THURSDAY, JULY 17, 2008

REGULAR MEETING

7:30 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Wisniewski called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M., with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski and Mr. Sauer present. No members were absent. Others present were: Mayor O’Brien, Tim Hansley, Lynda Yartin, Ed Drobina, Jennifer Frommer, Brenda VanCleave, Nick LaTorre, Ari Pandian, Mike Bayes, Kerry Hogan, Shari Ulm, Harry Bradtke, Danielle and John Sposito, Randy Everhart, Thomas Jones, Larry Jones, Jerry Dailey, and others.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF June 12, 2008, Regular Meeting. Mrs. Hammond moved to approve; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

3. COMMUNITY COMMENTS:

A. Mr. Harry Bradtke. Mr. Bradtke stated he was present this evening to comment about the way the water rates are charged for a condominium. He stated in his development there are 44 units and right now they are billed as though the whole community was one house. He stated within about two days they are over 12,000 gallons and they are hit with about a 52 percent surcharge on almost every gallon they are using. He stated, in addition, the storm water charge is $234 per month for one unit and all single family homes are paying $1.50 per month. He stated he does not understand why the rates are charged that way and why them seem to be discriminated against. Mr. Drobina stated Mr. Bradtke had called him about how we charge for water for condos. He stated the way we charge the condos is with a master meter so we send one bill to the Association. He continued the bill is always for over 12,000 gallons because anything over 12,000 gallons per month, the rate goes up. Mr. Drobina stated Mr. Bradtke had asked him to change that and he had explained that he could not because the rates are set by ordinance. Mr. Wisniewski clarified this is the same way most condos are charged, because there is a condo association that has individual meters for each condo and they also have outside shut off valves for each condo. Mr. Drobina stated the storm water is charged to the Association. Mr. Bradtke stated each unit probably uses 4,000 to 6,000 gallons a month, but they are charged as though it is over 12,000 gallons for everyone and he thought that was unfair. Mr. Wisniewski stated he was not aware that was how the water was being charged to condos, and he agreed it seemed unfair. Mr. Wisniewski stated Council would look into this and take it to Finance Committee where Council meets as a whole and discuss the way this is billed. Mr. Drobina stated he would get a count on how many accounts this involves for the Committee. Mayor O’Brien clarified it is the developer’s election during the development of the project as to if there will be individual meters or one master meter.

B. Steve Holcomb. Mr. Holcomb stated he was present this evening to address the recent flooding issue in Longview Acres. Mr. Holcomb stated he had spoken at City Council about their concern that most of the flooding he and his neighbors incurred was sewage backup, and out of 45 houses in that subdivisions he has heard from 22 of them. He stated these homes took on a minimum of three inches of sewage. Mr. Holcomb stated Mr. Drobina and Ms VanCleave have been very helpful over the past few weeks, and he and his neighbors were here this evening to try and understand what Council can do to help understand, remedy, and prevent this problem from happening again. Mr. Wisniewski clarified residents present tonight with sewer back up problems other than Longview Acres were from Manchester, Stonebridge, and Preston Trails. Mr. Drobina stated he would meet with Mr. Holcomb in the morning at his home. Mr. Wisniewski clarified Mr. Drobina is still doing inspections and they did find a damaged manhole that probably let in some water. He stated he was still waiting on a cost from the contract to come in and camera the line and actually do testing on each joint to see if the joints in the main line are leaking. He stated if they are leaking they can go back in and grout those in. Mr. Drobina stated they did find several areas where the manholes were covered with creek water because the stream was up so high. Mr. Wisniewski further clarified there were several communities in Central Ohio with the same problems just due to the amount of rain. Ms VanCleave stated we received five inches of rain in three hours that night. Mr. Holcomb stated he didn’t care how much rain we got, this should not have taken on water because it is sanitary and sanitary should not take on water. Mr. Holcomb stated he just wanted to help get this resolved so this will not happen again.

C. Danielle and John Sposito. Mrs. Sposito stated she lives in Manchester subdivision and she would like to thank Mr. Drobina because he did come out to her house immediately after she called the City to let them know of their flood damage. She stated she was present this evening to find out what the City was going to do about this because this is the second time her basement has flooded, and she has a finished basement. Mrs. Sposito stated two of their vehicles they had parked in front of their home also had water inside the car up to the dashboard. She stated the second time the basement flooded her insurance company is refusing to do anything because there is a definite problem and they will not continue to fix the problem. She stated a manhole is in her backyard and the water was so high it flooded her shed and damaged all of their equipment inside. She stated her neighbor had basement flooding four years ago and the City had come out and put some type of drainage system in his basement so it would not flood again, and they reimbursed him for damages. Mrs. Sposito stated she had seven inches of a mixture of sewage and water. Mr. Wisniewski clarified Mrs. Sposito’s home backs up to the retention pond in Preston Trails. Mr. Sposito stated the storm sewer is right in front of their house and that is where it got flooded. Mr. Sposito inquired if the City would help them with this and Mr. Wisniewski stated he could not comment on that. He stated we need to figure out if there was a failure in the system, if it was an Act of God, what the City’s insurance will cover if anything, and those are questions Council needs to get answered from staff, the city engineer, and the law director.

