City Council Minutes 09-13-2004 SpecialMINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
Monday, September 13, 2004 5 p.m.
Members Present: Roger Carlson, Glen Posusta, Robbie Smith, Brian Stumpf and Bruce
Thielen.
Members Absent: None
1. Call to Order.
Mayor Thielen called the meeting to order and explained the purpose of the special meeting
was to interview firms to be considered for the design of the City water tower.
2. Interviews:
5:00 p.m.: KLM Engineering, Inc.
Jack Kollmer, representing KLM gave a presentation on their firm and the role they would play
in the design and construction of the water tower. KLM would be providing the inspection
services regardless of which of three engineering firms interviewed is selected.
Mr. Kollmer reviewed the services his firm provides at the various stages of the process from
preparation of plans and specifications, review of shop drawings, shop inspection of welding,
surface preparation, primer application and painting. They also would be providing field
inspection during the construction process. He emphasized that good inspection services at all
stages of the project can save money as errors or flaws can be detected sooner and corrected.
Mr. Kollmer emphasized the hands on approach his firm uses.
Mr. Kollmer also discussed shop priming -vs- field preparation. Since field preparation
requires containment, he felt that shop priming would be the way to go.
John Simola asked what type of warranties are acceptable. Jack Kollmer said two year
warranties are typical. John Simola also asked about cathodic protection. Jack Kollmer stated
that if you have cathodic protection and there is a failure, there is protection against corrosion.
If you don't have cathodic protection you should monitor the surface on a three year basis and
there is likely to be more spot maintenance.
Brian Stumpf asked if KLM inspectors team up with city staff for inspections. John Simola
indicated that for the most part KLM would be doing all of the inspections and city staff would
be involved only on certain occasions. Matt Theisen asked about KLM's work load and if they
have sufficient number of inspectors for the work load.
Council Minutes Special Meeting - 9/13/04
5:30 p.m. - Progressive Consulting Engineers, Inc.
Naeem Qureshi and David Brown made the presentation for Progressive Consulting Engineers.
Mr. Qureshi indicated that the water tower is a fairly standard project but pointed out there are a
number of items to consider in order to have a successful project. One is the public acceptance
of the location of the tower in or near a residential area. He suggested locating the tower to
minimize opposition from residents and to provide proper screening of the site. He also
discussed computer model simulation of the existing system and the future system. This would
allow them to see how the new tank would work with other storage facilities in the system and
to see if the new tank fills as it is meant to. The third item is selection of the type of tank
desired, composite or steel. Mr. Qureshi noted that the standards are not in place for composite
tanks as there are for steel tanks. He thought that steel tanks were easier to add antennas or
additional openings on to. Other factors he felt important were making sure the design allowed
for ease in operation of the facility and that the project would have quality inspection. The
inspection would ensure conformance with the specifications which would increase the
operating life of the tower. It is proposed to bid clear coating as an alternative.
If selected for the project, PCE had a time line of September 2004 through July, 2006 for
project completion.
John Simola asked about determining cost differences between composite tower and steel
towers and how PCE would make a recommendation to the City. Mr. Qureshi stated that the
cost of steel is going up. He indicated that most of the projects PCE has worked on recently
have been steel rather than composite but their firm has constructed composites.
John Simola asked about change orders. Mr. Qureshi stated that change orders occur only
about 2%. When specifications are not clear, is when you end up with change orders on a
project. Dave Brown added that KLM is given a copy of the design plans for their review
which he felt helped give them a good project.
John Simola asked what they would do to ensure that there was a good quality painter for the
project. PCE indicated there would be a pre -qualification document which would eliminate
those less experienced people from the project.
John Simola asked if there was any benefit to a pre-bid conference. Mr. Qureshi felt a pre-bid
conference was a must since it helps eliminates ambiguities in the plans and specifications.
Glen Posusta questioned the 90 hours on preliminary design while other firms had 300 hours or
more. Mr. Qureshi stated that the project is fairly standard and the design is relatively simple.
6:00 p.m. - Bonestroo, Rosene, Anderlik & Associates
Tom Rashard and Mark Rolfs made the presentation for Bonestroo, Rosene, Anderlik &
Associates. They discussed the type of towers noting that there is not the structural design
codes for composite towers as there is for steel towers. Mark Rolfs emphasized that public
Council Minutes Special Meeting - 9/13/04
acceptance of the project is a key factor and suggested a neighborhood meeting to keep nearby
residents informed of what was taking place. Plus he felt computer renditions of how the
tower will look in a given location will go a long way to alleviate residents concerns. Mr. Rolfs
also discussed ways to minimize the impact of the tower location in a residential area and in
this case he would suggest that the building and tower be switched around on the site.
BRA would propose bidding both a composite and steel tower as they felt that would get a
better price as well as more bids. He also noted the volatility of steel prices.
Mark Rolfs discussed computer modeling and if an altitude valve would be needed. Mr. Rolfs
indicated they customize their design stands to match KLM inspection methods. Mr. Rolfs also
covered placement of antennas, etc. on the tower and provided some examples of how that was
done on various towers they constructed. He also addressed the hydraulic imbalance in the
City's system.
John Simola asked what could be done to speed up the shop drawing approval process. Bruce
Thielen asked about the mezzanine and the antenna placement. Mr. Rolfs stated that if the City
knew the requirements of antennas that would be placed on the mezzanine this would be
incorporated into the tower design. Glen Posusta asked what the thickness was of the concrete
wall on a composite tower. Mr. Rolfs indicated 9"-11 ". Matt Theisen asked about bleeding
rust in the winter. Robbie Smith asked about the number of hours they showed and if this
was because they were bidding both types of tank. He also asked if their not to exceed price
was guaranteed. Mr. Rolfs stated that if the scope of the project did not change the price would
not change.
6:30 p.m. WSB & Associates, Inc.
Nancy Ziegler and Bret Weiss gave the presentation for WSB & Associates. Bret Weiss stated
that WSB does have the staff who can climb the tower and make sure the project is done
correctly. Bret Weiss went over the staff members from his firm who would be working on the
project if WSB was selected and noted that KLM would be providing the inspection services
for WSB on this project.
Nancy Ziegler reviewed the various phases of the project from preliminary study to post
construction operation. She went on to discuss other items such a size and type of tower,
layout of the tower on the parcel, design issues, cost and public acceptance of the project. She
noted that the rising cost of steel made looking at a composite tower worthwhile. She felt it
was important that the city got the tower they wanted with the life expectancy that was
specified. She stated construction management is very important as is inspection of the work.
Bruce Thielen asked how many tower projects she had been involved with. Nancy Ziegler
indicated that there were two locally and a number of them in Venezuela.
Nancy Ziegler indicated the design work could be done by January 2005 and construction
would run through August 2006.
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Council Minutes Special Meeting - 9/13/04
John Simola asked her opinion about antennas on the tower. Nancy Ziegler said there isn't a
problem with putting antennas on the mezzanine but she did recommend separate entrances.
Tom Perrault asked about public acceptance. Bret Weiss said that once an engineering firm has
been selected that firm could begin to look at ways to mitigate the impact of the water tower.
He also noted that public informational meetings would help create a better acceptance of the
proj ect.
3. Adjourn
The meeting closed at 6:55 p.m.
Recording Secretary
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