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Public Works Minutes 2014 04-15-14Page 1 of 5 APPROVED 5/20/2014 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE Tuesday, April 15, 2014, 6:00pm Yorkville City Hall, Conference Room 800 Game Farm Road IN ATTENDANCE: Committee Members Chairman Diane Teeling Alderman Ken Koch Alderman Larry Kot Alderman Jackie Milschewski Other City Officials City Administrator Bart Olson Public Works Director Eric Dhuse Engineer Brad Sanderson, EEI Other Guests: Brian Stubbs, Whispering Meadows Vienles Jakobsons, Whispering Meadows John Bruno, Whispering Meadows Deb Kautny, Whispering Meadows The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Chairman Diane Teeling. Citizen Comments: John Bruno of Whispering Meadows said he was representing the residents of that subdivision. He would like the final pave coat put on the streets. He said the roads are decaying badly in spite of putting gravel in the potholes. He said the builder, Kimball Hill Homes, went bankrupt and the streets should have been paved 6 years ago. Residents will have a difficult time selling their homes and realtors now have to disclose the conditions to potential buyers. Bart Olson said the bond company is not honoring the bonds so the City is litigating. Mr. Olson said Illinois is very lenient with bond companies and the City has no authority to tell the builder which one to use. He said the court documents said the City did not call the bonds on time and a variety of other reasons. Mr. Bruno questioned the rating of the bond company. The name of the bond company is Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland. Mr. Bruno did a quick search of the company and found that the company behind Fidelity is Zurich Insurance who has an A+ rating. Mr. Bruno asked how big the financial battle is and Mr. Olson said the City has already spent $106,000 between 2010 and 2014. Page 2 of 5 Mr. Bruno suggested that perhaps the City should raise bonds to pay for the paving in lieu of bond company payments since there is no guarantee the bonds will be paid. He said the streets present safety issues and possibility liability and the City should look at alternate funding sources. Chairman Teeling asked if Mr. Bruno was suggesting an SSA. Mr. Bruno said he was not since the subdivision would not pay for the roads. Alderman Koch said a couple other subdivisions in the City had SSA's and their situations have now corrected themselves. Mr. Bruno suggested perhaps the City could buy out TRG Investments, however, Mr. Olson said the City is not in the business of real estate transactions. Mr. Bruno said there are several vacant lots in Whispering Meadows. Mr. Olson said the City has told the existing landowner they would work with them and offer things that other subdivisions have received, however, there has been no movement. Alderman Teeling said the Council has been studying the budget for road repair and is willing to work with any developer. Mr. Bruno asked what role the township and County play in repairing these roads. They have no role unless jurisdiction of roads is transferred at their request. These are not City roads yet, so the City cannot pay for the streets. Mr. Bruno speculated on the possibility of annexing the parcel into another policitical entity such as the township, however, Mr. Olson said the County/township would not asume liability since the property is within the corporate boundaries of the City. Alderman Kot asked if there are any plans to hot patch the streets, but Mr. Dhuse said he is waiting for further direction prior to this action. Mr. Vilenis Jakobsons said he has lived in Whispering Meadows for 6 years and with the bonds being unattainable right now, he can't sell his house due to the poor street conditions. He also said there are many unsold lots and no houses have been built for a few years. He asked that more pressure be put on the bond company. Mr. Olson said litigation is the City's only recourse. Deb Kautny has concern for home values and for safety of children and young drivers. She said kids are unable to ride bikes or rollerblade due to the streets. She said this is a black eye on the City and businesses will not be attracted. She said there must be other similar cases in the country and that the information could be helpful to the City. He said the City cannot take the role of the developer and cannot fund private subdivisions. Mr. Olson said all other subdivisions have seen some growth except Whispering Meadows. She hoped the City would think outside the box for unconventional ways to resolve. She asked if Fidelity holds any other bonds with the City and Mr. Olson said they do not. Brian Stubbs said the situation is bad for economic development. Rocks fly from the cold patch when people drive by. He asked if the homeowners need to start a petition or if some tax money can be used. Mr. Olson said there is nothing the citizens can do to help the litigation. He said TRG (the vacant property owner) has been dismissed from the lawsuit, but the City still considers them responsible. He said the homeowner's association and subdivision have threatened to sue the City, but the City must protect everyone's interests and all subdivisions. Mr. Olson said the City is not at liberty to discuss many aspects of the matter. Previous Meeting Minutes: March 18, 2014 The minutes were approved as presented. Page 3 of 5 New Business: 1. PW 2014-24 Autumn Creek – Unit 2C Bond Reduction This is for Autumn Creek, Unit #2C, north of Kennedy Road. The necessary infrastructure has been completed to request the bond reduction which is being recommended by Mr. Sanderson. Alderman Milschewski asked if there were any water issues since a resident had questions in the past. There are no issues now and this item moves forward to the consent agenda. 2. PW 2014-25 Double Drum Vibratory Roller RFP Mr. Dhuse said a new roller is needed for asphalt patches since the current one was purchased in 1998 and has outlived its usefulness with parts no longer available. The roller is being purchased instead of a truck. Alderman Kot asked how this roller would compare to the one owned by D Construction. It is a much smaller model and for patching only. The cost is $40,000 for a used machine. Mr. Kot asked if the City could purchase a machine to repair the streets and possibly share it with other communities. Mr. Dhuse will research costs. Mr. Olson thought it might still be cheaper to outsource this type of work. Asphalt pavers are very specialized with burners, etc. More staff would be needed, they would need to be trained and it would be more than a summer job. This RFP will move forward to the consent agenda. 