Public Works Minutes 2004 01-26-04 i
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE APPROVED
PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MEETING 6/28/04
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2004
7 :00 P.M.
In Attendance:
Mayor Art Prochaska
Alderman Larry Kot
Alderman Rich Sticka
Alderman Marty Munns
City Engineer Joe Wywrot
Guests:
Bill Nelson of Deuchler
Approval/Corrections of Minutes : October 27, 2003 and November 24, 2004
These minutes were approved with corrections made.
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Presentations: Sewer Rate Study by Bill Nelson of Deuchler
Bill Nelson explained to the committee that sewer rates are based on a flat fee of $ 18 per user,
regardless of the amount of use. Deuchler took a look at expenses vs. the revenue and determined
that they were not collecting enough to cover the expenses . They were also asked to look at
connection fee for when a new building or home is constructed, which is the one time fee for
tying into the system. This fee is to cover the cost associated with for providing that service.
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Mr. Nelson presented a system table of the 3 areas that they looked at. He said that they broke it
down to a fee system in terms of a based fee plus a variable use fee. Anything above a certain j
threshold of usage, the user will pay additional fees for that additional use. That more equitable
covers the cost and enables the City to distribute a greater share of that cost with those people j
who utilize more of the system.
The billing is based on the water usage. There are some fixed costs and some variable costs
associated with the system. A base fee is set up to cover the fixed costs . A small portion of that
variable cost is with the base fee being $ 18 per 2 month billing period.
The base fee basically reflects what people are used to seeing for a bill right now. The variable
fee the amount charged over and above the threshold limit. Mr. Nelson said that they have 3
alternatives which all have a base fee of $ 18 but they vary that threshold limit as to how much
usage is included with in that base fee before they start paying an additional fee. As they vary that
threshold then it also varies the amount of users pay per 100 cubic feet beyond the threshold limit.
Mr. Nelson pointed out that in the comments column of the packet they are also varying how
much of the capital improvements are being funded by the user fees as opposed to the connection
fee. It begins to balance it self out as the increase of the user fee goes up there is less that needs to
be funded by the connection fee . As typical total fee goes up, through alternative B and C then the
connection fee is going down.
Fees are made up by fixed fee portions of expenses and variable expenses. Fixed fees include
debt service on the existing low interest loans from the State of Illinois . They also show a column
for rehab which is programmed rehabilitation of the existing system. There is a total cost of
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$247,000 per year. These costs are projected out over the next 5 years and then averaged for the
years 2004 t0 2008 . The number of users is also projected out with a growth rate of 500 new users
per year over the 5 year period. This establishes the average number of users to 4, 870 . Dividing
the total costs by the total number of users, they came up with a fixed expense of about $52 . 92
per year per user. When divided out into the 6th billing cycle it comes out to $ 8 .49 per billing
cycle in fixed expenses alone .
The variable fee portion the billable use projected out an average of over the 5 year period is 53
million cubic feet per year. O and M expenses in last year' s budget then projected forward and
assuming a 4% inflation rate is projected to be about $245 ,000 per year.
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The Capital Improvements portions are those that need to be funded by the user fees . In this case
the costs will come up to $ 156,000 per year. That includes things like the SSES Study, other
Capital Projects and miscellaneous improvements . The projects totaled up to $ 156,000 . That
gives the total of the variable portion assuming the billable usage of 53 million cubic feet. That j
gives a total of $402,000 per year. Dividing that total by the billable use it comes out to $ . 07 per
cubic feet of usage . Projecting that out to 100 cubic feet comes out $ . 76 per 100 cubic feet
The base usage allowance would 1 ,254 cubic feet if they were including a base fee $ 18 . Over and
above that they would charge for it. If the typical average user uses 1 , 815 cubic feet, they would
be billed for 561 cubic feet during that 2 month billing cycle. At the rate of $ . 76 per hundred f
cubic feet that comes to $4.26 additional charge over and above the base fee of $ 18 which gives
the typical users fee of $22 .25 .
