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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-15-1999CITY OF AUBURN .PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES SEPTEMBER 15, 1999 I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 4:35 p.m. Those in attendance were Mayor Booth, Committee Chairman Rich Wagner, Council/Committee member Gene Cerino, and Council/Committee member Fred Poe. Staff in attendance were Public Works Director Christine Engler, City Engineer Dennis Dowdy, Utilities Engineer Dwight Holobaugh, Storm Drainage Engineer Tim Carlaw, Water Utility Engineer Lara McKinnon, Sewer Utility Engineer Jeff Roscoe, Utilities Technician Darcie Hanson, GIS Coordinator JR Smith, Contracts Administrator Caroline Bergt, Construction Assistant Terry Badgley, Finance Director Diane Supler, Financial Operations Manager Sheri Crawford, and Engineering Aide Pam Miller. Guests in attendance were Mark Utting, Pacific Groundwater Group; Cathy Carr, CCS; and Darrel Gordon. II. CONSENT A. RIGHT-OF-WAY USE PERMIT 99-26, AUBURN PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, FOR VETERANS DAY PARADE Right-of-Way Use Permit No. 99-26' would allow the Auburn Parks and Recreation Department to use City Streets on Saturday, November 6, 1999, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for the City's Annual Veterans Day Parade. There was no discussion. B. RIGHT-OF-WAY USE PERMIT 99-27, AUBURN PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, FOR HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL Right-of-Way Use Permit No. 99-27 would allow the Auburn Parks and Recreation Department to use Main Street, from Auburn Way to 'B' Street NW, on Saturday, October 30, from 1:30-5:30 p.m., for their Annual Halloween Festival. There was no discussion. C. AMENDMENT #2 TO AGREEMENT NO. AG-C-14 WITH ECONOMIC ENGINEERING' SERVICES Amendment #2 to Agreement AG-C-14 with Economic Engineering Services adds to the Scope of Work Task #9, "Monitoring at Coal Creek Springs and West Hill Springs Groundwafe~ 'Under the Influence Determination." At the request of the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), tests will be conducted to determine if the Coal Creek Springs and West Hill Springs are groundwater sources under the influence of surface water. The implication._s o.f this study are significant. If our groundwater is found to be under the influence of surface water, we could be required to install and operate treatment facilities. EES has the expertise to ensure that the monitoring protocol and sampling is done accurately. Total compensation for services for this amendment shall not exceed $38,636. The estimated cost breakdown by year per EES is as follows: $19,000 in 1999; $19,636 in 2000. There is adequate budget in this year's Professional Services Budget, while the proposed year 2000 budget for this project is $35,000 within the Professional Services budget, line item 800.41. This amendment will increase the total contract amount to $1,151,230, of which $1,112,594 is funded by Project No. PR629, Corrosion Control. PUBLIC WORKS'COMMIq"I'EE MINUTES SEPTEMBER 15, 1999 Page 2 of 6 Public Works Director Engler clarified that the work authorized in this amendment has nothing to do with the Corrosion Control Project. In response to a question from the Committee, Water Utility Engineer McKinnon stated that this sampling is not related to the sampling on the north collector. McKinnon said we are in the process of determining whether or not our groundwater sources are under the influence of surface water, and the first step is to see if there is such a trend. If a trend is noted, EES will begin taking detailed samples. It was moved by Poe, with concurrence from Wagner, to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion carried. III. ISSUES A. RESOLUTION NO. 3115, PAYBACK AGREEMENT WITH FINKBEINER DEVELOPMENT. Resolution No. 3115 authorizes the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a Payback Agreement with Finkbeiner Development. In 1997, Finkbeiner Development completed the Facility Extension (FAC 0024-95) for water and sanitary sewer facilities to serve a new plat (Ridge at Willow Park). The water and : sanitary sewer utilities were extended to and through their property and provide benefit to adjacent parcels that currently do not have water and sanitary sewer service. The City of Auburn has established a Payback Agreement to provide reimbursement to the developer for the benefit received by the adjacent property owners. In response to questions from the Committee, staff clarified that the agreement does not guarantee, the City will pay the developer from City funds the amounts shown recorded against the property. It was moved by Poe, seconded by Cerino, that the Committee recommend Council adopt Resolution No. 3115. Motion carried. B. RESOLUTION NO. 3116, PAYBACK AGREEMENT WITH KS CONSTRUCTION Resolution No. 3116 authorizes the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a Payback Agreement with KS Construction. In 1997, K.~' i:3~nstruciion completed the Facility Extension (FAC0001-96) for water and sanitary sewer facilities to serve their property. The water and sanitary sewer utilities were extended through their property and provide, benefit to adjacent parcels that currently do not have publi.