HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Public Works Committee - 09/19/2016Public Works Committee Minutes
September 19, 2016
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Item 1 – Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 4:02 p.m. by Committee
Chair, Dennis Higgins.
Item 2 – Roll Call: Committee Chair, Dennis Higgins was absent. Committee members
Dana Ralph and Brenda Fincher were present, with Council member Ralph acting as
Chair.
Item 3 – Changes to the Agenda: There were no changes to the agenda.
Item 4 – Approval of Meeting Minutes Dated September 15, 2016:
Council member Fincher MOVED to approve the minutes of August 15, 2016. The
motion was SECONDED by Committee member Ralph and PASSED 2 - 0.
Item 5 – Consultant Agreement for Water System Seismic Vulnerability:
Bryan Bond, Technical Analyst gave a brief presentation explaining various types of
damage that have occurred due to high magnitude earthquakes worldwide over the past
15 years. Bond noted that these earthquakes have provided engineers and scientists with
a greater understanding of how to study, model, and predict the reaction of infrastructure
to ground movement. The last time an earthquake vulnerability assessment was
conducted for the City water system was in 1996.
Kennedy/Jenks was selected to analyze our water facilities (buildings, reservoirs, &
sources) and distribution system piping for two locally anticipated earthquake scenarios:
the Cascadia Subduction Zone and Seattle fault. The final report will include
recommended improvements with planning level cost estimates.
Committee Member Fincher MOVED to recommend Council authorize the Mayor
to sign a Consultant Services Agreement with Kennedy/Jenks Consultants in an
amount not to exceed $180,265 to complete a Water System Seismic
Vulnerability Assessment, subject to final terms and conditions acceptable to
the City Attorney and Public Works Director. The motion was SECONDED by
Committee Member Ralph and PASSED 2 - 0.
Item 6 – Scarsella Brothers, Inc. Change Order – Mill Creek (West Valley
Highway) Water Line and Bridge Repair:
Eric Connor, Construction Engineering Manager reminded committee members that staff
briefed the Committee earlier this summer on the need for repairs to the water main that
crosses over Mill Creek-Auburn, at West Valley Highway. The main serves the south part
of the valley and was at risk for failure due to issues with the stream bank protection
near the bridge.
Scarsella Brothers Construction installed steel sheet piles and made permanent repairs to
the water line. Scarsella Brothers mobilized work on Friday, June 10, and completed their
work on July 14, 2016, at a cost of $133,382.23.
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September 19, 2016
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Committee Member Fincher MOVED to recommend Council authorize the Mayor
to sign a Change Order with Scarsella Brothers, Inc. in an amount not to exceed
$133,382.23 for services related to the water line repair of the Mill Creek
(Auburn) 14 Bridge on West Valley Highway, subject to final terms and
conditions acceptable to the City Attorney and Public Works Director. The
motion was SECONDED by Committee Member Ralph and PASSED 2 - 0.
Item 7 – King County Waterworks Grant Acceptance – Leber Homestead Arsenic
Remediation- Authorize:
Matt Knox, Environmental Biologist provided the Committee with an update on the Mill
Creek Side Channel-Leber project which was previously funded for clearing, grubbing and
the first phase of planting and was completed in March 2015.
Grant funds in the amount of $100,000.00, will provide additional funding for final
construction. Once completed, the restoration project will create off-channel habitat in
the Green River near the confluence of Mill Creek-Auburn, increase floodplain refuge
habitat for Chinook and other salmonids, enhance riparian habitat, and restore floodplain
functions. Late in the design process, arsenic was found on the property from an orchard
that was once located there in the 1960’s. Contaminants were hauled away, then 60,000
cubic yards of dirt were moved around the site to create the off channel area. There will
be a ribbon cutting ceremony onsite for this project on October 6, at 10:00 a.m.
Committee Member Fincher MOVED to recommend Council authorize the Mayor
to sign the WaterWorks (WW) Grant in the amount of $100,000, direct staff to
accept the grant and establish a budget for the funds to be spent within the Mill
Creek Side Channel (Leber) Restoration project. The motion was SECONDED by
Committee Member Ralph and PASSED 2 - 0.
Item 8 – Information Only/Proposed Street Light Policy:
Tim LaPorte, Public Works Director noted that we do not currently have a policy in place
for where and how we place street lights. During the recession a lot of jurisdictions
grappled with the cost associated with street lighting. At the Mayor’s request staff is
working on developing a policy and analyzing the cost for where money would be
allocated.
Lacey Jane Wolfe, Senior Transportation Planner noted that in 2015 the City paid an
estimated $1.3 million to power street lights. She further noted that with existing power
utility poles the cost is between $500 - $1,200 to add a single light fixture at a cost of
$10 to $15 per month to power that single fixture. For the recent SE 256th Street project
it cost about $500,000 to add about one mile of new street lights. The cost is more than
just the pole, the cost could also include trenching and moving a sidewalk and that’s why
it’s significantly more expensive; additionally, there would still be the ongoing cost per
month to power the individual poles.
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September 19, 2016
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Staff wanted to let committee members know that we are embarking on putting together
a uniform city policy.
LaPorte asked committee members for their thoughts regarding this proposed policy.
Committee member Fincher stated that safety is important not only for drivers but
pedestrians as well. Committee member Ralph said that the more our population grows
the more pedestrians we have. We need a standard policy in place noting how and where
to add lights. Important for public at large that there is a cost associated with lighting.
