5.b) Public Works Staff ReportSCANDIA
PW Staff report: May 2019 report 6-3-19
To: PRC
From: Public Works Director
Summer Part-time employ
One applicant had come forward and the person was contacted. He noted he was
interested in the job, staff conducted an oral interview, and he was approved during the
5-21-19 council meeting. Back ground checks are occurring this week. He is scheduled
to start June 6t" 2019 if the check is cleared. He was approved to start at a pay rate of
$11.50 per hour. Staff will encourage council to raise the minimum hiring rate for the
position.
Grant for Lilleskoaen:
Staff will begin the process of applying the invasive species removal plan submitted by
the City to the DNR by contacting contractors to implement the removal plan noted in
the grant.
w ono T•.unim- roF
Due to the continued rainfall events the concrete contractors are behind and working
hard to catch up on the work. Staff has met with one contractor on site. He noted that
we would save money and time by replacing the bleachers and pouring the pads and
placing the new bleachers on top of the pads.
Mowing:
The annual mowing has begun in the parks and at the ballfields. The Kubota mower has
had mechanical issues again so we are using a demo unit from Olson to complete the
mowing for this week. Quotes from contractors are about twice a much as having a
summer laborer but that was if they cut all summer. If there were dry periods the cost
would not have as much deviation.
Lilleskogen:
Lilleskogen was mowed for the Memorial Day weekend and the butterfly garden has
been cut back per our agreement. No sign of any maintenance on the site this month.
Staff did note there were three grasses from last year dug up and removed.
Staff has cleared out the drainage culverts several times this spring to allow the flow of
runoff from the watershed area surrounding the park. The control system was installed
by the watershed district in about 2014.
Sentence to Serve (STS) called me one weekend it was raining and asked if there were
other activities they could perform for the City. I asked them to spread the woodchips on
the path that were hauled in during the winter. The chips were spread the best PW
could at the time since they were frozen. The STS staff and crew did a very nice job.
Grants:
Adam addended a two-day seminar on grant implementation and writing. Most people
se it as free money but as they explained and reiterated there is a cost to doing
business with grants. The paperwork, following policy associated with the grant, staying
within the guidelines of the grant, monthly or weekly reports, summation at the end of
the grant and sometimes revisited a year later. There is the budgeting and accounting
side as well that needs great attention and detail taken to make sure an agency doesn't
get black listed.
Warmina House:
Staff will start moving forward with purchases related to the SHIP grant. The opening of
the warming house is contingent on the approval by council after staff has researched if
there are any liability costs associated with the facility being open in the summer during
daylight hours.
Path — T -Ball / Community Center:
The culvert is installed and about half of the pathway is established. When there is
weather conducive to top dressing, grading, and seeding, staff will be working on the
final establishment.