Public Services Committee

TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA PUBLIC SERVICES COMMITTEE Tuesday, January 2, 2018 Municipal Complex, Committee Meeting Room, 3rd Floor 100 Ann Edwards Lane Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 Minutes Members Present: Jim Owens, Chair; Joe Bustos, Kathy Landing Staff: Jody Peele, Ken Rhye, Hillary Repik Mr. Owens called the meeting to order at 3:15 p.m. 1. Approval of Minutes from the December 4, 2017 meeting Mr. Owens called for a motion to approve the minutes from the December 4, 2017 meeting. Mr. Bustos so moved; seconded by Ms. Landing; motion carried unanimously. 2. Public Comments None.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 2 of 24 3. Employee years of service recognition Jody Peele, Director of Public Services, recognized Tyesha Richardson, Facilities Maintenance Technician, for 15 years of service. Mr. Peele described Ms. Richardson as a great asset to the Facilities Division specifically in the cleaning section. Mr. Peele added that most of her work is done at Town Hall and that she always does a remarkable job. 4. Year to date review of Public Services operations Mr. Peele stated that the 2017-2018 budget year was a very busy year for the Public Services Department. Mr. Peele stated that the below slide is the organizational chart for the Public Services Department. Mr. Peele added that the department consists of 142 budgeted employees.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 3 of 24 Mr. Peele added that the Public Services Department is broken down into five divisions: Facilities Division, Grounds Division, Infrastructure Division, Stormwater Division, and Waste Management Division. Mr. Peele stated in the budget year of 2016-2017, the Public Services Department split apart the Facilities & Grounds Division into two separate divisions. Mr. Peele added that Mr. Neil Eichman, Facilities Division Chief, has done a remarkable job since taking the role. Mr. Peele stated that Mr. Eichman could not be here today because he is currently on the roof trying to determine why the AC units are not on. Mr. Peele added that Mr. Eichman has made the Facilities Division more efficient in getting work orders completed in the Town’s facilities.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 4 of 24 Mr. Peele also stated that during the 2016-2017 budget year they decided to make the Stormwater section its own Division and Mrs. Hillary Repik was promoted to the Stormwater Division Chief. Mr. Peele added that Mrs. Repik and her team have done an excellent job. Mr. Peele stated that the Public Services Department uses a program called Cityworks to track Work Orders and Service Requests. Mr. Peele stated that the program tracks work that has been completed or work that has been entered to be completed. Mr. Peele added that the dollar figures in these slides indicate projects that are on the books for this coming year. Mr. Peele added that some of these numbers are budget figures and some are actual funding that was approved and spent. Mr. Peele added that a few projects in these slides have funding that were approved today; the purchase of the garbage trucks, the canal cleaning on Whipple Road, and the Wando TMDL monitoring program.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 5 of 24 Mr. Peele stated that the Public Services Department totaled 6,932 Service Requests as shown in the above slide. Mr. Peele added that some of these Service Requests go in and get closed out while others get turned into Work Orders. Mr. Peele added that some Work Orders come in just as a Work Order and never turn into a Service Request. Mr. Peele stated that the Department tracks these requests two different ways. Mr. Peele stated that if a mailbox were knocked down and is getting repaired by a contractor, a Service Request would be entered and the information provided by whomever completed the work would be entered. Mr. Peele added that whenever a resident requests a garbage container, a Service Request is entered and then gets entered into a Work Order.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 6 of 24 Mr. Peele stated that the number for our inspections as shown in the above slide deal with best management practices that we do for town facilities, outfall inspections, compliance inspections for active construction sites that are done monthly, and ditch inspections. Mr. Peele stated that the department total for this year was 17,311 which is an 8% increase from the previous year. Mr. Peele continued by saying the department had 46 Town events which include: Splash day, Movie in the Park, Cooper River Bridge Run, the Farmers Market, Etc. Mr. Peele stated that that the Town had one natural disaster, Hurricane Irma, which was supported by 70 Public Services employees during the actual event. Mr. Peele also added that the Town had an ice storm recently which temporarily shut down a few bridges, but the Public Services Department had employees out working during this event as well. Mr. Peele stated that the Public Services Department is currently preparing for the snowstorm that will hit tomorrow evening. Mr. Peele stated that he was going to break down the numbers for each division as shown in the above slide.