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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-27-2022 Special City Council Meeting MinutesSPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING City Hall —Council Chambers, 590 40th Ave NE Monday, June 27, 2022 5:30 PM MINUTES Mayor Amado Mdrquez Simulo Councilmembers John Murzyn, Jr. Connie Buesgens Nick Novitsky KtJocobs City Manager Kelli Bourgeois The following are the minutes for the Special Meeting of the City Council held at 5:30 pm on Monday, June 27, 2022, in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 590 40t" Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, Minnesota. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this hybrid meeting was held both virtually and in -person. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Council President Novitsky called the meeting to order at 5:40 pm. Present: Councilmember Buesgens; Councilmember Jacobs; Councilmember Murzyn, Jr.; Council President Novitsky Absent: Mayor Marquez Simula Also Present: Kelli Bourgeois, City Manager; Aaron Chirpich, Community Development Director; Kevin Hansen, Public Works Director; Sara Ion, City Clerk/Council Secretary; Joe Kloiber, Finance Director; Amada Marquez Simula, City Resident; Jeff Newsom, Director of Sales and Marketing Walter Recycling and Refuse. ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION 1. Response to Refuse RFP's. Public Works Director Kevin Hansen presented information related to Refuse Bids. There were two companies that submitted bids, Waste Management and Walters. City Management recently completed a site visit to Walters in Blaine as Waste Management is our Current Provider and a Site Visit was not needed. Jeff Newsom is the Director of Sales and Marketing for Walters Recycling and Refuse and he made a short Presentation for Council. Walters is a locally owned Company with Approximately 140 employees that are in located in Blaine, MN. Current there are 65,000 residential customers serviced by Walters. These Cities include Spring Lake Park, Osseo, Blaine (serviced for 7 years). Mr. Newsom stated that Walters has the size, skill and capability to service Columbia Heights; "we are small enough to care and big enough to get the job done". Things are challenging right now, and we can communicate with staff and residents. We can execute everything in the RFP. Walters is currently working on an ap to communicate with residents. People want to choose how to communicate, and Walters wants to make sure they can meet everyone's needs. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 27, 2022 Special City Council Meeting Page 2 Councilmember Jacobs inquired about complaints from customers. Mr. Newsom asked for clarification on the question. Councilmember asked about problematic refuse issues. Mr. Newsom clarified that they have a 99.5% service execution rate. He could try to quantify that more for her. His customer experience team is 12 members, on site in Blaine. They take 2,000 to 2,500 phone calls and they are connected to a person within a minute to two minutes and have a one call resolution goal. Councilmember Buesgens stated that she likes that they are local and have low turnover, and that she has not heard about them in the newspaper. She thinks that often things look good on paper but then they do not look good in practice. She likes that they are promoting equity and women. She wants to know if they are hiring additional staff. Mr. Newsom stated that yes, they would be proactive in adding staff, and having their own recruiter on staff. There will be continued challenges hiring, and they will have contingency planning for staffing and cross training. The executive team has their professional driving licenses, they are hands on and get involved. Councilmember Buesgens inquired if the team gets out of the truck to get additional items from the curb? Mr. Newsom stated that yes, the intent is to make sure every resident is serviced correctly. Councilmember Jacobs asked if the equipment is sufficient to handle the volume that is needed. Mr. Newsom stated that they are ordering what is needed for 2023 and 2024. He wants to make sure that they have extra trucks going forward, and they have used trucks that they are getting ready to use as well. Councilmember Novitsky stated that he likes that they are local and proactive. He likes that the staff would be trained on what is specifically needed for Columbia Heights. He would like to know what could be done for the squirrels in Columbia Heights. Mr. Newsom does not have recommendations for that particular problem. The intent of the ap is to decrease the headache factor for city staff, to inform residents, to help get garbage and recycling to the curb on the right date. He likes those trucks are putting the bins back where they belong, and not causing safety concerns. Amada Marquez Simula would like to know if there are any Youth Programs in place. Mr. Newsom stated that the recruiter does go to the Highschool and speak to them about the jobs about being a mechanic, accounting, customer experience and lots of other positions within the company. There are a lot of good paying jobs out there. Councilmember Buesgens would like them to be connected to our local high schools. Director Hansen stated that the next step would be to enter contract negotiations with Walters. Motion by Councilmember Murzyn to enter contract negotiations with Walters, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs. All Ayes, Motion Carried 4-0. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 27, 2022 Special City Council Meeting Page 3 2. City Hall Budget Update and Construction Timeline. The City Hall Budget Update was led by Public Works Director Hansen. At the Special City Council meeting of March 23, 2022, the City Council approved the final plans and specifications and authorized bidding for the buildout of the new City Hall. The bidding process is being administered by the Construction Manager, Doran Special Projects (DSP). Prior to bidding, Doran reviewed the scope of work based on plans and specifications and provided an updated estimate of the construction costs at $5.3 — 5.7 million. With rebidding, the City Hall Buildout has a total project cost of $6.165 million. While the project budget was updated to reflect anticipated price increases due to inflation, pandemic induced supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages, the bids received exceeded those estimates, including rebidding. The attached budget sheet reflects the funding and updated project costs with all bids now received. The total project development cost has a difference of (-)$1,004,169. This deficit will be funded through the General Government Building Fund 411 or excess fund balances (various) or a combination thereof. The new City Hall has been planned with a buildout of 6-7 months from start until move in. With the condominium arrangement for the new space, the transference from the Developer to the City had several requirements that need to occur, which include construction of the shell, developer provided equipment, and a survey and recording with the County of the condo space. While these are now in process, the availability of the built shell to begin work has been delayed. It is anticipated that construction will begin on or around September 12. An estimated construction schedule of 6-7 months puts our move -in date to April 1 of 2023. Councilmember Buesgens stated that she wants to make sure the buildout is quality and lasts for an extended period. Director Hansen stated that the quality and craftsmanship of the space would still be achieved. There will be some value engineering and rebidding to save money 3. 2020 Concrete Alleys — Remedial Work. Public Works Director Hansen led the conversation related to three concrete alleys that were reconstructed with concrete pavement in 2020. In 2021, significant spalling was found in varying degrees on the surface of each of the alleys. Concerned with the overall pavement integrity, staff consulted with Braun Intertec to test and analyze each of the three alleys new concrete. A copy of that report is attached for Council review. Braun found the strength and hardness of each of the alleys meets or exceeds specifications. The defect, or spalling, that is occurring now exists only in the upper 2-3 millimeters of the concrete. The reason for this failure is likely due to the construction — either in water content or how they were finished, or both. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES June 27, 2022 Special City Council Meeting Page 4 Staff has been meeting with and discussing how to remedy the surface defect of the alley. One option presented by Braun Intertec was to do nothing — that the spalling would only occur in the upper most surface of the alley. Staff did not feel this was a viable option due to the unknown time that spalling would occur and due to the appearance of the surface the newly constructed alley. The other option would be to remove the spalling segment by grinding 3 millimeters of the alley surface and then seal the new surface of the alley. At the last meeting staff had with the contractor he agreed to concrete grind the alley. Due to the inverse crown of the alley and rounded bottom at the center of the alley, a narrow grinding machine (39 inches wide) needs to be used. The contractor has indicated they will conduct the work this summer, but possibly on short notice. The recommendation is to grind of 3mm and seal the alley, there is nothing wrong with the concrete overall and it will be durable. It was likely that the concrete had too much moisture when laid. The contractor will be completing the work, and we will be notifying the residents what is occurring and what the alley will look like. Councilmember Jacobs inquired about the ruts at the property that was impacted by the contractor. She stated that she has gotten a lot of calls about the issues. Councilmember Buesgens inquired about who was paying for the issue. She also asked if this is common. Director Hansen stated that the Contractor will be paying for all the issues connected with the project. This is not a common issue and has to do with the concrete having too much moisture when laid. Overall, the concrete is durable, and this is remedial work. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Murzyn to adjourn. All Ayes, Motion Carried 4-0. Meeting adjourned at 6:20 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Sara Ion, City Clerk/Council Secretary