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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 11, 2011 7:00 o'clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 21 of 30 (8. OLD CRYSTAL BAY ROAD RECONSTRUCTION PLAN AND SPECIFICATION APPROVAL AND AUTHORIZATION TO ADVERTISE, Continued) Franchot moved, Bremer seconded, to approve the plans submitted by the City Engineer containing the various options requested by the Council and to direct that those plans and specifications be put out for bid, with the bids being received by May 19th, and with the final bid numbers being presented to the Council on May 23rd. Rahn commented he does not see any benefit to not put this project out to bid. Rahn noted the Council is not here tonight to decide whether the project moves forward but to approve putting it out for bids. If in fact the project does not move forward for whatever reason, the Council will need to have more discussion than simply making a motion on how to proceed. Rahn reiterated at this point he does not see any benefit to the City by not putting the project out for bid since it would involve minimal costs to the City. McMillan asked if there will be any work required by the City Engineer in May. Kellogg stated the only work planned at the present time is relocating the utilities so they are out of the way for when the project starts. Kellogg indicated his office will also need to respond to some of the state’s questions. McMillan stated if the landscaping, irrigation, and trees and shrubs were removed for cost reasons, that she would not expect the school board to have any interest in maintaining the median and that she has a concern that it will become an eyesore if it is merely grass. McMillan stated in thinking about the landscaping, if all the landscaping is left out, it will leave a flawed design, and that is one of the issues she has with proceeding forward with going out for bids. Bremer requested the mayor call the question. Printup stated as it relates to the comments from the open house, it was said that it's a great idea, but then it goes on to say, way too much traffic for the road the way it is now. Other comments were that the design does not greatly improve the elementary drop off; make sure the entrance to the middle school lot is available; traffic flow as it is currently set up does not work very well; plans address both safety concerns and traffic flow problems; current traffic congestion and flow is abysmal and concerning; it's scary to leave the parking lot from the school. Printup commented that it may not necessarily be a problem with the road itself but it could be a problem with the school bus drop-off and pickup design. Printup noted in the past he has asked why the school is so interested in this project, is the City alleviating a problem for them and why do they want this project. Printup stated it goes back to the discussion that the Council had months ago when he asked what skin in the game the school has. Printup stated even with the new design the stacking will likely continue. The drop-off times might go from 45 minutes to 40 minutes. There might also be a few accidents during the learning process of the roundabouts. McMillan commented there could also be some new stacking problems with the roundabouts. Item #03 - CC Agenda - 04/25/2011 Approval of Council Minutes 04/11/2011 [Page 21 of 30]