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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-02-13 MinutesMayor Dan Coody City Attomey Kit Williams City Clerk Sondra Smith aye evi le AR KA N SA 5 City of Fayetteville Arkansas City Council Street Committee Meeting Minutes February 13, 2006 City Council Street Committee Minutes Feb. 13, 2006 Page 1 of 9 Member Aldermen Ward 1 Position 1 Ward 2 Position 2 Ward 3 Position 2 Ward 4 Position 2 - Robert Reynolds — Don Man- - a r— Robert Ferrell - Lioneld Jordan A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council Street Committee was held on February 13, 2006 5:00 p.m. in Room 326 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. MEMBERS PRESENT: Alderman Lioneld Jordan, Chair; Alderman Robert Reynolds; and Alderman Don Marr Members Absent: Alderman Robert Ferrell Staff Present: Terry Gulley, Ron Petrie, Gary Dumas, Dan Coody 1. Call to order The meeting was called to order by Chairman Lioneld Jordan. 2. Approval of the minutes of the January 24, 2006 meeting Alderman Robert Reynolds moved that the minutes to the Street Committee meeting held on January 24, 2006 be approved as distributed. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. 3. Presentation and Request by the University of Arkansas to institutionalize additional city streets adjacent to the University campus (this item was moved to the top of the agenda at Mayor Coody's request) Mike Johnson, University of Arkansas, reviewed some history regarding institutional drives. The policy whereby institutional drives of State institutions are maintained by the Arkansas State Highway & Transportation Department was established in the State on April 22, 1952. Modifications were made by AHTD Minute Order in 1961. In late 1990 or early 2000, the University was proposing to enhance Maple Street between Garland and Arkansas Ave. In 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes Feb. 13, 2006 Page 2 of 9 working with the City, several discussions brought up the questions of ultimate ownership, maintenance, relocation of utilities, etc. In correspondence between the University of Arkansas and the City of Fayetteville, efforts have been made to define the responsibilities of the three parties (AHTD, City of Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas) regarding institutional drives. Essentially the proposal is to add to the number of institutional drives, which would then be maintained by AHTD. White Papers have also been developed which will be used in the coming year (2007) in an effort to bring several million dollars of Federal Highway enhancement money to enhance the streets under discussion (Arkansas Avenue, Garland Ave. and Maple St.) He discussed the long term partnership between the City and the University in providing needed enhancements and improvements on current institutional drives. He presented a map showing the three streets (Arkansas, Garland & Maple) which frame the core of the University campus and which they are seeking to designate as institutional drives. He explained that his presentation today is merely informational and that more discussion and research will need to be done before any sort of decision is made. Mayor Coody said he does not have any concern about the University and State taking over the maintenance of these streets because they would be able to rebuild them in ways that would be much more attractive and put money into them that the City does not have. With the caveats that are a part of the plan, the University would not be able to gate off any of the streets to through traffic without City approval, which means it wouldn't be done. In response to a question from Alderman Reynolds, Mayor Coody said that he was sure the Council would not approve making these streets institutional drives without some kind of control over whether or not they could be closed at a later date, so he asked that the University abdicate some of their control over these issues to the City. They have agreed to that. If they want to change traffic flow or make any other major change, they will have to clear it with the City. Kit Williams talked about his concerns about the rights of property owners on these streets. He said that someone would need to get written consents from every abutting property owner or the language of the agreement would have to indicate that access for property owners cannot be removed or the street cannot be closed. If an agreement is made that the streets will always remain open and cannot be closed by the University, we would not be facing a situation where we would be cutting off an abutting owner's rights to use the street. He said it is ultimately up to the City Council how the agreement with the University is structured. Alderman Reynolds said he wouldn't have any concerns about Dickson Street because to the west it goes nowhere. But he would have great concern about Maple and Arkansas. Alderman Marr said he is open to the discussion. He would like to have a Ward meeting to get comments from area residents. He is concerned that there is some format for dialog about impact when decisions are made. He would want to know how we would be involved in the discussion if the University chose to make changes on institutional drives that would impact other streets. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes Feb. 13, 2006 Page 3 of 9 Mike Johnson said the University has no known plans of any type to close any one of these streets. The University is looking to invest in enhancing the streets and for the State of pick up the maintenance. The agreement clearly states that any pedestrian access, direction, control, street closing or major changes to traffic use or flow will require approval by the mayor. He said that could just as easily read "the mayor and the City Council." Alderman Jordan said this issue will be taken up again at a future date. 4. Presentation of a proposal to close Mount Comfort Drive between North Street and Garland Street. Ron Petrie said at a previous Street Committee meeting, there was a discussion about closing this portion of Mount Comfort Drive and staff was asked to bring forward a plan to do this. He presented a map to the Committee showing a plan that would not limit access or prevent people from cutting through the parking lot, but would make it more awkward and not as convenient to make that cut through. The purpose is to force the traffic on North to Garland Avenue to take the right turn there. He did not prepare a cost estimate but suggested that this be one of the items required of the Wedington Circle developer when that development comes through the Planning Commission since the traffic anticipated to result from that development is the reason this is being discussed. Alderman Reynolds said he feels the developer will be creating the problem and should be asked to pay for this. Alderman Marr said the solution to close the street is his major concern. He feels City staff can negotiate the best way to finance it. He does support the closure. Ron Petrie said that it might be best if this recommendation works through the Planning Commission process and then is forwarded to the City Council for approval once all the details are worked out of who is going to do what. A recommendation by the Committee to move forward with this is all that is required at this point. Alderman Reynolds moved that this closure plan be sent to the Planning Commission with the approval of the Street Committee, also recommending that the developers pay for the project. Alderman Marr seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Alderman Jordan opened the floor to public discussion. There was none. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes Feb. 13, 2006 Page 4 of 9 5. Review of estimated costs for the various options as presented in the Kings Drive Study from McClelland Consulting Engineers. Ron Petrie said he and Wayne Jones have met to discuss the costs that were presented at the last meeting. They looked at options to reduce the costs and Mr. Jones now has some revised cost information to present. Mr. Wayne Jones, McClelland Engineers, presented some information to the Committee with amended cost estimates. He reviewed changes in the various options and the reductions that would result. The total cost for the street work is estimated to be about $319,000. The water line cost would remain the same at $124,000, bringing the project total to $443,000. In response to a question from Alderman Reynolds, Ron Petrie said there is $500,000 budgeted for this year for this project. Mr. Wayne Jones reminded the Committee that there are no guarantees that the bids from construction companies will come in at these amounts, but the estimated costs are based on the costs seen in the last four to six months on street projects and he thinks the estimates are very close. In response to a question from Alderman Marr, Mr. Jones said the difference between the former estimate of $864,000 and the new estimate is the elimination of the sidewalk along that portion of Kings Drive where the repairs are being made as well as the wall that would be necessary to support the sidewalk. He also explained that the higher of the two figures presented in this estimate includes the complete removal and reconstruction of Kings Drive, from Lakeside Drive around to the northern terminus of Arlington Terrace, which is roughly 1,165 feet. The lower figure includes only 480 feet of total street reconstruction. The other 670 feet would be limited to milling off the existing asphalt over the concrete surface and installing a new overlay. Ron Petrie said that the estimates were prepared at his direction. He said Mr. Jones would recommend that the entire street be redone. Mr. Petrie has looked at the street and studied the traffic counts. He thinks by milling and overlaying these portions we will easily get ten to fifteen years life out of the street. He doesn't see that the City would be benefiting that much by putting the money into a complete reconstruction. In response to a question from Alderman Reynolds, Mr. Petrie said this is just a presentation of staff's preliminary study. Typically, these preliminary studies are not brought before the City Council. He said they can make the presentation to the full Council if that is the Committee's wish. If not, staff will prepare an engineering contract with McClelland to do the design and construction observation and that will go to the City Council. At that time they can also present the findings of the study to the Council, either as the same item or separately. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes Feb. 13, 2006 Page 5 of 9 Wayne Jones outlined an estimated time line, which would include four months for design after Council approval of the contract. Council approval would take a minimum of 4 weeks. From the time of advertising bids to Council approval would take another 2 months. Alderman Reynolds asked if there was any way to speed up the process because of the condition of the site. If there is a rainy season, there will be problems. Wayne Jones said that he and Mr. Petrie had discussed this issue. There were some surveys completed in 2000 or 2001. If those could be made available so the work does not have to be redone, that could speed the process up by a few weeks. They are estimating a maximum of four months once the contract is approved by the Council. In response to a question from Alderman Jordan, Mr. Petrie said staff could probably have the contract on the next Council agenda. Alderman Reynolds asked if there is anything that can be done to temporarily shore up the wall that is reported to have fallen down and stop the street from sliding any more until the main construction can be done. Wayne Jones said their instrumentation showed basically no additional movement during the period of October to January. However, that was a dry period. If it gets wet again, there could be some additional movement. He said he understands and shares the concern. Alderman Jordan opened the floor for public comment. Rick McKinney said he is concerned that if the City has to go back and fix this again because not enough stabilization is put in, then the costs will be doubled. He remembered that Dr. Dennis had talked about installing the stone shear key and the MSE combination. He is concerned about the stabilization of the hill and wonders if the plan currently being discussed will fix the problem long term. Wayne Jones said the recommendation of the stone shear key and MSE combination was for the placement of the sidewalk along the west side of Kings Drive. Since the sidewalk has been removed from the project, the shear key wall will come up slightly higher and a little more fill will go in off the sides. The wall was there to push the western limits out far enough to put the sidewalk in. Alderman Marr asked if it is Mr. Petrie's recommendation that the Committee approve the option with estimated cost of $443,000 and if it is Mr. Petrie's opinion that this option will give the stabilization desired while maintaining the road integrity. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes Feb. 13, 2006 Page 6 of 9 Ron Petrie said he would rely on McClelland Consulting Engineers with regard to the stability issue since that is not his expertise. However, he did look at the road and he is confident that an overlay on this section will last ten years. Wayne Jones said that he and Dr. Dennis are both confident that this stone shear key wall will stabilize Kings Drive and uphill from that particular point, with factors of safety of 2 to 6. Downhill portions have factors of safety in the range of 1.35. This is not the 1.5 to 2 you would like to see when you're doing slope stability. Ron Petrie said this is improving the downhill slope stability from .7 to 1.35. Wayne Jones said there are two unimproved lots on the southeast side of the subdivision. In order to put houses on these lots it will more than likely be necessary to install some type of benching and walls. Alderman Reynolds moved that the $443,738 option be accepted, with the stipulation that if the bids come in over that it will come back to the Street Committee for review. Alderman Marr seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. 6. Discussion of the improvements to be included with the Van Asche Drive Extension Capital Improvement project. Ron Petrie said there were two items discussed at the last Street Committee meeting on this project. The first was that staff was to talk with the neighborhood of Northwood and get their input regarding the proposed extension. A meeting was set up late last week with about 16 people attending. Those attending were overwhelmingly against the extension. Due to this response, staff would recommend that the extension not be a part of this project. The second part of the discussion at the last meeting was with regard to the area west of Gregg Ave. Much of this portion of the project is within the city limits of Johnson Mr. Petrie reviewed the plans for this area and the Committee discussed options. Alderman Marr moved that the plans for the work west of Gregg be included in the project, that the plans to extend Northwood be deleted from the project and that the staff continue forward on this project. Alderman Reynolds seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. 7. Discussion of the street projects listed in the 2006 Capital Improvement Program Ron Petrie explained that he had asked for this item to be included on the agenda because the 2006 CIP was prepared with the understanding that staff would be putting money into engineering but not into building the projects pending the bond issue election. Since discussion of the bond issue has been pushed back some, he is looking for direction. A lot of money has been tied up and he doesn't know what to do other than wait for the bond issue. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes Feb. 13, 2006 Page 7 of 9 In response to a question from Alderman Marr, Alderman Jordan said we are probably looking at August before a bond election could be held. He thinks the Street Committee will need to initiate the discussion. He wants to be careful to have enough time for public comment. Alderman Marr said he agrees that we need to have time to make sure it is done right but wants to also make sure it is a priority. He said he wants to see the Committee begin working on this at every meeting because it was the number one item two years in a row in the Citizen Survey. Alderman Jordan said he had informed Mr. Petrie that, beginning in March, we will be discussing this at every Street Committee meeting. Ron Petrie said he is asking for guidance on several projects that are on the bond issue. Some of the work could be done out of the CIP funds available. There would only be enough money to do the engineering and some right-of-way acquisition. Gary Dumas said when the 2006 CIP was established, it was in anticipation that the bond election would be early in the year. The CIP money would give staff an opportunity to start engineering on the bond projects early so that the projects could be completed more quickly. It was discussed that if the bond election was going to be later, we would revisit this and possibly reprogram the CIP into smaller projects that would be covered by the funds available. Alderman Jordan wanted to clarify that August would probably be the latest date for the bond election. It might be June or earlier. But at this time we don't know how long the process will take. Gary Dumas said one option might be to start the engineering on some of the high priority projects to show the public that we are moving forward but we need the construction money. Alderman Reynolds suggested possibly beginning to improve some of the intersections that need work with the money available to more effectively move traffic. Ron Petrie said that in 2004 staff completed all the intersection improvements in the BWR study. If there are other intersections that can be identified that need improvement, we can reallocate the money. Alderman Marr said he thought we need to continue with the projects identified and begin the engineering on them. They have to be done. Alderman Jordan said he agrees. These projects have to be done. The bond issue is in the hands of the people. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes Feb. 13, 2006 Page 8 of 9 Gary Dumas suggested that we could jump start the project for which we received $9.1 million from Federal funds (the Mall area). We are still waiting for the contracts from the State to the City so they can then release the funds. The timeframe is unknown but we could start conceptual design with some of the $200,000 currently programmed for the Zion Road/College intersection so we can move forward more quickly with that project when the funds are released. Alderman Marr moved that staff continue on with the engineering of the projects with the exception of the $200,000 that staff will reallocate to the conceptual plan for the project funded by federal allocation. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Alderman Jordan said about a month ago the Committee looked at the Phase 2, 3 & 4 of Rupple Rd. cost share. Since then there has been some discussion on whether to continue that and he asked if the Committee wants to continue on with the recommendation made before. There was general agreement among Committee members to continue forward with this. Alderman Jordan also brought forward the Charlie Sloan - Persimmon Rd. which did not pass the Planning Commission. Mr. Sloan has since redesigned the road and Alderman Jordan wanted the Street Committee to look at the design. It is on the Council's Consent Agenda. Staff and Committee members discussed the design presented and expressed general approval. Alderman Jordan asked an audience member present to bring forward his request for traffic calming. He requested serious consideration of traffic calmers on the 800 and 1000 block of North Gregg. He also suggested consideration of traffic calmers on each side of Wilson Park — on Wilson and on Prospect. Alderman Marr also had a couple of streets to add He said in the Wilson Park area, another street that needs traffic calming is Woolsey, between North Street and Prospect. He has also been asked to look at whether we could put in a "no left turn" on Arkansas to Maple, heading west. The concern is that it backs traffic up back to West St. when anyone wants to make a left turn at this intersection since there is no left turn arrow. Terry Gulley said that the light might be phased at that intersection to allow left turns. He will check with his traffic engineer to see what can be done. Alderman Reynolds said he would like to see traffic calming on Rockwood Trail, even if it means simply asking the police department to work their radar in that area. Alderman Marr said the type of traffic calmers on Maple Street wouldn't work on Rockwood because of the steep incline. And they could create a problem in bad weather. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes Feb. 13, 2006 Page 9 of 9 Alderman Jordan had asked for Duncan and Associates to make a presentation regarding their impact fee methodology for the Street Committee and for the Council. However, they are not available until March 27. He asked for a recommendation from the Committee about whether to wait on them or to move forward with impact fee discussions without this presentation. The consensus among Committee members was that Alderman Jordan would confirm whether or not Duncan & Associates could participate in a conference call and then decide what to do at the next Street Committee meeting. 8. Scheduling the next Street Committee meeting The next Street Committee meeting will be scheduled at a later date. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org