9.d Staff Report-PW
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: 5/17/2022
For: Honorable Mayor and Council
From: Director of Public Works – Charles Fischer
Subject: Public Works Staff Report
Roads and ROW
Spring road grading has been completed which included discing the shoulders to reclaim material that
migrates to the shoulder under traffic or winter plowing. Conditions so far have been favorable to not apply
Calcium Chloride to gravel roads but has been scheduled for Friday May 27th. One to two days prior to the
application staff will perform a final grade.
Public Works has been out filling potholes since May 9th, delay to pothole filling was due to the inclement
weather and local asphalt plants delaying production until the Spring Road Restrictions were lifted. Martin
Marietta did not open production until May 9th. Schiftky’s located in Maplewood (our next best option) is not
scheduled to open until June. The only earlier option was the St. Paul plant which requires roughly two hours
of travel time and waiting in line for mix. Public Works delayed until May 9th when Martin Marietta opened
saving staff time traveling and optimize time in the field filling potholes. Four sections of road where
dramatically effected by the winter season which includes Maxwill Ave, Lakamaga Trail, 195th St and Orwell
Ave. The past skim and seal coat surfaces are becoming more brittle each season. Public Works recommends a
closer look into reconstruction timeline for these sections of road as they are requiring the most maintenance
year to year.
Following the winter season staff removed a large amount of fallen tree material from the ROW and trimmed
broken branches from the heavy snow events in the latter portion of the plowing season. The May 11th storm
caused 12 trees to fall onto the road or into the ROW, most notably on 220th St N where five trees fell during
the evening hours. One tree required full removal to open access to both lanes of traffic around 11pm May
11th.
Public Works has been in discussion with MNDOT o ver the broken turtle fence on HWY 97. MNDOT will be
repairing the fence at their expense. Some discussion was made for options other than standard chain link
fencing but those option would have been at the City’s expense and then turned over to the City for
maintenance. Public Works deems it best to have the fencing remain in MNDOT’s responsibility as it is located
in MNDOT ROW. Major costs would be involved if other option are explored and installed per the City’s
recommendation.
Sewer and Water:
The three systems main lift station pumps preventative maintenance and flow testing has been completed by
Minnesota Pump Works. A total of 8 pumps in the Bliss, 2 pumps in Anderson Erickson, and 4 pumps in the
Uptown systems. All of our pumps tested in good condition with minimal abrasion to the impellers and wear
rings. The draw down testing (which measures pump flow) conditions of our lift stations are sub optimal due
to the low amount of flow coming from the pressure mains into the wet wells. Only the Anderson Erickson lift
station provided enough inflow to calculate an accurate pump flow. This information makes if difficult to
determine our actual daily flows within each system. The Bliss infiltration lift station is the most accurately
calculated data we have at this time due to the recent installation of flow meters earlier this year. Public
Works is currently gathering details on how we can add flow meters to the infiltration lift stations in the
Anderson Erickson and Uptown systems. These two lift stations are what determine our daily flows and
reported to Washington County conforming to our permit.
Parks:
Public Works performed fallen tree removal in Lilleskogen Park to open the trail for use and has been installing
the stories in the story board holders. With the recent storm more trees have fallen and efforts to open the
trail will resume following the removal of trees on the roads or in the ROW.
Public Works will be moving forward with the donation bench program at Lilleskogen this spring with the
installation of bench pads. One location has already been approved for donation. The bench and plaque are in
storage and as soon as the pads are ready the bench will be installed.
The dock at Goose Lake was installed in late April. With the snow melt and heavy rain events the dock was
brought higher ashore with the rising water level of the lake. Hopefully this is a good sign the lake will be
returning to regular levels.
Buildings:
Public Works has contacted EMI to move forward with the Council Chamber AV upgrades. No official
installation date has been set. EMI has experienced delays or shortages with equipment due the need of
computer chips required in the equipment.
Council Chamber upgrades have been explored by Public Works including carpet replacement, wall paper
removal and painting. Quotes are coming in for both projects and will be presented to Council at a future
meeting. With the vendors on site for quotes, other areas of the building are being quoted for wall paper
removal and painting.
Equipment:
Public Works removed all snow equipment from each plow truck and while performing the task modified
storage within the Cold Storage Building for more efficient use of the space.
Public Works staff have been trained by John Deere and Diamond Mowers representatives on the operation
and maintenance of the new flail mowing tractor. While present the previously mentioned hydraulic leak only
required a minor adjustment.
The Kubota mower which also serves as a snowblower for the winter continues to have breakdowns causing
Public Works to fall behind in summer mowing and winter sidewalk clearing operations. Recently the
accessory (fan belt) failed and requires removing the driveshaft to install a new belt. The machine was down
for four hours on Friday May 13th. Staff was able to repair without having to outsource, but forced staff to be
taken away from their scheduled assignments. Consideration for early replacement of the machine is
recommended to reduce down time and increase productivity which Public Works will discuss in Capital
Improvement budgeting.