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Public Works Minutes 2017 01-17-17Page 1 of 4 APPROVED 2/21/2017 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE Tuesday, January 17, 2017, 6:00pm Yorkville City Hall, Conference Room 800 Game Farm Road IN ATTENDANCE: Committee Members Chairman Chris Funkhouser Alderman Ken Koch Alderman Jackie Milschewski Other City Officials Mayor Gary Golinski (6:25-7:03pm) Engineer Brad Sanderson, EEI City Administrator Bart Olson Administrative Intern Nicole Kathman Public Works Director Eric Dhuse Interim Assistant City Administrator Erin Willrett Other Guests: Don & Donna Peterson, White Oak Estates Ray & Barb Wolson, White Oak Estates Mike & Carol Pfeiffer, White Oak Estates Carol & Don Hirsch, White Oak Estates Elizabeth Kolar, White Oak Estates Rob Vollrath, Leopardo Energy John Albrecht, Leopardo Energy Tim Weidner, Engineering Enterprises Deborah Horaz, White Oak Estates The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Chairman Chris Funkhouser. Citizen Comments: Mr. Don Hirsch said the train horn situation has not improved and since track improvements were made last fall, the situation has worsened. He said others have signed petitions, sent emails etc. against the loud train horns. He encouraged the City to do Phase I of the quiet zone study. Mr. Don Peterson asked if there was any further update of the train situation and Chairman Funkhouser replied it would be discussed at tonight's meeting. Also commenting was Ms. Carol Hirsch, who said she had circulated a petition to the neighbors. She said a neighbor had a concern about the speed of the trains during festivals downtown Yorkville and as it relates to future development there. It was noted by staff later in the meeting, that trains greatly reduce their speed during festivals and orange fencing is put up for additional safety. Previous Meeting Minutes: December 20, 2016 The minutes were approved as presented. Page 2 of 4 New Business: 1. PW 2017-01 Snow Operations Report Mr. Dhuse said snow had fallen at night on the day he turned in the report and those removal efforts will be shown on the next quarterly report. Chairman Funkhouser asked if signs indicating “liquid salt”could be placed on the rear of the brine trucks. Mr. Dhuse said he would research signs that warn drivers to stay back a certain number of feet. The brine is working very well, but the anti-icing system is still being refined. Information only. 2. PW 2017-02 Water Department Reports for October-December 2016 This is the quarterly water report with a few watermain breaks reported. Since the EPA requires these reports, it moves to the City Council consent agenda on February 21. 3. PW 2017-03 Stagecoach Crossing Acceptance of Public Improvements Engineer Sanderson said the City had an agreement with Midwest Bank for completion of improvements. The water and sewer work has now been finished and the bank is asking for acceptance which he is recommending. He is also recommending release of the maintenance agreement. This moves to the February 21 Council consent agenda. 4. PW 2017-04 Bristol Bay Unit 3 Acceptance of Public Improvements All punchlist items have been completed by Pulte and approval is recommended. Watermain, sanitary and storm sewer work was done. Mr. Sanderson said he felt the 10% maintenance agreement should be held at this time. This moves to the February 21 Council consent agenda. 5. PW 2017-05 Bond/LOC Reduction Summary This is for information at this time, no discussion or comments. 6. PW 2017-06 Capital Improvement Project Update This is the quarterly update and Mr. Sanderson highlighted some of the projects. The watermain and binder course are done in Countryside and work will resume in April with a completion date set for June. The Wrigley project was delayed due to ComEd issues which are being addressed. There were some delivery issues for the lighting and the work should be done in 2-4 weeks from this date. The Kennedy Road project has been approved and an agreement is needed between the City and the railroad. Bid-letting is anticipated in April. Other projects are in various stages at this time and some bid-lettings are coming soon. For information at this time. 7. PW 2017-07 MFT Resolution for 2017 Road to Better Roads Program MFT and City funds have been used for these projects and will continue to be used. The proposed budget is $300,000 using MFT funds and a resolution must be passed before project submittal to IDOT. This moves to the February 21 consent agenda. 8. PW 2017-08 Downtown Sidewalk and Fencing Replacement RFP Ms. Kathman said an RFP has been drafted to replace fencing and sidewalk by the Law Office. There was further discussion of the type and design of fencing and the height. Some sidewalk on W. Van Emmon by the Groner residence will also be replaced. No fence is required due to the slope and drop, however, it was suggested that a row of hedges could be replaced there. This moves to the Council consent agenda for February 21. Page 3 of 4 9. PW 2017-09 Riverfront Park Testing Results Mr. Olson reported on the additional soil testing and said there was more contamination on the east side of the park, than on the west side. Some contamination was removed and the environmental engineer said remediation rather than encapsulation should be done in the playground area. Three optional spots were chosen for the playground location pending additional testing. Alderman Milschewski asked if the playground could change to a former location depending on the results. Park personnel would prefer the location be farther west if necessary, to better accommodate festivals. Testing will continue. Old Business: 1. PW 2016-84 Well No. 3 Abandonment – Layne Proposal At the December meeting, staff recommended a formal request from Layne which has been received. Mr. Sanderson said the proposal is for $37,450 and if the City turns over the pump and motor to them, they will cancel the decommissioning cost. Layne would also credit $1,894 for salvageable material. Mr. Sanderson recommended approval of the proposal. These costs do not include building removal. This moves to the February 21 consent agenda. 