2013 Street and Utility Project Update� � 1 •'1 � � ��il I � 1
Memorandum
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
CC: Mike Mornson, City Manager
From: John R. Bradford, City Engineer^
Date: November 13, 2012
Re: 2013 Street and Utility Project Update
This memo updates Council on several items for the 2013 Street and Utility Project.
Trees
As was noted at the Public Hearing for this project, there are significant tree impacts
with the project. As we approach completion of the plans and specifications we
wanted the Council to be aware of the progress on this item.
• There are 33 trees in the project area that will need to be removed.
o Impacts are primarily due to lowering the road for drainage
improvements.
• We have made an initial contact via door knock and door hanger with all
impacted homeowners
• We have had personal conversations with about 20 of the 33 impacted
homeowners and expect to talk with the rest in coming weeks.
c All have been ok with the tree removal
• We will replace all trees removed with a variety of species as identified in
our Ordinance Section 825.
June 12, 2092
Private Service Line Financing
As we noted at the Public Hearing, we anticipate that there will many Orangeburg
sanitary sewer services in the project area. This pipe material is no longer allowed
and must be replaced or lined from the property line to the home within 1 year under
current policy.
The additional cost to a large number of homeowners is concerning given the
assessments that will be levied with the project.
We are therefore suggesting the following plan to help homeowners with this cost.
Prior to the project starting, the City would contact plumbing contractors who do
work for the City and request a unit price quote for lining and replacing sanitary
sewer services. Part of the agreement in the quote would be the promise of quick
response to a service replacement request. We expect to get very good prices as there
should be a large number of services to be replaced. We would likely use 2
contractors for this work to increase responsiveness.
We would use a plumbing contractor instead of the reconstruction contractor because
they are better suited to this kind of work and have the expertise and equipment
necessary to make connections in the home.
• When Orangeburg pipe or other condition necessitating the replacement or
lining of the sanitary sewer arises, we would:
o Notify the homeowner
o Provide the list of contractors where the City has obtained bid prices
to replace or line the sewer.
o Offer the homeowner the choice of doing the private work under this
contract or letting them get their own contractor.
■ If the homeowner elects to use our plumbing contractor, the
work would be done immediately.
■ If the homeowner elects to choose a different contractor, they
would have 1 year to complete the replacement or lining.
• If a lead water service line is found, the same options would apply.
2
• Financing
June 12, 2012
o If the homeowner does the replacement with our plumbing
contractor:
• City would pay plumbing contractor directly
• Homeowner would have separate agreement with
plumber, so City is not liable for the work.
■ City would assess work to property for 10 years at 5% interest
if the homeowner elects to.
• Homeowner would need to sign petition and waiver of
right to appeal assessment
• Homeowner could prepay without interest until Nov.
o If homeowner decides to use own contractor:
■ Homeowner finds and pays plumbing contractor directly
■ No assessment financing
We believe this plan allows for the replacement of bad, privately owned
infrastructure in a way that saves homeowners money and offers an option for
financing. It also gets the work done quickly and less disruptively to the
neighborhood.
The big policy question is whether the City would want to extend this option to
homeowners who are not required to replace their service lines to the house, but
would like to.
We look forward to discussing these issues with you on Tuesday night.
3