3. PW 2014-26 Cannonball Trail LAFO Agreements a. IDOT Joint Agreement b. Phase III Engineering Agreement c. MFT Resolution Bids will be let June 13th and 2 agreements must be considered. The Joint Agreement identifies the funding (75% federally funded and 25% local). The Phase III agreement is the next phase of this project. The City is using $100,000 of MFT funds to cover its portion of the project so a resolution is needed. The project should start in August and be done in October. The committee recommended moving this forward to the consent agenda. 4. PW 2014-27 Kennedy Road Shared-Use Path – ITEP Phase II Engineering Agreement The first phase of engineering is nearly complete and IDOT should be approving soon. When this phase is complete, the City can apply for grants. The bill for engineering will be paid for by “Push for the Path”. Alderman Teeling said she will be working with the Aurora Green Committee this summer for additional fundraising and there will be a golf outing in September. No City money has been spent to this point. This matter moves to the consent agenda. 5. PW 2014-28 Raintree Village – Completion of Improvements Bid Award This is the completion of improvements in units 4, 5 and 6. The Council approved an agreement last summer that gave the SSA funds to the City and the City was to complete the infrastructure. Bids were taken and it was awarded to Hardin Paving. Mr. Kot noted they were 11% under the other bids. This moves to the consent agenda. 6. PW 2014-29 Rt. 47 Sanitary Sewer Lining – Bid Award This project is in lieu of removal and replacement of some of the sewer pipe. Visu-Sewer was awarded the contract for work at Colonial Parkway, at the RR tracks and Fox Rd. This will move to the consent agenda. Page 4 of 5 7. PW 2014-30 Kennedy Road Improvements (Autumn Creek) – Bid Award The Pulte contract states they will pay for road-widening on Kennedy Road in front of the Autumn Creek development and it will be completed this summer. Hardin Paving was the low bidder. Mr. Sanderson said estimates can change, primarily due to unforeseen conditions and these are dealt with on change orders, however, he said most times the prices are pretty close to the estimate. Alderman Kot asked if the City had worked with Hardin in the past and Mr. Sanderson said he had worked with them on other projects. They were previously known as Orange Crush and Palumbo. Mr. Olson said the City has approved a construction engineering contract with EEI to monitor and track this project. This moves forward to the consent agenda. 8. PW 2014-31 TAP Grant Intergovernmental Agreement The County approved a second request for funding of sidewalks as part of the Rt. 47 project. The award is for $5,000. The per-square cost of sidewalk is about $125. Alderman Milschewski noted that the sidewalks for the school program had to be a certain width and she asked how the downtown avoided the minimum. Mr. Dhuse said the width is the same and 5-feet is the width necessary for ADA compliance. The committee recommended approval of this agreement and it moves forward to the consent agenda. Old Business: 1. PW2014-13 Parking Restrictions – Whispering Meadows This item is based on a complaint from the Whispering Meadows Homeowner's President. There is a problem with the sight distance on Allendale when cars are parked on both sides of the street. The City proposed parking on the west side of the street only and letters had to be sent to residents inviting them to make comment. Administrator Olson said that no one had responded to letters the City had sent about the parking restrictions. It will also be at a future Council meeting. Mr. Bruno commented that the police department was issuing parking tickets for parking 2-3 inches over the sidewalk and he thought it was trivial to focus on that. Alderman Koch explained that a resident may have called to complain and the police cannot ignore the complaint. Additional Business: Alderman Kot commented that Fox St. was torn out up to Main St. It is part of the project and will allow for turn lanes. He thought part of the County building parking lot was torn up as well. He asked how long Fox would be closed. Mr. Dhuse thought it should be open May 1st. Mr. Kot also asked if the lights at Van Emmon had been adjusted due to traffic backups he observed. Mr. Dhuse said the school busses that stop at the train tracks contribute to the backups as well. Alderman Teeling questioned the ComEd activities near Mill Road by the train tracks. They are upgrading the lines and laid mats to prevent mud. Alderman Koch asked if City Attorney Orr had sent a letter regarding Sunflower {flooding issues}. Contact was made and property owners will allow access to their property. The owners were concerned about liability or incurring any costs. Mr. Sanderson is meeting with them in a few days. Alderman Milschewski said there had been a plumbing/water problem at a residence on her street and asked who is liable for sidewalk repair. The property owner is responsible according to Mr. Dhuse. Page 5 of 5 Ms. Milschewski also asked if the City had ever considered a dog park. Mr. Olson replied that there was no money in the Parks budget, but it is one of the most requested amenities. She had observed one recently and said there is an area for small dogs and one for large dogs. The approximate cost is $15,000 to $30,000. Alderman Koch said locations previously considered were Fox Hill, Corneils and by the Christian School. He will bring it up at Parks meeting. Ms. Teeling asked if the City could address the poor condition of parking lots at some businesses. Mr. Dhuse said the asphalt plants are not open yet for the material to fix them and the City can't force the business owners to fix since it's private property. Mr. Olson said the property owner has an obligation to repair damaged vehicles. There was no further business and the meeting was adjourned at 7:45pm. Minutes respectfully transcribed by Marlys Young