~; Water and sanitary sewer service. The City of Auburn has established a Payback Agreement to provide reimbursement to the developer for the benefit received by the adjacent property owners. There was no discussion. Motion was made by Poe, seconded by Cerino, that the Committee recommend Council adopt Resolution No. 3116. Motion carried. PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES SEPTEMBER 15, 1999 Page 3 of 6 C. RESOLUTION NO. 3110, AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF A POLE ATTACHMENT AGREEMENT WITH PUGET SOUND ENERGY Resolution No. 3110 was presented as an agenda modification, and authorizes the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a Pole Attachment Agreement with Puget Sound Energy. The Agreement will allow the City to expand its telecommunications cable network from City Hall to off-site locations. The $1,000 fee is designed to recover the average costs of executing an agreement of this nature and includes costs for: administrative labor to process the agreement, engineering labor to review and approve the application and installation, clerical labor to record the attachments in the computerized engineering system so that if a pole sustains damage, the City is notified quickly, and attorney review fees. The fee will be paid 'from the City's communications budget, which is administered by the Finance Department. Puget Sound Energy charges annual rental rates to private utility companies, but offers municipalities an agreement and asks for only reimbursement of the costs associated with executing the agreement in lieu of the annual rental rates. City Engineer Dowdy informed the Committee that this agreement was modeled on an : existing agreement with PSE. This particular agreement is necessary to install City fiber optic cable on additional poles to extend the City's dark fiber system to other locations. Chair Wagner questioned PSE's fee of $1,000, asking if the City charges PSE for similar types of reviews. Dowdy responded that when PSE reapplies for a franchise agreement with the City, they will pay a fee (currently $1,500)~ Motion was made by Poe, seconded by Cerino, that the Committee recommend Council adopt Resolution No. 3110. Motion carried. IV. INFORMATION OR DISCUSSION A. 1999 AQUIFER CHARACTERIZATION REPORT Mark Utting, Pacific Groundwater Group (PGG), gave an update on the progress being made on the Aquifer Characterization Study, which is coming to a conclusion after 3 V2 years. City staff is currently reviewing the draft report, which is the first of two major products tQ_c_qme from the study. Once staff comments have been incorporated into the · draft, it is anticipated copies will be available to the Committee mid-October. PGG plans to report back to the Committee in December on the second major product, which is the modeling report. Mr. Utting stated the study shows the valley aquifer is highly productive, with some wells yielding up to 7 mgd (million gallons per day). While manganese is an issue, it is localized and dependent on many factors. The Lake Tapps Upland and White River are important, recharging the valley aquifer system with 30-50 mgd..Region-wide, recharge is 263 mgd. He gave a brief review of the geology, stating that prior to the study, they had speculated deeper aquifers under the known aquifers; however, the study did not find anything significant. He said that most groundwater flows to the north from the south beneath the City, the White River does have a degree of connection to the City's aquifer system, and the Green River receives Auburn groundwater discharge. PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES SEPTEMBER 15, 1999 Page 4 of 6 Mr. Utting reviewed a list of other products that have been generated by the report. These products will be incorporated into the model and he will review them when he reports to the Committee on the modeling report in December. In response to questions from the Committee, it was stated that the report will be finalized and forwarded to the Department of Ecology (DOE) at the end of this year or first part of next year, along with the modeling report. At this time, DOE is at the information-collecting stage, and they have been exposed to some of the study materials and preliminary findings. B. STORM COST OF SERVICE STUDY For the purpose of these minutes, this item was discussed after Information/Discussion Agenda Item C. The Storm Cost of Service Study was previously discussed at tl~e August 30th Public Works Committee meeting. At that time, the Committee asked that staff return with information at their next meeting including an explanation of how storm runoff calculations were determined, the list of services provided to customers, other possible scenarios and to visit the concept of a cap to single-family residence costs. In response to their request, Storm Drainage Engineer Tim Carlaw reviewed services provided by the Utility to undeveloped/pervious areas and reported on how the storm runoff calculations were derived. While the percent of runoff from undeveloped parcels is estimated to range from 9%-27%, the City used a 10% runoff factor. The recommended rate increase would result in $2 million in working capital reserve funds by the year 2003. He reviewed a chart of historical and projected capital expenditures, and stated the City's goal of developing a Capital Facilities Plan and financing plan that benefits everyone. Mr. Carlaw went on to discuss a number of tables illustrating allocation of costs to the various customer classes, different levels of service, and five scenarios for determining cost of service rates. Concern was raised over increased customer rates, and the cost and time involved to implement rates based on pervious/impervious surfaces. It was suggested a cap be placed on single family rates on pervious acreage and on a vacant parcel fiat rate. Following lengthy discussion, it was the consensus of the Committee to implement Scenario 2, which charges a single family fiat rate, does not charge owners of vacant parcels, ar'Ld_provides-incentives for non-single family p['operty owners who provide on-site detention, infiltration and/or water quality facilities. The Committee also asked that projected revenue needs for the next four years be averaged out, so that one rate increase will occur, rather than phasing in the rate increases over a four-year period. Staff will return to the Committee-with an ordinance to implement the new rate structure. Committee member Poe stated that he is not averse to taking another look at allocation of costs to pervious