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09.e PW-Staff Report Staff Report Date of Meeting: 3/18/2025 For: Mayor and City Council From: Charles Fischer – Director of Public Works Subject: PW - Staff Report Roads/ ROW Public Works staff have continued tree trimming into March. Recently, an area of focus has been the Pilar/Perkins/Paris neighborhood which have not had a complete trim for many years. The snow events this year have been few, but in the most recent event we received 8-10” of snow which drifted heavily in some areas. Staff cleared the roads in a very timely manner and with the warm sun roads were down to asphalt shortly after the snow subsided and plowing was complete. Although we have been able to keep the City roads safe for travel after snow events at adequate levels, Public Works has been understaffed all season. After bringing on two on-call pick up plow operators at the beginning of the season we were immediately down to one after the first snow event of the year. No additional applications came in for the position and one operator was required to perform the work of two while full-time staff were completing their normal routes. All of February, we did not have a pick-up plow operator due to an extended leave, fortunately the snow events were few during that span. During the previous warm-up and due to the shore heave in the Bliss neighborhood, Public Works staff removed rock and soil damming up the stormwater spillways along the shoreline. Once water was allowed to flow, high water levels within ditch lines and between neighboring foundations were mitigated. A frozen culvert was also jetted to allow flow from a wetland west of Langly Ave to the lagoon on the east side of Langly Ave. The water level at this location was quickly rising and had the potential to overtopped the road if the culvert was not cleared of ice. Parks Although hard to believe since the last regular meeting the ice rinks were still open, now we are into 50 degree or higher temperatures on a more regular basis. The rink officially closed for the season February 24th. We had a good season with a December opening and only had a hand full of closings due to subzero temperatures. The most difficult aspect of the rink has been hiring a consistent Zamboni operator. Full- time staff had been performing a majority of the work required to establish and maintain the ice rinks this season. Discussions internally will continue to propose hiring an additional full-time time staff member if seasonal position applications continue to diminish. Continuing the level of service with ever expanding responsibilities will persist to hinder the quality and condition of the work we aspire to generate in Public Works whether it be road conditions, utilities, buildings or within our park system with limited staff. Staff Report Date of Meeting: 3/18/2025 For: Mayor and City Council From: Charles Fischer – Director of Public Works Subject: PW - Staff Report The tennis/pickleball court project did see some activity during the mild stretch of weather in late February and early March. The fencing subcontractor finished the installation of divider posts, net post anchors, and chain link mesh on around the perimeter. There is likely to be another break in activity until late spring. Sewer Public Works staff will be attending additional wastewater education this year prior to testing into a higher level of wastewater operator license requirements mandated by the MPCA for the Bliss system. The Nitrogen reduction upgrade to the Bliss collector system necessitates staff to be licensed for a higher level of wastewater treatment. Time away at trainings and testing for staff will affect Public Works efficiencies throughout 2025. Buildings Proposals for the demolition/removal of the old cold storage building have been received and will be presented within another report, in the Council packet. Bone Lake Tree Nursery Due to the addition of the new cold storage building the Bone Lake Gravel Bed Nursery will need to be relocated. Tom Fury, whom oversees all operation of the gravel bed nursery, was informed in November of 2024 that a new location will be required. Most recently Tom has sent out requests to relocate the nursery anywhere within the City. The City originally agreed to allow use of the current location and access to a City water source. One of the requirements for the success of the gravel bed nursery is being able to adequately water the bare root stock once planted in the gravel. Due to few City properties having a readily available exterior water source and the gravel bed requiring accessibility to Tom and those which purchase plants, there are very few available spaces to provide accommodations to the Bone Lake Tree Nursery on City Property. Conversations with Tom about probable solutions have continued.