Minutes - Public Works Committee - 02/19/2008

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Motion by Mayor Gamec and seconded by Councilmember Olson to recommend to the City Council to authorize an RFP for engineering services to assist in the design and construction of Water Tower #3 in Elmcrest Park. Further discussion: Chairperson Dehen asked if in the bidding process for RFP's if the bid documents are definitive enough where the various contractors are bidding on the exact same project. The State ran into a problem on the RFP for the bridge. The bids were widely variable and contractors felt they did not get a fair shake. He wanted to make certain the RFP will be sufficiently definitive. Assistant City Engineer Himmer stated the feasibility study will help us determine that - it will get us to the point where all contractors are bidding on the same project. Director of Public Works Olson stated that certain contractors only bid certain water towers - specific designs. If you specify a certain type of tower, you are identifying one or two contractors versus six or seven. Chairperson Dehen inquired if it is too early to get real specific and a good grasp ofthe cost to which Mr. Olson replied yes. Motion carried. Voting Yes: ChairpersonDehen, Mayor Gamec and Councilmember Olson. . Voting No: None. Case #2: Consider Release of Inspection Escrows for Highlands at River Park Assistant City Engineer Himmer stated that about six months ago, a few residents from Highlands at River Park came forward with their concerns related to a pond liner within their development. At that point, the City Council directed staff to go out and see what could be done. Staff determined that the liner was definitely leaking, and the water elevations continued to drop. In October, staff was directed to acquire more dye for another round of testing. During further evaluation, the costs started to climb and staff did not want to go through that process without further direction. During this time, staff continued dialog with the developer and the residents. Everyone feels there is a problem and the developer and the residents continue to talk. The City Attorney was contacted for his opinion as to the use of the developer's escrow funds to try to resolve this issue. The Attorney's opinion was that the funds currently held by the City are consistent with the Development Agreement and are for inspection purposes only. The City received a letter from the developer in January requesting release of their escrow funds for this project. Since this has been an ongoing topic at meetings, staff is looking for direction as to the release of these funds. The City is currently holding $85,000 in developer's funds and based on discussions this afternoon, the decision changed from a full release to $55,000 and retain $29,000 or so to work with the residents. Attorney Goodrich stated that it is the City's position that even though the liner is not a storm drainage improvement, it's a part of the storm drainage utilities and we do have authorization per the Development Agreement to retain funds for inspections. This is a required improvement - it is referenced on the plans. Chairperson Dehen inquired if$30,000 is adequate to protect the City's interest. Director of Public Works Olson stated he believes so. Public Works Committee - February 19, 2008 Page 6 of9