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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-12-2006 CITY OF AUBURN PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE June 12,2006 MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Rich Wagner called the meeting to order at 5:00 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, Vice-Chair Roger Thordarson, and Member Bill Peloza. Also present during the meeting were: Public Works Director Dennis Dowdy, City Engineer/Assistant Director Dennis Selle, Assistant City Engineer Ingrid Gaub, Senior Project Engineer Bill Helbig, Utilities Engineer Duane Huskey, Traffic Engineer Laura Philpot, Sewer Utility Engineer Jeff Roscoe, Transportation Planner/Grants Manager Tiffin Goodman, and Secretary Megan Robel. II. CONSENT AGENDA A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was moved by Vice-Chair Thordarson, seconded by Member Peloza, that the Committee approve the Public Works Committee minutes for May 22,2006. Motion carried. B. AMENDMENT NO.6 TO CONSULTANT AGREEMENT AG-C-231 WITH PARAMETRIX FOR SURVEY STAKING RELATED TO CONSTRUCTION OF AUBURN WAY SOUTH SEWER PHASE 2 It was moved by Vice-Chair Thordarson, seconded by Member Peloza, that the Committee recommend Council approve Amendment NO.6 to Consultant Agreement No. AG-C-231 with Parametrix. Motion carried. C. PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PROJECT NO. C525A, 2006 SOS WATERLINE IMPROVEMENT PROJECT It was moved by Vice-Chair Thordarson, seconded by Member Peloza, that the Committee recommend Council grant permission to advertise Project No. C525A, 2006 SOS Waterline Improvement Project. Motion carried. D. PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PROJECT NO. CP0631, 2006 SOS PATCHING The scope of the overlay has been reduced due to the rising cost of asphalt. If the bids come in lower than expected then the scope can be increased accordingly. It was moved by Vice-Chair Thordarson, seconded by Member Peloza, that the Committee recommend Council grant permission to advertise Project No. CP0631, 2006 SOS Patching. Motion carried. E. PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE PROJECT NO. CP0632, 2006 SOS OVERLAY It was moved by Vice-Chair Thordarson, seconded by Member Peloza, that the Committee recommend Council grant permission to advertise Project No. CP0632, 2006 SOS Overlay. Motion carried. Public Works Committee Minutes June 12. 2006 F. APPROVE FINAL PAY ESTIMATE NO.3 TO SMALL WORKS CONTRACT 05-27 WITH HOKKAIDO DRILLING, AND ACCEPT CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECT NO. C519A, WELL 2 REPACKING It was moved by Vice-Chair Thordarson, seconded by Member Peloza, that the Committee recommend Council approve Final Pay Estimate NO.3 to Contract 05-27, and accept construction of Project No. C519A. Motion carried. III. ISSUES NONE IV. DISCUSSION AND INFORMATION A. GRANT UPDATE Item 3. A Street NW Phase 1: The date will be moved up a little. Item 5. West Main Street: The construction time frame is reasonable if environmental approvals from the state occur in a timely manner. The City may also still be under budgeted by about $141,000 to complete this project. Item 6. M Street SE Grade Separation: The Committee is concerned that the estimate does not take into account the recent inflation in material prices and would like to see a revised estimate based on current material costs. Staff advised that this will occur when we move into the design phase. Item 13. F Street SE: The developer fees mentioned are referring to traffic impact fees. B. BEST WESTERN PEPPERTREE - PARTIAL RELINQUISHMENT OF EASEMENT City Engineer Selle explained that when the hotel was remodeled the owner had to abandon portions of existing water and sewer lines in proximity to the new building footprint and construct new water and sewer lines outside the boundary of the expanded building footprint. The owner is requesting the relinquishment of remnants of the original utility easements that are no longer needed by the City. The Committee agreed with the proposal to relinquish the requested easements. C. SEWER RATES Utilities Engineer Huskey brought the revised sewer rates proposal, which he modified based on comments the Committee made the last time they saw it. He explained the information, which included spreadsheets showing current revenue and potential revenue at three scenarios for rate increases of 5,6, and 7%. After lengthy discussion, the Committee determined that the 6% rate increase seemed to be the most appropriate option. This would be a $39.72 increase per year, with $6.72 going to the City and $33.00 going to King County. This is justified because the sewer utility operating expenses have exceeded the revenues for the last two years and there has not been a rate increase since 1999. The Committee also asked for a more aggressive capital facility plan to spend down the working capital. D. KING COUNTY SEWER CONTRACT Director Dowdy described the issue, which involves King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) seeking an extension on their existing contract. The current contract expires in 2036, and Page 2 Public Works Committee Minutes June 12. 