Committee of the Whole Meeting

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE City Hall – Council Chambers November 2, 2020 The Committee of the Whole met at City Hall via teleconference at 5:20 p.m. on November 2, 2020, with the following Committee persons in attendance: Mayor Pro Tem Frank Darrah, Susan deBuhr, Kelly Dunn, Simon Harding, Daryl Kruse, Mark Miller, and Dave Sires. Mayor Green was absent. Staff members attended from all City Departments, as well as members of the community teleconferenced in. Susie Carpenter from Black and Veatch as well as members of the community teleconferenced in. The Mayor Pro Tem introduced the first item Washington Street. David Wicke City Engineer stated they were here in August to review the Washington Street reconstruction, conversion from 1-way to 2-way street, which Council did not approve. He explained they modified the initial concept for St. Patrick School bus and parent drop off points on 7th and Washington Streets. He explained the stop signs will be solar powered LED wrapped lighted signs and can be placed on a scheduled timer. He said this is the last 1-way street in the downtown area. Mr. Wicke reviewed the three staff recommended motions. Mayor Pro Tem Darrah opened it up for discussion. Mark Miller motioned to approve design of St. Patrick’s School layout including bump outs (relocation of bus drop off and installation of parent drop off on Washington Street), seconded by Simon Harding. Mr. Wicke reviewed the updated site layout for Councilmember deBuhr. Chase Schrage Director of Public Works stated the parent drop off slip lane will have a two foot painted median. Mr. Wicke said the conversion of the 1-way to 2-way will be voted on separately in the third recommendation tonight. He explained educational information can be disseminated on the new function of the two-way street and the bus and parent drop offs. Mr. Schrage stated the City has a limited window of time for the reconstruction of Washington Street, so it will not conflict with the reconstruction of Main Street in a couple of years. Mr. Wicke stated there would be slight modifications to the St. Patrick School design, if Washington Street remained a one-way street. Mr. Schrage stated there are 11 parking spots in the parent drop off and six spots in the bus loading zone. He stated these would be available for example on a Sunday when school isn’t in session. Councilmember Harding called the question. Motion passed, all in favor. Mark Miller motioned to approve conversion of intersection from lights to flashing red stop signs 4-way stop controlled intersection, seconded by Daryl Kruse. Mr. Wicke explained how the solar powered LED stop signs operate on a schedule, which can be adjusted when needed. He stated the current stop lights do not meet the current specifications. He explained the school and church are in support of the change to 4- way stop signs. Mr. Schrage stated stop signs will be much safer and a picture was shown where students were still in the crosswalk are when the light cycle switched to green. Motion passed 5-2 (aye-Darrah, deBuhr, Dunn, Harding, Miller; nay-Kruse, Sires). Simon Harding motioned to approve Washington Street two-way traffic conversion from 6th Street to 18th Street. Motion failed 3-4 (aye-Darrah, Dunn, Miller; nay-deBuhr, Harding, Kruse, Sires). Mr. Schrage stated staff will move forward with items one and two and design as a one-way street and he said the plans and specifications will be brought forward to a City Council Meeting in early 2021. Mayor Pro Tem Darrah introduced item two Nutrient Reduction Strategy. Mr. Schrage stated in 2012 Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) issued requirements for cities to manage their affluent or water that discharges into the river, specifically the nutrient reduction of Nitrogen and Phosphorus. The new requirements are 1 mg/L of Nitrogen and 10 mg/L of Phosphorous. He explained each municipality is required to submit a plan for the reduction. In 2016 the City submitted its first nutrient reduction plan. The IDNR requested the City to update its 2016 plan with the submittal of the 2019 permit. Mr. Schrage stated they are working with consultant Black and Veatch to update our plan. The updated plan is to be in place in 2021. He explained the treatment facility is working very well, except the trickling system is using out dated technology. Mr. Schrage introduced Susie Carpenter from Black and Veatch. Ms. Carpenter stated they completed a facility condition assessment and said the digester control building will require modifications to meet the NFPA Code. She stated she will review three options to for the City. The first option is regionalization with Waterloo. She reviewed the portions of the facility which will remain, and a new pump station will be constructed for the 5.8 miles of dual force main to convey the flow to Waterloo. She stated the cost is estimated at $109.6 million, but there will be additional unknown costs. Mr. Schrage stated they have had previous conversations with Waterloo and other municipalities on the regionalization. Ms. Carpenter reviewed the second option, Greenfield site, or build a brand new facility on another site. She explained what is involved in building a new facility and the cost of it is estimated at $274.3 million. She stated there will be additional costs, which include a 35 acre piece of land and the development costs. The third option is to modify the existing plant. She stated the recommended improvements can be done in five phases. Ms. Carpenter stated the estimated cost for making modifications to the existing plant is $97.1 million. She said the cost for the first three phases are required to comply with the IDNR nutrient limits and will require their approval. Mayor Pro Tem Darrah opened it up for discussion. Ron Gaines City Administrator stated the City will need to work with the IDNR on our plan and we will need to bond for the necessary funding for whichever option is selected. Mr. Schrage stated a disadvantage to the regionalization plan is the City of Cedar Falls loses control of the facility. Ms. Carpenter stated each option should have a 20 year life and will still require maintenance. She also stated their review was based on a capacity of 51,000 population. Mr. Schrage stated these options will be discussed at goal setting and staff is seeking further direction of the Council at that time. He stated the regionalization is an ongoing discussion and there are a lot of unknowns. There being no further discussion Mayor Pro Tem Darrah adjourned the meeting at 6:34 p.m. Minutes by Lisa Roeding, Controller/City Treasurer