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HomeMy Public PortalAboutCouncil Minutes 2003 10/23MINUTES McCall City Council Regular Meeting Thursday, October 23, 2003 Table of Contents Call to Order and Roll Call Public Hearing Public Comment Consent Agenda Minutes of October 16, 2003 Invoice Approval List Dated October 15, 2003 and October 12, 2003 Payroll Report for Pay Period Ending October 10, 2003 AB 03-161 Donation to McCall Public Library of new propane furnace from A-1 Electric AB 03-162 Lease Purchase 1998 CAT 140H Motor Grader Business AB 03-164 Petition regarding Syringa Drive Construction Reports Executive Session Personnel Idaho Code 67-2345(1b) to consider a personnel matter Adjournment CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Mayor Colton called the regular meeting of the McCall City Council to order at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Colton, Council Member Arp, Council Member Muller, and Council Member Eimers answered roll call. A quorum was present. City staff members present were City Attorney Susan Buxton, City Manager Robert Strope, Community Development Director Lindley Kirkpatrick, Public Works Director Bill Keating, Police Chief Ralph Appa, Parks and Recreation Director Brock Heasley, Librarian Anne Kantola, Golf Course Director Dan Pillard, Airport Manager Kevin Delaney, Network Administrator Dave Simmonds, and Treasurer & City Clerk Barbara Bauer. Mayor Colton noted that an additional Warrant Register for October 23, 2003 has been added to the consent agenda. Page 1 of 6 , 2003 City Council Minutes PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Colton called for public comment. No public comment was received. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Colton moved to approve the Consent Agenda with the addition of the Warrant register dated October 23, 2003 and authorize the Mayor to sign all necessary documents. Council Member Arp seconded the motion. In a roll call vote, Mayor Colton, Council Member Arp, and Council Member Eimers voted aye. The motion carried. BUSINESS AB 03-164 Petition regarding Syringa Drive reconstruction Public Works Director Bill Keating told Council Members that the Syringa development project was done according to the City road standards, the project turned out well, and staff recommendation is that the standards not be changed. The current street construction standards are appropriate for our community allow affordable maintenance and should not be changed. There are differences in how street edges were handled on this project because the lots at the upper end of the street did not require the same drainage or ongoing maintenance as those at the bottom of the loop. City Engineer Vern Brewer of Holladay Engineering reviewed a handout provided to the Council Members and audience. This information covers the standards for public roads and design. Seven key points included: 1. The City of McCall already has the most efficient and cost effective standard for roadside drainage. It is used across the state by cities without curb and gutter and is recommended by the Idaho Standards for Public Works Construction. The reason these standards are used is because this system is easy to maintain and to construct, and is an easy method to get water away from the street. Drainage is critical for the protection of the investment in the street. 2. The investment in the street was $158,500, including the base, level course, asphalt, and driveways. 3. The City of McCall has a long History of using this standard, having been used since prior to 1993. Areas not using the present standards have much more frequent rebuilding costs. With limited maintenance dollars, the money is better spent Page 2 of 6 , 2003 City Council Minutes maintaining drainage as a first priority, because without drainage the road surface will not last. 4. To construct an edge drain system (see illustration), the cost out would be about $13.35 per center line linear foot, or about $6.50 per running foot on each side of the street. 5. An estimate of a retro-fit for Syringa from the current borrow ditch to an edge drain system would be approximately $50,000 6. The edge drain standard would also cause a high increase in long range maintenance costs. Edge drain is meant for highways, which do not have cuts in the edge of the road. Cities need to cut edges for water, gas, and other underground utilities, which weaken the side of the road and cause increased maintenance. The city is not set up to monitor or maintain this type of system. 7. Changing the current standard for Syringa will set a precedent for design and cost of future construction of roads in other areas of the city that would be more difficult and expensive to maintain. Note: Current road is $90 per running foot on that road and the addition of another $13.00 per running foot is very expensive and should be done with an LID or neighborhood funding rather than tax dollars. Holiday Engineering would recommend that the City retain the current standard and follow ISPWC recommendations. Joe Johnson, Syringa Subdivision helped start the petition. His first question was why the standard was totally abandoned at the upper end of the road but not the lower. This change created a loss of roadside parking, eliminated peoples ability to drive directly onto yards and is a safety hazard. He liked Allan Muller's suggestion that the ditches be filled with Basalt. Shirley Potter, 612 Syringa Drive, lives in a home without a ditch in front of her house. After two informal discussions with the Streets Department and engineers, she was under the understanding that Bill could make changes in how the project was completed, and that she had convinced him to eliminate the ditches. Shirley thought the changes would cover the entire subdivision, not just the participants of the discussions. The original road was built on old road fill with two inches of cover in 1980 or 1981 with crack sealing only twice. During that time, there were no drainage or run- off problems. She feels that the current standards are overkill, but use of basalt rock fill and chip compacted in the ditches would create an effective french drain. To illustrate her safety concerns, She also mentioned an incident with a young boy swerving into the ditch and being thrown from his bike. Bill Murphy, 510 Colorado Drive, likes having the road paved. There was only one situation over the past years where there has been any runoff problems on his property. He also believes the street was