HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-11-07 - MinutesMayor Dan Coody
City Attomey Kit Williams
City Clerk Sondra Smith
City Council Water & Sewer Meeting Minutes
Nov. 7, 2005
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Member Aldermen
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AR KA N SA 5
City of Fayetteville Arkansas
City Council Water & Sewer Committee
Meeting Minutes
November 7, 2005
Ward 1 Position 1 - Robert Reynolds
Ward 2 Position 1 - Kyle B. Cook
Ward 3 Position 2 — Robert Ferrell
Ward 4 Position 2 - Lioneld Jordan
A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council Water & Sewer Committee was held on November 7,
at 5:30 p.m. in Room 326 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain
Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Kyle Cook, Alderman Robert Reynolds, Alderman
Robert Ferrell
Staff Present: Steve Davis, Gary Dumas, David Jurgens, and Ron Petrie
Chairman Kyle Cook called the meeting to order.
Item 1. Approval of the Minutes of September 29th & October l91 Water/Sewer Committee
Meetings
Minutes of the previous meetings were approved.
Item 2. Wastewater Improvement Program Update
a. Results of Hamestring to WWTP Force Main Bid
Dave Jurgens stated that project bids were received from four very good contractors. The lowest
bid ($4,582,536.60) was submitted by Garney Construction. He stated that the engineer is
evaluating the bids to ensure that there are no apparent errors. If none are found, staff requests
approval to forward the bid simultaneously to the Department of Natural Resources and to the
full City Council for review and approval in December. Mr. Jurgens stated that Garrey is an
excellent contractor and they are very pleased with this bid. He said the company has
constructed several projects for the City and for the Beaver Water District and is one of the five
companies that passed the vetting process and were interviewed for the West Side WWTP
construction.
Alderman Ferrell made a motion that, barring any mistakes found by the Engineer, the
Committee accept the bid from Garney Construction. The motion was seconded and passed
unanimously.
b. Construction Cost and Time Line Summary
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Nov. 7, 2005
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Dave Jurgens handed out a copy of the construction cost and time line summary which was
reviewed and discussed by the Committee. Mr. Jurgens stated that Staff would present an
updated summary every quarter. There was also discussion concerning which lift stations would
be eliminated by this project and the overall funding for the project.
c. Easement Status Update
Dave Jurgens handed out a copy of the WSIP Right of Way, Property Purchase and Easement
Status, and reviewed this update with the Committee.
Alderman Ferrell asked for the deadline on the easements.
Dave Jurgens said that the end of November is a firm deadline on the west side. If there is not a
signed easement by then, it will be referred to the City Attorney. He stated that focus would not
be placed on the east side until the west side easement acquisition is completed. He said that it
would probably be another six months before all the easements are obtained on the east side.
d. West Side WWTP Status
Dave Jurgens stated that the Notice to Proceed was issued to Brasfield & Gorrie on Nov. 4,
2005 and that the pre -construction conference took place Nov. 7, 2005. He stated that Brasfield
& Gorrie planned to start issuing purchase orders the next day and planned to have crews onsite
by the end of January.
3. Designated Management Agency
Dave Jurgens stated that in order to obtain Revolving Loan Funding, the City Council is
required to adopt a resolution formally recognizing Fayetteville as a Designated Management
Agency for Wastewater Collection and Treatment of Domestic Wastewater for the City of
Fayetteville and the areas we serve. The EPA requires the resolution and also requires that the
Designated Management Agency execute an annual plan update. The City's Capital
Improvement Plan, wastewater system master plan, and annual budget meet the requirements of
the annual plan update. If this resolution is not adopted, the City will be unable to obtain RLF
funding.
There followed some discussion concerning how the RLF funding would be used.
A motion was made to send a resolution designating the City of Fayetteville as a Designated
Management Agency to the full City Council The motion was seconded and passed
unanimously.
4. Capital Improvements Program
Dave Jurgens stated that there was nothing new to present to the Committee, since the project
list was reviewed at the previous Water/Sewer Committee meeting.
Steve Davis said that over the next month or so, Staff will be reviewing all of the Capital
Projects and the W/S project program.
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5. Water Line Cost Share
Ron Petrie stated that they have been working with the Fayetteville School system concerning
the school being built at the corner of Rupple and Persimmon. There is a proposed cost share
with the Fayetteville School system to increase the size of the water main on Rupple Road south
of Persimmon from 8" to 12" in diameter. Mr. Petrie stated that the City's share of the cost is
approximately $45,000.00 for a quarter mile of waterline. If the Committee finds this
acceptable, Staff will prepare the paperwork to be taken to the City Council.
