05/07/1996 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 5/7/96 ;,~ yard. Mrs. Weber would like a timeframe of when the work on the sewer lines will begin _y„ to repair this problem in the Allendale/Carey area. Service Director Bohimann explained the first step in such a project is to do engineering. Legislation is on the agenda to authorize contracting for the engineering services, and the engineering process will take about six months. However, the actual sewer project will not be done in 1996 because the funds have not been appropriated. It is possible that funds for 1997 will be available for this project which is estimated to cost approximately $400,000. Mrs. Weber asked what criteria was used to determine what projects would be funded. Mayor Boyle explained that Council and the administration meet to discuss capital improvement projects and first choose those that are safety issues. Next come those that have the largest impact on people. Usually, we are pretty much out of money at that point. The city does realize this project is a safety issue and that is why the engineering services have been funded. This is basically `research" money to determine the scope of the project. Mr. Nashar asked Service Director Bohlmann if a pump could be placed in the area to give the residents some relief. Mr. Bohlmann replied that a pump has been put in the area on a regular basis and there hasn't been a problem since last July. However, this is a temporary measure and not acure-all. Mayor Boyle asked Service Director Bohlmann to comment on the Great Northern Boulevard project. Mr. Bohlmann said that, although it looks like a "disaster area," the traffic is moving better than had been expected. The work is on schedule. The merchants in the area are happy that ODOT rescinded the order not allowing left hand turns. As to another issue, the traffic signalization project is about three weeks behind schedule. He and the project engineer from ODOT met this morning to discuss their concerns with the performance of the contractor who has been tying up intersections for too long. Also, some of their concerns include safety regulations which are being ignored by Perram Electric. Mayor Boyle commented that the contractor is using old orange barrels that are not anchored. Mr. Bohhnann agreed that the orange barrels have not been sandbagged, and the contractor is not using the proper barricades or warning lights. He and the ODOT project engineer are not happy with the contractor's performance and the contractor will be "called on the carpet." Dennis Lambert, 25057 Carey Lane, expressed his concern about the floodmg problems on Allendale. He felt that the legislation for engineering services, Ordinance 96-52, should be passed immediately. Sharon Hartzell, 4566 Porter Road, expressed concern about the proposal for three lanes and a traffic light at Porter, Mill and North Park. Mrs. Hartzell feels-the traffic light is not necessary as the traffic flows fairly well. There is a minor problem with traffic trying to exit North Park Drive, but there is not as much traffic from Water-Tower Square as there would have been with Wal Mart. Mayor Boyle commented that he had been recently visiting the area and agreed that the traffic was not as bad as he thought. He said that the city's intent was to get the traffic out of the way so that the wait at North Park was not so long. Mrs. Hartzell feels the project is a waste of money that could be spent to correct the flooding problem on Allendale. Mayor Boyle explained that the money for this project is 6 _ ~,~~,~~.:;,.e. ,.~,,~~.