10-27-2014 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, October 27, 2014 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 24 of 32 (11. PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN, Continued) Martini noted this is a planning level document, and that as projects are being considered, it would be recommended that a feasibility study be prepared to determine the exact scope of each project. Martini indicated the plan lays out the roads based on different conditions ranging from seal coating and crack sealing to mill and overlays to complete reconstruction. As part of the feasibility study, especially with the roads that are being considered for reconstruction, the option of reclamation would also be looked at. As it relates to funding, the City has a Pavement Management Fund, a municipal state aid fund, the general fund, and possible franchise fees and special assessments. Martini indicated the state aid system is for cities with a population of over 5,000, which Orono is, and is comprised of up to 20 percent of the roads that the City owns and maintains. Those are roads that would be eligible for state aid and include generally the collector roads. The amount of funds received from the state aid system is based on the population and the other 50 percent is based on the needs that have been identified. Orono has approximately 9.5 miles of state aid routes, which includes all or portions of Brown Road, Ferndale, Fox Street, Leaf Street, Old Crystal Bay Road, Watertown Road and Willow Drive. Martini stated presently the City’s annual allocation for road construction is $171,000 a year. The current MSA balance is a little over $867,000. Martini noted in a separate fund the City has $375,000 available and $117,000 available in a maintenance account. Martini stated it is important to point out that the City currently has a portion of its MSA account that is dedicated to debt service, which was $195,000 this year. McMillan asked what some examples of MSA maintenance would be. Martini stated he is not sure whether the City Engineer has any examples of what the City has used MSA funds for in the past, but that generally speaking it would cover patching potholes, crack sealing, and other types of general work that the City’s Public Works Department performs in maintaining the roads. McMillan asked if the state aid money can be used towards construction. Martini indicated he is not sure whether that money can be used for construction, but that the City probably has enough maintenance needs that the money could be used for. Martini stated he will need to get back to the City Council on that item. Martini stated if you look at the overall needs on the system, $4 million has been identified for the low volume roads spread over a 10-year period, $4.5 million has been identified for collector roads, and $3.7 million has been identified for state aid roads. Total needs amount to over $12.3 million over a 10-year period. Martini noted the previous pavement management identified over $20 million in repairs and that the change in philosophy of just working within the road footprint has reduced that number by approximately $8 million.