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8.e Engineering Updates City of Scandia Engineering Updates 3/19/2019 Engineering italics = old information • Comprehensive Plan Update Project website updated to include status and current draft (https://www.bolton- menk.com/clients/scandia/index.html) We resubmitted the Comp Plan information on February 26th. The Met Council has until March 19th to determine if our submittal is complete. Once the plan has been determined to be complete, it will proceed through the Met Council committee process. The status of the plan can be tracked on the Scandia Community Page on the Met Council website at https://lphonline.metc.state.mn.us/CommPage?ctu=2396548&applicant=Scandia • 2018 Street Project Weekly/current construction updates are posted on the City’s website, link is: “2018 Street Improvements Projects” Record plans have been completed and currently being reviewed by Public Works. Project walk-through will be conducted in the spring, any outstanding items will be addressed and completely prior to project closeout. • Miscellaneous Gateway State Trail Extension • Specific Property owner meetings have been held on 10/31/18 and 11/14/18, ongoing coordination has continued to occur. • All wetland & preliminary field survey work has been completed including completion of the wetland delineation report. TEP meeting was held on 11/30/18. • Attended a Technical Design meeting with the DNR & City Staff on 12/19/18 to discuss project constraints along CR 52, thus a meeting with the County has been scheduled for 1/11/2019 to presents options. • Public Open House – March 19, 2019, 5:00pm – 6:45pm at City Hall prior to City Council Meeting Lilleskogen Park – Expedited Conservation Project Grant • Staff has been assisting the City and Parks & Recreation in preparation of a grant submittal that would provide financial assistance natural restoration within the Park. Bliss Drainfield System • Been working on gathering information and will start to review results so the Nitrogen Mitigation Plan can be prepared for MPCA approval within on year of permit issuance. Snow/Recent Rain – Verbal discussion at City Council Meeting Bill Requires Release of Retainage before Completion of City Construction Projects • Been reintroduced again, see below • The bill would diminish the effectiveness of an important tool cities use to ensure compliance with contract obligations. (Published Mar 4, 2019) • A bill that would modify retainage requirements for building and construction contracts was amended and passed out of the House Labor Committee on Feb. 27 and referred to the House Jobs Committee. • The bill, HF 878 (Rep. Tim Mahoney, DFL-St. Paul), would diminish the effectiveness of an important tool—retainage—that cities use to ensure compliance with contract obligations. The bill author took most of the amendment offered by the League, but one disputed provision remains. • The importance of retainage • Retainage is a common practice in the private and public sectors, where a portion of the agreed-upon contract price is withheld until the work is complete to assure that the general contractor or subcontractor has satisfied their obligations. • In Minnesota, municipalities may only withhold up to 5 percent retainage from the general contractor. The general contractor, in turn, also withholds a certain percentage from its subcontractors. • Without the ability to withhold retainage, government entities would have to rely on harsher methods, such as litigation, to ensure compliance with contract obligations, which would only drive up the cost to taxpayers. • Government concerns • Cities, counties, and state agencies testified at the Feb. 27 hearing, expressing their concerns about a provision that would require government entities pay to retainage out within 30 days of the “completed improvement date,” which the bill defines as the last day of work or the last day any skill, material, or machinery is provided, whichever occurs first. • Mark Maloney, Shoreview public works director, testified on behalf of cities. He explained that the city’s contractual relationship is between the city and general contractor, who in turn, works with subcontractors. There is a logical issue with this provision because cities are unaware when each subcontractor is finished with their work. • However, the more significant issue is that before the city closes out a project, required paperwork needs to be turned in and punch list items need to be complete. (Punch list items are work not conforming to contract specifications.) If the city is required to pay out the soonest of any skill, material, or machinery provided, contractors still need to do more work or may not have turned in needed paperwork—including required tax forms. Nevertheless, cities will be required to pay out retainage. This proposed provision leaves cities with no leverage to ensure contractual obligations are met. • The Association of General Contractors also testified in opposition to the bill. • Senate companion • The Senate companion bill, SF 947 (Sen. Jason Rarick, R-Brook Park) has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.