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Public Works Minutes 2013 06-18-13 APPROVED 7/16/13 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE Tuesday, June 18, 2013, 6:00pm Yorkville City Hall, Conference Room 800 Game Farm Road In Attendance: Committee Members Chairman Diane Teeling Alderman Jackie Milschewski Alderman Larry Kot Alderman Ken Koch Other City Officials City Administrator Bart Olson Alderman Carlo Colosimo Community Development Director Krysti Barksdale-Noble Public Works Director Eric Dhuse Engineer Brad Sanderson Administrative Intern Jeff Weckbach Other Guests: None The meeting was called to order at 6pm by Chairman Diane Teeling. Citizen Comments: None Previous Meeting Minutes May 21, 2013 nd Alderman Kot said under Additional Business, 2 paragraph, the sentence should state that he asked quarterly basis. for electronics drop-off on a Alderman Koch asked that the name Dezo be changed Delo to in the Windett Ridge agenda item. New Business 1. PW 2013-25 Water Department Reports for March & April 2013 Mr. Dhuse said these are the standard reports and noted that the water use was down from last year and not as many hydrants had been flushed in April. 2. PW 2013-26 Prairie Gardens – Unit 4 – Letter of Credit Ms. Noble said this item is part of a continuing effort to follow up on the outstanding letters of credit. This letter is for the executive center, subdivided in 2005. Ms. Noble and Mr. Sanderson would like to call the letter of credit for $165,000 after repeated attempts to contact the developer. The letter is with the State Bank of Illinois, but it is unknown if the bank is still solvent. The City Attorney will be th consulted if there is a problem. This item will go to the June 25 Council consent agenda. 1 3. PW 2013-27 Sunflower Estates HOA SSA 4. PW 2013-28 Fox Hill HOA SSA These 2 items were discussed together. Mr. Olson said he is asking the Council to reconfirm the budgeting planned for the next few years. The first step is to file the tax levy ordinance in December and when approved, the work would go out for bids. The work to be done is sealcoating for Fox Hill and the naturalization of the Sunflower detention basins, both to be done next year. Notices to the residents regarding the impending dues increase must be sent. Sunflower residents will also be asked if the ponds should be naturalized which is easier to maintain as opposed to dredging. Bart would recommend sending a letter to Fox Hill residents asking them to attend a Public Works meeting. The Sunflower issue is more complex and a meeting should be set up for August or September with the Sunflower residents. In a later suggestion, Mr. Olson said a townhall meeting should be held for Fox Hill residents prior to the Sunflower meeting on the same night. Alderman Teeling suggested the drainage issue should also be considered during this meeting. Alderman Kot asked if the increased dues from $64 to approximately $228 for Sunflower would remain at the higher amount or decrease when the project is done. The City Council would set the tax levy each year according to Bart Olson. When discussed during the original budgeting process, there was no resident feedback. Alderman Koch said the residents may also be unaware of the situation. Ms. Milschewski asked how the naturalization prevents mosquitoes. The water would flow in and drain out after a rain—resulting in no standing water. The bio-diversity of the plants would also increase insects that feed on mosquitoes, resulting in a natural eco-system. The basins would be dry with some maintenance required to keep trees out. These 2 items will move forward to the Council consent agenda. Old Business ( out of order) 1. PW 2013-22 Sunflower Estates Drainage This item was moved up on the agenda following the previous discussion about Sunflower. Alderman Colosimo stated he and Alderman Koch have talked and feel that the City should repair the drainage without assessing the residents just because an SSA is in place. He said other problems in the City have been fixed and the cost is absorbed by the City through taxes. Mr. Colosimo questioned why the drainage problem exists and if it could actually be a City issue. He said this is a Public Works project like any other project. Mr. Olson replied that the drainage was constructed in compliance with the standards in place at the time, which according to Mr. Sanderson, were 10 years with the current standard now being 100 years. Ms. Teeling asked if Sunflower would be responsible for repairs if they still had their HOA and it had not been taken over by the City. Mr. Olson said the only reason it is being suggested the SSA should fix the issue is because it is legal and if a higher standard were in place at that time, the residents would have paid for the upgrade over time. Alderman Koch added that much of the commercial was not in place at the time the pond was built and there is now more blacktop which affects the runoff. Ms. Milschewski added that a previous hydrologic report showed the water also comes from as far as Legion Road. Mr. Colosimo added that water comes from the Walgreens area as well. 2 Alderman Kot commented that he agrees with Alderman Colosimo that the burden should not be placed on the SSA. He said the City should find the funding to fix the drainage problem especially since the City will be asking the residents to pay for a problem that is affecting only part of the residents there. Alderman Teeling also agreed and said if there were a problem with the sewers in the older part of town, the City would pay for those repairs. Mr. Olson said deficit spending is one option and he