07-14-09 WSJuly 14, 2009
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MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Mayor Maxwell called the meeting to order at 6:36 pm. Present were Mayor Maxwell and Council
members Halverson, Brausen, Rowan, Youakim; City Manager Rick Getschow; Public Works
Director Steve Stadler, City Engineer John Bradford, and Finance Director Christine Harkess
CIP REVIEW:
City Manager Getschow stated that there was a discussion at a previous work session on the CIP. The focus on
this meeting with the CIP will be on the street improvement program.
City Engineer John Bradford stated that parts of the central Hopkins streets are deteriorating. He presented the
Council with charts indicating the latest construction projects, rehabilitation curve chart, pavement condition
map, and a chart that showed the streets in good, fair and poor conditions, a map showing the projects by years
from 1990 to the present and a map of planned projects to 2014.
Finance Director Christine Harkess also presented a funding source summary report, department summary
report, CIP individual reports by department and a CIP expenditure report from 2008 2018.
Mr. Bradford stated that some of the streets are starting to show alligator cracking which eventually turns into
potholes. He also stated that there are two types of projects. One is reconstruction and the other is reclamation.
The primary difference is that a reclamation project reuses more of the existing material in the roadway than a
reconstruction project. Instead of hauling out subgrade material and hauling in new class 5 aggregate,
reclamation involves injecting some asphalt oil into the existing base material to give it the same strength as
new class 5 aggregate. The cost of a reclamation project is approximately 5 to 7 less than reconstruction and
both have the same expected life span.
Mr. Bradford discussed how the City has dealt with curb and driveway aprons in the past projects. He stated
that our process for addressing curb and gutter is based on two factors. What condition is the curb in and are
there elevations changes needed in the roadway that necessitate the removal of the curb. The process for
addressing driveway aprons has been if we replace the curb at a driveway apron, then the apron gets replaced as
well.
Street CIP Fact Sheet
2009 -2010 Park Ridge Neighborhood: Curb entirely replaced because of utility work, narrowing of
roadway, and grade changes to street. All driveway aprons are thus being replaced as well.
2008 Minnetonka Mills Road: Curb installed because there was none in place. Aprons also
replaced.
2009 19 Avenue and Drillane: Drillane had no curb so all new curb and driveway aprons. 19
had a combination of new curb and curb repair depending on grade changes. Driveway
aprons replaced at new curb locations.
July 14, 2009
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2006 18th, 19th, 20 Avenues: No curb and gutter so all new curb and driveway aprons were
installed.
2005 North Presidential Avenues: Spot curb repair and curb replacement where grades were
changed for drainage. Driveway aprons only replaced where curb was replaced
(e.g. Monroe Circle).
Mayor Maxwell asked if the City has a way of finding the weak spots in the road so you would know what kind
of work would need to be done on it. Mr. Bradford stated that there is a test that would show where the weak
spots are in the road so they would know how much reconstruction or reclamation would need to be done and
where.
Council member Youakim asked about the conditions of the alleys. Mr. Bradford stated that there are two left
that are not concrete. He stated that they are not changing the grades in the alleys and that they will be doing
spot repairs as needed as part of general annual maintenance.
Council member Brausen wants to make sure that the work that we do now is comparable to the work that was
done before. Mr. Bradford stated that the pavements will look as good as the past pavement work that was
done. It is going to look good.
Council member Rowan asked how we determine border streets and who pays. Mr. Bradford stated that the
discussion is always with the other City that borders that street. He stated they usually pay 50/50 on the work
being done.
Mr. Bradford gave an update on the Parkridge neighborhood street improvement project that is occurring this
year.
Mayor Maxwell asked Ms. Harkess about bonding. Ms. Harkess provided an over view of the plans for debt
issuance over the next 6 -8 years of the street improvement program. Mayor Maxwell asked that staff be attuned
to potential savings with lower interest rates and lower bids in the nearer future.
Mr. Stadler stated that in regards to the HVAC at the Activity Center they are afraid that the pipes will break.
The boiler was purchased and installed in 1981 and in the late 80's the rooftop and air conditioning units were
installed. The Activity Center is operating with a system that is 55 plus years old. He stated that steam systems
can be a big problem. Mayor Maxwell asked how Raspberry Ridge is doing with there system and suggests
combining the two to save money.
Mayor Maxwell asked Mr. Stadler how the water meter replacement was going and Mr. Stadler stated it is going
very well.
The CIP will be placed on the August 4 City Council regular meeting agenda for approval.
July 14, 2009
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ERP REVIEW:
The Equipment Replacement Plan is a twenty -year forecast and a five -year plan of equipment needs in the City
of Hopkins. It is intended to inform the Council and citizens of the major equipment needs on the horizon.
Funding requirements vary from year to year. In order to maintain a fairly consistent levy each year, the twenty
year schedule is projected with a 3 inflation factor for operating expenses and a yearly average dollar capital
expenditure of $639,500.
ERP Goals:
Other:
Maintain the integrity, reliability and safety of city equipment.
Provide funding for replacement of current equipment as needed.
Forecast funding needs and tax implications to assure strong long -term financial stability.
A draft of the 2010 2014 equipment plans was provided for the meeting.
After a great deal of discussion of the ERP it was decided by the Mayor to Ms. Harkess to come back to the
council with more information on city vehicles and revisit some of the items.
Council members discussed the Hopkins Arts Festival that kicked off the Raspberry Festival last
weekend. There was also a discussion of the city booth that will be present at the Raspberry Festival
this coming weekend.
City Manager Getschow stated that the no parking sign on Second Street NE near Van Buren has been
moved for better visibility.
City Manager Getschow stated that Council member Brausen's idea of sending an update to residents
that live near the planned Marketplace and Main project will be done soon.
City Manager Getschow stated that the Fire Department and the Police Department softball game will be
on August 13
Council decided that the best date to host, an ice cream social for the Step To It Challenge participants
should be Thursday, July 30 before Music in the Park in Downtown Park.
City Manager Getschow stated that September will be a good month for the Council to attend a Fire
Department function.
Mayor Maxwell stated that he received a request from a resident wondering if a buffer could be placed
between 2 Street residents and the newest Opus /Cargill parking ramp. City Manager Getschow stated
we have already forwarded the request to them.
July 14, 2009
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With no further business, a motion was made by Rowan, seconded by Halverson to adjourn the meeting. The
motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 pm.
Debbie Sperling, Secretary
ATTEST��
Eugene J. Ma ell. auor
Eugene J. Ma ell, ayor
CITY COUNCIL