PUBLIC WORKS & SAFETY COMMITTEE
October 5,
2005
Minutes
The
meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m.
Safety
Committee members Police Chief Virgil Gustafson, Teresa Pendleton and Owen
Fugleseth.
Jon
Monson
There
were no accidents to report for the month of September.
Police
Chief Gustafson gave a brief report on the monitoring of traffic on Vine
Street. He stated that the traffic
monitor was installed on Vine Street for one week and that he had reserve
officers monitor the speed of vehicles on this street as well. He stated that the results of these efforts
indicated that the volume and speed of vehicles on Vine Street had neither
increased nor decreased over the last several years. He stated that he had contacted Nancy McRae,
who had complained last month to the Committee about the volume and speed of
vehicles on Vine Street, with the findings of the traffic monitoring. He added that he felt that traffic and
speeding is not an issue in this case but rather it’s the perception that there
is speeding that is the issue.
Dana
Young gave a brief update on the City’s insurance carrier’s opinion on the use
of speed bumps. He stated that speed
bumps continue to be a liability concern and they are not recommended for use.
Paul
Skrede stated that the use of the traffic monitor should be the City’s first
response when the City receives a request or a complaint regarding the volume
and speed of traffic in a particular neighborhood.
Rain
gear - Owen Fuglseth stated that the public works crew does not have sufficient
rain gear. Dana Young stated that he
would review the current rain gear that the crew uses and will report back to
the Committee next month if the purchase of additional rain gear is warranted.
Ballistic
vests - Virgil Gustafson stated that he had reported to the City Council last
Monday evening that recent federal tests have shown that ballistic vests with
zylon have failed. As a result, zylon
vests have been recalled and manufacturers are offering vouchers or cash
payments to their customers. He stated
that the City Council expressed concern regarding this situation and asked the
Chief to replace the zylon vests as soon as possible without waiting for the
cash payment to be received from the manufacturer.
The
Chief stated that in looking to purchase replacement vests, he has discovered
that manufacturers are now claiming that all ballistic vests would fail under
the same conditions under which the zylon vests were tested. He stated that the federal government is
planning to retest the vests and he is planning to wait before purchasing
replacement vests until more information is made available regarding the safety
of all ballistic vests.
Dana
Young moved to adjourn the Public Safety Committee meeting. Seconded by Paul Skrede. Motion carried 6-0. The Public Safety Committee meeting adjourned
at 2:00 p.m.
Dana Young stated that he had received an invoice from the City of Shorewood in the amount of $1,371.00 as Deephaven’s portion of the cost for seal coating a portion of Minnetonka Boulevard that is located within the City of Deephaven. He stated that he wrote back to the City of Shorewood that the invoice was incorrect in not splitting the cost evenly between Deephaven and Shorewood since that portion of Minnetonka Boulevard is located in both cities and the original estimate for traffic control was estimated too high. He stated that as a result, the revised invoice for seal coating this portion of Minnetonka Boulevard had been lowered from $1,371.00 to $483.00.
Dana
Young moved to approve payment in the amount of $483.00 to the City of
Shorewood as reimbursement for seal coating that portion of Minnetonka
Boulevard located within the City of Deephaven.
Seconded by Jerry Hudlow. Paul
Skrede opposed. Motion carried 3-1.
Jerry Hudlow provided a brief update on the removal of diseased and hazardous trees within the City.
He
stated that notices have been sent regarding 288 diseased and/or hazardous
trees to Deephaven residents. He stated
that in following up on the first batch of notices that had been sent out, only
one individual was not in compliance with the notice to remove their tree but
expected that individual to be in compliance shortly. He stated that there were currently 28
city-owned trees that were diseased and/or hazardous and approximately 24 of
these trees have already been removed.
He added that the inspection of trees would soon wind down for the
season because many of the trees are now beginning to lose their leafs, which
is the primary method used for identifying diseased trees. Further discussion was held on whether it was
good public policy to have the City requiring property owners to remove
hazardous trees.
Dana Young stated that the Park Committee is requesting three improvements to the ice rinks that include:
·
Installing a pipe underneath the ditch leading into the Village Hall
hockey rink and then covering the ditch with black dirt to enable the Zamboni
to enter the hockey rink more easily.
Jerry Hudlow stated that the public works crew installed the pipe this
afternoon.
·
Relocating the entranceway into the Thorpe hockey rink from the north
end to the east side of the rink. Jerry
Hudlow stated that he felt cutting a third opening into the rink might not be
the best possible idea. It was the
conclusion of the Committee that if the intent to relocate the entranceway was
due to the fact that the boards at the north end of the rink were not being
replaced, which resulted in pucks leaving the rink, the solution was not
installing a new entranceway but in requiring warming house attendants to be
more diligent in replacing the boards more promptly.
·
Grading & leveling the surface of the Thorpe hockey rink. The Committee requested that the Park
Committee provide more information regarding the benefits of grading the Thorpe
hockey rink.
Dana Young stated that due to communication problems with the Nextel phones, he has switched the public works department to T Mobile phones. The phones would be used to enhance communication between departments and to improve the notification process with the public works employee who is on-call. He explained that he has entered into a one-year agreement with T Mobile and the costs are approximately $60 less per month than with Nextel. He added that the Police Department switched to T-Mobile last month and appears to be quite happy with the service.
Paul Skrede stated that he was pleased that the City has only entered into a one-year agreement with T Mobile and explained that there may be the possibility of enhanced cell phone service next year due to interest from Nextel in constructing a monopole in Deephaven.
Dana
Young explained that he has occasionally received a request for the City to
plow only half of the LRT Trail instead of approximately 60% of the trail. Paul Skrede stated that he heard the same
request when he attended a Greenwood City Council meeting that involved
discussions on the City of Deephaven’s annual contract with Greenwood. He stated that the Greenwood Council had
discussed a request from a resident that preferred to cross country ski side by
side and were unable to do so due to the majority of the trail being plowed.
Jerry
Hudlow stated that the skidsteer is used to the plow the trail because it is
faster than the snow blower and the skidsteer uses a 71/2 foot plow. He added that the snow blower only clears a
4’ path. The Committee asked Jerry
Hudlow to obtain a price on acquiring a 6-foot plow for the skidsteer.
Drill
press – The Committee authorized Owen Fuglseth to purchase a new leather belt
at a cost not to exceed $30.00 in order to repair the drill press.
Shovels
– Owen Fuglseth stated that additional shovels are needed for the public works
crew. Dana Young stated that he would
look into the request.
Motion to adjourn by Dana Young, seconded by Jerry Hudlow. Motion carried 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 3:03 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Public Works & Safety Committee will be held on Wednesday, November 2, 2005.