01-31-2011 Council Minutes Special City Council Meeting

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MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL ORONO CITY COUNCIL Monday, January 31, 2011 8:00 o'clock a.m. Bremer noted they are not comparing apples -to- apples because the 4' concrete median doesn't include boulevard street trees, which is a major cost of the landscaped median. Franchot added by his calculation the landscaped median is 56% of the cost of the 4' hardcover. Slack agreed, noting in the landscaped median concept there were 32 median trees and 123 boulevard trees. The trees have been removed from the images since part of the discussion from the last meeting included removal of boulevard trees, which also lead to some of the starkness of the images. Slack stated for the 4' median concept there are 820 lineal feet of railing between the middle and high schools. Roundabout treatments stayed the same in both cost estimates but can be refined in the future. The total for the 4' median is $156,000, which only includes the concrete median pavement and cable railing. The original landscaped median cost estimate is about $170,000, less $61,500 for removal of the boulevard street trees, for a:total of $108,000. is Slack discussed the additional document that represents a potential long -term maintenance plan. With approximately 2,000 lineal feet of landscaped areas, minus small median areas around the roundabouts, the estimate is approximately $6 per lineal feet. Most other streetscapes he has worked on have higher maintenance costs because they are more labor intensive. Also included is a square foot cost of $.90 for the roundabout areas for a total annual maintenance cost of approximately $22,000 for the landscaped • median. Since the city has indicated they do not want to use irrigation, an option would be to establish a maintenance plan agreement with the landscape contractor for the first two or three years that could include plant maintenance, replanting trees that die, pruning, trimming, and watering. After the contract expires, the city would take over maintenance of the landscaping. Tree establishment is key to the maintenance plan. The $22,000 estimate would begin after the first three years. Slack generally does a yearly review of maintenance needs. Slack continued with the second maintenance estimate for the concrete median. This plan wouldn't need an agreement with a landscape contractor except for the roundabout area for two years. The majority of the costs are related to cleaning and redoing concrete and cleaning and repainting of the railing. The overall length and roundabout area is the same for both estimates. The estimated cost is $3.20 per lineal foot but would probably be between $2.80 and $3.00. The total estimate for the concrete median maintenance is between $15,000 and $16,500, probably beginning after the second year. McMillan asked if the city is taking a risk by not including irrigation in landscape project. Slack felt confident that the city could move forward without irrigation, but it helps to alleviate potential issues. It is most beneficial during the initial growth and establishment period. In many of their projects, irrigation is used in the first three years and then turned off. For this project, they have focused on plant materials that can survive in urban conditions and heavy salt use. Kellogg asked if it is more cost effective to install irrigation knowing it will only be used for the first • three years as opposed to including a three -year contract with landscape contractor. Page 4 of 12