D. Randy Everhart. Mr. Everhart stated he lives in Stonebridge Estates, and he would like to thank the City for the help they have provided so far. He stated his major goal for coming tonight is to see if there can be some sort of assessment or engineering effort at the retention pond between his home and the sewer plant. He stated while this was a big natural event, his basement had 12 inches of water in it and he had four feet of water on the outside of his sliding doors. Mr. Everhart stated since the water receded there is a black mess in the basin area and as soon as we get another rain the smell will kick up again. He stated he did have about a foot of water in his basement and some of his neighbors had water in their basements as well. He stated also since all that water was there they have had a real problem with mosquitoes. Ms VanCleave stated she would come out to Mr. Everhart’s home and look at the area.

E. Thomas Jones. Mr. Jones stated he lives on Marie Avenue and he was speaking for himself and his neighbors as six of the homes there flooded. He stated he also had some sewage involved in his flooding and there was about eight inches of mixed sewage and water in his basement. Mr. Jones stated further when he looked at the drawings for his house, it showed the line going to the left coming out of his house and it actually goes to the right. Ms VanCleave stated the construction drawings give the contractor an indication of where to put a lateral but when construction actually goes forward, the contractor at the time determines, based on the model of the home put on the property, where to put the sewer connection. She stated because it is not shown in the right location on the drawings, it does not indicate that it is controlling the flow of how things are in your house. Ms VanCleave stated she would meet with Mr. Jones and look at his problem, and it is never the intention of that drawing to tell you where the lateral goes.

Mr. Wisniewski stated obviously the staff has a lot of investigation work to do on this and he encouraged everyone to leave their names and phone numbers with Mr. Drobina. He stated we need to work through the issues and come to some resolution and try to figure out what the problem was and what the City’s next steps are. He stated obviously we will do the best we can to communicate that with everyone. He stated he was sorry the City did not have answers for everyone tonight, but we need to see what actually occurred and what the next steps will be.

4. DEVELOPMENT:

A. Development Director’s Report. Mr. Hansley stated he had no report this evening.

5. PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT:

A. Planning and Zoning Director’s Report. Mr. Hansley stated Mr. Schultz was not present this evening, but he had provided a written report to the Committee and he had no action items on tonight’s agenda.

(1) Planning and Zoning Representative Report. Mr. Sauer stated he had no report from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

(2) Review and discussion of development process. Mr. Wisniewski stated this would be continued on the agenda.

B. ACTION ITEMS: None.

6. SERVICE DEPARTMENT

A. REPORTS:

(1) Service Manager’s Report. Mr. Drobina stated he had provided a written report and he would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Wisniewski questioned if we have a date when we will be replacing the culvert that washed out in the storm. Mr. Drobina stated Council authorized the appropriation for the culvert replacement on Tuesday night, and he will be ordering the culvert next week. He stated there is a two-week delivery schedule to receive the culvert and then we will get a local contractor to install the culvert and to the asphalt. Mr. Drobina stated we also have a culvert on Hill Road that is going bad, but we did put a metal plate with stone on it to protect the berm and keep the road from caving in. He stated we did get a proposal to do the design on that; however, we have not acted on the proposal at this time.

(2) Staff Engineer’s Report. Ms VanCleave stated she had provided a written report and she would be happy to answer any questions. Ms VanCleave stated the deadline to submit applications for the OPWC grants this year is September 5^th and due to the Governor’s stimulus package they are doubling the amount of money available. She stated she had identified five projects in her report and she was looking for input from the Committee on what projects we should submit applications for. She stated her recommendation would be to submit applications for the Sycamore Creek East Relief Line (Lockville Road to Hill Road South), CIP Project No. WW-03, and CIP Project No. SM-04, Olde Pickerington Village storm water construction. Mr. Wisniewski clarified these projects are designed and are basically ready to go. Mr. Sauer asked for clarification on the $500,000 they would award up to. Ms Frommer stated for new construction they will award up to 50 percent on the project, not greater than that. She stated for anything that is being rehabilitated they will award up to 90 percent construction and you can request grant or loan or a combination thereof. Mr. Wisniewski moved to authorize the City Manager to submit applications to the OPWC grant program for CIP projects WW-03 and SM-04; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

B. ACTION ITEMS: No action items.

7. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT CAPITAL PROJECTS.

