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Home My WebLink About11-13-2007CLTY OF CITY OF AUBURN - PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE November 13, 2007 WASHINGTON I. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Rich Wagner called the meeting to order at 2:30 pm 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, Mayor Pro Tem Sue Singer substituting for Councilmember Thordarson, and Councilmember Lynn Norman substituting for Councilmember Peloza. Also present during the meeting were: Mayor Peter B. Lewis, Director Dennis Dowdy, City Engineer/Assistant Director Dennis Selle, Assistant City Engineer Ingrid Gaub, Senior Project Engineer Bill Helbig, Traffic Engineer Laura Philpot, Transportation Planner Joe Welsh, Project Engineer Robert Lee; Project Engineer Jacob Sweeting, Project Engineer Ryan Vondrak, Utilities Engineer Dan Repp, Development Services Coordinator Steven Pitcher, Finance Director Shelley Coleman, Financial Planning Manager Karen Jester, Engineering Aid Megan Robles, Residents: Joe McCaffrey, Owner of Regal Apartments;, Julie Fredrickson, Manager of Rivers End Estates HOA, and Diane Becker, President of Rivers End Estates HOA and Tanya Lathery , Cherrie Nickelsen, Wayne Osborne residents of Rivers End Estates HOA and Debbie Maguire, Secretary Alison Hudson, and Environmental Project Manager Aaron Nix. II. CONSENT AGENDA A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was moved by Councilmember Norman, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Singer, that the Committee approve the Public Works Committee minutes for October 22, 2007. Motion carried. B. CONSULTANT AGREEMENT NO. AG-C-312 WITH TRANSPO GROUP INC. FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR PROJECT NO. CP0752, M STREET SE SIDEWALK LID Engineer Helbig assured Chair Wagner that the bonding cost for this project was not high, which Director Dowdy supported. It was moved by Councilmember Norman; seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Singer that the Committee recommend the City Council grant permission to enter in Consultant Agreement No. AG-C-321 with The Transpo Group Jnc. for Engineering Services for Project No., CP0752, M Street SE sidewalk LID C. CHANGE ORDER #2 TO CONTRACT 07-13 AUBURN WAY OVERLAY 4T" ST SE TO 4T"ST NE Director Dowdy responded to questions from Council regarding the longevity of the overlay and if after five years it would require a patch and seal or a complete reconstruction. Director Dowdy explained that although the exact lifespan of the overlay could not be fully determined, the prospect was good that a major reconstruction would not be required in the near future. It was moved by Councilmember Norman; seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Singer, that the Committee recommend the City Council grant permission to approve Change Order #2 to Contract 07-13 Auburn Way Overlay 4t" St SE to 4t" St NE. D. FINAL PAY ESTIMATE #1 TO CONTRACT 07-15 CP0740, CITYWIDE ARTERIAL CRACK SEAL PROJECT Public Works Committee Minutes November 13, 2007 It was moved by, Councilmember Norman; seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Singer, that the Committee recommend the City Council grant permission to approve Final Pay Estimate #1 to Contract 07-15 CP0740, Citywide Arterial Crack Seal Project. E. FINAL PAY ESTIMATE #9 TO CONTRACT 03-05, PROJECT C1014A AUBURN WAY SOUTH SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS Traffic Engineer Laura Philpot and Engineer Helbig responded to questions regarding closing the project out on the State level. Philpot explained that the State has completed their final inspection, has paid the final grant billing, but has not closed the project out. It was moved by Councilmember Norman; seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Singer, that the Committee recommend the City Council grant permission to approve Final Pay Estimate #9 to Contract 03-05 Project C1014A Auburn Way South Safety Improvements. F. FINAL PAY ESTIMATE #2 TO CONTRACT 07-07 PROJECT CP0737 - 2007 CITYWIDE PAVEMENT PATCHING, LOCAL STREETS It was moved by Councilmember Norman; seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Singer, that the Committee recommend the City Council grant permission to approve Final Pay Estimate #2 to Contract 07-07 Project CP0737 - 2007 Citywide Pavement Patching, Local Streets. G. RIGHT-OF-WAY USE PERMIT 97-37 FOR THE OPTIMIST CLUB OF AUBURN SANTA