05-23-2011 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, May 23, 2011 7:00 o'clock p.m. (6. OLD CRYSTAL BAYROAD RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT BID CONSIDERATION, Continued) after the bypass project was complete. Old Crystal Bay Road and Willow'Road north of Highway 12 are in bad shape. The recommendation was to change the schedule to put Old Crystal Bay Road at the head of the line, which was unanimously approved by the previous City Council. Council then went to Staff and asked how the road could be done. Three options were presented, which included rebuilding the road and addressing the congestion issues of the current road; two, including two roundabouts, and the third was to include three roundabouts. After getting the school board involved and getting their input, the decision was made to go with two roundabouts. As the plan developed, there were concerns raised regarding access to the school for large vehicles. The-school contributed a study by an engineer that led to adding a third roundabout, which made the plan acceptable to both the school and the City's emergency services. The City Council gave the engineer direction to continue with the revised plan with three roundabouts. • Franchot noted the school board has stepped up to assist with the project by donating, to the City the right - of -ways and land for storm water needs. The school had indicated a strong need for a paved path on the west side of the road, which would be paid for by the school. Franchot stated this project in his view is a great example of the two entities working together to solve a community problem. The Council delayed its decision on the project to address some of the concerns of the new Council members, but as itnow turns out, that delayed things to the point that the City did not receive as many bids as we would have • liked. Franchot noted the one bid received is very close to what the engineers projected except for the pipe and some remediation issues. Franchot stated in his opinion the project has been fully vetted and is within reasonable cost. Franchot pointed out that very little or essentially none of the Old Crystal Bay Road project comes out of direct property taxes. The real expense to the City is the interest on the bonds and that the principal will come through state funds. The issue before the Council currently is what kind of roadway should be built to replace this street. The demonstrations on roundabouts were quite convincing. Franchot noted about half of the people on the combined City Council and school board were initially skeptical of roundabouts, but following the research and watching the computer simulations, there was unanimous support for roundabouts. Franchot asked if roundabouts are now the preferred way to handle intersections. Kellogg indicated that is true in certain cases. Franchot pointed out there are different kinds of roundabouts and sizes and that the roundabouts being proposed are the right size for this roadway and will do more to solve the traffic issues than any other plans that were considered. The Council has discussed at length the median. Alternate C is for a 10 -foot median with some plantings chosen for their low maintenance qualities. Franchot indicated in his opinion that is the way to go. There were some concerns about whether maintenance will be an issue. Franchot commented he saw a median today in a neighboring city that is very low maintenance but looks very nice. The school has offered to help out by utilizing their grounds keeping staff to do moderate day -to -day maintenance. Franchot stated in his opinion the Council has addressed all of the issues thoroughly but that there is a • political discussion going on about whether Orono should do just the absolute minimum or whether Page 4 of 24