City Council Minutes 03-24-2003 Special�- MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
March 24, 2003 - 5:30 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 workshop meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. A quorum of the Council was
present.
2. Core Street Reconstruction Workshop.
Kevin Kawlewski from WSB & Associates reviewed the feasibility report for the Core Street
Reconstruction program. Phase I of the Core Street Reconstruction program was split into two
areas running north and south of the railroad tracks. Phase I, in its entirety, encompasses the area
south of Broadway to 7" Street and lying between Chestnut Street and Pine Street.
As part of the street reconstruction program, the City is also looking at replacing utilities where
needed. Figure 4 of the feasibility report outlined sections of sanitary sewer pipe that was intended
to be replaced as well as those lines where repairs were needed. Televising of the lines revealed
dips in the line, cracked pipe and valve separation. The cost estimate for utility work is based on
what was televised and would be pro -rated over the whole area. Kevin Kawlewski stated that
due to the age and condition of the pipe, he would recommend that prior to placing the final lift of
blacktop, the lines be televised again to make sure there was no damage to the pipe during the
course of construction. There is some storm sewer proposed for construction in the area of Elm
Street and Minnesota Street but this will be a developer driven cost and not a direct cost to the city.
The storm sewer work includes a ponding area and some piping. Figure 8 of the feasibility report
showed which streets were gravel, which had curb and gutter and which did not. Figure 9 showed
the watermain location. It is proposed to relocate the lines on 3rd Street and 4t" Street to the other
side of the street. It is also proposed to replace the 4" line that exists on Minnesota Street and
Locust Street. Removing only the 4" lines and not the 6" line as initially discussed would reduce the
project costs. There was some discussion on the average life of cast iron pipe. Kevin Kawlewski
stated that cast iron pipe can last as long as 100 years or it can fail after 30 years. John Simola
suggested leaving the 6" line in place and have a leak detection company come in and see if there are
any leaks. John Simola asked if the pipe is relocated to other side of the street, would the City
have to replace those services that were replaced in 1978. John Simola estimated that 25% of the
sewer pipe would need replacement. As far as the watermain, John Simola stated that 4" line should
definitely be removed because it is extremely old and the valves are bad. The decision to remove
the 6" line would be made by the Council. The estimated cost for removing the 6" line would be
$800,000.
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The Council discussed the commercial section of streets proposed for Locust Street and Minnesota
Street. A commercial section is being proposed because of the high volume of traffic on these
streets and the bad soils. John Simola stated that on most of the streets there is 5 %2" of bituminous.
Kevin Kawlewski said they need to take samples of the material because in the 70's some of the
materials used were low on aggregate. He stated that a lot depends on the amount of Class V that
is present. John Simola asked what steps would be taken to reduce the amount of disruption for
the residents in the area. Kevin Kawlewski explained procedures that could be utilized and added
that the amount of subsurface work they had to do will impact how long the project will take. Glen
Posusta asked about the need to replace curb that is only cracked. Kevin Kawlewski stated that
the cracks allow water to seep in and then the freeze/thaw cycle further deteriorates the curb. Glen
Posusta also questioned the removal of 5 1/2" of blacktop. Bruce Thielen stated that since we don't
know what is below the blacktop, we don't know how much work is going to be involved. Kevin
Kawlewski explained the reclaiming process. It is proposed that the residential street section will
consist of 6" of the reclaimed bituminous mixture and sand with 3" of blacktop. Kevin Kawlewski
was of the opinion that the reclaimed asphalt mix provided a better base. Kevin Kawlewski said
that once the analysis of the borings was done they will update the feasibility report to reflect those
findings. John Simola emphasized the need to proceed with the project. If the public hearing for
the project is held on April 14', the project could be bid in May. The Council didn't want to se this
work going much beyond September. It was suggested to leave it as an option in the specifications
whether to place the second lift of blacktop in the spring of 2004.
There was discussion on how much of the area should be covered in the first phase. Some felt that
only Area 1=A should be done at this time. The concern was since this was anew program that
would be ongoing for a lengthy period of time, it was important that the first phase was manageable
and could be done smoothly and efficiently. If that happened, it was felt future phases would be
easier. John Simola was concerned about getting further behind with the street reconstruction and
he favored including both Area 1-A and 1-B in the first phase. Glen Posusta and Bruce Thielen felt
that starting a little smaller and having good success the first year might make it better for future
years. Kevin Kawlewski suggested that if Area 1-A was done this year, Area 1-B could be
combined with Phase III. It was noted that because of the amount of utility work required, Phase I
would most likely be the most costly phase. In other phases of the street reconstruction program
there is pvc pipe in place instead of the clay pipe so the utility costs in these areas should not be as
high. Brian Stumpf stated that if you take the new development area, such as the Vine Place
Townhomes out of Area 1-B it is not such a big area and could be done with Area 1-A.
The estimated cost for Area 1-A is approximately $2,427,540 and for Area 1-B it is
approximately $1,228,100. There was discussion of funding for the work. John Simola reminded
the Council that the City Engineer had recommended doing a rate survey to determine if the
sewer/water rates should be increased to help take care of some of the utility replacement costs.
Bruce Thielen felt that it would take time for the City to investigate new funding options such as rate
increases or a storm water utility fund and that would be another reason to go with a smaller size
project for their first phase. Glen Posusta stated that most of the residents he talked to are clueless
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Council Minutes Special Meeting - 3/24/03
about the what is being proposed and are not aware that they will be assessed for the street
reconstruction work. John Simola said there were funds, state aid funds, trunk funds, etc. to pay
for Phase I as long as did not go over the $3,000,000 cost estimated. Bruce Thielen felt that is
another reason to go with a smaller project, should there be an unexpected cost there would be a
cushion of funds that could be used. John Simola felt before you decide on the project scope you
need to know the funding mix. Because the street reconstruction levy would never generate enough
revenue to fund the reconstruction work in its entirety, it had always been the intent that a portion of
the cost would be assessed. Kevin Kawlewski stated that at the public hearing the Council could
make a decision on the scope of Phase I of the project. John Simola asked if the Council could
authorize some plan design work because it would save considerable time in getting this project
ready to bid. Glen Posusta stated that if the City is going redo the road, they should also look at the
sidewalk. The Council discussed the sidewalk policy. If the sidewalk is part of the City's grid
system 25% of the cost would be assessed and 75% picked up by the City.
At this time Kevin Kawlewski reviewed the information on costs for the Cedar Street Project which
is being considered by the Council later this evening. Glen Posusta asked about the street light.
Kevin Kawlewski stated that it was included because the developer requested that street lighting be
included for the entire area as part of the project. Brian Stumpf asked if the lighting proposed would
help light the pathway area. John Simola indicated it would not. There was discussion on reducing
the spacing for the lights to 400' instead of -3 50'. The estimated cost for all improvements would
come to approximately $250/front foot.
The workshop session was closed at 6:50 p.m.
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Recording Secretary
J