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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-07-26 MinutesCity Council Street Committee Minutes July 26, 2006 Page I of 6 Member Aldermen Mayor Dan Coody Ward 1 Position 1 - Robert Reynolds V10 Ward 2 Position 2— Don Marz CityAttorney Kit Williams � 1 Ward 3 Position 2—Robert Ferrell Ward 4 Position 2 - Lioneld Jordan City Clerk Sondra Smith ARKANSAS City of Fayetteville Arkansas City Council Street Committee Meeting Minutes July 26, 2006 A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council Street Committee was held on July 26, 2006 at 4:30 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; Alderman Don Marr; and Alderman Robert Ferrell Staff Present: Gary Dumas, Tim Conklin, Terry Gulley, Matt Casey, Mayor Dan Coolly 1. Call to order The meeting was called to order by Chairman Lioneld Jordan. 2. Rupple Road Tim Conklin outlined the differences between cross section of Rupple Road that has been constructed by Crafton Tull (cost share between the City of Fayetteville, Mountain Ranch subdivision and the Fayetteville School District) to what was shown on the plans to be constructed. He said that it has been discovered that there is a six-inch difference from back of curb to back of curb between the design and the road as constructed. He introduced Tom Hopper from Crafton Tull to walk the Committee through the situation. Tom Hopper, Crafton Tull said as part of the coordination of the construction of Rupple Road a discrepancy between design and construction had been discovered. He said the design for this section of Rupple Rd. had originally included a stand up curb in the middle between medians, with the outside being a standard curb and gutter. That detail got changed as a part of the construction and design process to two curb and gutter sections. The company has had one engineer retire and another leave to go to another firm and although he is not trying to make excuses, this appeared to be the cause of the problem. In the original design, the "travel way" would be considered to be about 20.5 feet. The "travel way" between the standard curb and 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes July 26, 2006 Page 2 of 6 gutter section that was constructed was about 20 feet. In those two lanes there is a difference of about six inches, or three inches per lane. He asked that the City accept the construction as built and allow them to make the transition so they can get the street constructed and ready for school to start. In response to a question from Alderman Reynolds, Mr. Hopper said it was during the engineering that the change took place. He said it had nothing to do with the contractor. Alderman Reynolds asked if this isn't corrected if the remaining part of the road (to be constructed by John Nock's group) would have to be laid the same way. Tim Conklin said staff has told Mr. Nock to construct his portion of the road as per the original plan. If this current section of road is redone completely, then the sections will match up. If it is transitioned, then approximately 60 feet of curb and gutter will be removed south of the intersection and this section will transition to the existing curb and gutter. Curb and gutter will have to be removed in order to tie into the intersection that was approved and is being constructed per plan by Critical Path and Nock Development. Alderman Marr asked what the time frame would be to do the transition. Tom Hopper said all the work would be done within the next two days if the Committee gives its approval today. Tim Conklin said staff had a meeting this afternoon with both engineering firms and both contractors (Northwest Excavation and Critical Path Construction) and the indication was that they have the ability to complete the work in order to move forward. He heard that Northwest Excavating stopped the final layer of pavement and were rescheduled for next Monday. They will not be able to do the final layer of pavement until the curb and gutter is removed and the adjustment is made for the transition. At this point a decision needs to be made on how to either transition it or widen it. He asked that the Committee keep in mind that this is about a six-inch difference on each side of the boulevard. Alderman Ferrell asked for staffs recommendation. Gary Dumas said he thinks the curb and gutter section as built is actually better looking and stronger. Alderman Reynolds, asking for clarification, said he understood that the company actually spent a little more money in the way the road was built rather than the way it was designed and that there was no cost savings to the company. This was merely a mistake. Tom Hopper agreed that was the case. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes July 26, 2006 Page 3 of 6 Alderman Marr asked if this error was just now caught. Tom Hopper said the error was caught as they began discussions on how to tie the two sections of the street together with the intersection. Tim Conklin added that the school district is planning to have an open house on August 17. Alderman Jordan asked if it is correct that the road would not be ready by the time school starts if the curb and gutter has to be taken out and redone. Tom Hopper said that is probable. He said he does believe the City has a better street the way it has been constructed. Alderman Marr said he does not disagree. He feels the challenge is that people worry that the City is not going to hold contractors to what is designed and how that will affect other City projects if someone makes an error. He feels the public issue will be, will the City have the guts to make a contractor tear something out if the work is not done properly? He said in this case he doesn't feel it makes sense to do tear the work out, but feels the City will have to address the issue at some point. Tom Hopper said he is not saying the original plan was bad, but what