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PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE 2016/02/16 Minutes PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016 – 5:00 P.M. CITY HALL – COUNCIL CHAMBER’S CONFERENCE ROOM MINUTES I. ROLL CALL/CALL TO ORDER Chairman Cathy Waldeck called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Alderman Stanford Tack and Timothy Newman were present. Not in Attendance: Alderman Michelle Moreno Staff in attendance included Michael Thomas, Director of Public Works; Bob Kiely, City Manager; Dan Martin, Superintendent of Public Works; Brian Joyce, Engineering Supervisor; Mike Strong, Assistant to the City Manager; Jim Lockefeer, Intern; Eileen Specht, Management Analyst; and Becky Pocasangre, Administrative Assistant. Also in attendance was Mark Lawton, Reporter with the Pioneer Press. II. APPROVAL OF THE JANUARY 27, 2016 PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Alderman Newman moved to approve the January 27, 2016 Public Works Committee meeting minutes. Chairman Waldeck seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. III. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF A DRAFT STORMWATER POLICY Director Thomas stated that staff will bring the Draft Stormwater Policy to City Council at their March 7th meeting for review and approval. Chairman Waldeck recapped the recommendation to add a link to the Stormwater Policy on the City’s website once the policy is approved by City Council. Alderman Newman restated that it would be a good idea to provide the packet to new residents, as well as realtors in the area. Chairman Waldeck added that staff should also put something in the Dialogue regarding the new policy to help notify residents of the new policy. Alderman Newman asked if there is a link on the website specifically for new residents listing helpful information. City Manager Kiely replied that there is a link for residents but not specifically for new residents. Alderman Newman stated that a link on the website specifically for new residents would be useful. Chairman Waldeck moved to approve the policy and recommend its approval to the City Council. Alderman Newman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Public Works Committee Meeting – February 16, 2016 Page 2 of 5 IV. REVIEW OF GAS LIGHT REPLACEMENT AND MAINTENANCE POLICY Director Thomas stated that staff is asking for the Committee’s approval on an updated Gas Light Replacement and Maintenance Policy. Director Thomas noted that the policy was updated in 2008. Director Thomas noted that in early 2000 to 2008 there was a significant amount of activity regarding the gas lights which prompted staff to create a policy on gas light replacement and maintenance. Director Thomas stated that currently the City’s policy is to repair and replace gas lights in a historical area, but not replace gas lights in a non- historical area, that were taken down from a hit and run or from an uninsured motorist. If the City cannot find the person responsible for damaging the gas light in a non-historical area, the City will remove the light and have the gas company cap the light. Jim Lockefeer provided the Committee with a PowerPoint presentation outlining the background/history of gas lights, the current removal practices, and the current maintenance practices. He noted that there are 431 street lights powered by natural gas. Of the 431 lights, 152 are within the City’s historical districts. Mr. Lockefeer added that the first gas light was installed in 1902. The gas lights burn continuously, day and night, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The light diminishes when the globe becomes dirty (the plastic globes turn yellow). Maintenance of gas lights are listed as an elective service in Public Works’ Core & Elective list of services. In 2003 the gas lights were experimentally turned off in two areas. The City asked the community for its input on those two areas. 25 of the 27 responses favored funding the gas lights. In 2004 all 438 gas lights were shut off and alternatives were presented. The three alternatives presented were an “Adopt a Light” program, a varied “Adopt a Light” program, and an “Adopt a Light and Convert It” program. In 2005 an Ad Hoc Street Lighting Committee was formed. An electrical engineer was hired to study the feasibility of converting 260 gas lights to electric lights utilizing LED light bulbs. A demonstration of the LED lights was set up in Triangle Park. Residents favored the gas lights over the LED lights. Mr. Lockefeer stated that gas lights are removed and capped when a light is electrified or removed, and capped when a construction project forces the removal of the light. Six out of the eleven removals took place since 2006, due to hit and run accidents. The other five were due to construction projects or being replaced with electric lights. Director Thomas stated that staff is looking for guidance from the Committee on what the removal policy should be. Chairman Waldeck asked if one by one the gas lights in non-historical areas would disappear, if there is no plan to replace them with electric lights. She asked if there are areas where it would be helpful to have lights for safety purposes. Director Thomas replied that if the Committee would like the policy to continue by not replacing gas lights in non-historical areas, then the lights will disappear one by one. Alderman Newman stated that his neighborhood has lost three gas lights and overall his opinion is that the City would become too dark if it City doesn’t replace some of the lights. Director Thomas replied that the challenge is that there are areas in Lake Forest that are dark and have very limited or no lighting. Public Works Committee Meeting – February 16, 2016 Page 3 of 5 Chairman Waldeck stated that the “Adopt a Light” program is not a good idea, unless there are groups of neighbors in the area that would agree to pay for the cost. Director Thomas stated that staff is looking for confirmation of the current practice to slowly remove all gas lights from non-historical areas. He asked if staff should be replacing gas light if the City cannot find the party responsible for hitting and knocking down the light. He noted for example a light hit by an uninsured motorist on Green Bay and Old Elm. Because the light is on Green Bay Road, the City repaired the light at a cost of $1,800 which was paid for using a Streets Section material account. If a light was hit on Everett Road by the same driver, the City would have the gas company remove it. Alderman Newman stated that he believes $1,000 a year is not a significant amount. Director Thomas asked the Committee if they feel that the City should be reducing the number of gas lights throughout the City overtime. Alderman Newman asked if natural gas will cost more in the future. City Manager Kiely asked what the City’s plans would be if American Gas Lights Co. (the sole vendor that supplies the City with its gas light parts and materials) goes out of business or if gas prices triple. Director Thomas stated that he believes the LED technology is there with a similar look and low voltage wires. City Manager Kiely added that the gas lights do not serve a public safety purpose since they put off so little light; he said they are simply there for aesthetics. Alderman Newman stated that residents like the character of no sidewalks even if it’s a safety issue. City Manager Kiely stated that other communities use different styles of gas lights. He suggested having GeWalt Hamilton (the City’s Engineering firm) to look at the cost of converting a gas light to LED technology. Alderman Newman commented that the lights at the end of the new driveway at Woodlands Academy are too bright. Dan Martin, Superintendent of Public Works stated that the LED lights could be dimmed but that the Woodlands Academy wanted the brighter lights. City Manager Kiely stated that a 25 watt LED bulb is available that offers the same amount of light as a gas light Alderman Newman stated that there must be both a safety and aesthetic compromise to the issue. Mr. Lockefeer began reviewing the maintenance costs of the City’s gas lights. He stated that the average labor cost including relighting, replacing, copper line install, painting, replacing glass chimneys, replacing metal yokes, and replacing globes is $24,536.55 annually, not including polishing. The average material cost including mantels, copper lines, regulars, paint, globes glass chimney’s, and metal yokes is $12,881 annually, not including plastic globe polish. The average gas cost is $62,300 annually which is down $10,000 since the current price of gas is low. The total operating cost is approximately $99,717 annually. He added that the globes are currently yellow and are in need of replacement. He added that technology has improved so these estimates have changed. Chairman Waldeck stated that the bigger issue is not replacing the gas lights but whether the City should keep them for the long term. Director Thomas proposed that GeWalt Hamilton update the study and cost analyst. In the meantime, staff will replace gas lights if they get knocked down regardless of their location and whether or not the City can have the cost paid Public Works Committee Meeting – February 16, 2016 Page 4 of 5 for by the motorist responsible. He stated that maintenance of the lights would, stay the same. He noted that staff could also put globe replacement in the CIP. Alderman Newman asked when the glass globes were converted to plastic. Mr. Lockefeer replied that he is not sure when the change took place. Alderman Newman asked if there is a lot of vandalism to the gas globes. Superintendent Martin stated that there is not. Alderman Newman added that he believes the glass looks better. Mr. Lockefeer stated that the glass globes are $40 more each than the plastic globes. Alderman Tack asked if staff could set up a demo of lights to include an existing light without a new globe, one with a new glass globe, one with a new plastic globe, and one with new LED technology. Superintendent Martin stated that staff can provide and will probably use Triangle Park for the demonstration. The demonstration will be done sometime in the spring / summer of this year. Chairman Waldeck added that it would be nice to get more light from the gas lights to help with safety. V. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF F.Y. 2017 STREET IMS PROPOSAL Brian Joyce, Engineering Supervisor reviewed the proposal from Infrastructure Management Services (IMS) to perform a pavement management study for the City. He noted that staff will be asking for approval from City Council for funding at their March 7th meeting. Mr. Joyce proceeded to describe the analysis performed and the timeline in which results would be provided to the City. Director Thomas stated that the goal is to have this summer’s resurfacing, patching, and concrete streets completed before IMS does their analysis. Therefore the report presented to City Council at their November budget meeting would be the most up-to-date. Chairman Waldeck moved to recommend approval of the F.Y. 2017 Street IMS Proposal to City Council. Alderman Newman seconded the motion. VI. UPDATE ON WEST SIDE TRAIN STATION UNDERPASS Director Thomas stated that the design to do an underpass at the west side train station is complete. He noted that the estimates are very high. He noted that the City had a separate engineering firm review the design to see if any significant savings could be made by modifying the design. The engineering Hansen did just that and came back with very little potential savings. As a result, staff met with both METRA and Hansen Associates to discuss the idea of installing a bridge instead of an underpass. This idea could potentially reduce the estimate cost by $3- $4 million dollars. He noted that HDR provided the initial design of the underpass and with additional design services provided, is asking staff for additional money. Staff is in negotiations with HDR regarding the extra $190,000 for the new drawings that were completed. Chair Waldeck stated that there should be something in the contract authorizing overages. Director Thomas stated that the grant language allows the expense to be covered by 80%. Director Thomas added that staff is meeting with IDOT tomorrow to discuss this topic further and he simply wanted to bring the Committee up to speed on Public Works Committee Meeting – February 16, 2016 Page 5 of 5 the topic. Director Thomas stated that staff will present more information at the March 7th City Council meeting. VII. NEXT MEETING –PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MEETING – MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2016 – 5:00 P.M. AT CITY HALL VIII. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Waldeck moved to adjourn the meeting of the Public Works Committee at 5:55 p.m. Alderman Newman seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Becky Pocasangre Administrative Assistant