Call Meeting to Order

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

Members Present

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

Safety Committee members Police Chief Virgil Gustafson and Owen Fuglseth were also in attendance.

Members Absent

Teresa Pendleton, Jon Monson

Sidewalk Removal / Repair at St. Therese (Sylvan Stephanie)

Dana Young stated that some members of the City Council have expressed concern about the condition of the sidewalk in front of St. Therese along Minnetonka Boulevard. He stated that the purpose of today’s meeting was to discuss whether to reconstruct or to remove this segment of sidewalk and what party was responsible for paying for the reconstruction or removal of the sidewalk.

Sylvan Stephanie was present to represent St. Therese in this discussion. He stated that there was very little pedestrian traffic on that segment of sidewalk in front of St. Therese from the south end of the sidewalk up to the north entrance. He added that there does appear to more traffic on that portion of the sidewalk from the north entrance to the corner.

Dana Young stated that if the decision is made to remove this sidewalk, who should be responsible for the cost of removal? Sylvan Stephanie stated that he felt the City and not the Church should remove the sidewalk. Paul Skrede stated that he doesn’t have a particular problem with the City removing the sidewalk since the City does not have a specific policy that requires the property owner to be responsible for maintenance of sidewalks. Jerry Hudlow stated that removal of the sidewalk would also require the removal of the base material underneath the sidewalk. He stated that the base material will need to be removed and black dirt added before the area could be hydroseeded. It was recommended that the City crew remove the sidewalk and hydroseed the cleared area next spring and the Church would be responsible for the ongoing mowing of the site.

On another matter, Sylvan Stephanie stated that the Church has experienced a drainage problem at the intersection of Minnetonka Boulevard and the East Side driveway entering into the St. Therese property. He stated that there is quire a bit of ponding at this location. Paul Skrede asked where the closest storm water drain was located? Jerry Hudlow stated that the closest storm water drain was at or near Beanhaven. It was agreed to meet at a later date to discuss this drainage issue at greater length with the City Engineer.

Excessive Speeding on Vine Street

Nancy McRae, a resident at 19680 Vine Street, was present to complain about the excessive speeding of vehicles on Vine Street. She stated that there are three unique circumstances concerning Vine Street that require increased police patrolling or the installation of temporary or permanent speed bumps:

1. There is a problem with people outside the neighborhood using this street as a place to “catch air” with their cars – racing them up and down the hilly street.

2. There is a dangerous, unique combination of a steep hill, sharp blind corner (corner of Vine Street and Highcrest Drive) and a narrow street.

3. There is additional traffic diverted from Hooper Lake Road onto Vine Street, so they receive more traffic beyond the typical neighborhood traffic, exacerbating both the speeding problem and the potential for accident.

Paul Skrede asked when did the majority of the speeding occur? Ms. McRae stated that it usually occurs after school, in the evenings or on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Dana Young stated that he didn’t particularly favor the installation of speed bumps because they increased liability for the City and the fact that the installation of a speed bump on one street would increase requests for speed bumps throughout the City. Paul Skrede stated that he would like to have the Police Department use reserve officers to patrol this street and requested that the Department install the traffic monitor to help determine traffic counts and the frequency of speeding on this street. He added that the City might also need to determine the impact that the sign on Hooper Lake Road, which diverts traffic onto Vine Street, is having on increasing traffic on Vine Street. Dana Young stated that he would also contact the City’s insurance carrier to obtain additional information and recommendations on the use of speed bumps.

Striping Request on Heathcote Road

Dana Young stated that last month the Committee reviewed a request from Paula Evanich, a resident at 4235 Heathcote Road, to stripe a centerline on Heathcote Road from Circle Drive to the bottom of the hill and around the last curve on Heathcote Road. He stated that Ms. Evanich felt this area was particularly dangerous and a centerline would help to control and slow down traffic. He stated that the Committee recommended that City Staff contact all the neighbors who would be impacted by the striping proposal to get their opinions on the request. He stated that several of the neighbors did call with their opinions on the request and, while most didn’t think that the striping would be beneficial, none objected to the striping request.

The Committee recommended proceeding with the request to stripe a centerline on that portion of Heathcote Road from Circle Drive to the bottom of the hill and around the last curve on Heathcote Road.

Paul Skrede moved to adjourn the Public Safety Committee meeting. Seconded by Dana Young. Motion declared carried. The Public Safety Committee meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m.