2006 the County desires contract renewals that would be for a term of 30 years so they can sell longer term bonds for the Brightwater Treatment Plant. They have to get extensions from 70 percent of the component agencies, but many of the component agencies have several issues with WTD including use of current funds and methods of rate increase approval. They want certain provisions added to the contract extensions, and negotiations with WTD are ongoing. Specific concerns are: 1. Demands that the new contracts lock in formulas that require growth to pay for the additional capital needs of growth, rather than continuing to shift new infrastructure costs of Brightwater back to existing ratepayers, 2. That the County stop using sewer funds to pay for activities that are not directly related to the provision of sewer services (Culver Funds), and 3. Flexibility to allow jurisdictions the right to reuse of sanitary sewer effluent where agencies may have future opportunities to mitigate new water rights (current contracts do not provide this authorization). Since each agency that provides the retail service to the customer is the only party with authority to collect the monthly fees which are passed on to the County, many agencies are concerned that our monthly sewer rates are accelerating higher with the County's share growing much faster than it should. A better method of governing how County service rates are established to pay for growth is essential to convincing all the 36 agencies served by the county to renew their contracts. E. PETROLEUM PRICE IMPACTS Assistant City Engineer Gaub informed the Committee that due to the increase in petroleum prices the City will be seeing increased costs in construction projects. Currently, the asphalt prices are about double what they were last year, PVC pipe costs have increased approximately 30%, and prices have increased for the haul of materials such as crushed rock. Some of the projects like SOS have been scaled back to accommodate the higher prices, but some projects cannot be scaled back because of the nature of the work or the grant funding requirements. The Committee will have to make some decisions about how to pay for planned projects in the coming months especially during the TIP process. F. BUDGET STATUS SHEET FORMAT The Committee reviewed the format and made suggestions for changes to make it more understandable, informative, and useful to them. G. PENDING PROJECT LIST Senior Project Engineer Helbig supplied two lists of pending projects which are in addition to the projects indicated on the Capital Project Status list provided at each committee meeting. One List provides information on the work being managed by Public Works staff and the other provides information on the work being managed by other departments but supported by Public Works staff. This work includes projects that are in the preliminary planning stages or still seeking funding. H. CITY LIABILITY FOR "ITS" CAMERA FEED TO WEBSITE In response to a prior request by the committee that the City Attorney research the issue of legal liability of providing short term camera feeds to the website, Traffic Engineer Philpot briefed the Committee that the City Attorney has determined that this is not a liability for the City as this information is protected under federal law and is not admissible in court. She will bring an official policy for the collection and retainage of traffic camera images to a future meeting. I. KING COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT PROPOSAL Postponed to future meeting Page 3 Public Works Committee Minutes June 12. 2006 J. FEMA FLOODPLAIN MAPPING FEMA will be doing new floodplain mapping for this area as a result of a new federal policy issued August 22nd, 2005. FEMA is aware of only two levees certified on Green River. If the other levees cannot be certified then the valley cities involved will have several options: 1. They may ask Ecology to proceed to do the mapping based on the uncertified levees failing, 2. The cities may wish to provide proof of certification by engaging either the Corps of Engineers or an independent consultant to reinspect and determine if the levees can meet new federal standards, where documentation does not currently exist, or 3. FEMA is considering that remapping would create a new "Advisory Zone" which would for a period of time be used to signify a greater flood risk until such time as the levees are recertified, or the cities determine that levees would not be improved to meet federal standards. FEMA expects to send letters to each Mayor of the Green River Valley soon that more fully describes our options. K. CAPITAL PROJECT STATUS REPORT Item 9. C1006. 3rd Street SE/Cross Street Improvement: The City is still in the process of completing ROW acquisition for one property; however, the City has possession and use of the property. V.ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Public Works Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 6:54 p.m. Submitted by Megan Robel, Secretary. ~ Approved by the Public Works Committee on '- )\u~ Llo l 7. nOlo File: 17 (17.2) REF. H:\PWCAgendaMinutes/061206Minutes Page 4