A. WASTEWATER

(1) Wastewater Plant Expansion

a. Review and discussion regarding wastewater treatment plant expansion project bid results. Ms Frommer stated Mr. Pandian of DLZ was present this evening and he would address the bid recommendation for the wastewater treatment plant, and the Committee had received a detailed bid evaluation and recommendation from DLZ. Mr. Wisniewski stated the low bid was from Reynolds, Inc., and that is the firm that is being recommended by our consultant and their references have been checked. Mr. Pandian stated if the City decides to replace the sand filters with new filters, the total cost will be $9.9 million, but if you decide to renovate the existing sand filters you will save $600,000. He stated, however, even if you do the renovation you will still have to invest or add to them in the future. Mr. Wisniewski clarified with the sand filters we would not get the same permitting from the EPA as we would with new filters. Ms Frommer stated there is a maintenance cost for the filters of about $200,000 every five years or so. She stated the sand filters do not process near the peak flow that the base bid disc filters will process and the EPA has expressed some reticence about just having the sand filters rehabilitated and have indicated we would probably receive a permit limit that is lower than what we could get with the disc filters. Mr. Wisniewski stated it appeared to him that it would be a short-term gain to save $600,000 for a long-term risk when we don’t know what the EPA will do. Mr. Drobina stated he had spoken to the EPA regarding the filters as well, and they issued us an NPDES permit for 3.2 million gallons per day, and the only way they are going to issue us a PTI for the wastewater treatment plant is if we go with the cloth filters, they will not issue us a permit for 3.2 if we rebuild the sand filters. Mr. Drobina stated in his opinion the safest way to go was to keep the disc type filters and forget about the sand filters. Mr. Hogan stated he agreed with Mr. Pandian that the best way to go was to meet the EPA requirement, and go with the disc filters. Mr. Hogan stated they will continue to look at cost saving measures, but they are all part of the base bid so they cannot look at it seriously until after you sign the contract. Ms Frommer stated she would request a ten percent contingency be included in the award recommendation. Mr. Wisniewski moved to approve the award of the wastewater treatment plant expansion project to Reynolds, Inc. in the amount of $9,987,000 with a ten percent contingency of $998,700, for a total not to exceed amount of $10,985,700; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Sauer, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

Ms Frommer stated she would like to apprise the Committee that the agency that will be funding this project may require receipt of your legislation of this contract prior to passing judgment on the funding package. She stated currently we are slated to go to them in early August for a late August review of your funding request, so we may be in a situation where we need multiple readings of this ordinance.

B. TRANSPORTATION:

(1) Diley Road Improvements Project – Update. Ms Frommer stated the work is continuing and the work on the culvert should be finishing up in the next two to three weeks.

(2) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance authorizing the City Manager to enter into an agreement for the Adaptive Control Software Light Signal Software Controller System with Siemens Energy and Automation Inc., and waiving competitive bidding. Ms Frommer stated the purpose of the legislation has emphasis on the waiver of competitive bid. She stated there is only one vendor that you can work with for this equipment because the ACS software by this manufacturer is specific to coincide with your signal controllers. Mr. Wisniewski clarified all of the signals on the closed loop system from Stonecreek down to Diley Road are included in this, and this was also included in this year’s budget. Mayor O’Brien stated when we turned the lights up by the freeway over to ODOT, we reserved the right to take them back if we wanted to. He stated his question would be if we want to talk to them about putting ACS on their lights and tying into our system or taking the lights back and putting on ACS. He stated those lights are critical and questioned if we need to start to look at addressing controlling those lights too. Ms Frommer stated in the last 12 to 18 months, ODOT has indicated a willingness to talk about that. She stated until we have the system installed and can show them that it works, we should wait to talk to them about taking those lights back into your system. Mr. Wisniewski moved to approve the draft ordinance and forward to Council; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

C. WATER: No Report.

D. STORMWATER. No Report.

8. CHAIRMAN. Mr. Wisniewski stated he had nothing to report this evening.

9. OTHER BUSINESS: No other business was brought forward.

10. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Wisniewski moved to adjourn; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Mr. Sauer, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Hammond voted “Aye.” Motion carried, 3-0. The Service Committee adjourned at 9:10 P.M., July 17, 2008.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk