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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMar 10, 19750 ~ § -54- STORM SEWER SYSTEM System Inventory 157,929 L.F. Main Line Storm Sewer not including Catch Basin Leads 1,735 Catch Basins and Manholes 5 Control Structures ? Retention Ponds 4 Drain Wells New Equipment One Electro-Matic steamer for thawing frozen storm lines. I. Pond Control Structures A, Were inspected and adjusted for seasonal conditions. B. Debris was removed from the structures and channels. C. Pond levels were extremely low all year because of lack of runoff. D. Valves in outfall structures were operated and lubricated. E. Data is kept during the year as to the pond levels and when the valves are adjusted. The Highland Lake area continues to be a problem with residents. The levels of the lake and secondary pond were extremely low. Also, no provision has been made in the final holding pond to discharge water in a controlled way during periods of heavy runoff. Several inquiries were made as to whether a well could be used to make up water. A question was brought up by the County about Minneapolis stopping the flow of water leaking from their old reservoir that went into Highland Lake. Minneapolis began construction of a new reservoir in the same area this summer. -55- II. Storm Sewer Lines A. Ice and snow were cleared from basins in preparation of spring runoff. B. Storm lines were inspected prior to any anticipated run- off. C. 'A spring cleaning program was again carried out using the vactor to clean basins, storm lines, and manholes. An inspection of the storm system was made prior to cleaning, and this information was recorded to better organize the cleaning program and establish priorities. De Catch basins were repaired, replaced, or rebuilt to better accommodate storm water flows. Basins and man- holes were marked for street work and other construction. E. Basins and manholes were adjusted to grade. Fe Some of the shallower basins and storm lines had to be steamed opened or opened using the hydraulic rodder on the vactor. G. Backwater valves and bypass plates were checked, operated and lubricated at regular intervals. H. Broken or misaligned storm sewers were repaired as they were discovered. Some new basins and storm lines were installed in con- junction with the street improvement program. Some new storm sewer was installed in the following areas: 1. Hart Lake outfall line. 2. At Sullivan Lake to drain water from an area being filled. 3. In the backlots between 39½ Avenue and 40th Avenue from Cleveland Street to McKinley Street. 4. In~,the area of the new parking lot at Minneapolis Electric Steel Castings Company. ae The open ditch at Huset Park was again dredged to main- tain proper depth for the channel. Records were kept on all repairs made and on lines and basins cleaned. Some storm lines were also televiSed to check their condition. -56- The Sewer and Water Department appreciates the cooperation of all departments and individuals during the year. Daily assistance and cooperation during several emergencies throughout the year is notl forgotten. The City's Newsletter and the "Service is Our Business" policy has increased the knowledge and understanding of all' residents in the con~nunity of the functions and goals of our City government. Donald G. Jolly ~ ( ) Sewer & Water Superinte'rfdent -57- 1976 ANNUAL REPORT METER SHOP Personnel Jerry ;Roback, Assistant Plumbing Inspector and Meter Shop Todd Jones, Meter Reader Randy Kill, School Work Program I. Meters A. Leaky meters repaired--94 B. Stopped meters repaired--17 C. Frozen meters taken out and repaired--5 D. New meters installed--28 E. Remote meters installed--69 F. Remote meters repaired--6 G. Meters taken out or put in storage--15 H. Deliver meters to plumber--lO I. Repaired broken glass or seals on meters--12 J. Tested meters for accuracy--3 K. Showed owners where meters are located and how to read old clock-type meters--13 L. Checked meters where homeowners read wrong, over or under estimated, or where people living alone did not use much water--38 M. Checked high water bills--21 1. Cause: Leaky toilets -58- II. III. IV. B. C. D: E. F. G. H. I. J. L. Inspections Remodeling--2 Rough or air tests--61 Finals--34 Gas pressure tests--2 Drain tile inspections--2 Backwater valve inspections--1 New or repaired sewer lines--59 New water lines--69 Kill water taps--9 Kill sewer--5 Filling in cesspools--1 Change-over from Minneapolis main to Columbia Heights main. 1. Polk Street, 42nd Avenue and 41st Avenue--13 M. Change-over from two inch private service to six inch main. 1. Monroe Street, 45th Avenue and 46th Avenue--lO Taps on Water Mains A. One inch taps--32 Miscellaneous A. Record stopbox measurements--78 B. Located stopboxes for plumbers, homeowners, contractors, Engineering Department, and Street Department--56 C. Stopboxes located and dug up with Engineering Department 1. Jefferson Street, 40th Avenue to 45th Avenue--lO9 2. Hayes Street, 37th Avenue to 39th Avenue--24 3. Tyler Street, 43rd Avenue to 44th Avenue--9 4. Polk Street, 41st Avenue to 42nd Avenue-13 a. Also checked meter and service line sizes -59- VI. 5.Monroe Street, 45th Avenue to 46th Avenue--lO a. Also checked meter and service line sizes D. Locate water and sewer lines for plumbers and gas comp any- - 11 E. Check private service leaks--8 F. Turned water off at stopboxes--35 G. Turned water on at stopboxes--33 H. Lowered or raised stopboxes; put on repair tops--38 I. Tightened loose connections on meters and tightened shutoff valves or opened valves by meters--9 J. Checked noisy and