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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL Monday, January 24, 2011 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 11 of 15 (8. OLD CRYSTAL BAY ROAD RECONSTRUCTION PLAN UPDATE, Continued) hardcover. Franchot indicated he has attempted to understand Mayor McMillan’s concerns, but that in his view a narrower median will not be attractive. McMillan stated her two main concerns deal with the maintenance of the median and landscaping and the width of the roadway. McMillan pointed out the roundabouts would have landscaping on them and that landscaping may add more visual obstacles. Franchot indicated he would be agreeable to the City committing to maintain the landscaping. Slack stated typically a maintenance plan is developed outlining the various costs. Slack indicated he could provide that to the City tomorrow if they would like to see that. Printup indicated he would like to see an alternative to what has been proposed tonight and that he personally would like to visualize the alternative as well prior to approving any plan tonight. Bremer commented it was her understanding that the Council needed to reach a decision on this item tonight, and asked what the deadline is if the City is going to meet their deadline of having the road completed before school starts in the fall. Kellogg indicated they are approximately two weeks behind the schedule outlined in the feasibility study and that they had hoped to have the Watershed District’s approval by today. Bids are anticipated to be opened May 9th and construction on the roadway would start immediately after school is finished. Kellogg stated the preliminary design was anticipated to be complete in January, followed by completion of the permitting in February. Printup indicated he is not comfortable approving the landscaping and median tonight and that he would like to see a plan with the narrower median. Kempf commented that the discussion tonight appears to be largely driven by costs, and that if the purpose of the median is to control pedestrian traffic, without landscaping, the Council is possibly looking at cable railing at $80 to $90 a lineal foot. When those two are weighed against each other, it does not appear the City would be saving any short-term money by eliminating the landscaping. Kellogg stated they recently received a bid of $60 per lineal foot for the cable railing. McMillan commented she is also unsure whether the landscaping would deter pedestrian traffic and that there are also long-term maintenance costs associated with the railing. Franchot asked what McMillan would propose for the median. McMillan stated she would make the medians at the crosswalks wider. Franchot asked what the narrow points would look like. Item #03 - CC Agenda - 02/14/2011 Approve Council Minutes 01/24/2011 [Page 11 of 15]