PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE

February 2, 2005

Minutes

 

 

Call Meeting to Order

The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m.

 

Members Present

Clm. Paul Skrede, Jon Monson, Public Works Supervisor Jerry Hudlow, Administrator Dana Young

 

Members Absent

None

 

Safety Committee Issues

Teresa Pendleton, Police Chief Virgil Gustafson and John Menzel were also in attendance as members of the Deephaven Safety Committee.

 

Police Chief Virgil Gustafson stated that Xcel Energy provided him and his staff with power line training. He stated that the training was very informative and provided his staff with a much better idea on how to deal with downed power lines.  Clm. Skrede stated that he felt this information should be shared with the public and recommended that it be placed on the City’s web page.

 

Police Chief Gustafson also mentioned that his staff is planning to hold bloodborne pathogen training later this year.  Jerry Hudlow stated that the Public Works crew is also planning to have bloodborne pathogen training provided through SafeAssure, the City’s safety advisor.  Dana Young suggested that the Police Department sit in with the Public Works Department when SafeAssure presents the training session.  Police Chief Gustafson noted that the training session on bloodborne pathogens must be POST approved.  Dana Young stated that he would check with SafeAssure to check if the session is POST approved.

 

Further discussion was held regarding right-of-way management and whether the City should look into the possibility of requiring homeowners to be responsible for the maintenance of trees within the boulevard.

 

Clm. Paul Skrede asked if there had been any recent accidents.  Jerry Hudlow stated that there had been one near miss involving an employee who had loosened the top of the tailgate on the dump truck without making sure that the bottom of the tailgate was secure.  Jerry Hudlow stated that the bottom of the tailgate was loose and he informed the employee that he could have been severely injured and instructed him on the proper procedure to ensuring that the bottom tailgate is secure. 

 

The Safety Committee meeting ended at 2:00 p.m.

 

 

Bridge Planing Bids

Dana Young stated that the following bids have recently been received for the Bridge Deck Planing Project:

 

            Diamond Surface, Inc.                                              -           $8,430.40

            Penhall Company dba Highway Services  -           $11,895.60

 

He stated that the bids are based on a May 20, 2005 completion date, the unit prices also include traffic control and the City will stripe the centerline and fog lines instead of the contractor.

 

Discussion was held on further reducing the amount of the surface to be planed from the entire bridge surface to the area within the fog lines.  Jon Monson stated that this would also eliminate the Public Works crew from having to repaint the fog lines.

 

The Committee recommended acceptance of the bid submitted by Diamond Surface, Inc. in the amount of $8,430.40 subject to adjusting the square footage to the area between the fog lines on a motion by Paul Skrede, seconded by Jon Monson.  Motion was declared carried on a 4-0 vote.

 

Weekend Snow Clearing on Trails & Rinks

Dana Young stated that there has been some interest on behalf of the City Council in discussing the possibility of clearing snow from City trails and ice rinks over the weekend.  He stated that there was a substantial snowfall on Friday, January 21st that required our Public Works crew to clear City streets until 8:30 p.m. Friday evening and to return to clear streets from 5:00 a.m. to approximately noon on Saturday, January 22nd. 

 

He stated that the Public Works crew did not clear snow from the trails or ice rinks due to a long-standing policy of waiting until the next regular business day to remove snow from ice rinks and trails.  The policy is based on two factors.  First it takes the crew approximately 8-10 hours each to remove snow from the City streets and an additional 5 hours each to remove snow from the ice rinks.  He stated that it would be an added burden and potential safety risk in extending the workday by an additional 5 hours per crewmember to remove snow from ice rinks.

 

Second, he stated that the crew is typically working overtime when they are removing snow from the City streets in the evening or on the weekend so there is a cost impact when the workday is extended to include the clearing of snow from ice rinks and trails.  On Monday, January 24th, it took the crew a total of 18.5 hours to remove snow from the ice rinks.  If this had been done on Saturday, when the crew was on overtime, it would have cost the City an additional $678.82 to clear snow from the ice rinks.

 

Further discussion was held on the possibility of changing the priority in which the streets, trails and ice rinks are cleared.  Jerry Hudlow stated that it is currently the policy to (1) clear streets, (2) clear trails and (3) clear ice rinks.  He added that there needs to be a priority since the main snowblower is sometimes used both to clear trails and ice rinks, depending on the amount of snow to be cleared.  Paul Skrede asked if there would be any problems in reversing the order by clearing ice rinks before clearing trails.  Jerry Hudlow stated that the walking trails at Thorpe Park and the Main Beach are both very popular walkways and both are included as part of the trail clearing.

 

Paul Skrede stated that there are really three issues to consider.  The first issue is the additional cost to have the ice rinks cleared during the weekends.  He stated that he didn’t necessarily have a problem with the additional cost as long as it was paid by the Park Committee.  The second issue involved the manpower issue and he stated that he felt it would be asking too much of the crew to work weekends to clear snow from the ice rinks.  He also stated that he would also be opposed to having volunteers use City-owned equipment.  And third, he stated that he could support a change in the current policy of having trails cleared before ice rinks by having rinks cleared before trails, if there was widespread support for changing the priorities.

 

Stormwater Project Coordination with Watershed District

The Committee recommended that Paul Skrede, Jerry Hudlow and Dana Young meet with the Watershed District to discuss if there would be any funding available from the Watershed District for the Rutledge/Park Avenue Storm Sewer Corridor Project and the Montgomerie/Hamilton Drainage Correction.

 

Further discussion was held regarding the Montgomerie/Hamilton Drainage Correction and whether it was the City’s responsibility to correct this problem.  The possibility of levying special assessments on the benefited property owners for this project was discussed.  Paul Skrede stated that it would be very beneficial to have a Stormwater Management Plan in place to assist with the decision as to whether these types of project warrant City assistance.

 

Storage Issues

Jerry Hudlow stated that the Public Works Department currently uses the Gravel Pit for the storage of certain equipment and as a site to deposit street sweepings.  He stated that there is not any space available at this site for future street sweepings beyond 2005.

 

Discussion was held on alternatives to using sand during snow plowing operations since much of the material in street sweepings consists of sand.  Jerry Hudlow stated that Minnetonka uses salt mixed with magnesium chloride instead of sand in order to reduce their quantities of street sweepings.

 

Paul Skrede recommended that staff research the following issues:

*      The cost of using magnesium chloride

*      The cost of acquiring a sieve to recycle sand from the street sweepings

*      Find locations that accept street sweepings

*      Obtain the cost per truck load of removing street sweepings

*      Provide alternatives to depositing street sweepings at the Gravel Pit for Committee review

 

Other

Paul Skrede stated that the City Council will be considering 2005-2006 Goals & Objectives at the February 7th Council meeting and mentioned three goals that pertained to Public Works:

*      Screening the Sand/Salt Shed

*      Additional storage needs for the zamboni

*      Installation of a sidewalk on Northome Road to Robinson’s Bay Road or Deephaven Avenue

 

Paul Skrede asked Jerry Hudlow to consider any additional goals and objectives that he would like to bring to the attention of the Public Works Committee.

 

Adjournment

Motion to adjourn by Jon Monson, seconded by Paul Skrede.  Motion declared carried.  The meeting adjourned at 3:37 p.m.  The next meeting of the Public Works Committee will be held on Wednesday, March 2nd.