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Mr. Nelson said that by using that formula that is how they were able to arrive at that fee and also
with the amount of $26 . 10 for alternative B and then $28 .24 for alternative C .
Alderman Kot asked how long has it been since the money they have been collecting not been
covering the expenses of usage .
City Engineer Joe Wywrot answered that in the last user study done in 1997 that they discovered
they were behind when user fees were $ 12 per 2 month billing period. The General Fund was
subsidizing the costs of maintaining the sewer system. He said that the increase amount they had
come up to at that time was in the low 20 ' s but felt it would be such a large increase that there
was no way politically that they could raise the fee. Instead they opted for a 50% increase of $6,
and that is where they got the fee of $ 18 that they are paying today. j
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Public Works Director Eric Dhuse pointed out that they also have to include projects that were
factored in such as the Bruell Street project and the SSES .
Alderman Kot asked how the new connection fee compares to what other communities are paying
for their fees .
Mr.Wywrot said that each towns system is unique unto itself. It is either very old or very new.
The cost to maintain the systems varies . Our costs are based on what our system is and what
shape it is in.
Alderman Kot pointed out that although that might be the case that developers do look at these
fees and that could determine where they might want to go . He thought that they might have to
take a look at what other towns are doing in order to stay competitive .
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Alderman Richard Sticka stated that he had a problem with the variable rate. He said thought that j
most of the increase and usage happens during the summer months when people water their lawns
and not one drop of that water goes into the sewers . He mentioned that he has a sprinkler system j
and it will irritate him to watch his sewer rate go up when he is water his lawn. He is not the only
person that has a sprinkler system and feels others might be irritated by it as well. He feels if the
sewer use is going to be based on how much water people are using, there will many that will
complain about it. He said that he would be one of them. He thought this could be done by using
2 meters then make a calculation. The water that goes through the sprinkler system does not go
through the sewer system. He pointed out that there are communities that do that. This way costs
could be balanced out so that people aren't being unfairly billed for paying for a sewer service
that they aren't even getting.
Mr. Nelson mentioned that some communities provide an allowance of so much that is based on
an estimate that the user is using. Mostly they see that for people who have swimming pools .
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Alderman Sticka also pointed out that new development is paying for the upgrade and
maintenance of the old part of Yorkville and isn't likely that the new sewer systems that are being
put in the new developments will need a lot of maintenance for the next 20 or 30 years.
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Mr. Wywrot pointed out that the connection fee would need to be based on future growth and not
the current new development that is going on now since they are already locked in on the current
connection fee.
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Mayor Prochaska said that they would need to speak with Attorney Dan Kramer about that to get j
accurate information. He thinks that the connection fees are an exception in this case .
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Alderman Kot asked Mr. Nelson to find out how much of the General Fund was being used to
cover these costs. He asked to also find out what other communities are charging for connection
fees.
Mr. Nelson suggested finding what their usage rates are also .
This item will come back to the next Public Works meeting on February 23 , 2004.
NEW BUSINESS :
Sign at Van Emmon & Heustis
Alderman Kot reported that at the Public Safety Committee has been concerned about the number
of accidents at the intersection on Van Emmon Street and Heustis Street. There are very large
stop signs on Van Emmon and Heustis has the right of way yet there are still accidents there . He
mentioned a roll over accident that happened there 6 weeks ago. The neighbors in that area are
concerned also. Public Safety is looking at into a couple of alternatives to improve the awareness j
of the signs .
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Public Works Director Eric Dhuse recommended that they should try solar lights on the signs as
opposed to electric because it would be less expensive . The electric ones would need more
maintenance . Right now the signs are 48 inches . If they were to go with the solar flashing signs it
would go down to 3 8 inches .
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Alderman Kot recommended that if they can get the signs in the budget then they would like to
put them up .
