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Minutes for the special called Public Works Committee meeting on November 8, 2005.
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Public Works Committee Minutes
Special called meeting
Tuesday, November 8, 2005
8:30 a.m.
Mayor’s Conference Room, City Hall
Members present: Ashley, Dover, Farmer, Province and Street. Chris Moore was unable to attend.
ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS
Performance Bond ordinance: It was explained that to be in compliance with state statute, all improvements will need to be complete to get final approval of the development or subdivision or a performance bond will need to be secured to guarantee the improvements will be completed. Questions were raised concerning the amounts of the bonds. It was explained the bond will be a percentage of the cost of the improvements to be made. Mr. Teddy Hooton, Street Superintendent, also questioned what should be done with the letters of credit that are due to expire in the near future, since those developers will no have enough time to secure a bond. It was suggested that the ordinance not be made effective until January 1, 2006, and allow the developers whose letters of credit expire before January 1, a letter of credit until a bond is secured. Councilman Dover moved, second by Councilman Farmer, to present the ordinance to full council. It was asked for Mr. Hooton to meet with City Attorney Phillip Crego to figure out the best way to handle putting the ordinance into effect with developers who currently have letters of credit with the city.
Ordinance to amend the 2005 budget to provide additional funding for the Street Department: Mr. Hooton presented the committee with an ordinance allowing him to take money out of the un-appropriated fund balance of the Street Fund to be allocated for various budget accounts, including overtime salaries, maintenance buildings and grounds, outside maintenance equipment, repair part for autos/vehicles, supplies and fuel. Mr. Hooton added that money from the auction will soon be deposited in his account. He explained that a lot of overtime hours have been spent finishing Craighead Forest and on the weekends to work with community service workers. Councilman Dover moved, seconded by Councilman Ashley, to put the ordinance on the agenda for the next City Council meeting.
DRAINAGE
Presentations from Fisher & Arnold, Inc. and NTB Associates, Inc. for EPA/ADEQ Phase II pipe inventory: Fisher & Arnold, Inc. with Associated Engineers was the first to present their proposal for the Phase II pipe inventory. Mr. Mike Cameron explained he teamed up with Fisher & Arnold for the pipe inventory. Mr. Vic Young from Fisher & Arnold, Inc. explained what he proposed for the pipe inventory. He explained the city is responsible for ensuring that contaminates from city businesses, residences and industry is not getting into the water for the state. The most cost effective way to do that is to monitor the water as it comes out of the pipes to make sure contamination is not an issue. Mr. Young also discussed the modeling and design software, assuring that anything collected in the field would be compatible with the software the City uses. He also discussed allowing the necessary City employees to look at the information and be able to determine the future needs of the pipes, such as when they will need to be replaced. He further explained making sure the information that has already been collected is compatible with what will be collected, as well as being compatible with any equipment the City will use to collect it’s own information, such as portable GPS units. Lastly, he noted the storm water web site and allow for the storm system and aerial photography available to use on other technology, such as PDAs. Mr. Ken Scrape from Associated Engineers presented a map of Jonesboro, broken down into five sections that will be covered by the pipe inventory and when the each area’s pipe inventory would be completed. He explained their system utilizes not only American satellites, but also Russian satellites, which allows them to collect data for a longer range period without the gaps in satellites. Mr. Scrape informed the committee that the first area’s pipe inventory would be completed in 2006, with the last area completed in 2009. He emphasized the flexibility of their system and ability to add to it, if the city needs it to be. Mr. Young also discussed areas that have had drainage problems in the past.
Mr. Brad Daugherty, GIS Manager from NTB Associates, Inc., informed the committee that their Mt. Home office would handle the pipe inventory for the city. Mr. Daugherty and Mr. Tom Alexander, survey coordinator, covered some of the background information of their company. Mr. Daugherty suggested delivering the pipe inventory in GIS format in addition to the AutoCADD format, since GIS is what technology is moving towards. He also discussed their Quality Control/Quality Assurance program that includes three types of reviews to ensure their customers are satisfied with the services they receive from NTB. Mr. Alexander discussed the process, noting the survey control network will be maintained throughout the project and then given to the city for future use and use by surveyors. He added that the scheduled is hard to estimate since they are unsure about the scope of work the City needs, but did add that they have enough people to do the work. Mr. Daugherty also showed the committee a demonstration of the GIS system they set up for Flower Mound, Texas, which is a city close to the population size of Jonesboro and about 2/3 the land size. He noted the system also keeps track of water flow in the pipes. Mr. Daugherty explained the Flower Mound project took seven and a half months to complete, from contract signing to completion. He also added that the currently existing AutoCADD data could be converted to GIS so it can be plugged in with the pipe inventory NTB collects. Questions were raised concerning how the pipe inventory can be added to in the future. It was explained that with new construction, the Street Department can ask for the information in GIS format and it can easily be plugged into the pipe inventory. Mr. Daugherty also noted that in the Flower Mound project, the smallest pipes they inventoried were six inches.
