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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-22-2018 Council Minutes MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 22,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. ROLL CALL The Orono City Council met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor Dennis Walsh,City Council Members Richard Crosby,III,Wendy Dankey,Aaron Printup,and Victoria Seals. Representing Staff were Finance Director Ron Olson,City Engineer/Public Works Director Adam Edwards,Consulting City Engineer David Martini,and Recorder Jackie Young. Mayor Walsh called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.,followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA CONSENT AGENDA 1. CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JANUARY 8, 2018 2. CLAIMSBILLS 3. APPROVAL OF 2018 TOBACCO LICENSE RENEWALS 4. APPROVAL OF 2018 KENNEL LICENSE RENEWALS 5. ORONO PTO GAMBLING PERMIT—RESOLUTION NO.6827 6. AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE 2018 SQUAD CARS 7. #425—DUMP/PLOW TRUCK REPLACEMENT 8. PICKUP TRUCK REPLACEMENTS 9. BRINE MAKER PROCUREMENT 10. WATERTOWN ROAD PHASE 2 REHABILITATION PAY REQUEST NO. 5—FINAL Printup moved,Crosby seconded,to approve the Consent Agenda as submitted. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. PUBLIC COMMENTS None FINANCE REPORT Ron Olson,Finance Director, provided an overview of the City's financial status for 2017. Olson stated in a typical year,some of the prior year's bills will still be processed in the new year until February sometime. There are approximately$150,000 in outstanding invoices at this time. In addition,the City does not receive its final portion of the City's tax levy until the end of January,which is between $100,000 and$210,000. Page 1 of 7 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 22,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. FINANCE REPORT—Continued Olson stated overall the City's revenues were up in 2017 and the City finished the year at approximately 104 percent of budget,which is approximately$154,000 more than budgeted in permits and fees. Collection of taxes will probably finish at around 98 percent once the final tax payment is received. In 2017,the City had 74 new homes versus 34 homes in 2016,which resulted in the increased revenues and pass-through charges. Olson reported the Orono Golf Course continues to perform better than budgeted and is expected to be around$46,000 over what was budgeted for revenue in 2017. Approximately five years ago the golf course revenues were around$100,000. In addition,building permit revenue was probably at a record high for the City in 2017. As it relates to expenditures,the City is currently at 98.95 percent of budget. Once all outstanding invoices are paid,the City will be around 100 percent of budget. Olson noted some departments were over budget in 2017,such as administration,and that is attributable to the interim city administrator. Law and legal services as well as code updates,lawsuits,and central services related to the building repairs at the Public Works building attributed to that increase. Currently the police department is at 95 percent of the budget but will finish the year at around 96 percent. Special services came in at$41,000 over budget but are related to the pass-through charges. Olson noted some numbers are not completely finalized but that overall the City's expenditures are in line with what was budgeted for 2017. Olson reported the City's auditors were at the City last Thursday and Friday doing preliminary field work and that the audit work will continue for the next few months. Walsh asked if the numbers will be finalized by the end of February. Olson indicated by the end of February the expenditure numbers will be pretty fine by that time. Walsh suggested having another update at the end of February. Olson stated they have also interviewed five people for the finance position and that they hope to hear back from the one candidate that they offered the position to tomorrow. PUBLIC WORKS/CITY ENGINEER REPORT 11. OLD CRYSTAL BAY ROAD (CSAH 112-CSAH 6)DESIGN UPDATE Edwards stated over the past several months the City has been working with the School District in order to come up with some viable solutions for Old Crystal Bay Road. Edwards stated at this time the consulting engineer has come up with a preliminary design and that they would like to get some initial guidance from the City Council on cost sharing and partnering with the School District. David Martini,Consulting City Engineer,addressed the City Council regarding the proposed improvements for. Martini reviewed the present condition of the roadway,noting that there are currently 11 access points along the roadway,which leads to some of the issues that they have been dealing with. Page 2 of 7 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 22,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. 11. OLD CRYSTAL BAY ROAD (CSAH 112-CSAH 6)DESIGN UPDATE—Continued The key challenges with the roadway include densely spaced driveways and intersections,pedestrian and vehicle conflicts,and congestion at the high school and middle school. Martini indicated they have a very good idea of some traffic flow issues down at the southern portion of the corridor as well as up by Highway 6. Those issues include vehicle stacking at certain times of the day at both ends of the roadway. In coming up with the new design,traffic control options were looked at to alleviate the stacking and vehicle/pedestrian conflicts and included a through stop control,an all-way stop control,and traffic signals. The preferred alternative is to add turn lanes at key locations,eliminate some access points and combine other access points. Two possible areas have been identified where the access points can be closed and an analysis has been completed of changes to the internal circulation done on the campus. Martini stated at the south end of the corridor,they are looking at adding a left turn lane for northbound traffic and a turn lane for southbound traffic. There will be two lanes of traffic bringing people into the parking lot without having to take turns. The stretch between Wayzata Boulevard and the access into the parking lot is an area where some new sidewalks would be constructed and a trail has been proposed along the west side. As it relates to the northern section,the existing conditions consist of two 4-way stops. The goal with the new design is to create a primary access point that lines up with some key points at the school. In addition,a concrete median is being proposed between the two 4-way stops,which accomplishes a separation of the traffic and takes up dead space when the road is widened out. Also being proposed is a new crosswalk that would line up between the entrances to the middle school and high school. That new crosswalk would have a push button with a flashing light. Martini stated on the east side of the road there is the existing trail and on the west side some new sidewalks are being proposed to help funnel the pedestrians to the new crosswalk. Crosby asked how wide the median would be. Martini indicated the median would be 10 to 12 feet wide. At the north 4-way stop, some turn lanes would be added as well as a through left turn lane into the middle school and then a left turn lane and a right into the high school. In addition,on the high school side of the road, some minor adjustments are being proposed to the parking area to provide some more separation away from the intersection and to improve internal circulation. As it relates to the south 4-way stop,on the west side it is being proposed that the existing access location be closed off and slid south to line up with the access corridor that goes into the high school. That then creates the need to have a new access point into the middle school which would be constructed as part of the project. Martini stated ultimately what this will lead to is some improved traffic operations. Martini indicated the blue lines on the map depict the proposed conditions and the orange lines depict the existing traffic conditions. With the proposed design,the stacking will occur in the turn lanes and will be localized around the intersections. Other benefits with the new plan include the establishment of key primary intersections,a reduction from 11 full access points to five,and improved traffic operations without the cost of traffic signals. Martini stated overall the plan efficiently accommodates all traffic movements at key intersections and provides pedestrian crossing connections between school entrances. Page 3 of 7 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 22,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. 11. OLD CRYSTAL BAY ROAD (CSAH 112-CSAH 6)DESIGN UPDATE—Continued Crosby asked if they would be flashing stop signs. Martini indicated that type of detail has not been finalized at this stage but that the sign will likely be flashing. Seals asked if the proposed school circulation changes include ways to pull vehicles off of Old Crystal Bay Road, such as requiring all right turns at certain times of the day. Seals asked what the school is specifically doing with their internal flow. Dankey stated in front of the intermediate school there would be two lanes plus additional parking. It would be one way in and one way out. Vehicles can only go in on the right side,through the parking lot and then out. Dankey noted the circle on the map depicts all the new parking spots. Edwards stated a lot of the traffic changes will be on the school campus,which helps eliminate the need for stoplights. Edwards illustrated on the overhead how the traffic flow will be at the high school and middle school. In addition,the entrance to Okay Kids will be relocated and there will be consolidation of the access points. Martini stated by separating the primary access points out,the stacking will not interfere with the movements at the intersections. In addition,the circular movements will now occur on the school campus rather than having the vehicles come back out on Old Crystal Bay Road. The future connection onto Wayzata Boulevard will also help improve the traffic flow. Martini stated the challenges associated with the project are construction staging so it results in minimal impact during school months,one year versus a two-year project,and bidding the project as one package versus phasing school projects. As it relates to costs,the road improvements are estimated at$1.3 to$1.4 million. The new sidewalks are estimated at $55,000,the lighting at$100,000,and the pedestrian signal at$25,000. The school site reconfiguration is anticipated to be around$740,000. The total city costs are estimated at$1,555,500. Martini noted the City is also planning some utility work as part of this project which are not included in these costs. Walsh stated due to the deteriorating condition of the pipes,it would be very advantageous to replace those as part of this project rather than digging up the road later. Martini concurred that based on the condition of the utilities,it would be necessary to dig up the road at some point regardless. Edwards stated the numbers up on the screen have been grouped into different categories. The left column talks about the total costs,including the costs for the campus improvements. The costs have been anticipated at$2.1 million for pavement, $189,800 for sidewalk, $100,000 for lighting, $25,000 for the pedestrian signal,utilities at$650,000,and engineering at$626,020,which includes the feasibility study, design/engineering, and construction oversight. The second column reflects just the City's costs and the third column reflects the school's cost. Edwards indicated they are looking to cost share 50 percent on the sidewalk,lighting,pedestrian signal, 8 percent of the construction costs, and 10 percent of the construction costs. Edwards stated there is another cost sharing possibility on the stormwater. Page 4 of 7 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 22,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. 11. OLD CRYSTAL BAY ROAD (CSAH 112-CSAH 6)DESIGN UPDATE—Continued Seals asked if the City has enough in their utility funds to do the improvements. Edwards indicated they do. Seals asked how much money the City currently has in MSA funds. Edwards stated there is approximately$700,000 in the account currently but that he is estimating there will be between$300,000 to $400,000 in that account after the improvements to Leaf Street. Edwards stated the City typically receives $200,000 in MSA funds a year. Walsh asked how much of the engineering fees would come out of the utility fund versus the MSA fund. Edwards noted part of those construction fees would be paid for by the school. Edwards stated what the City has done on other projects for the engineering fees is distribute it by percentages of the overall construction. Edwards stated if utility costs are 30 percent of the project,then that is how much would be taken from the utility funds. Edwards stated as the design is refined,there will be opportunities to attribute some of the work to the utilities rather than the road, such as the excavation of the existing utilities. Dankey asked if there has been any money budgeted for curb and gutter. Edwards stated there is$250,000 estimated for stormwater and that they would need to refine whether that would include curb and gutter. Edwards noted there may be a potential cost share with the school on that item and that they will need to take a further look at the design to see where curb and gutter might be needed. Printup asked when the negotiations will be firmed up with the School District. Edwards stated tonight they are asking for Council authorization so Bolton&Menk can continue with a more detailed design. That motion should be contingent upon the school board doing the same. Edwards stated as they go through the design process,they will negotiate who pays for what. Edwards stated in order for the project to go forward,the City needs to approach it as a partnership. Walsh asked when the design needs to be completed in order to bid the project this year. Edwards stated they are looking to go out for bids in April,with the awarding of the bids in May and construction starting in June. Martini stated they need February and March for design, go out for bids in April,and awarding of bids in early May. Martini stated the length of the project will depend on whether or not a traffic control plan can be developed for people going in and out of the school. Martini stated they are pretty limited in what they can do in the right-of-way during school. Walsh stated the project will likely be two years and that the sewer and water needs to be done. Edwards stated excavation takes the most time. Page 5 of 7 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 22,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. 11. OLD CRYSTAL BAY ROAD (CSAH 112-CSAH 6)DESIGN UPDATE—Continued Dankey asked if the current project on the school campus uses more of the southern half of the road or the northern half. Edwards stated most of the construction traffic comes in the back way off of Old Highway 12. Edwards stated traffic and construction coordination plans will need to be developed. Martini noted there will also be different sporting events that will need to be coordinated with the roadway project. Printup stated he is happy to see the cooperation between the City and the school and that he is comfortable with the project because there is this partnership between the City and the school. Walsh stated the infrastructure issues will only continue to get worse and that it is getting to be time where something needs to be done. Martini stated with proper maintenance,the road should last a long, long time. Crosby moved,Dankey seconded,to approve Bolton and Menk to commence design of the Old Crystal Bay Road for a total fee not to exceed$247,500,contingent upon the Orono School Board's approval to continue a partnership with the City on the project. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Seals and Printup had nothing to report. Crosby stated he is proud his daughter will be graduating from college and that he would encourage everyone to keep striving in life so their goals will be met. Dankey commented she is excited about the snow and the opportunity to use her snowmobiles. Walsh stated the police chief has reported that the streets are getting plowed but that given the cold temperatures and the wind,the roads will be icy. Walsh commented it is nice to see the school and the City working together on this project. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT None Page 6of7 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 22,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. ADJOURNMENT Seals moved,Printup seconded, to adjourn the Orono City Council meeting at 7:58 p.m. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. ATTEST: ..0}11-9:3243-7 Anna Carlson,City Carlson Dennis Walsh,Mayor Page 7 of 7