City of Byron Community Services Committee met April 3.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Alderman Mittzi Fulrath, Alderman Emily Gerdes, Alderman Mike Gyorkos, Alderman Andy Gramer
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
OTHERS PRESENT: City Clerk Caryn Huber, Engineer Jason Stoll, Public Works Director Aaron Vincer, Econ. Development Director Larry Hewitt.
Alderman Fulrath called the meeting to order at 5:36 pm.
1. PUBLIC COMMENT – None
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MARCH 6, 2019: Alderman Gerdes motioned to approve the Community Services Committee meeting minutes of March 6, 2019, seconded by Alderman Gyorkos. Motion passed.
3. ANNEXING ADJACENT PROPERTIES: The TAS Committee continues to discuss. Attorney Krahenbuhl described the course of action that the city would need to follow if they wanted to annex these properties. We likely cannot force annexation. Alderman Gerdes asked for a list of the properties being discussed, but Engineer Stoll replied that the list has not been forwarded by the mayor yet. They are hesitant to make the list public in order to avoid unfavorable reactions from the homeowners. Director Hewitt suggested they display the GIS on screen next meeting. He added that many of the homeowners on the list already think they are in the city, however, he does not feel they would voluntarily annex. This item will remain on the agenda.
4. BYRON REC PATH – Alderman Fulrath reported there is nothing new to discuss. It is being left on the agenda as a reminder to be prepared for the next grant cycle.
5. DOWNTOWN PARKING LOT – Engineer Stoll reported that the bid opening for work on the Downtown Parking Lot (excluding demo work) was held 3/27. There were four bids received. The low bid was O’Brien Civil Works for $93,376.50, which is 14-1/2% lower than the engineer’s estimate. Engineer Stoll asked that the committee make a recommendation to council to award the Downtown Parking Lot bid to O’Brien Civil Works. Alderman Gyorkos motioned to make the recommendation to Council, Alderman Gramer seconded. Motion passed. Engineer Stoll reminded the committee that this would be a TIF funded project. In addition, he reminded the committee of a bid for demo work from Norup Trenching, which did not include separating the two buildings or disconnecting utilities. The quote was for $18,960. Since O’Brien was anxious to begin work on the project, they were asked for a demo quote as well. Their price for demo of the building and concrete removal, including cutting from the building, was $23,300. Considering the cutting away from the building would cost an estimated $2,500, their quote was approximately $2500 more than Norup. They are anticipating the possibility of some damage to the building, but this will need to be looked at after the demo work is done. Engineer Stoll feels there is a benefit to having O’Brien complete both the demo and parking lot work, and even though he is slightly higher in price, he recommends having O’Brien do both, with the goal being completion of the project by ByronFest. Since the demo work is more than $20,000, it will be treated as a change order to scope of work on the Parking Lot Bid. Alderman Gerdes made a motion to recommend that Council approve the awarding of the entire parking lot project (including demo work at $23,300) to O’Brien Civil Works. Alderman Gramer seconded. Motion passed.
6. PUBLIC WORKS UPDATE – Director Vincer reports that the street sweeper is headed out to begin clean up. It is a machine that should have been replaced 7-8 years ago, however, because they are so expensive to replace, they are hoping it stays operational for another summer. Currently, the machine is not releasing enough water on dry days, and it is creating a lot of dust. To combat this, a water truck from the Motosports track is being used to put down water ahead of the sweeper. Aaron spoke to his insurance company, and they said as long as the city is renting the water truck, it will be ok. Aaron doesn’t think they will need to continue with the extra water once they have completed the first round or two, since most of the issue with dust has to do with the chip mixed with salt from over the winter. They could also run the sweeper after it rains. • Aaron and Gene Stoll took a look at the paving done last summer on Crestview Trail and report that it looks very good. Mat and slurry were scheduled to be laid over the paving this summer, however, Gene’s recommendation is to wait a year or two before spending the money to do this. They recommend re-appropriating the $25,000 to a different project. • Public Works plans on renting a paver for a short time. Both Gary Treese and Jerry Oleson have blacktop experience, and they hope to possibly lay an inch and a half overlay on Kaiser Drive. They have done “drop and drag” for years, but he hopes to improve on that. Engineer Stoll estimates, that by doing their own paving, they could save approximately 1/3 on costs.
WATER DEPARTMENT: There was an 8” water main break in front of the Byron Middle School. They estimate the pipe broke 6-7 months ago. There was no sign of the leak as there were no puddles around the area, and it was all going into the ground. The leak was suspected after wells were running much more than they should. Aaron contacted an Acoustic Leak Detection Co., and they were able to find the leak which was 12 ft. deep. The water main was a foot off the curb and they needed to be careful not to disturb the material under the road. As soon as the leak was repaired, the pumps slowed significantly. Cost to the leak detection company was $1,744.00, and Director Vincer now plans to hire them every couple of years as part of their yearly maintenance plan. • This summer, water meter day will again be on Wednesday, and they are down to two pages left of meters to replace. Once these are complete, he would like to concentrate on replacing some of the larger meters. There are three sources of water that are currently unmetered – a church (which will be metered this summer), the catholic cemetery and two yard hydrants at the Forest Preserve. Unbilled accounts include churches and the fire department. He pointed out that the school has an account that is unbilled, however, it is a fire suppression unit, which only uses water in case of a fire. Most commercial buildings have one main line that splits into two (one for water and one for fire suppression). • Engineer Stoll reported that the hard water in Byron is causing lime build up at the heat exchanger on the hot water heater at Headworks. They installed a conditioner unit in order to change the chemistry of the water, but it is not working. Aaron is exploring other ways to fix this problem – He is hoping to be more site specific about where the hot water is needed. Instead of being automated, the unit will need to be cleaned manually about once a week. There is a wall mounted heater that Engle will refurbish. • During the last heavy rains and snow melt the Kaiser Drive lift station was getting water into it faster than the pumps could pump it out. When this backs up, residents could also see water. Most is river water, but a small amount of sewer water may enter the system as well. There is a steel tank in the lift station that he would like to have inspected and repaired.
Alderman Gerdes asked about the pot holes on 3rd Street and wondered if they need to be cut out prior to doing the final paving. Director Vincer explained they will cut them out, add stone and compact them, before paving. Work will resume at the end of April, beginning of May, then yard repair will follow. The goal is to have the work completed by Memorial Day. Director Vincer suggested taking before and after photos to post on social media. Alderman Gyorkos asked about 2nd Street, from Maple to the highway. It has been repaired many times. Director Vincer will take a look at the street.
7. EXECUTIVE SESSION (Section )(c)(21)-Review and Approval of Closed Meeting Minutes. No Executive Session.
8. Alderman Fulrath adjourned the meeting at 6:20 pm. Next regular meeting is May 1, 2019, at 5:30 pm.
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