Mr. Dhuse said that he would get back to Alderman Kot as soon as he gets information.
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No action needed on this item.
Engineering Department — Additional Personnel
Mr. Wywrot stated that as part of the Grand Reserve Annexation Agreement there is funding
budgeted for an addition engineering technician. With all of the new development coming in a
need for the additional engineering technician is there. !
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Mr. Wywrot recommends posting the position in house first, and if no one expresses an interest
then they will advertise in the local papers.
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This item will go to COW on February 3 , 2004.
Water Report for November 2003
Mr. Dhuse recommended approval for this report.
This item will go to COW on February 3 , 2004 .
Route 34 and Game Farm Road Traffic Signal — Change Order #4
Mr. Wywrot reported that the signal has been operating for a year. He said that this was the final
balancing change order. It is an NFT project with IDOT. It is a decrease of $3 ,200 . He
recommended approval .
This item will go to COW on February 3 , 2004 .
Meter Repairs Report
Mr. Dhuse stated that everything is going well with the repairs and no longer needed to be on the
agenda. The committee agreed.
This item will be removed from the agenda.
York Meadows — Plat of Easement
Mr. Dhuse recommended approval for this easement.
This item will go to COW on February 3 , 2004.
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101 E. Somonauk — Sidewalk Agreement
Mr. Dhuse stated that this was for a home that was rezoned last year to business use and a realtor
is moving into it. They will be adding a parking lot and there was an issue of a sidewalk along
Route 47. It would be useless for them to put in a sidewalk because of IDOT ' s future road
projects . They have signed an agreement with IDOT. It will be a recorded document when the
City Council approves it. He recommends approval .
This item will go to COW on February 3 , 2004 .
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Menard's Commercial Commons — Final Acceptance
Mr. Wywrot said that the only items remaining on the punch list are landscape related. Menard ' s
has acknowledged this . There are some items that still need to be resolved. There is a destroyed j
street light pole that they need to reimburse the City for and the record drawings need to be
straightened out. He recommends this item going to COW following the completion of the last 2
items .
This item will be on a future COW.
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Pubic Works — Additional Personnel
Mr. Dhuse stated that this item is to let all the Department Heads know of tentative hiring
schedules and positions they would like to hire. This all depends on what is in the budget.
Alderman Marry Munns asked what levels were a Plant Operator and Maintenance Worker.
Mr. Dhuse said that Maintenance Worker 1 is at the bottom, next would be Maintenance Worker
2, then Operator, and then Foreman. A superintendent would do mostly technical work which
includes book and field work. C
Alderman Kot asked if the Building Maintenance worker would be for all City buildings . Mr.
Dhuse said yes .
Mr. Dhuse felt that a cleaning crew should also be under the building maintenance and Public
Works. These are things they are looking at for the 04 — 05 Fiscal Year.
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No action is needed for this item.
Facilities Expansion
Mr. Dhuse stated that they would like to add a 20 x 54 extension on the north end of the Public
Works facility. This will help tie them over until they can finish the facilities master plan .
Alderman Kot asked if the facility would still be in use after they get the new Public Works
facility. Mr. Dhuse said it would be of use because of the Water Treatment Plant. This will allow
more room for storing equipment that isn't used every day. He said that he will get total figures
on how much the extension would cost and also the layout print done by EEI.
Mr. Dhuse ' s second request was for the committee to consider purchasing land for Public Works.
He said that they need to think about it in an expedient manner. He said they are looking for an j
industrial zone site, with possibly 12 acres .
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Alderman Sticka asked what all would be on the site. Mr. Dhuse said that there will be a Public
Works garage, all the material storage, salt storage, office space and water billing. He said that
both Parks and Public Works want to keep close so that they can share equipment so that nothing
would need to be duplicated.
The committee voiced concerns about not only how much space Public Works might need but
also the other departments.
Mr. Dhuse said that he could make of sketch of the amount of space he thinks Public Works
might need and bring it back to the next Public Works meeting.