over -engineered and will cause erosion in the spring. Christie Gorsline, 945 Lick Creek Road and a candidate for Council responded to a request from residents of the subdivision to look at the ditches and felt that with the narrow roads in the area visitors will need to park in the street, thereby narrowing the roadway to a single traffic lane. Page 3 of 6 , 2003 City Council Minutes Steven Thielst, 620 Syringa, was an early owner and lives in the highest home in the subdivision. He believes that the steepness in the area will make it dangerous in winter and will cause problems getting a boat in during the summer. It is nice to have a paved road, but he does not feel this was an improvement and he wants to see the ditch filled in. He also stated that he may fill the ditch in on his own. Gale Verschoor, 605 Syringa, has serious concerns about safety of children in the area and her ability to exit her driveway as she leaves for work at midnight, when her neighbors have trailers. She resents a suggestion that the residents pay for a change. She feels that when the snow gets deep, cars will slide into the ditch. Richard Rehberg, 611 Syringa, was unhappy because there was inadequate notice of the project even being done prior to the beginning of construction. He suggests that the neighborhoods be involved in a meeting prior to the beginning of work on projects in the future. The road is now too narrow for an RV to get to his home in the summer and the loss of street parking will create a liability for the City if someone is hurt leaving his or her car by falling into the ditch. Mayor Colton asked Vern Brewer if the $50,000 estimated cost of making the requested change could be lowered by doing only partial work. Converting the remaining areas to edge drain is expensive because the systems are so different that the current work has to be removed in order to switch. It would be possible to choose a specific area to change without redoing the full neighborhood except that all spots in specific drainage flows need to be treated the same way to maintain drainage. Shirley Potter, 612 Syringa Drive, believes the old road and drainage would have lasted for another 30 years and the only reason that the recent work was done is because of water and sewer line projects. Vern noted that lots at the upper end of the street did not require the maintenance of ditches because they are at the top of a steep hill and natural drainage will not be a problem. The standards were applied equally within the project when runoff was deemed to be an issue, but when there will be no significant runoff, like areas at the top of the hill, there is no need for a culvert or ditch. Many of these decisions cannot be made until work begins on the project. The path of the road has shifted to the center of the right-of-way to avoid damaging people's "yard space" within the City right-of-way. Using the full right-of-way could reduce the slope in some areas but it will require changes that impact some landscaping. At this point, the work is completed except for several manhole collars, covers and a connection to be completed on the sewer system. In doing this, the driveway shoulders and edges have been filled to reduce the steepness. Shoulder rolling and packing is being done. Page 4 of 6 , 2003 City Council Minutes Mickey Pillars, 608 Syringa, stated that there are also missing property markers at the corners of 608 and 611 Syringa. Swales have not been completed at all addresses, including 611 Syringa. Rand Walker asked about the specific slope minimums that are included in the handout and whether it would be possible to reduce the depth of the ditch and still meet the minimum standards. The actual minimum depth standard requirement is six inches below the full depth of the street construction layers. The depth of the ditch can be reduced in most places if the full right-of-way is used in order to move the center of the ditch away from the road center, but it will impact landscaping done by homeowners. Bill Keating noted that the primary water runoff in the past was through several specific properties where people have had serious water problems in the past. In Idaho, it is illegal for public entities to shift runoff over private property. Idaho law does not allow the City to let runoff from public right-of-ways run onto private property. It is also important to have two feet of cover over culverts that run under the driveways. He also pointed out that the difference between this project and an area on Washington Street cited as an example of a different treatment is that on Washington Street the work was a repaving project, not an actual street rebuilding. Gale Verschoor, 605 Syringa, again asked that the Council and Public Works hold meetings in neighborhoods to discuss future work projects before they are begun. Mayor Colton thanked the audience members for providing an opportunity to look for a solution. He noted that the best lesson of the evening is the need to discuss the projects with neighbors before they begin and make sure that the property owners know what will be happening and when it will occur. Any changes that impact the full right-of- way will include a discussion with the impacted property owners. There are also power lines in the City right-of-way. It was agreed that notification to those who signed the petition regarding any decision will be made via letter from the City Manager. People still need to watch the Council Agendas to learn when future action or discussion will be scheduled. REPORTS City Manager — Robert Strope Council agreed to have one meeting in November after the November 5, 2003 election certification meeting and to hold only one meeting in December. Robert asked the Council to authorize a letter to the paper supporting the local option tax but agreed to handle it differently since the support is not unanimous. Page 5 of 6 , 2003 City Council Minutes EXECUTIVE SESSION At 9:13 p.m., Mayor Colton moved to go into executive session per Idaho Code 67-2345 (1 b) to consider personnel matters. Council Member Eimers seconded the motion. Mayor Colton, Council Member Arp, and Council Member Eimers voted aye. The motion carried. The discussion concerned personnel matters. ADJOURNMENT Without further business, Mayor Colton moved to adjourn. Council Member Arp seconded the motion. All Council Members voted aye. The motion carried. The Council adjourned at 9:47 p.m. Ralph C. ton, ayodt(4.- r ATTEST: Robert Strope, Jerk pe y Page 6 of 6 , 2003 City Council Minutes