areas of developed and undeveloped parcels in the future. PUBLIC WORKS'COMMITTEE MINUTES SEPTEMBER 15, 1999 Page 5 of 6 C. WATER COST OF SERVICE STUDY For the purpose of these minutes, this item was discussed after Information/Discussion Item A. Water Utility Engineer McKinnon gave a brief history of the 1995-96 and 1998 Cost of Service and Rate Studies and implementation, and reviewed the CFP and financing plan for the next six years. The CFP is based on a $5 million bond issue in 1999, another $5 million bond issue in 2001, a $3.5 million bond issue in 2003, and a $1 million bond issue in 2005. McKinnon gave a summary of the existing rate structure and reported that with the existing CFP and rate, the Water Utility ending working capital will be at a deficit of $634,000 by the end of 2000. This deficit would grow to $5.6 million by 2002 year end. She presented two scenarios raising rates over a 3-year period to recover cost of service. Scenario A raises the average single family monthly bill by 45% in 2000, 8% in 2001, and 34% in 2002, resulting in the bill increasing from $14.00 in 1999 to $29.54 in 2002. Scenario B phases in the net cost of service, raising the average single family monthly bill by 23% in 2000, 21% .in 2001, and 44% in 2002, resulting in the monthly bill increasing from $14.00 in 1999 to $29.92 in 2002. : Discussion was held regarding the possibility of postponing some of the projects included in the CFP, particularly the Corrosion Control project. It was noted the Corrosion Control project is being funded with a Public Works Trust Fund Loan, and possible time constraints or obligations included in the loan agreement must be researched. Committee member Poe stated that Auburn is known among plumbing contractors to have a high rate of water pipe replacement due to corrosion. The possibility of the need to construct surface water treatment facilities in the future was discussed, along with the fact that most of the projects · that could be postponed are the ones most needed in light of water rights issues and are related to ability to serve. Various alternatives for raising rates were discussed, as were base rates and wholesale costs. It was the consensus of the Committee that rates be increased over the next two years only, using Scenario B. The increase will result in the average single family monthly bill going up 23% in 2000 (from $14.00 per month to $17.24) and up 21% in 2001 (to $20.77 per month). The Committee concurred that wholesale monthly base rates should be raised accordingly, and they would like to see the 2000 variable charge for irrigation investigated. Staff will re_t_u_r.0 to Committee with an ordinance implementing the rate increase. The Water Utility budget was reviewed. It was noted there were no significant increases and that the decrease in salaries was due to allocation of staff and where their time is actually being charged. D. YEAR 2000 BUDGET The Committee reviewed the budgets for the Storm Drainage Utility, Arterial Street Fund, Building Division, Engineering, and Streets General Fund. No Program Improvements are · being proposed and there is very little increase in the division budgets. Highlights of the budget review include the following: PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES SEPTEMBER 15, 1999 Page 6 of 6 Storm Utility rate increase would result in an additional $400,000 in revenue. Street and Storm budgets include funding for a proposed new solid waste handling decant facility to be constructed at M&O. City-wide, $500,000 has been budgeted for ESA-related issues, with $200,000 budgeted for Public Works, $50,000 each in the Water and Storm Utilities and $200,000 for Planning. Building Division budget includes funds for finishing the re-carpeting of City Hall first floor, the remainder of the second floor, waterproofing and sealing of the records retention area, and re-grouting and sealing portions of City Hall. Traffic Engineer Mullen brought two projects to be considered for the Arterial Street Fund to the Committee's attention. The first is a grant-funded project on Auburn Way South between 6th and 'D' Streets SE, that will consider channelization options in that area. This is a high-accident area, with 134 accidents having occurred in the last 3 years. 103 of these accidents may have been prevented if left turns were prohibited. City staff will work closely with the businesses in the area. It was pointed out that there are few other alternatives to reduce the numbers of accidents in this area. A light at 'D' Street is not likely, due to limited sight distance and proximity to the signal at Highway 18, while improvements to the 'F' Street intersection would not affect this area since commercial traffic is discouraged from using the residential streets behind Firehouse Square. The other project, which was brought up at a Council meeting but is not being recommended by staff, is vehicle detection at Auburn Way and Main and all downtown intersections. The project cost is very high because it would require sidewalks to be torn up to allow installation of conduit. Cost for the Auburn Way/Main intersection is $215,000, and costs for all downtown locations is estimated to total $1.5 million. Staff has put the pedestrian pushbuttons at Auburn Way and Main Street on recall so that when the light turns green, the walk signal will be activated. In addition, the City will put decals on the poles in the downtown area to describe what the pedestrian signals mean and will look at other strategies to increase pedestrian mobility in the downtown area. E. CAPITAL'PROJECT STATUS REPORT There were no questions regarding the Capital Project Status Report. It was noted that the paving on 8th Street NE has begun and should be completed this week. V. ADJOUR~M.ENT There being no further business to come before the Public Works Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. PM/bd REF. H:\ENGINEER\E99\E99-968 (E:\MINUTES\99PW9-1)