Minutes - Public Works Committee - 01/15/2002

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City Engineer Jankowski replied that a homeowner would generally pay $100 to $200 for a sealcoating project and $700 for an overlay. Mr. Jankowski reviewed the City's assessment policy and funding sources. He explained that if the City were to complete all the scheduled projects for 2002 it would cost approximately $800,000, but the City only has $300,000 available for assessment projects for 2002. Councilmember Hendriksen stated that at some point in the last two years they had had some discussions regarding the amount of street maintenance that needed to occur and he was under the impression that a long range plan was developed to accommodate the high need in road repair that currently existed. Director of Public Works/Fire Chief Kapler replied that staff did create a rating system with a basic overall plan. What staff is looking at doing is developing a long-term plan that would identify the financial impact of completing the necessary work. Councilmember Hendriksen stated that he had thought that the objective was to come up with a 20-year cycle so that they could stabilize the street maintenance program. Director of Public Works/Fire Chief Kapler replied that they could not solely go on a timetable because some roads do fall apart sooner. Councilmember Hendriksen replied that he agreed, but thought they were going to focus on the roads that were in more need of repair. City Engineer Jankowski explained that it is an ongoing effort to keep updating the numbers and projections, but staff has already assigned a program year and program type for each segment of roadway. Councilmember Zimmerman noted that staff should keep in mind that with the economy being down the City might receive a better bid this year, which would make it possible to complete more projects. City Engineer Jankowski explained that any project that was scheduled for a sealcoat has been included in the 2002 street program. The only places that staff has deviated from doing a sealcoat was in areas where an adjacent street will be sealcoated in 2003. The shortfall in funding pertains more to the overlay projects, which was expected because of the number of roadways that were constructed in 1979 to 1981. He felt that when staff puts together an overall financial plan they would be able to identify how they could catch up on the needed road maintenance. Mr. Jankowski presented the Committee with a copy of the City's finance policy and compared it with the actual assessment practices. He stated that a significant amount of the financing associated with the Street Maintenance Program is obtained through special assessment and a review of the City's assessment policy should be conducted. Unfortunately, the wording of this section of code is not very clear. For example: Public Works Committee/January 15, 2002 Page 3 of 10