Minutes - Public Works Committee - 11/18/2003

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COMMITTEE INPUT 1) Response from MnDOT regarding median openings on TH47 City Engineer Jankowski noted that the City had requested that an opening be made along T.H. #47 to access Blue Velvet Lane. Staff reported verbally in September that MnDOT had indicated that a median opening would not meet geometric standards, but they would be open to signalization at 142nd. At that time the Council chose not to proceed with the signalization of 142nd Avenue. The letter presented to the Committee was a follow up letter from MnDOT of what was reported verbally by staff. City Engineer Jankowski recommended that they forward the letter on to Rivers Bend Plaza after the Council receives the letter. 2) Update on monitoring of Commercial Asphalt plan Community Development Director Frolik stated that the City agreed to monitor the odors coming from the plant on a daily basis, which ended on November 1'. She explained that 75 percent of the time there was no detection of odor, and the other 25 percent was mild or minimal. After the monitoring stopped on November 1' and the temperatures dropped they received several complaints. Staff did contact Mr. Herron about the issue and he explained that the cold weather holds the odors close to the ground. At this time staff was seeking direction as to how they want to handle the issue for next year. Councilmember Cook stated that he did not think it was an option to force a business close down when it hits a certain temperature. Mike Herron, Commercial Asphalt, explained that he did talk with plant operator and the one day the odor was really bad it had to do with the fact that the plant in Elk River was broke down so they were producing twice as much product and had to increase the temperatures which increases the fumes. The other issue he discussed with the plant operator is that they receive an increase in the number of odor complaints when there are colder temperatures. He explained that they currently run about 300 to 350 tons per hour, but the plant is capable of 500 tons per hour. A possible solution would be to increase production to the maximum so that they reduce the amount of time the odors would be coming out. Mr. Herron also noted that not all the times are the odors coming directly form the plant. One day there was a large project just south of the plant where the asphalt was being laid, which causes a strong odor. Mayor Gamec stated that there seems to be no logic as to when the odors occur. Councilmember Cook stated that if the odors are caused by inversion could they include that information on the monitoring list to see if that truly does impact the odor similar to what happens in the city of Minneapolis. Mayor Gamec inquired if the production stays about the same each day. Public Works Committee/November 18, 2003 Page 8 of 10