HOUSE. It was moved by Councilmember Norman; seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Singer, that the Committee approve Right-of-Way Use Permit 97-37. III. ISSUES A RESOLUTION NO. 4260 -EXECUTE MRSC ROSTER CONTRACT WITH MUNICIPAL RESEARCH SERVICES CENTER FOR THE PURPOSE OF SHARING A SMALL WORKS ROSTER AND CONSULTANT ROSTER It was moved by Councilmember Norman; seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Singer, that the Committee Adopt Resolution No. 4260. IV. DISCUSSION AND INFORMATION Due to citizen attendance for Discussion and Information items B and I, these items were the first items of discussion. A. MEMORIAL VICTIM MEMORIAL SIGNS Engineer Philpot provided background information from information materials Aide Robel had gathered on victim memorial signs. Staff is looking for guidance and policy so they can respond to requests for signs consistently, and to minimize the number of unauthorized memorials placed and maintained in the ROW by individual citizens. Several concerns and questions were posed regarding how an event is evaluated and how to make a determination on number of signs being posted, placement of signs versus safety, and the number of names Page 2 Public Works Committee Minutes November 13 2007 placed on each sign. The Committee agreed with the proposed code, but would like to see the distance between signs more clearly defined, reduce the fee to $150, remove language about replacing damaged signs, and add language that states that unauthorized memorials would be removed by the City after 30 days. Mayor Lewis emphasized that many safety issues will be eliminated with the standardization of signs. B. 8TH STREET AND R STREET NE SIGNAL Director Dowdy recapped meetings that staff had conducted on site with mangers and residents from Regal Apartments and River's End Estates Condominiums. During these meetings staff had heard numerous concerns regarding future access and considerable reservations about a potential gated shared access in the vicinity of the rear of both properties. He explained that the original signal plan would have required such shared access agreed to by the owners of both properties to provide residents of River End Estates full access to the signal. As staff realized that the original concept was not acceptable to the residents, the City agreed to look at other options as suggested by one of the residents. Project Engineer Vondrak developed a new proposal that should avoid most of the disbenefits of the original plan. Director Dowdy asked Engineer Vondrak to present the new plan for discussion. After presentation of the new concept the committee opened up discussion to the managers and residents of Regal Apartments and River's End Estates Condominiums. After discussion of how access would work with the new plan and the benefits of the new plan to each group, consensus was reached that staff should proceed with design of this new concept. Staff will keep the managers of the communities advised as the designs develops. C. 29TH STREET NW: UPRR CROSSING AND MILL CREEK BRIDGE Traffic Engineer Philpot explained that the bridge over Mill Creek on 29t" Street NW has been inspected and is in need of repair in order to remain open, she clarified that this bridge does not qualify as a true bridge under the Federal definition and therefore is not eligible for bridge replacement/repair funding. She explained that it would require a minimum of $50,000 in repairs to keep the bridge open, but this would not be enough to bring it up to standards. She also explained that the UPRR crossing is currently ungated and the UTC has expressed safety concerns about keeping it open without gates. Staff has reviewed grant options for adding gates and the project would not score well enough due to the low traffic volumes. Emerald Downs has been contacted but declined to provide any financial support. She explained that if the City loses this railroad crossing, it will not get it back. Chair Wagner supported not wanting to lose the crossing. The Committee agreed that staff should close 29t" Street NW at the bridge if we were able to maintain our crossing rights by doing so. D. 4TH STREET NE ON STREET PARKING (NEAR AUBURN HIGH SCHOOL) Traffic Engineer Philpot provided detail regarding the reason staff was recommending changes to the parking code along 4'" Street NE. The Committee agreed with the proposed changes. This issue will come back to the Committee at a