09-26-2011 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 26, 2011 7:00 o'clock p.m. • (10. OLD CRYSTAL BAYROAD UPDATED COST ESTIMATES AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION, Continued) Rahn stated it was his understanding the City could not use state aid money if it did not meet the MSA standard. Rahn commented he wished he had known three months ago that they could have submitted the project for state aid funds. Rahn asked when the City would hear back from the MSA. Amundsen indicated they would likely hear back from the state within three months and that it would probably be sometime in November or December. Amundsen stated they would still need to submit a set of plans and calculations to MSA for review. Bremer asked what the realistic expectation would be for approval of the state aid dollars. Amundsen stated the likelihood is fairly small. McMillan asked if the mill and overlay project would require plans regardless if they submit it to MSA. Amundsen stated there may be ways to structure the City's material bid process to ensure that all the public bidding laws are followed. Mattick noted the threshold for bidding is $100,000 and that the bidding process is implemented when the project is expected to be over $100,000. Sometimes parties will break it into two pieces to keep it under • $100,000, but that he would recommend keeping it as one project. Mattick stated he is not sure the City has ever had a project where the materials have come in over $100,000. At the beginning of the year the City approves a materials bid but typically it does not include an entire stretch of road and it would typically be a separate process and be subject to the bidding requirements. In order to bid the project, plans would be required. Mattick stated the bidding process does require some time, and the City Council is probably looking at a 35 to 40 day bidding process. Rahn asked if they go down the state aid path, whether they would still be able to bid the project in January. Amundsen stated that is dependent on how soon a decision is made by the MSA. Franchot asked how the project would be paid for if they do not use state aid funds. Olson stated the City has three options it can consider. There is a fund called a permanent improvement revolving fund. Its purpose is to provide temporary funding for projects that have no other source of funding. In the years prior to the pavement management plan, the City was levying at the end of each year $200,000 into that fund. The City currently has $250,000 in the PIR fund that was originally levied for additional road overlays, and those funds could be used for this project. Olson noted that would be his preferred method of funding the mill and overlay project. Olson indicated they could transfer the money out of the PIR fund into the pavement management fund. The second option would be to pay it directly out of the pavement management fund, which has a balance • of $1.5 million. Olson indicated the City sold approximately $1.4 million worth of bonds for the Orono Orchard Road project. The current estimates are that that road project will cost the City $1.25 million Page 4 of 10