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This item will come back to the next Public Works meeting on February 23 , 2004.
Wearing Apparel — Public Works/Engineering
Mr. Dhuse explained that the 11 sets of pants and sweatshirts they are looking to rent would be
used in rotation. They would use 5 one week and then 5 the next, then one for spare .
Alderman Kot asked Mr. Dhuse if he was satisfied with the amount. Mr. Dhuse said yes, and that
he wants to have the employees wearing clothing that have the City of Yorkville on them.
Alderman Munns thought that it would be good to have all the same type of clothing. Mr. Dhuse
said that they will be the same in type and in color.
Mr. Wywrot said that their situation would be the same.
No action needed on this item.
City Hall Emergency Generator — Maintenance Contract j
Mr. Wywrot stated that this contract is with the same company they've used since the building
has been occupied. The current maintenance contract is expired and needs to be renewed. He said
that it is a 2 year contract with a total cost over the 2 year period of $2, 814 .24 . The contract does
describe what the service provides . The company is based out of Schererville, Indiana. He said
that he could try to get other proposals as the committee felt that the company' s fee was
expensive.
Alderman Kot asked if the building maintenance man could do the maintenance on the generator.
Mr. Dhuse said that he would ask, but with the contract comes the emergency support if they
should need it which also gives a peace of mind. The building maintenance guy could probably
change the oil and do the cleaning of the generator but might not know the circuitry of it. He said
that he could look into seeing if there is a company that is located closer that might be able to
provide the service .
This item will come back to the next Public Works meeting on February 23 , 2004.
Rob Roy Creek Flood Study — Supplemental Agreement
Mr. Wywrot stated that both he and Attorney Dan Kramer are recommending this supplemental
study. The original scope of work did not identify this branch of Rob Roy Creek. It basically
follows the path of 2 existing field tiles. He said that the area does still carry quite a bit of water
during heavy rain. He mentioned that it was about $38,000 to study this and the City Council did
approve of it but said they were not going to spend any money out of pocket, and that the
developers would have to pay the bill. Since that time City Administrator Tony Graff has been
trying to get these developers to pay for it. He has received some developers like Inland who said
that they would pay for their share, but do not want to pay for more than their share. No one else
has come forward. The result to that is that the entire study is at a halt. He said that they needed to
get going on the study.
Alderman Kot asked how much money was committed to it. Mr. Wywrot said that Mr. Graff
thought it would be about $ 10, 000 . The rest will be a long term process .
Mr. Wywrot recommends letting EEI proceed with the study work. He said that they did indicate
that they could hold off on billing until after May 1 , 2004 if it would help . He would get a
confinnation on that before it went off to COW.
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Aldennan Sticka asked if Mr. Wywrot thought that they could recapture all of the costs . Mr.
Wywrot said that he thought that they could . He said the way to do it is to set the recapture rate
higher so that the money is received at a reasonable period of time.
Alderman Kot asked if the $3 8,000 has been included in the budget to cover costs. Mr. Wywrot
said that they would have to budget for it, but thinks that Mr. Graff might have put it in the mid
year budget of proposed revisions or in the new budget starting May 1 , 2004 .
Mr. Wywrot recommended sending this item to COW.
This item will go to COW on February 3 , 2004 .
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NEW BUSINESS :
Vacating Ashe Road
No action needed for this item.
Mill and Van Emmon Water Main Improvements
Mr. Wywrot stated that this item regards the south watermain project that took place this last
summer that took longer than everyone had hoped. Mayor Prochaska wanted a report from EEI
describing what went wrong to cause such a delay with the completion of the project and what
can be done to keep it from happening again. EEI came up with a very thorough day to day report
of what happened and what took place . A conclusion was reached that there were several delays
that were beyond the contractors control for instance the River Front Festival, there were some
miss marked gas mains, surprise findings on Van Emmon. There were some delays caused by the
contractors that included not enough work force and equipment that needed to be used for other
various reasons. EEI did come up with some recommendations but Mr. Wywrot felt that they
might not want to institute any of them. He thought they could come up with a penalty bonus
clause in the contract that would penalize them for completing projects late. It might also require
giving them a bonus if the project is completed on time . They could also split the project up and
bid it out as two separate projects .