leaky pipes; cleaned screens and faucets--8 K. Deliver shutoff notices for nonpayment of water bills--92 L. Low water pressure test 1. Static, residual and gallons per minute tests--22 M. Check frozen water lines--3 N. Dye test not connected to sewer--1 Millipore Bacteria Tests--25 per month Chlorine Residual Tests Quarterly Reading of All Water Meters in City Jerry Roback Assistant Plumbing Inspector CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS Mayor BrUce G. Nawrocki Elected Councilman, 1961 Elected Mayor, June 1965 Re-elected, June 1967, November 1969 November 1971, November 1973, November 1975 Term. expires, Decemlber 1977 Councilmen Wil limn Land Elected, June 1963 Re-elected, June 1967, Nov~-uber 1971 Term expired, Decen~er 1975 Ei. "Sebe" Heintz Elected, November 1969 Re-elected, November 1973 Term expires, December ]977 Walter Logacz Elected, November 1967 Re-elected, November 1973 Term expires, December 1977 Gayle Norberg Elected, November 1971 Re-elected, November ].975 Term expires, Dece~b~r 1979 ~ennethHentges Elected, Nov~lber ].975 Te~u~ expires, Dece~d3er 1979 First viillage plat filed by Tom Lowry, March 16, 1893 Village 'Incorporated March 14, 1898 City Charter Adopted (Council-Manager) June 9, 1921 POPULATION CHANGES ~900 123 1950 1920 2,968 1960 i930 5,613 1965 t940 6,035 1970 8,175 17,533 23,283 23,997 Total Area (excluding Hilltop Village) School System (District 13) 2,258.4 acres 5 Elementary Schools 2' Junior High Schools 1 Senior High School 1 : Primary Parochial School Highest lSpot in Town (in three adjoining counties) 4700 Stinson Boulevard (water standpipe) 1075 Feet above Sea Level Lowest Spot in To%~n Main Street N.E. at 45th Avenue ', 838 Feet above Sea Level REPORT ON 1975 AND PLANS FOR 1976 In fulfillment of our pledge of service to the citizens of Columbia Heights, the following was done in 1975: 1. iA new personnel evaluation by each staff member and . a review of that evaluation by the immediate supervisor. A reorganization was set up to narrow spans of control and better utilize the existing personnel. Job descriptions were received and verified by the individuals filling the position as to the correctness of same. By the end of the year it was apparent that some additional changes would be advisable to operate most efficiently. Established an Awards Committee to consider employees for recognition of service to the City. Three employees were selected and received these service awards. The Awards Committee met four times and in addition to reviewing award recommendations discussed possible reward systems including gathering data on what was done in other areas. Weekly staff meetings were set at times selected as most convenient to involve all supervisory personnel. The "Service Is Our Business" program was reviewed at an early staff session and periodically sections of the program are included in the discussions such as handling complaints and avoiding duplication of effort on same. In addition to an awards committee system of recognition, the Mayor made official proclamations honoring loyal employees upon their retirement. City Newsletters continued to be published in 1975 with three issues being made. This makes a total of seven since the instituting of our service program in the past two years. Two citizen surveys were made: one in respect to the existing conditions and future potential of the downtown area and the other on the liquor operations and the market potential of same. With each newsletter, Mayor Nawrocki has invited citizens to an open forum on a Saturday to meet with him in a "Tell It To the Mayor" session in the Council Chambers. On request and inquiries received, necessary research was done and a written response sent if the questions could not be answered immediately. A highlight of 1975 was the completion of the new Senior Citizens' 100-unit high rise building east of Central Avenue, north of 40th Avenue. The building was completed in June and completely rented up by the fall of 1975. The high rise building was handled through the Housing and Redevelopment Authority. REPORT O~ 1975 AND PLANS FOR 1976 LaBelle Park, immediately east of the new High Rise, was completed with the~exception of some additional dredging and landscaping work which is anticipated for 1976. This Park includes facilities for both'passive and active park usage, and is particularly interesting as it includes a water area where water fowl and other similar wild life may be seen throughout the sum~er. Both this park and the high rise were funded through federal financing with the City and State assisting in the park development. During 1975, the Marquette State Bank of Columbia Heights moved from their building on Central Avenue south of 40th to a new site south ofI 53rd Avenue on the west side of Central. The former bank building now serves as the southern branch of the Anoka County offices ito better serve citizens in our section of Anoka County. A new p~st office building was constructed east of Central, south of 44th Avenue, and was occupied in early 1976. In conjunction with the changes occurring with the post office and the bank moving from the older downtown area, the newly formed Downtow~ Development Council has been particularly active in working on plans to improve this section of town. Included in their plans are applications for financial assistance to help permit necessary development to put new life in this area. During ~975 a new water storage tank was constructed north of the old water standpipe at 4700 Stinson BOulevard. In the spring of 1976 the oldltank structure will be taken down and the new