After the presentations, the committee discussed the two proposals. It was discussed that the final outcome would be the same, but the timeline for the two companies was very different. Discussion followed as to why NTB would be able to get the job done so much faster than Fisher & Arnold. It was asked if someone could figure out why Fisher & Arnold’s project timeline was so much longer. Discussions were held concerning what the advantages of going to a GIS format and what the future benefits would be for the city.
Drainage capital improvements projects: Councilman Farmer provided a map to the committee showing areas for possible detention ponds. Discussion took place regarding the potential areas. The drainage study recommended widening ditches, but in some areas, the ditches could not be widened since it would interfere with other people’s yard and homes. It was considered to look at other feasible ways, including currently owned city property, land locked property and some property by ASU for possible detention ponds. It was also mentioned that the only problem drain would be the one under the Turtle Creek mall that extends to Kmart. It was added that the person hired as the consulting hydrology engineer would be responsible for recommending the best areas for detention ponds to help with drainage in the city. It was also suggested to wait on the drainage improvements until it is decided as to what to do with the interchanges on Highway 63.
732 & 734 Valley Drive: Mr. Brian Wadley reported that appraisals have been received for both houses. The house at 732 Valley Drive, however, has an existing mortgage because the owners completely redid the house a few years ago and took out a mortgage to finance the renovations. Mr. Wadley added the appraisal value is good for the home, but it will not sufficiently cover everything. Also, with the home at 734 Valley Drive, an 82-year-old woman is currently the owner of the home. Her son has found her a new home and has put down earnest money for the purchase of the home. They’re supposed to close on the new home in December. They are asking for more money than what the property appraised for. It was suggested for the owners at 734 Valley Drive to obtain their own appraisal of the property and then the City will go from there.
Consulting hydraulic/hydrological engineer: Mr. Wadley informed the committee that six responses were received from the hydrology engineer bid. Discussion took place regarding how the consultant would be paid. It was suggested the consultant be paid on an hourly basis, but not to exceed an amount set by the committee. It was asked for Mr. Claude Martin and Mr. Wadley to cut the six responses down to three and at the next Public Works meeting, the committee will hear the presentations from the three chosen responses. The December 6th Public Works meeting has been scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. so the committee will have enough time to hear the presentations.
STREETS AND SIDEWALKS
Street capital improvements projects: Councilman Farmer presented some observations that he, Mr. Martin, Mr. Hooton, and Chairman Street had concerning street improvements that were not included in the traffic study. He explained the observations were based largely on safety issues and traffic counts. The suggestions were in addition to the recommendations in the traffic study. Bridge repairs were also discussed. The Highway Department has committed to repairing three bridges in the city. It was suggested to have the Highway Department repair the Willett Road Bridge over Lost Creek, the Woodsprings Bridge over Christian Creek, and the Matthews bridge over Christian Creek. The city will have to furnish the material only. It was suggested to hold off on the Hester Street Bridge because it would be better to replace it with a boxed culvert, which would need FEMA approval and would take an unknown amount of time. Discussion was also held regarding improvements to Kitchen Street with three lanes and a sidewalk from Nettleton to Matthews. Also discussed was what the traffic study covering the north part of the city should include. Questions were also raised concerning whether some of the improvements needed to wait until the highway department finishes the improvements they’re going to make to Highway 63. It was suggested to allow time for the full committee to look over the recommendations and hold a public hearing before taking the recommendations before the full Council.
Questions were also raised concerning the King Street light, which was recently turned on. Mayor Formon informed the committee that traffic was backing up in the north bound lane of Stadium from vehicles unable to get through the light because of the doubt cycle. It was suggested that the lights be timed so that there is only one cycle and not two. It was added one cycle would back up traffic at the mall, but not on the street. So, complaints might be heard from the mall.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, Councilman Farmer moved, seconded by Councilman Province to adjourn. All voted aye.