was constructed is a better plan. Alderman Marr said he does not disagree with that, but it was not what was approved. Tom Hopper acknowledged that point. Alderman Marr said he does not think we have a choice. We cannot tell the school district they won't be able to get to the school. Alderman Jordan agreed and said when this issue was mentioned at the Ward 4 meeting, people didn't really seem to have any significant problems with the situation. In answer to a question from Alderman Marr, Matt Casey said that the inspector assigned to this project had a stroke and so other people who were not assigned to the project had been trying to cover it. Gary Dumas said there have been other projects that have had errors and depending on the magnitude of those errors, either the sections were torn out or some accommodation was made to mitigate the problem. He said what makes this project different is partly the history of the development and the fairly significant discussion that has taken place about the cost share. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes July 26, 2006 Page 4 of 6 Alderman Marr said we are talking about this being a major road and you don't want to have transition pieces when you're creating a major corridor Alderman Reynolds asked Tim Conklin about Crafton Tull's track record on City projects. Tim Conklin said he does not typically get this involved in street projects so he can't really answer that question. He got involved in this when he was asked by Alderman Jordan to report on Rupple Road & Persimmon to his constituents. Matt Casey said there have been no errors of this magnitude made by Crafton Tull to his knowledge. Alderman Reynolds said in his six years as a Planning Commissioner and eight years on the City Council, he doesn't recall anything like this coming up in regard to this company. Alderman Ferrell asked if he was correct that the company spent more money on this road than what the specs called for. Tom Hopper said the curb and gutter section, as compared to the six inch stand-up curb plus the base and asphalt did cost more for the company. In response to a question from Alderman Marr, Gary Dumas repeated that he feels the section of road looks better and he thinks it will stand up better. Alderman Marr asked why it was designed as it was if that is the case. Tim Conklin said when we started out, we had a 90 -foot minor arterial section right-of-way and we changed that last summer to a 110 ft. principle arterial boulevard. He believes that the issue was to try to fit everything within that cross section. The stand up curb allowed for the asphalt to go up against the actual curb, so you are using the gutter as width. He said the project was a challenge and they even had to put the sidewalk on school property in order to make it all fit. Alderman Reynolds asked if the school system is happy with the way it sits now. Fred Turrentine, Fayetteville School District said he has an engineering background and he feels the curb as installed is a much stronger design. He said the school system is very happy with the road as constructed. Alderman Jordan said he thinks people need to be held accountable for what is approved at the Committee and Council level. However, in this situation, due to the critical nature of the opening of the school and for the safety of the children, he recommends that the Committee allow for the deviation. But for the record, he does not think we should make a practice of this. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes July 26, 2006 Page 5 of 6 Alderman Ferrell said although there was a mistake made, it has turned out to be palatable and the schools are happy with it. Also, though it may be a little late, this did come to light and it did come to the Committee, which is where it should have come. Tim Conklin asked for clarification on the transition on the south end. He said there has been some internal discussion with regard to whether or not we would make the transition on this project or make it when Rupple Road is extended south of the school and Mountain Ranch. He said if the Committee says we can leave it in place to the south property line, then Mr. Sloan or Mr. Terminella or whoever owns the property to the south will know that they will need to tie into that and transition it back thirty or sixty feet. This is as opposed to having the curb and gutter on the south side taken out and transitioned out so that when it hits the south property line, Terminella and Sloan are set to build their cross section. Alderman Marr asked if it would be a higher cost to the property owner on the south side if they have to do it. Tom Hopper said there will actually be less material so it should not cost more. However, he said Crafton Tull will pay any additional costs of the transition, if any, that might result. Alderman Jordan opened the floor to public comment. There was none. Alderman Marr moved that the Committee accept the request made by Crafton Tull to modify the transition at the intersection, transition the south end and the next phase, accept the gutter section as built and accept the width as built for the remainder of the road Alderman Ferrell seconded the motion. Alderman Marr moved that an amendment be added to the motion to accept the offer of Crafton Tull to pay for additional costs, if any, associated with the transition of Rupple Road. Alderman Ferrell seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. A vote was taken on the original motion and it passed unanimously. Tim Conklin asked for clarification as to whether this approval was the final approval needed or if this item would have to go before the full Council. It was agreed that the project needs to move forward and that the Committee's approval would serve as the final approval. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes July 26, 2006 Page 6 of 6 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org