We need to continue updating lights to LED lighting and look for available grants.
There are a lot of dark areas in Kent. Some of these areas need to be considered in the
street light policy as well. Committee members Ralph and Fincher gave the okay for staff
to move forward with preparing a street light policy that provides for the installation,
power and maintenance of street lights on streets designated as arterials. Staff will
return to the committee in a month or so with a draft policy for their review.
INFORMATION ONLY/NO MOTION REQUIRED
Item 9 – Information Only/FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map Update:
Mike Mactutis, Environmental Engineering Manager provided an update on the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) remapping of areas that are not impacted by
levees (levee protected areas are “secluded”). Mactutis’ presentation included the
following:
Comparisons of FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) the current map is from
1995 the preliminary map 2011 – never finalized.
Seclusion Criteria
* Levee has not been shown to meet 44 CRF 65.10
* Levee is hydraulically significant during the 1% flood
* Levee meets the definition of a levee as spelled out in 44 CRF 59 and/or
* Flood Hazards on the river side of the levee will be updated with the most recent
analysis in the flood study efforts.
Map of Levee areas for left and right banks of Green River
FEMA Flood Hazard Comparison – Frager Road Vicinity Map
Mactutis stated that Kent’s path forward is to provide information to FEMA regarding
levees in question and to continue working with King County on representation of levees
versus revetments. The city must continue to move forward with improving our levees to
an accreditable condition, this includes a higher urgency for left bank levee accreditation.
Protecting our citizens and businesses in the Kent Valley are paramount.
INFORMATION ONLY/NO MOTION REQUIRED
Item 10 – Information Only/Utility Tax Ordinance Proposed Revision:
Committee member Ralph stated that the Utility Tax ordinance was put in place to
generate revenue to repair our residential streets. Tim LaPorte, Public Works Director
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September 19, 2016
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noted that at the request of the Public Works Committee, staff has started analyzing our
existing ordinance and what we can do to change that (specific portion of the code is
highlighted in yellow in the packet). The specific portion that was highlighted refers to how the
city can use those funds. At the time the solid waste utility tax was imposed staff pointed out
that pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) we are required to update
appurtenances such as broken sidewalks or non-existent wheelchair ramps and to remove
barriers whenever we go into a residential neighborhood and replace all the paving, for
example. LaPorte noted that that program has been very successful.
LaPorte noted that currently traffic calming is not funded.
Lacey Jane Wolfe, Sr. Transportation Planner spoke about the traffic calming side of the Utility
Tax. Wolfe noted the tremendous growth in the area, in the past 5 years the Puget Sound
area has:
Added 86,000 new people
Added 270,000 new jobs since 2010
Added 150 new jobs every day in 2016
Staff is often contacted by residents about traffic growth that has put pressure on residential
neighborhoods due to cut-through traffic. LaPorte noted that we expect to see more groups
coming to the city for amenities to calm the traffic in their neighborhoods. This measure would
be heavily used in the years ahead. Assuming staff has Councils’ approval staff would come
back to committee. Staff will work on coming back to the committee in October.
LaPorte reiterated that the changes would not be significant. Staff’s proposal would include
the ability to fund the design and installation of neighborhood traffic calming devices and
appurtenances. LaPorte noted that the current code allows only for the maintenance and
replacement of existing infrastructure.
Committee member Ralph noted that when committee members saw this item on the
B&0 lists, it was a red flag and it does not belong there. Another piece she noted was to
at least start talking about the standards for Traffic Calming. We have a prescribed
program where thresholds have to be met before we do thing like speed humps and
roundabouts and those kinds of things. Ralph wants to see a policy that is fair and that
doesn’t simply make a change because a neighborhood has someone that is willing to
“take on” the project. She wants to make sure we are providing all of our residents with
those benefits if it is something that is needed in their neighborhood. She understands
that there are reasons for those thresholds but maybe more discussion can be had. She
asked staff to look at how many projects have been done in the past years that meet
those standards and how many exceptions are there and is there a pattern in those
exceptions? Maybe that’s an indicator that we need to look at that particular benchmark.
INFORMATION ONLY/NO MOTION REQUIRED
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Item 11 – Information Only/Quiet Zone Update:
Chad Bieren, Deputy Director City Engineer noted that draft plans for channelization have
been completed. He noted that this work can be done without a railroad agreement and
would cost about $500,000. There is currently $130,000 available. The remaining
funding is proposed to come from B&O funds.
Next steps are to hire a consultant to do the more difficult signal controller work, which
we have to contract with the railroad to complete. We need about $100,000 to hire a
consultant and then the rest of the costs can be estimated. We have estimated that the
total project cost is $1.5 million.
We are working with the Union Pacific on the status, particularly on Meeker and Smith
Streets to find out what type of equipment they have; we had to pay them to go out and
tell us what type of equipment they have that might be able to interface with what we
need. He said that they will get back to us late winter or early spring. Bieren noted there
are two other aspects; we are also putting together a petition with the UTC to complete
the channelization work and we will need to have budgeting in place before the petition is
submitted as the work will be expected to be done once it is approved.
Bieren had a discussion with committee Chair Higgins about getting a representative
from the Burlington Northern Railroad to come to a committee meeting to give an update
on how their traffic signals work and answer questions on the status of their system. He
is still working to schedule the meeting.
INFORMATION ONLY/NO MOTION REQUIRED
The meeting was adjourned at 5:07 p.m.
Cheryl Viseth, Council Committee Recorder