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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Public Works/Planning - 04/17/1990 PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE APRIL 17, 1990 PRESENT: Steve Dowell Hal Rees Jim White Charlie Kiefer Leona Orr John G. Kiefer Don Wickstrom Ralph Rice Gary Gill William Joy Jim Hansen Mr. and Mrs. Rust Canyon Drive Improvements Dowell referred to the letter from the State which indicated they would not support a reduction in the speed limits on Canyon until Kent enforced the existing speed limits. Gill stated part of the problem was to look at what interim measures could be implemented to slow people down until the improvement project can be constructed. Nizlek indicated recent speed studies determined the average speed to be 45-49. He indicated there is no traffic control that will make them slow down. Traffic volumes were discussed. Dowell asked about a sign on Canyon to alert traffic coming down hill that the light was red. He inquired about taking some of the traffic load off Titus. Nizlek indicated that was put in to divert some of the traffic away from the commercial area. Dowell reiterated that he feels we shouldn't sacrifice residential streets to backups. Wickstrom added that the area around Titus is zoned multifamily and commercial. White stated that regardless of zoning, most of the area is single family and we are routing a tremendous amount of traffic on that road. Rees stated that for approximately the last 18 months, the Traffic Unit which is a 5-person unit, has averaged 10-15 hours a month actual enforcement on Canyon Drive and 35-40 citations a month. Rees stated that is a considerable portion of the unit' s time compared to other areas. One of the drawbacks to enforcement on Canyon Drive is safety for the officer and safety for the public. White asked if we could increase enforcement on a weekly or monthly basis to see what the results would be. Rees indicated he thought that could be accommodated. Nizlek commented his staff could help in isolating the hours during which speeding is occurring. Rees added that emergencies and higher priority detail would have some impact on their ability to increase the enforcement. Responding to White's question, Gill stated we are currently in the process of acquiring right of way for the construction project which could' take 6-9 months. Thus, we anticipate construction in 1991. �M i Public Works Committee April 17, 1990 Page 2 The Committee asked for a report from the Police Department in two months. Traffic Signal Complaints - Ralph Rice Mr. Rice expressed concern about the pedestrian cross walk signals. The push buttons seem to be maintenance problems; he has seen kids take baseball bats to them and the signals are confusing especially to older pedestrians. Mr. Rice suggested a simple solution to a lot of problems would be to take the push buttons off and connect the "Don't Walk" light up to the red and yellow lights on the vehicular signal, connect the "Walk" light to the green light on the vehicular signal. Dowell suggested staff discuss this proposal and send Mr. Rice a letter with the results. Marty Nizlek stated that he and Mr. Rice have been working together on monitoring a number of locations that Mr. Rice frequents. White asked about any State or Federal regulations that require the pedestrian signals and requested that Nizlek inform the Committee what they are. Nizlek added these problems are recognized nation wide. Transportation Improvement Board Vehicle Registration Fee Wickstrom stated that one of the local options of the gas tax legislation is a vehicle registration fee that could be instituted County-wide by County Council ordinance. In order to implement that option, the County is seeking concurrence from the Cities that they would support the fee. Wickstrom stated he feslt we should do so to help finance the City's projects. The fee would generate approximately $322,000 for the City of Kent. Wickstrom added the revenue generated can be used for road projects only. White asked if we could use this to retire bonds. Wickstrom stated the City doesn't have sufficient Councilmanic bonding capacity available to raise the matching funds. The Committee unanimously recommended approval for a letter to be sent to the County supporting implementation of the vehicle registration fee. Other Items Mr. Kiefer asked about the response to the questions he asked at Council. Gill replied that staff is in the process of preparing a written response. We have met with the Fisheries Department at the project site and Mr. Kiefer was in attendance. The meeting with the Corps of Engineers is set for Wednesday. Gill stated that once we have met with them we will have a better idea what course of action. i Public Works Committee April 17, 1990 Page 3 Dowell asked if we could respond to Mr. Kiefer's question about the alignment. Wickstrom stated that we are not rebuilding the existing line as it doesn't match with any ultimate future plans we have for the system. The reason for the new alignment is to correlate with future plans and other future sources. Gill stated it is important to note that the impoundment reservoir site was selected before the Green River Pipe Line #5 project was even an option. It is an added benefit that the project happens to go through the reservoir site. The impoundment reservoir is intended to pick up the winter excesses of the Kent Springs and Clark Springs sources so they can be used for summer demand. Mr. Kiefer stated that the impoundment reservoir would require an environmental checklist and asked what would happen if the transmission line is built in this new alignment and something prevents the reservoir from being built. Wickstrom stated we would address that at the time we begin the impoundment project which is scheduled for 2008 but we have to address the long range plan with current projects. White stated that the Council has obligations to its citizens today but also to its citizens in the future and that is why these comprehensive plans are developed - to address the issues and problems we foresee in the future. Wickstrom confirmed for Dowell that the ratio between residential and commercial water usage is about 50/50. Residential has higher peak demands of about 3 : 1 ratio of summer time demand to winter time demand whereas industrial is more 2: 1. Dowell surmised that the concern over all the water going for industrial use is not valid and the demands will remain the same regardless of source of supply. Gill pointed out the reason for the alignment is to keep the line below the hydraulic grade so the system will function as a gravity system. Otherwise, other alignments would require we place the line up to 50-60 feet deep or build a pump station to pump the water which would be exorbitantly costly to maintain. There was discussion regarding treatment of the water coming from Kent Springs. Wickstrom clarified that we currently chlorinate the water at the source (Kent Springs) since we have customers on the transmission main. With the development of the impoundment reservoir, those customers would be removed from the transmission main, becoming customers of other water districts in the area, and the water would not be treated until it leaves the reservoir. Surface Water and Drainage Code and Bonds Williamson stated he had made changes to the code as presented in the packet but needed to spend a little further time to review the w- Public Works Committee April 17, 1990 Page 4 remainder of the code and revise the ordinance and would expect to have this available by the next meeting. Other Williamson informed the Committee there is some concern by the contractors regarding the language in our performance bonds which requires the contractor to hold the City harmless from loss or damage by reason of any carelessness or negligence on his part or on the part of a subcontractor. They are contending this takes it out of the performance area. Williamson stated that without this language the City would have to rely solely on the insurance carried by the contractor. Williamson added that this language has been in the bond form for quite some time and we have not had any concerns over it until now. White stated that he felt if it needed updating then we should take a look at it; however, he is not concerned about what the bonding companies or contractors say about it but whether the City and their citizens are protected. Williamson stated he would like to see the language remain in the bond form. Mr. Joy inquired about the purpose of a proposed 10-inch water line shown in the comprehensive plan on S.E. 284th and 109th Avenue S.E. Wickstrom explained it is intended to loop our system to provide better fire flow protection and distribution to the service area.