one put in regular!service. The decision to build the new tank was reached after tests of the metal in the old standpipe revealed weaknesses that wo~ld require extensive repairs. The cost of such repairs would be so high that it was economically wiser to replace the tank at thls~ time. During 1976 construction of a new police facility is planned which will give our officers more efficient quarters from which to operate. In public works, the City intends to continue their program of upgrading the streets and alleys of our community as we have done in the past severall years. In order to accomplish this, the Engineering Staff prepar~s proposals and estimates projecting improvements during the next f~w years and annually updates this list, which is then presented to the iCouncil for their consideration, and ultimately public hearings are held to determine the desires of the citizens directly affected by such local improvements. In the iPark Department the Council anticipates continuing the park improvement program with construction of an average of one new permanent park building each year, and the maintaining of neighborhood park facilities in each section of the City. -2- REPORT ON 1975 AND PLANS FOR 1976 In the area of personnel, several changes occurred on staff. At the end of 1975 we had a total of 110 full-time employees paid for b~ the City with eleven CETA employees funded through federal programs and three part-time Mainstream employees funded almost entirely through the County with some monies being pai~ by the City. We also had 49 part-time employees in various departments as needed.during the year. A major change in top staff occurred when Margaret Idziorek retired after twenty-five years of service with the City, much of it~as Deputy Clerk-Treasurer for the City of Columbia Heights. We were also saddened with the sudden death of our Police Chief, Mr. Merle Glader, on September 20, 1975. Mr. Bob Kolb was hired as an accountant to assist Mr. Schedler and cover many of the duties formerly handled by ~s. Idziorek as well asl certain accounting responsibilities assigned by Mr. Schedler. ~After the passing of Police Chief Glader the Civil Service Commission proceeded with arrangements for taking applications and testing applicants for the position of Police Chief. Assessor's Clerk, Cheryl Kennedy, resigned in the spring of 1975. We later hired Mrs. Ellen Prince under the CETA program to assist in the Assessor's office. In the Police Department Lorayn Fink, a dispatcher, was ~erminated and we la~er hired Mr. Bob Field and Mrs. Phyllis Russell to handle ~the Police Technician duties~ That also relieved one police officer from dispatching duties. In the Fire Department, firefighter Harold Eggerth was stricken in June requiring extensive treatment and at the end of the year doctors bat had been treating Harold in a Veteran's Hospital in St. ClOud determined that he was not able to consider returning to his position on the Fire Department and was therefore qualified for consideration of a disability retirement. No replacement has been arranged for in the Fire Department. On the Street Department, Mr. Henry Hebzynski retired and was not replaced in July. In the Shop, we were able to hire a body man, Mr. Earl Sciler, under the~CETA funding program. Having a body man has helped us to repair an~ clean up the body damage on several vehicles and the new spray booth was used extensively for repainting our vehicles. In the Sewer and Water Department, Mr. Lawrence Gauthier was terminate~ and Meter Reader Bolles was put on the Sewer and Water Department as a maintenance man. Mr. Bolles was officially our Meter -3- REPgRT ON 1975 AND PI~%NS FOR 1976 Reader and Mr. Todd Jones took over the meter reading on a contract basis. In the Park D~partment, Mr. Dick Petkoff resig'ned and was not replaced with a pe~nanent employee. However, two CETA employees were put on the department to work as regular members of the department during the year. In the Library, Macrina Galuski, a CETA employee, was hired as a library clerk-typist. In my office, Mr. Charles Stevenson was hired under the CETA program and was assigned the responsibility of working on the liquor store operations to attempt to improve tha operation and clean up any problem areas. The job is proving to be extremely difficult but Mr. Stevenson has shown great imagination and has been tryin~ various promotional things to improve the liquor operation. 'Each of the various departments have submitted detailed reports on the activities in their areas in the body of this Annual Report. I would recommend that these be read over carefully as it is app~nt that each department has bccn carrying out their duties effectively throughout 1975 and from the financial reports in particular it is apparent that there has been a concerted effort to avoid overexpenditures and keep an eye on the budget to end the year well in the black. Plans fori1976 are fairly extensive including the paying off of the costs~for cleaning Sullivan Lake and ultimately preparing plans forlappropriate development of that area which was acquired through court action in late 1975. Plans for~expanding tP~e Police Department space is also anticipated in 1976, depending upon wkich procedure proves to be the most desirable~as far as location of the new structure is concerned. Respectfully submitted, Malcolm O. Watson C~ty Manager -4- 1975 ANNUAL REPORT ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT In 1975, the duties of the Safety and Health Inspector were com- bined with various administrative duties and responsibilities. The position was then