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Home My WebLink About11-08-2004 " CITY OF AUBURN PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE November 8, 2004 MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Rich Wagner called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. in Conference Room #3, located on the second floor of Auburn City Hall, 25 West Main Street, Auburn, Washington. Committee members present were: Chairman Rich Wagner, Member Gene Cerino, and Member Roger Thordarson. Also present during the meeting were: Mayor Peter B. Lewis, Public Works Director Dennis Dowdy, City Engineer/Assistant Director Dennis Selle, Assistant City Engineer Ingrid Gaub, Utilities Engineer Duane Huskey, Traffic Engineer Laura Philpot, Project Engineer Scott Nutter, Project Engineer Robert Lee, Assistant Project Engineer Brian Coleman, Finance Director Shelley Coleman, Airport Manager Jamelle Garcia, Airport staff Walt Seifried, and Secretary Lorna Dahlke. II. CONSENT AGENDA A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was moved by Member Cerino, seconded by Member Thordarson, that the Committee approve the Public Works Committee minutes for October 25,2004, as submitted. Motion carried. B. INITIATION OF PROJECT NO. C420A, TERRACE DRIVE GUARDRAIL It was moved by Member Cerino, seconded by Member Thordarson, that the Committee approve the initiation of Project No. C420A, Terrace Drive Guardrail. Motion carried. C. INITIATION OF PROJECT NO. C221B, 15TH STREET NW MEDIAN LANDSCAPE During discussion, the Committee asked if the medians, which were planted with trees that have died and been removed, serve a traffic purpose, or if they were installed for aesthetic purposes and could now be taken out. Engineer Philpot said there is a traffic regulation purpose for 3 of the medians to offset left turn lanes from travel lanes at intersections. The Committee requested that staff review the purpose for one median to determine if the median can be removed. The Committee also requested that the curbs around the medians be marked to increase their visibility, such as painting them a bright yellow. It was moved by Member Cerino, seconded by Member Thordarson, that the Committee approve the initiation of Project No. C221 B, 15th Street NW Median Landscape Enhancement, to include comments from the Committee as noted. Motion carried. D. BUDGET AMENDMENT TO THE 2005 EQUIPMENT RENTAL BUDGET This item was brought before the Committee by agenda modification. It was discussed following the presentation from representatives of Williams Pipeline. It was moved by Member Cerino, seconded by Member Thordarson, that the Committee recommend Council approve the Budget Amendment to the 2005 Equipment Rental Budget. Motion carried. '- Public Works Committee Minutes November 9. 2004 III. ISSUES NONE IV. DISCUSSION AND INFORMATION A. PROJECT NO. C308A, SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENT OPTIONS Assistant Project Engineer Coleman presented a map showing the areas in the downtown where sidewalks have been identified as needing replacement. The map included areas to be reconstructed by the City under this proposed project, as well as areas that have been identified as damage caused by tree roots located on private property and areas deferred due to budget constraints. The locations of damaged sidewalk caused by property owner trees are not included in the project being proposed by staff. Engineer Coleman provided pictures of the damage at these locations for the Committee to review. Discussion was held concerning the need to develop a policy on how the City deals with sidewalk damage caused by property owners which may include considerations such as how property owners are notified, whether they are residential or commercial, tree root pruning, Tree Board guidance, tree removal, and tree root barriers. After lengthy discussion, the Committee consensus was to approve the advertisement of the project as proposed by staff. Traffic Engineer Philpot also updated the Committee on the status of the sidewalk inventory which should be completed, including mapping, by the end of the year. The Committee requested that the sidewalk replacement program be discussed with the Committee in the spring of 2005, after completion of the inventory, to review the information and set City policy and priorities for the program. The Committee consensus on prioritizing the sidewalk improvement program was to focus on the downtown district, school and park locations first, and residential areas second. B. AIRPORT STORM RATES Utilities Engineer Huskey informed the Committee that the reclassification of the storm facilities at the airport increased the storm drainage rates from approximately $2100 per month to approximately $4050 a month; and a back bill to the first of the year of approximately $46,000. After lengthy discussion of alternatives to increase efficiency of the airport storm water systems and lower the rates, the Committee consensus was for staff to develop a scope of work and cost estimate to divert a good portion of the southern and eastern parts of the airport property drainage into the swale located between the taxiway and runway to improve water quality, and assess the effective storm storage available within theses areas and the existing pond. The Committee consensus was to delay the implementation of the increased storm rates until the Committee has reviewed the engineer's report on the discussed option, which is anticipated to be completed in December 2004. Page 2 -- Public Works Committee Minutes November 9. 