future meeting as an action item. E. 2007 GATEWAY SIGN -METAL SELECTION OPTIONS Engineer Lee presented new types of metal sign options to replace the previous metal signs, which present a rust issue on the existing gateway sign on West Valley Highway. The bronze metal being proposed is resistant to rusting, but can be treated in a variety of ways to resemble the current signs providing texture and a variation in color to the metal. During the construction process, the City and the successful contractor will work with a fabricator to prepare amock-up sample of the proposed sign material for review. Page 3 Public Works Committee Minutes November 13 2007 F. 2007 & 2008 SUPPLEMENTAL ANNEXATION BUDGETS (BA #7 & #9) Director Coleman and Manager Jester responded to various questions from Chair Wagner regarding the prior corrections requests. He was assured that all corrections had been made and explained that the increase in staff that showed on the budget over the next two years would be brought to the next meeting by the Human Resources Department. G. DOWNTOWN SIDEWALKS GUIDELINES Due to time restraints this topic was deferred to the Planning and Community Development Committee. H. CAPITAL PROJECT STATUS REPORT No discussion was held. I. 3RD STREET C-CURB Resident Debbie Maguire expressed concerns regarding access to her residence because of the c-curb that has been installed on 3~d Street NE at B Street NE. Transportation Planner Welsh explained the process the development went through to address safety concerns and how it was determined that C-curbing was an appropriate method to restrict left turns, including the sight distance from A Street SE. He also shared statistics from other locations where accident frequency had dropped by as much as 50% after the installation of similar c-curbing. After further discussion the short term solution was to have staff reevaluate the access to the area and how it could be modified to allow full access to B Street NE, but restrict access to the Cascade Orthopedics' site. Long term solution for the area needed to include a full review of the 3~d Street NE and A Street NE intersection and it could be modified to improve the safety for vehicles as well as provide a more direct pedestrian access route at the intersection. J. TOP 10 CITY PROJECTS FOR 2008 Chair Wagner presented his top 10 priorities and after further discussion the Committee agreed on the choices listed below: Top Ten Priorities Priority Project Description Item I Pursue street bond to bring all arterials to at least 70% pavement condition index rating to fully fund arterial streets maintenance 2 Item A Continued Commitment to SOS. Program 3 N/A Lake Tapps/Water Rights Acquisition 4 43 Complete and Publish the SR164 /improvements/corridor Plan 5 44 Complete Link Road Alternatives Study from SR164 to SR 18 and Develop Scope & Cost Estimate for EIS Phase 6 N/A .Annexation Area -Storm Comprehensive Planning 7 N/A Annexation Area -Transportation Comprehensive Planning Page 4 Public Works Committee Minutes November 13, 2007 8 12 Eng/ROW -Complete A/B Street Corridor (3~d-14t") and develop adjacent areas 9 N/A SCADA Upgrade Complete Study, Approve priority Improvement phases for funding & Implementation 10 N/A M&O Expansion to accommodate future growth & annexation area support Note Received following November 13, 2007 meeting: 10 N/A Per Roger Thordarson - e-mail -Pursue funding for M SE tunnel under Railroad Per Sue Singer - e-mail -Consider switching #5 (link road) with #10 (M and O expansion).We have much less control over #5 as getting county support is unlikely and we have to find space for the new employees very soon. K. HOLIDAY SCHEDULE It was decided that due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the request from Multimedia for early submittal of the Public Works Committee Agenda packet will be met for timely distribution and will be submitted to Multimedia on November 20, 2007 so that the packets will be in Councilmember boxes by close of business the 21S'. A decision for the December 24t" meeting schedule will be decided closer to that holiday. V. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Public Works Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m. Approved this 13TH day of November , 2007. C;-~-~. Rich Wa ner Chairman ~..m.~t C /' ~/ ~ ~~ Alison Hudson Public Works Department Secretary File: 17.2 H:\AgendaBills\2007\111307Minutes and E:\Minutes\07PW 11-1 Page 5