Loading...
09.e PW-Staff Report Staff Report Date of Meeting: 6/17/2025 For: Mayor and City Council From: Charles Fischer – Director of Public Works Subject: PW - Staff Report Roads/ ROW Public Works staff have continued pothole patching. Shouldering repairs have been completed on all roads. Additional areas are likely to emerge after the end of the rain events this week and into next week. Two culverts have been jetted to remove blockages caused by sediment build up on Pilar Rd and Nolan Ave. PW staff repaired a culvert end in the Bliss neighborhood damaged by the ice push this past winter. A second culvert repair is planned in the coming month when ground conditions allow access without damaging surrounding area. Wood chips have been collected from the Free Pile on a regular basis with an average of three tandem loads delivered every Friday for free pick up. PW has continued dead tree removals along the ditch lines, the trees are mixed species and not just ash trees. Due to the overgrowth of trees in the ditch the weaker trees are succumbing to the conditions and dying off naturally versus insect or pathogen pressures. The ash trees although continue to succumb to the pressure of the ash borer beetle and will be an issue for the foreseeable future. Public Works has observed a large number of ash trees just outside of the regularly maintained ditch line and homeowners will need to address these trees. Any hazard trees within dedicated ROW will be removed by Public Works. Clean out of the old cold storage building was complete on Friday, June 13th. Helke has indicated he will start dismantle on Monday, June 16th. Ditch mowing began mid-May of the first 5-7 feet of the ditch and will be complete by the end of June. Upon completion of mowing this area of ditch staff will then transition to brush removal clearing woody vegetation which hinders ditch capacity, storm water flow, road use safety, and removal of noxious weeds. Recent rain events have caused multiple trees to fall in the ditch or roadway and staff will be clearing these trees this month. Parks Our seasonal staff member has been continuously busy mowing City properties and maintaining the Wayne Erickson ballfield which has a higher number of rentals compared to past years. PW has been contacting landscape companies to receive quotes for landscape clean up so that new mulch can be added as soon as possible to all of the planting beds. Current staff levels and added responsibilities reduce the ability to maintain these areas. Currently there are multiple landscape beds at multiple City sites which PW is now responsible for, past responsibilities only included the City Hall site. In the last 5 to 10 years volunteer efforts have added landscape beds throughout the City which have lost the volunteer group responsible for the Staff Report Date of Meeting: 6/17/2025 For: Mayor and City Council From: Charles Fischer – Director of Public Works Subject: PW - Staff Report maintenance to continue. That responsibility has fallen on PW to keep up on the maintenance which is now difficult to continue with available staff. The tennis/pickleball court complaints since opening have caused City staff to evaluate the need to change the blue color of the pickleball shared court lines thus resulting in staff requesting the contractor to change the color to light blue. Public Works is continuing to work with Xcel to move the power from the old cold storage building to a new meter location in the turf area adjacent to the parking lot. Final location and plans will be evaluated upon completion of the dismantle of the old building. The goal is to have this installation complete by Taco Daze. Sewer Public Works and the City Engineer have completed site inspections of all major lift stations and drain fields in preparation to update the Sewer CIP. A residential pump has been replaced twice in the last year at the same property in the AE system. Cause of the failure currently lies in the amount of refuse found in the tanks. This has not been the final reason for the repeat failure but what led to the initial failure. This is the second location where refuse in a tank has caused failure to a pump. Public Works did send out a mailer in the first quarter billing cycle with information about how to use and care for a septic system which included what to and not to send into the sewer system. Buildings PW has been utilizing the new storage building but complete organization will take place as soon as the pallet racking is installed. Power to the new building will be installed in July.