also noted that other areas of town have similar problems that have not been remedied. Ms. Milschewski said residents on Van Emmon have also had flooding issues in the past from runoff. Ms. Teeling questioned how likely it would be to have other subdivisions come forward with similar problems. There are currently problems on Van Emmon, State St., Morgan and Orange. Ms. Milschewski said the problem needs to be fixed. Ms. Teeling and Ms. Milschewski both commented the City cannot continue to deficit spend and must be conscious how the money is spent such as building a skate park. Commenting on the deficit spending, Alderman Kot said he does not think it is wise and would prefer to do a 6-month budget review to see if there is extra money from sales tax that could be earmarked. Implementing stormwater utilities is another option according to Mr. Olson. In that option, property taxes are decreased in conjunction with what is being spent on these improvements. A utility fee is then also added to churches, hospitals and other businesses with large parking lots, asking them to contribute. Alderman Colosimo agreed with a 6-month budget review, but also said the money should be taken from the general fund reserve, repaying tax dollars as the taxes come in. This would require a budget amendment according to Mr. Olson. The budget impact of $130,000 for the repairs was also discussed and it was noted that there is already a deficit in the budget for 2014. City liability was addressed by Mr. Olson and he said the City is not liable unless there is neglect in maintenance. Mr. Sanderson also discussed the drainage under Rt. 71. Alderman Koch said that cornstalks blocked the storm sewer during the recent downpour and with the help of another resident, they managed to unblock the area. Public Works Director Dhuse made some suggestions for a partial remedy. If the fence was removed, the cornstalks would not catch and block the water. The landowner could also be asked to create a bio-swale for better drainage. Mr. Dhuse will speak with the farmer and inquire about leasing 1 acre for a grass buffer to slow down the water and catch the stalks. He said the cost could be as low as $500 for an acre. Mr. Olson said this action would require Council approval. City Administrator Olson said both remedies need to done and Alderman Kot noted that at least it sends a message that the City is trying to help. Mr. Olson asked if the cost could be split among the Sunflower residents. Alderman Colosimo objected to this saying the City should pay and that a small group cannot be required to pay for this. Both Aldermen Kot and Colosimo asked if any project was under budget where the excess could be used for this repair. Alderman Milschewski inquired if the project can be bid prior to actual approval. This can be done and would only cost for preliminary work. The committee was in favor of this idea. Mr. Olson added that by early October the staff should have a firmer handle on the budget figures and he added that projects can be eliminated. The next step if the project will be bid, is to proceed with an RFP which will need Council approval. Alderman Koch also asked that when the letters are sent to the residents, that a 3 comparison of costs in other subdivisions be provided. Ms. Milschewski asked when the theatre would be opening. It will open in November, however, Mr. Olson said for the first 4-5 years the taxes would go back to the developer. Colosimo said that the theatre will help generate other taxes when people frequent restaurants, shopping, etc. Alderman Kot posed a hypothetical question as to what would occur if most of the residents are opposed to the increase and no action is taken. Mr. Olson said eventually the silt will completely fill the pond and flooding could occur with the City then being liable. Back to New Business........ 5. PW2013-29 Riverfront Park OSLAD Project Agreement Mr. Olson said this is the formal grant agreement for Riverfront Park. Once this is initiated, the City has 2-3 years to begin the project. All the money in the project is staff hours or State money and the City will be reimbursed. Completion date is 2014 or 2015. This will move to the Council consent agenda. 6. PW 2013-30 TAP Grant Intergovernmental Agreement This is a county-administered process requiring an intergovernmental agreement. The amount each year is $5,000 and the City needs to reapply each year. 7. PW 2013-31 Route 47 Parking Lot Contract Award th Three bids were received on June 10 with D Construction submitting the lowest. A couple change orders are anticipated and there are some questionable soils which could be naturally-occurring substances. This moves to consent agenda. Additional Business: 1.Alderman Kot asked if progress had been made on gathering numbers regarding State Street and the flooding that occurs there. Many of the older neighborhoods do not have storm sewers, he said. He would like this to remain under Old Business and believes the project needs to be done. Mr. Dhuse estimated the cost to fix would be about $50,000. 2.Alderman Milschewski asked about the usage of left turn lights at Fox and Van Emmon. Van Emmon does not have the turn lane when work is being done during the day according to Mr. Dhuse. She also said the flooding by the tracks was an issue. That has now been fixed. 3.Alderman Colosimo asked about the road patch on Rt. 47 by Parfection Park. It was repaired on this date. 4.Ms. Teeling said sidewalk grinding had been done to level them and it was very well done. There was no further business and the meeting was adjourned at 7:13pm. Minute respectfully submitted by Marlys Young 4