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09.d PW - Staff Report Staff Report Date of Meeting: 11/15/2022 For: Honorable Mayor and Council From: Charles Fischer – Director of Public Works Subject: PW - Staff Report Playground Project A grant application was submitted to Midco, by Public Works for an amount of $3,500, in support of the playground project. On October 28th the City of Scandia received notice that it had been awarded the $3,500 to support the playground project. On Novemeber 9th, Midco delivered their donation commitment to City Staff. Public Works would like to thank Council Member Patti Ray for her effort in locating and gathering information and contacts connected to the Midco Foundation. These funds will be added to the current $1,400 of donations the City has received so far. Roads/ROW Public Works staff have continued ROW mowing, pothole patching, and gravel road maintenance in preparation for the Winter season. Road conditions of the older paved roads continues to diminish and added maintenance to these roads has been high priority for City Staff. The Melanie Trail project has continued to produce added call response from City staff to answer questions or concerns. On site visits with residents have taken place in the last month assuring that punch list items will be completed before the close out of the project. Public Works recommended to Bolton & Menk to not close out the project this year and wait until Spring to do a final evaluation before close out. Areas of concern by Public Works include: vegetation establishment in water quality improvement areas and microcracking in the pavement indicating inadequate compacti on in selected areas. Parks Public Works is in need for applications for the rink maintenance position. We had one person interested but no application was submitted. Rink attendant positions will be fully covered by returning staff and Public Works will be interviewing other applicants to fill an open position. Two PRC members are interested in volunteering time to resurface the ice this season. With two interested volunteers Public Works may develop a volunteer-based program for Zamboni operation. Up to five volunteers may be a viable option to adequately fill the need for evening, weekend and special event resurfacing. A post on our social media platforms may be going out soon to assess what the interest is in the volunteer opportunity. This would only fulfill the rink maintenance duties as assigned in the job description. Sidewalk clearing and other duties will be fulfilled by full-time staff or seasonal plow operators. Sewer Public Works completed a site assessment, for the septic system, of the new construction at 18570 Norrell Ave N and found a non-compliant connection to the settling tank of the neighboring property. Following the assessment, a letter of non-compliance was delivered to the property owner. City Staff was then contacted by the general contractor and connection specifications and locations were discussed along with a site visit to finalize the connection point. Connection specifications developed by Bolton & Menk have been sent to the property owner and general contractor as well. The connection will be made to the pressure lateral, currently serving the house to the north, within the ROW. By connecting in this location, no roadway excavation will be required. Equipment: During normal mowing operation the Public Works Kubota mower experienced a major break down. The shaft seal on the gear box of the mowing deck failed and damaged the internal gears and spindle which operates the mowing blades. Olson Equipment has provided a quote for repair of $3,710. This piece of equipment is due to be replaced in 2024 and has experienced many issues in the past resulting in expensive repairs and the need to rent mowing equipment at a high cost to the City. Cost listed below are only dealer repairs and do not include the yearly maintenance items such and oil, filters, blades and belts or repairs done by staff: 2018: $383 2019: $462 2020: $2,245 2021: $2,206 2022: $3,710 repair + $1000 parts(front tires and brushes for broom) To keep this machine for one more mowing season the deck will need to be repaired, new front tires installed and other miscellaneous repairs at a cost of $4710. The current Public Works budget does not have the capacity to repair the mower deck due to the high cost of the repairs. Additional funds could be allocated in the machinery and equipment repair general budget for 2023 or altering the replacement schedule of the F550(2023) and Kubota Mower(2024) to Kubota Mower(2023) and F550(2024). *Public Works has proposed the change in vehicle replacement to the City Administrator and should be represented in the most recent 2023 budget proposal.