Topographic Survey

Dana Young stated that there had been some confusion regarding Schoell & Madson’s proposal on the sale of a topographic survey to the City in the amount of $6,250. Dana Young stated that it was incorrectly assumed that the purchase of the survey would enable Schoell & Madson to reduce the amount of topographic surveying that was needed to produce their stormwater/drainage study by $3,000. This would result in a net increase of $3,250 for the purchase of the topographic survey. However, upon further clarification of the proposal from Brian Vitek, he stated that the topographic survey would actually cost the City an additional $6,250 on top of their original proposal, thereby increasing the price of Schoell & Madson’s proposal from $19,000 to $25,250.

Schoell & Madson representative Brian Vitek was present to explain the benefits of purchasing the topographic survey. He stated that the topographic survey would enable the City to produce 2-foot topographic survey information on every lot within the City. He stated that this would enable the City to evaluate the drainage on any lot or area within the City.

Paul Skrede stated his concern that the delay and confusion over deciding whether to purchase the topographic survey had cost the City valuable time in evaluating the five areas impacted by stormwater and drainage problems. He added that it was difficult for him to decide whether to purchase the survey because he wasn’t able to see at this time exactly what type of information the survey would provide and how useful that information would be to the City. He stated that he would prefer Schoell & Madson to move forward on the stormwater/drainage study as originally proposed and the City could evaluate at a later date just how useful the topographic survey would be in addressing stormwater issues.

Lift Station Control Panels

The Committee reviewed the following bids on lift station control panels from General Repair, Quality Flow and Electric Pump:

	General Repair Service	Quality Flow Systems	Electric Pump
(5) Five HP Control Panels	$54,128.63	$73,831.25	$69,968.50
(2) Ten HP Control Panels	$21,651.45	$29,913.72	$29,350.60
(1) Fifteen HP Control Panel	$10,825.73	$16,986.75	$16,091.75
(1) Twenty HP Control Panel	$10,825.73	$17,412.75	$18,062.00
Discount	NA	NA	($5,990.00)
Total Price	$97,431.54	$138,144.47	$127,482.85

Dana Young stated that it was his understanding that the control panels offered by General Repair Service were not comparable in quality to the panels offered by Quality Flow and Electric Pump. It was the general consensus of the Committee that Electric Pump appears to offer the preferred control panel over their competitors in terms of make and cost.

Further discussion was held on refining the type of control panel that would be most suitable for the City and Public Works Department. Paul Skrede recommended that Electric Pump respond to the following questions:

· The cost of steel vs. stainless steel cabinets?

· Does the control system have the capability to be upgraded?

· The installation of a land line vs. wireless communication system?

· Can the vendor verify that a wireless communication system would work at each lift station?

· Can the control system read meters?

· Does the control system have the capability to monitor equipment maintenance?

Seal Coating Invoice

The Committee recommended the approval of Final Payment to Allied Blacktop Company in the amount of $80,225.80 for the 2005 Seal Coating Project on a motion by Paul Skrede, seconded by Jerry Hudlow. Motion carried 5-0.

Seal Coating Problem Areas

Jerry Hudlow stated that landscaping contractors damaged two areas of the City that had been seal coated. He stated that one of the areas was on Chickadee and the other in front of the Brakke residence at 4665 Old Kent Road. Discussion was held on what to do with the damaged seal coating. Jerry Hudlow stated that the landscapers didn’t damage the street itself but they certainly effected the quality of the seal coating by using bobcats so soon after the seal coating had been applied. Dana Young asked if the City should bill the property owners for the cost of repairing the seal coating? Jerry Hudlow stated that the cost per square yard of seal coating was so inexpensive that it wouldn’t be very effective to send the property owners a bill for only $15 or so dollars for the reapplication. After further discussion, the Committee decided that any action at this point would not be particularly effective.

Other

Jerry Hudlow stated that new planks are needed on the swimming docks at Sandy Beach and Robinson’s Bay Beach that would cost approximately $1,300 each for the lumber and to apply non-skid paint. He stated the cost of purchasing two new swimming docks would be $2,891 each. He added that he would be able to receive a 12% discount on this price if 50% of the price of the docks were paid before the end of the year. Dana Young stated that he would bring the matter to the attention of the Park Committee.

Discussion was held on whether it would be cost effective to purchase an electric jackhammer rather than borrowing a jackhammer and compressor from the City of Excelsior. No decision was made at this time.

Adjournment

Motion to adjourn by Dana Young, seconded by Jerry Hudlow. Motion declared carried. The meeting adjourned at 4:25 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Public Works & Safety Committee will be held on Wednesday, October 5, 2005.