July 7, 2014 Council Meeting

 

 

 

CITY OF SPRING PARK

CITY COUNCIL MINUTES

JULY 7, 2014 – 7:30 PM

SPRING PARK CITY HALL

 

  1. CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Reinhardt called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm.
  2. ROLL CALL – Sippel, Williamson, Bren, Hughes, Reinhardt.
  3. INTRODUCTIONS – Reinhardt introduced the council and staff to the public. Administrator Tolsma, Clerk Lewin, Attorney Beck, Engineer Pearson, Utility Superintendent Goman.
  4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
  5. ADOPT AGENDA – Sippel makes a motion and Williamson seconds to adopt the agenda. All votes ayes, motion carries.
  6. ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA – Bren said she would like to mention that at the previous meeting, the motion for Ordinance 14-02 was presented and she voted no and her intent was to vote yes. She said her vote was contradictory to what she had spoke about. She said she was confused when the motion was made.       Bren said next time when there is a lot of discussion she will ask that the motion be clarified.       Williamson said also on the June 16 minutes he has a correction on the fourth page where he states he feels the wisdom is to follow the recommendation of the PC (correction made). Williamson makes a motion and Hughes seconds to adopt the consent agenda with the changes. All votes ayes, motion carries.
    1. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes From June 16, 2014
    2. Town Hall Meeting From June 19, 2014
    3. Work Session Minutes From June 23, 2014
    4. Liquor Licenses
  7. PUBLIC FORUM – No one.
  8. PRESENTATIONS & GUEST SPEAKERS – None.
  9. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & APPLICATIONS – None.
  10. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS
    1. Resolution 14-14: Appointing Absentee Ballot Board & Election Judges – Williamson makes a motion and Bren seconds to adopt said resolution. Sippel asks if EJ’s have to be residents of Spring Park and Reinhardt states it’s not necessary. Williamson confirms that the city clerk can add judges as needed.       Reinhardt said she would like to thank the individuals who have said they would be election judges.       All votes ayes, motion carries.
  11. REPORTS OF OFFICERS & COMMITTEES
    1. Mayor and Council       - Reinhardt, nothing.

  • Williamson said they’ve worked to negotiate a new franchise with the cable commission. He said that process was completed two months ago. He said the cable company has not returned executed documents so far. Williamson said they are governed presently by the old franchise until the new document is accepted.

  • Hughes said the LMCD had an executive meeting and Art Saunders of the Water Patrol was present. He said there are specific Lake Minnetonka deputies. Sheriff Stanek was present and they quashed the rumors and said there is probably funds for more officers on the lake.

    1. City Administrator – nothing.
    2. City Engineer

      1. Lift Station #5 –

        Pearson said bids have been authorized by the council. He said there were seven plan holders of which two submitted bids. Widmer bid $222,597.86 and Minger bid $315,324. Pearson said the engineer’s estimate was $257,709 so the low bid came in about $35,000 under the estimate. Pearson said there is always hope for more bidders however based upon the engineer’s estimate he thinks it’s a good bid. He said when the costs were estimated they used the bids received in 2010 and inflated it 3% per year to arrive at their estimate. Pearson said the generator, control panel, pump and mixture the city would purchase and there is a cost savings from sales tax. Pearson said they plan the projects as best they can with the data available but there can be unexpected costs. They’ve allowed a 5% contingency they suggest be included.

         

        Pearson said in the CIP plan he believes there was $400K allowed for this lift station project. He said Widmer Construction is local, they’re reputable and they do good work. Williamson said the difference between the bids is interesting. He said he sees some major differences in estimated costs such as the standby generator. He said on the dewatering there is a $1500 to $9700 spread. Williamson said he is concerned they don’t run into the situation like the street light project wherein one of the bidders calculated incorrectly. Williamson doesn’t want the notion that $400K has been allotted and there is money to work with. He said these line items are really wide and he is concerned about this. Pearson said when comparing this bid to the streetlight project, there were no errors identified. He said Widmer's bid, if they are willing to enter into a contract at these amounts, these unit prices is what the contractor will be paid unless something unforeseen. He said as far as dewatering he can’t see the contractor coming back asking for more. They have soil borings done. Pearson feels the plans are complete and he doesn’t anticipate any change orders at this point.

         

        Sippel said he also has question about two line items as Williamson mentioned. He wonders about the gate valve and manhole and wonders if there is a potential quality difference in what they’re bidding. Pearson said there are specified requirements in the strength of the structure. He said he thinks the difference in costs come when contractors itemize the costs it gets to be random as to where they make adjustments. He said the difference in cost is not a reflection in materials or something unforeseen but a case where the contractor boosts their price because they don’t necessarily need the work. Williamson said in the bid documents, he asked if there was a timetable. Pearson said he doesn’t have the spec with him. Goman said the contractor has to start construction no later than September 1st and have substantial completion by the end of the construction season – Thanksgiving. Pearson said when the agreement is agreed upon they are given a certain amount of time to do the work and it is specified in the specifications. Pearson thinks it’s about 45 calendar days. Williamson said there was an issue with the streetlights and a project that was supposed to be finished by the end of June still wasn’t complete until the end of September. He said liquidated damages were discussed. Williamson said we’ve had some unusual weather and he thinks it needs to be moved forward and functionally operational before winter.