A motion was made to forward the proposal on to the full Council. The motion was seconded
and passed unanimously.
6. 24" Water Line, Custer
Dave Jurgens stated that McGoodwin, Williams and Yates had submitted 90% of the plans for
the 24" water line replacement project on Custer south of 18th Street. He stated that this was an
informational item for the Committee, so that they would be aware of how the project is
proceeding.
7. Elkins Contract Review
Steve Davis stated that the contract with Elkins was ratified at the October 13th meeting of the
Water/Sewer Committee. Elkins has approved the contract and Mr. Davis requested that the
Committee authorize sending it forward to be placed on the City Council's agenda for November
15th. There followed some discussion concerning the particulars of the contract.
A motion was made that the contract be sent on to the full City Council, and being seconded,
passed unanimously.
8. Farmington Contract Update
Steve Davis stated that it was apparent during the City Council meeting that growth management
for utilization of the West Plant is an important issue. He stated that one of the strategies for
dealing with that growth is to use the Master Facility Plan from July 2001 as a guide. He stated
that the facility plan shows that the population of Fayetteville in 2020 is projected to be 85,000,
while Farmington's population is projected to be 5000. Mr. Davis asked the Committee for
approval to use these numbers as a starting point in the discussion with Farmington. Some
discussion followed concerning the Farmington growth issue, including impact fees and the need
for lift stations and interceptors.
Alderman Ferrell stated that he was concerned with how much the growth of the City of
Farmington would accelerate the need for the City of Fayetteville to either expand the existing
system or add a new plant.
Mr. Davis responded that Farmington has agreed, as future capacity enhancements are required,
they are willing to participate in meeting those needs. He stated that if Fayetteville decides to
use millage or sales tax to pay for improvements, Farmington understands they will either have
to do the same or that their rates will have to go up.
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Gary Dumas stated that there is a two-stage impact fee; stage one is to handle the growth needs
inside their city, and stage two is the Fayetteville portion of an impact fee for transportation from
Farmington to the treatment plant. He stated that, theoretically, that impact fee would pay for the
future capacity needs.
The Committee gave Staff approval to use the Master Facility Plan from July 2001 as a guide in
developing a strategy for dealing with growth in the Farmington area.
9. Consideration of Postponement of the Next Sewer Rate Increase
Steve Davis stated that Mayor Coody has requested this item be added to the agenda. He stated
that there are a number of unknowns about where the WSIP is going and that the City's rates
(approved at the end of 2003) were programmed to add 9% per year for 2004, 2005, and 2006.
He stated that with the increase in heating and gasoline costs, Staff is asking that the City
postpone the last rate increase until the financing plan is completed.
There was discussion of whether this action would need to go to the Ordinance Review
Committee for review or if it could go straight to the City Council for consideration. Mr. Davis
stated that, because it is a sewer rate change, there is a requirement for a 10 day window for
public hearings on the matter.
Chairman Cook asked what benefits would be gained by the postponement and Mr. Davis
responded that the benefit was for the rate payers, in that it would postpone the 9% increase in
rates until after the winter. When asked when the postponement would end, Mr. Davis replied
that he would like to set that for April 30th, when the new sewer averaging goes into effect.
Alderman Reynolds asked what the downside to the postponement would be.
Mr. Davis responded that there would be some lost revenue, estimating it to be around
$350,000.00 to $400,000.00, and that it would affect approximately 30,000 rate payers. Staff
stated that, although the City would miss out on some revenue by doing this, it would help offset
the 30% hike in natural gas prices that are expected this winter.
It was decided to table a decision on this matter until the first meeting in December to give Staff
time to present the Committee with firm numbers.
10. Consideration of Implementing a CPI Indexed Water Rate Adjustment
Steve Davis stated that the City Council had recently approved a CPI indexed residential solid
waste rate adjustment. He stated that Staff would propose the same thing for the water utility.
He stated that this would prevent the City from falling so far behind on costs that it would
require a substantial increase at some point in the future.
Considerable discussion was held concerning how this would be implemented, the impact on the
rate payers, and the impact on the rate studies. It was decided that further study of the idea was
needed and the item was tabled.
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11. Scheduling the Next Water/Sewer Committee Meeting
The next Water and Sewer Committee was tentatively scheduled for November 29 at 5:30 p.m.
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