Alderman Kot asked if whether or not this type of situation of delayed projects would weigh in on j
future bids. Mr.Wyrot said that they would need to ask Attorney Kramer about that.
Alderman Sticka thought that they should have the right to refuse a bid based upon passed
experience with that company.
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This item will go to COW on February 3 , 2004 .
OLD BUSINESS :
Director of Public Works Salary Survey
Mr. Dhuse said that the study on this survey would be up in March.
Alderman Kot felt that they should move ahead with this and go out and do some local surveys .
He said that if March approaches and they have municipal information then great, if not then they
have something they can use to base their decision on. Alderman Munns agreed.
Mr. Dhuse said that he would check into the other communities and surveys.
This item will come back to the next Public Works meeting on February 23 , 2004 .
Subdivision Ordinance Revisions
Mr. Wywrot stated that one issue they would like to look at is dark sky lighting. His concern is
that with new development and the glowing of the lights like at Menard' s, that eventually we will
not be able to see the stars at night. He asked the committee if they would like to do something
with dark sky lighting. He passed out a memo and explained that if the committee wanted to
consider an ordinance for dark sky lighting then they have some language that they could
consider using for it.
The committee agreed to consider passing a single ordinance.
Mayor Prochaska felt that they would need more information on how to write up the ordinance .
Mr. Wywrot recommended sending this item to COW on February 17, 2004 .
Proposed Wetlands Ordinance
This item was tabled.
ADDITIONAL BUSINESS :
Security at the North Water Tower
Alderman Kot asked about the status of the security at the North Water Tower,
Mr. Dhuse stated that there is a fence that is planned in the contract for spring. It will eventually
have an alarm installed by Wire Wizard .
Easements for the Watermains
Mayor Prochaska asked about the status of the watermains .
Mr. Wywrot said that the key easements have been recorded. He said that the direction to direct
the truck officer was signed with the Hughes easement. Beyond that he is not aware of any further
progress . He said they had received some response from EEI but have not heard back from
Inland.
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Mayor Prochaska expressed concern about rerouting the watermain line around Undesser in the
right of way. He said that if the City needs to do that they will do it regardless of the
disagreements between Undesser and Ocean Pacific. He strongly felt that they would not allow a
developer to hold up the watermain project. He asked Mr. Wywrot to find out what it will take to
get the easement from IDOT. Mayor Prochaska pointed out that they have an agreement with
Undesser stating that if the City needs an easement from them they are suppose to give it to the j
City. The only other option is to go to the courts and make them comply. He said that Attorney
Kramer did tell him that there might be a problem with that because they have a contract with the
developer. If it comes time when they want to come and develop then the City will tell them that
they need to move the water line.
Mr. Wywrot said he would speak to Mr. Graff about the Mayor' s concerns in the morning. j
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Game Farm Road
Alderman Munns asked the committee who owns responsibility for Gamer Farm Road .
Mayor Prochaska said that it is a combination of the City and the Township .
Mr. Dhuse said that the Public Works maintains the road. There was a judicial transfer in the
80 ' s from Township to the City.
Alderman Munns voiced concerns about the road and how difficult it is to get in and out of the
school parking lots .
Mayor Prochaska said that the City is trying to get grant money to help pay for improvements to
the road since it will be very expensive to do it. He said that Mr. Wywrot found a grant by going
through the City Council of Mayors . It would cover 75% of the costs . The plan is to make it a 3
lane road. They are also looking at getting some addition help with funding because it is so
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expensive.
Meeting adjourned : 9 : 10 p.m.
Minutes by Theresa Brady
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