2. PW 2014-74 Railroad Quiet Zones Alderman Milschewski asked if the staff could research how many trains go through the other towns per day, compared to the City. Mr. Olson said the number of trains has increased, however, railroads are not required to provide the exact numbers or schedules. The quiet zone study would cost the City $200,000 per crossing and there are about 16 crossings. Alderman Koch asked if the first part of the study would give an indication of the funds available if crossings were closed. It is thought there would be some idea of financial help. Businesses and future downtown development could be impacted greatly due to closures. Alderman Funkhouser questioned the cost of closing crossings vs. the lesser amount of money that has been spent on road improvements. He asked if closures would improve quality of life and if the amount of money spent is worth it. Alderman Milschewski said she is opposed to spending the money for a study and people who purchase houses know where the train tracks are located. She said the number of trains could potentially decrease someday. She feels if this moves forward, it would be undertaken for a limited number of residents. Alderman Koch said he also did not favor the study. Resident Ray Wolson noted a difference in the horns depending on the train/engineer. He asked what criteria/guidelines are followed and suggested that it be researched before money is spent. Aldermen said that some engineers keep sounding the horn when crossings are close together and that speed and distance affect the length of the horn-sounding. Ms. Milschewski also suggested some engineers may sound the horn longer/louder based on a bad experience or for objects on the tracks. Carol Hirsch commented that Silica Sand has just purchased 350 more acres for sand and believes there could be an increase in the number of trains. Another resident asked why the cost is so great per crossing for a quiet zone. Tim Weidner replied that current equipment has to be replaced with gates and other security equipment. Ms. Milschewski questioned liability in a quiet zone in the event of an accident. It was thought all responsibility would fall on the City in such a case since the City would be changing the railroad policies. Page 4 of 4 In conclusion, Chairman Funkhouser said this issue has been discussed several years with much careful thought. The committee felt the matter should be tabled, largely due to costs. Ms. Milschewski asked staff to research horn-sounding regulations for information for the public. 3. PW 2016-21 Leopardo Energy Update Mr. Olson said the RFP document has been submitted. Oswego has identified possible partnerships on a couple projects and interviews are proceeding next week on a shared purchasing manager. A shared antenna tower for reading water meters, water plant and fueling station were other potential ventures. Chairman Funkhouser suggested that some of the joint projects would not be feasible. He cited a need for solutions for some of the issues that have been pending such as Beecher Center and fleet problems and wants to start facilitating some of these issues. Mr. Funkhouser said in discussions last month, department head input was requested, however, that was not made available due to time constraints. If this program can save the City money, he feels it is worth the time spent. He said the contractor has an obligation to perform to save the City money. Mr. Olson said he had big concerns about this program. He found that other communities had issues with the time spent on vendor contact. The communities are saying it's a good process and possibly saves money, but other items could happen with a simple change in-house. He feels that much time has already been put into this project and wants to delay future time investments to the new Purchasing Manager. Aldermen Koch and Funkhouser asked to have the full Council consider this proposal. Alderman Milschewski asked about delaying any further decisions until the Purchasing Manager is on board sometime in March. Mr. Funkhouser said this project could involve policy decisions and budget discussions. The cost was also considered. Savings are determined on a project- by- project basis. The savings is the funding mechanism of the project and the guarantee of the savings comes from the contractor. Water meters and lighting were two projects cited for potential savings. It was noted that the City could take on these projects internally and still save money. This item will come back to committee on March 21st and a shorter presentation will be scheduled for an upcoming Council meeting. It was recommended to have the future Purchasing Manager write a new RFQ. Additional Business: Alderman Koch said the potholes fixed on Greenbriar and N. Walsh need to be re-filled. Mr. Dhuse said it was likely re-done today. Mr. Koch asked about getting these streets on the schedule for future improvements. There was no further business and the meeting was adjourned at 7:43pm. Minutes respectfully transcribed by Marlys Young, Minute Taker