reclassified, which included the change in title to Administrative Assistant to the City Manager. The fol- lowing categories are programs and responsibilities directly re- lated to or administered by the position of Administrative Assis- tant: County Administered Work Programs Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, Title Vi, an Emergency Job Program. Meetings and correspondence began early in 1975 with Anoka County in regards to various terms and conditions of the program. Advertising and interviewing for positions began in March. The first C.E.T.A. contract was signed into effect in April for the amount of $29,329 and would terminate January 31, 1976. Five persons began working on April 14, 1975 in various departments. The contract was modified in July of 1975 to in- clude an extention of the present contract to June 30, 1976 with six additional positions. This increased the amount of the contract by $68,490 for the grand total of $97,819 for wages and fringe benefits. All eleven positions were filled as of December 12, 1975. Two C.E.T.A. people resigned and were replaced. 2. Mainstream Work Experience Program. In April of 1975, five persons were employed for the Park Department under the Mainstream Program. The program pays the federally set minimum wage per hour for 35 hours a week. This program was modified in October, changing the number of posi- tions open to the City and the length of employ- ment to a thrae month period. There are currently three persons working under the program. Persons may be replaced as their terms expire. -2- Summer Youth Program. There were 24 youths employed this summer in various departments. The youths worked a total of 300 hours each. The City was allowed to interview each youth this year, something that was not allowed in the past years. Because of the interviewing, I believe the 1975 youth program was the most successful thus far. Work Prqgram Summary All work programs appear to be working out very well for both the program;employees and the City. Health and Safety Inspection Approximately 130 Warning of Ordinance Violation Notices were sent out to residents. Strong efforts were made to inform residents of City Ordinance rules and regulations concerning health, Sanitation, animals, garbage, and junk vehicles. Stories were written in the Newsletter and an information form letter is being sent out to all new res- idents. A strong inspection and enforcement program over the last few years has shown good results in most areas of the City. An area of concentration again in 1975 was the area between Central Avenue and Johnson Street, 45th Ave- nue and 47th Avenue. Letters were sent out to all proper- tylowners asking for their cooperation and informing them oflCity Ordinances. All efforts were made to work in conjunction with all State and County inspection agencies. General Complaints Residents' complaints ran about normal for 1975 with ap- proximately 8 complaints per week. A better recordkeeping system was developed. The record system indicates the complaint call, the initial handling, and the follOw-up process. There were three major neighborhoOd problems. One problem has been resolved and the other two seem to be ongoing items. Public Affairs Leadership and Management Trainin~ (P.A.L.M.) 1. Communications and Job Enrichment were the two main programs worked on within the Police Department. -3- 2~ Considerable time was spent working with the Mayor, Chief, and sergeants developing communications skills. The I'skillbuilding" was developed by a series of meet- ings with the major emphasis on understanding each other's operating or working management styles. Con- siderable time was also spent on job enrichment pro- grams throughout the Police Department. Outside con- sultants helped in developing and facilitating the training under the direction of the P.A.L.M. Training Program. Using the principles of Action Research, as taught at PALM II in early May, an evaluation question- naire was developed and administered through the depart- ment in September. The results indicated that PALM's involvement has had an overall positive influence in the department and that it should be continued. PALM II Training Program. PALM II was very enriching and motivating for me in a fairly new trend in management training call Organi- zational Development. The major emphasis was on pro- blem solving methods. The focus was not only on pro- blem solutions, but on the ability to discover and formulate problems and to take action as well as tak- ing into consideration feelings, attitudes and inter- personal relations in the problem solving process. Considerable time and effort was spent in building a more effective and responsible relationship with the City Manager and with other members of the organiza- tion. Othe,' innovative efforts are now being devel- oped and implemented throughout the organization as the direct result of PALM II. Animal Control For a more effective animal control, new specifications were developed. The Metropolitan Animal Patrol Service, Incor- porated (M.A.P.S.I.) was awarded the one year animal control contract beginning February 1, 1975. Included is a 1975 M.A.P.S.I. statistical survey report. Work was performed with the City attorney in develop- ing a new animal ordinance. This resulted in changing the license fee amount, the length of time that the license is in effect, and other major changes. Affirmative Action Program Work continued throughout 1975 in the development of a work- able Affirmative Action Program. A 45 page document was com- pleted in late november and presented to the Council.