchange Noise Wall Process and Bridge Aesthetics Presentation
Duane Schwartz presented an overview of the project that will be shown to the City Council. The presentation started with a map of the project. Duane Schwartz stated since there is federal funding for this project, an environmental impact review is required. 69 decibels is the key value used to trip a federal funding mechanism for noise abatement on highway projects. According to traffic noise analysis regulations, Rice Street and County Road B are exempt from state noise standards. The standards for Highway 36 are 65 decibels during the day and 55 decibels at night.
The project is required to conduct an impact analysis by collecting data, run computer models and assesses the results. If necessary a mitigation assessment would then be done. In a mitigation assessment a mitigation analysis would be conducted by locating barriers and running computer models to determine cost effectiveness and acoustical effectiveness. The results of this analysis show both sides of Highway 36 experience noise levels above State Standards today. A noise wall along the south side of Highway 36 did not meet MnDOT’s cost effectiveness criteria therefore the following results will focus on the North West quadrant of the interchange.
Impact analysis results of the area north of Highway 36 show the current levels for night time range from 58 to 67 decibels and the projected levels range from 59 to 67 decibels. The standard level is 55 decibels. The current levels for daytime range from 65 to 68 decibels and the projected levels range from 65 to 69 decibels. The standard level is 65 decibels. Since these levels exceed the standards, a Mitigation Assessment is necessary.
In the Mitigation Assessment, noise barriers were modeled. On the north side of Highway 36, west of Rice Street a 20 foot high wall would meet the MnDOT Reasonability Criteria. 41 residents would receive a 5 decibel reduction or greater.
Local communities are given the opportunity to approve proposed noise walls. Noise walls that meet the cost effectiveness criteria but are not approved by the local government are not constructed. A municipal resolution is needed for or against noise barrier along the north side of Highway 36. Notices have been sent out to residents to get feedback on the proposed noise wall.
Member DeBenedet asked what the cost is of the proposed noise wall. Duane Schwartz answered noise walls cost generally about $1,500,000.00 per mile. This wall will be about a half mile so the cost would be about $750,000.00. The project as a whole does not have funding yet.
Member Vanderwall asked if the City Council approves this now but in a couple years once the final plans are ready, can the City Council back out of it. Duane Schwartz stated he did not have an answer for this. Member DeBenedet stated it was possible for the City Council to back out of the decision.
Member Vanderwall mentioned the type of material on the roadway makes a difference with noise too. Asphalt is much less noisy than concrete so if that changes the noise level will change.
Duane Schwartz showed pictures of what the Highway 36 / Rice Street Bridge will look like and landscaping drawings.
Member DeBenedet asked if all the drawings that were shown are alternative looks to choose from or are they different views of the same thing. Member Stenlund answered they are different views of they same bridge.
Member DeBenedet asked if a sign could be added to the bridge with “Welcome to Roseville” on it. Duane Schwartz answered there are federal highway regulations that prohibit wording on the bridge. A rose shape or leaves could be added however.
7. 2010 Public Works Budget Overview
Duane Schwartz stated the overall funding to maintain 2009 level of service will fall short by approximately $1,000,000. This is an 8% shortfall without any increases in spending.
Duane Schwartz listed the separate areas of Public Works:
Streets
Supply budget to sealcoat 15 miles per year will need to increase 30.3%. Contracts for pavement striping or other maintenance and depreciation of equipment would require a 342.9% increase since there was reduced funding in 2009. Staff has reduced equipment request in response to finding shortfalls.
Garage Maintenance
This area does maintenance on its city vehicles
Building Maintenance
This area set a goal of a 5% reduction in energy and fuel use. So far this year the City has had a 3.3% reduction. Building energy savings has been about 12%.
Street lighting
In 2008 street light costs were $172,582. The projected number for 2009 is $200,000. This is an area where funding could be considered from a streetlight utility.
Funding for streetscape maintenance and pathway maintenance had a $20,000 deficit for 2009. Utility costs for water, sanitary and storm are expected to increase 5-6%.
Member DeBenedet mentioned current budget for the State of Minnesota is using borrowing to fund the budget which could be a mess in the long term.
Member DeBenedet asked if we could fund street sweeping with storm water utility fees. Duane Schwartz answered they already are funded this way.
Member DeBenedet asked about the funding for an inspector for erosion control being covered by permit fees. Duane Schwartz answered they are working on creating a position to do this along with other duties as well.
8. Organized Waste Collection Reports
Duane Schwartz stated that organized waste collection is supported by the haulers. This process is very lengthy. Suggestions from other cities are to be prepared for many questions from residents and haulers.
Member DeBenedet suggested for item 28 on the report that the net annual cost should go down. Duane Schwartz agreed with this.
Member DeBenedet stated one advantage to this for the waste collection haulers is getting paid by the City instead of residents.
Duane Schwartz stated billing can either be one bill from the City or the hauler could bill the residents individually.
Member Stenlund stated concern with not having the funding to keep up with the maintenance of the roads due to the deterioration from the waste collectors because of the starting and stopping of the vehicles.
Duane Schwartz mentioned there have been studies on the deterioration of the roads by Fort Collins, Colorado.
Member Gjerdingen asked if there would be a pick up for other items like electronics. Duane Schwartz stated perhaps a recycling or once a year pickup for items like this could be added to the contract.
Member DeBenedet mentioned places like Best Buy have programs to recycle electronics. Duane Schwartz stated manufacturers are required to fund programs like this as well.
9. Agenda for Next Meeting on July 28, 2009.
- Draft Illicit Discharge Ordinance Discussion
- Draft Storm Water Fee Reduction Policy Discussion
- Capital Improvement Plan Update
10. Adjournment
|