         

        Reinhardt thinks the engineer and superintendent have the intent to complete on time. Goman said he has had many conversations with Widmer. The pumps are already in stock. The control panel has a one month build time and the longest lead time is the generator out about two months. This allows time for site preparation. Reinhardt said she wasn’t aware Widmer was in the business of lift stations. Goman said they haven’t for Spring Park but they have for the City of Mound. Sippel said with the recent changes with no sales tax to cities, he wonders about the value of the manholes and wonders if this should be considered for capital purchases. He wonders who gets the benefit. Pearson said the state statute requires a community to bid the materials separate from the labor and installation and it means there could be two separate contractors, one for supplying and one for installation. Williamson said he made an assumption that this would be a big savings to cities. He said he is glad Sippel has asked the right questions and now believes this isn’t as good as it originally sounded. He said to save 7% sales tax on hundreds of thousands of dollars is a good savings. He said he is stunned they won’t realize the savings on this. Sippel said all savings from the sales tax might not be realized and there could be finger pointing for delays. He said he’d still have one person in charge. Reinhardt said if building separately, it could be a wash. Williamson moves to accept the bid from Widmer Construction on Lift Station 5 for $222,397.86. Hughes seconds. Sippel asked if the motion should include the language not to start later than September 1st, etc. Goman said that is part of the contract documents. Sippel said he is concerned about the disruption to the residents.  All votes ayes, motion carries. Reinhardt asked about a motion directing staff to purchase the equipment separately. Williamson makes the motion and Hughes seconds to authorize purchase of materials limited to motion generator, control panel, pump and mixer as shown in Sambatek document. All votes ayes, motion carries.

         

        Reinhardt asked about the name change from MFRA to Sambatek. Pearson said Sareesh Samba is president and CEO and has been for six years. He was a waste water engineer. Pearson said the company has moved and they were in Plymouth but now they are in the area of Hwys 62 and 494. Pearson said since they moved they decided to change the name as now is the time. He said there is no change in the ownership of the company which is privately owned. Sippel asked about the feasibility studies previously authorized. Pearson said the drainage design for the proposed pond north of city hall will be surveyed July 8 and locates have been ordered. He said residents on West Arm Rd East will be notified that the survey work will be performed. He said West Arm Rd Central’s public hearing is scheduled for July 21st and the feasibility will be presented for review. He said it will more or less be a review to what was presented on June 19th public meeting.

    1. City Attorney – Nothing.
    2. Utility Superintendent – Goman said the street survey will be conducted starting tomorrow and there should be a report in August. He said sewer lines on West Arm Rd East were televised and there is a lot of infiltration. He said the two manhole sections in the roadway and off the roadway were leaking and they’ve been repaired temporarily. Regarding West Arm Rd they met with the Watershed, Three Rivers and the Rail Authority and everyone seems to be on board.       Williamson asked if that included any talk of reestablishment of a retaining wall onto rail authority.       Goman said they didn’t get that detailed but the potential was raised. Sippel said to clarify there has been an okay but no support. Goman said the Rail Authority and the Watershed might have some funding.       Goman said Hennepin County will be meeting with FEMA as far as the flood declaration and the criteria has been met. FEMA will pay for the cost of a replacement pump, equal size.
  1. UPCOMING MEETINGS & TRAINING – Reinhardt said the June meetings should read July.
    1. June 9 – Administration Committee – 1:00 PM
    2. June 9 – Planning Commission – 7:00 PM
    3. June 9 – LMCD – 7:00 PM
    4. July 17 – LMCC – 7:00 PM
    5. July 21 – City Council – 7:30 PM
  2. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
  3. NEW BUSINESS & COMMUNICATION
    1. Bills & Payroll – Hughes makes a motion and Bren seconds to pay the claims. Sippel asked about a charge for nuisance property cleanup and he assumes this will be assessed back to recover costs. Tolsma said this is property that is transferring ownership so the costs have been submitted to the closing company for reimbursement.       All votes ayes, motion carries.
  4. MISCELLANEOUS (Information Only)
    1. LMCD Annual Report – Reinhardt said this was well done and the summary was informative.       Hughes said there was another good boater safety program and it had good attendance.
    2. Fire Department Press Release
    3. July Channel 8 Schedule
  5. ADJOURNMENT – Williamson makes a motion and Bren seconds to adjourn at 8:26 pm. All votes ayes, motion carries.

                                                                                    _______________________________

                                                                                    Wendy Lewin, City Clerk

 

 

______________________________

Dan Tolsma, Administrator