2004 C. CATEGORY DEFINITIONS FOR STORM RATES In response to a request from the Committee at a prior meeting, Utilities Engineer Huskey reviewed the storm rate classification definitions, explaining the procedure for determining customer classifications based on the type of storm drainage facility. D. WEST MAIN STREET IMPROVEMENTS Traffic Engineer Philpot and Project Engineer Nutter reviewed the input obtained during a neighborhood meeting held on October 28th regarding improvements to West Main Street, between the Interurban Trail and the Transit Station. The intent of the meeting was to gather public input concerning what improvements the public wanted to see along West Main Street. Feedback from those who attended included sidewalk repair and replacement, the removal of on-street parking on the north, creation of parking along F Street SW, and the addition of a bike lane. Attendees indicated that in order to accomplish these improvements, they realized that the trees would not likely remain, but requested that the City explore the possibility of saving some of the existing trees. Potential streetscape options incorporating these suggestions will be developed and presented at a public meeting for additional input. The Committee requested that the Tree Board be involved in the tree selection for the corridor. The next neighborhood meeting will be scheduled so that Councilmembers can attend. E. TRANSPORTATION LEGISLATIVE AGENDA Director Dowdy reviewed discussions that have occurred in recent meetings of Regional Public Works Directors and King County representatives regarding proposed options for obtaining additional funds for transportation measures, which will be presented to the legislature. It is anticipated that through joint efforts, local jurisdictions can regain some of the funding lost through initiatives approved by voters during the past few years. Director Dowdy distributed a handout of funding options being discussed, and asked the Committee for input as to which option(s) they would support. The Committee was in support of the possibility of the formation of a Street Utility and possible establishment of a vehicle license fee as the highest priority, and would be in support of a gas tax increase or indexing the existing 28 cent gas tax to protect against inflation. F. CAPITAL PROJECT STATUS REPORT The following items were briefly discussed: Item 11, C1 014, Auburn Way South Safety Improvements: Assistant City Engineer Gaub informed the Committee that the U-Haul property owner, Amerco, has not come forward with the easement needed for the installation of a proposed signal at the intersection of Auburn Way South and F Street SE as they previously agreed to do. City staff will be meeting with representatives of Les Schwab to discuss plans for resolving the issue, which has delayed the advertisement for this project. It is not anticipated that this project will be advertised this year. Item 16. C326A. CSt SW Improvements - Contract B: Assistant City Engineer Gaub stated that it is anticipated that a request for permission to advertise will be brought before the Committee for action at the next scheduled Committee meeting and the projected bid opening is anticipated for January 2005. The re-design for the GSA signal is currently underway. Page 3 · Public Works Committee Minutes November 9, 2004 Item 23. C307A. City Wide ITS Improvements Proiect: Following staff visits to two additional ITS centers, Traffic Engineer Philpot indicated that a date will be scheduled for the Committee field trip to the most appropriate ITS center. G. ORDINANCE NO. 5879 AMENDING SECTIONS 2.33.020,2.36.030,2.45.010 AND 2.69.040 OF THE AUBURN CITY CODE, RELATION TO TERMS OFR BOARD AND COMMISSION MEMBERS This item was brought before the Committee by agenda modification and for the purpose of these minutes, it was discussed before Discussion Item H. The Committee was in favor of Ordinance No. 5879, which would bring uniformity to the various boards and commissions of the City by setting a three-year term starting on December 1, 2004. H. OTHER DISCUSSION For the purpose of these minutes, this discussion was held before Discussion Item A. Representatives of Williams Pipeline explained to the Committee the causes of the sinkhole in Cameron Park, and what actions are being taken to repair it. There was additional discussion on the preliminary findings of the ground penetrating radar which was conducted within the park area along the pipeline route. They also stated that they have been communicating with the residents directly adjacent to the park and have sent an informational letter to all residents in the area. They have a public meeting planned for Monday, November 15th, to be held at the Buena Vista School. v. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Public Works Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. DRD/ld Submitted by Lorna Dahlke, Secretary. Approved by the Public Works Committee on A) rrv<!~ ,;¡;) ì :;, rJû 1 File: 17 (17.2) REF. H :\PWCAgendaMinutes.11 0804Minutes Page 4