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 7 of 24 Mr. Peele added that the Facilities Division combined total Service Request and Work Orders were 2,578. Mr. Peele added that a highlight for the Facilities Division was the move back to Town Hall. Mr. Peele also added that the Facilities Division is working on the Comprehensive Maintenance Program (CMP) Facilities Maintenance Projects which takes care of repairs to Town facilities, such as roof repairs, fence repairs, dock repairs and many others. Mr. Peele stated that Hill Construction came in and performed an assessment on the Town facilities and provided us a list of things that need to be fixed and set a priority on each item. Mr. Peele stated that one of the projects from last year’s budget was the David Simmons Dock repair in Remley’s Point. Mr. Peele stated that it was a major project. Mr. Peele stated that the Facilities Division also took over the HVAC, Pest Control, and fire extinguisher contracts. Mr. Peele stated that the Facilities Division is responsible for all HVAC units town wide. Mr. Peele moved on to the Grounds Division by stating that they total 2,442 Service Requests and Work Orders as shown in the above slide.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 8 of 24 Mr. Peele added that the highlight for the Grounds Division is the Right of Way Maintenance Contract which totals $779,000. Mr. Peele stated that the contract makes up $537,000. Mr. Peele added that the Town has another contractor who provides mulch on all the right of ways on Highway 17 and other Town facilities which totals $200,000. Mr. Peele also stated that with the new Town Hall he would like to use a contractor to maintain the grounds and green roof which would total $42,000 a year and would be conducted on a weekly basis so it looks nice all the time. Mr. Owens asked Mr. Peele if the Town Hall maintenance would be contracted out. Mr. Peele answered in the affirmative. Mr. Peele added that when he talks to Eric DeMoura, Town Administrator, about budgets for this coming year, that he will ask about expanding the right of way maintenance contract to cover more areas. Mr. Peele added that by doing this there is a sizable savings for the town compared to doing it in house. He commented that it is also a liability for us being out on Highway 17 due to the traffic. Mr. Peele added that by contracting this out these contractors can address a need once called; whereas before it would take a lot longer for us to address due to other commitments our Grounds Division would have throughout the town.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 9 of 24 Mr. Peele stated the Infrastructure Division totaled 2,272 Service Requests and Work Orders as shown in the above slide. Mr. Peele added that one of the highlights for the Infrastructure Division is the Street Sign Replacement Program which was put in place due to a mandate that was handed down concerning the reflectivity of the Towns street signs. Mr. Peele added that the replacement program plan has 16 zones and that we are currently on zone 5. Mr. Peele further stated that the next zone addressed will be the Old Village area.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 10 of 24 Mr. Peele moved on and stated that the recent addition of a on-call service for concrete and grinding will help tremendously with our sidewalk and curb repair program which has been allotted $433,300. Mr. Peele added that Olde Park will be the first area that will be addressed. Stating that there is roughly $39,000 worth of sidewalk repair work needed in the neighborhood. Mr. Peele stated that once that is completed, they will then look at moving efforts over to Rivertowne. Mr. Peele added that we have started grinding operations in Rivertowne, Olde Park, and I’on. Mr. Peele stated that we now have two contractors that can help address issues regarding trip hazards and total sidewalk replacements. Mr. Peele stated that the Neighborhood Stormwater System Cleaning has allowed us to clean systems that we have never been able to clean before. Mr. Peele thanked the Committee for the approval of two vactor trucks that were in last year’s budget which has allowed us to start this program. Mr. Peele stated that some of the areas that have been cleaned include: Bayview, Cooper Estates, The Groves, Hermitage, Creekside, Parrish Place, Heritage, Mallard Lakes, and Shemwood. Mr. Peele stated that concerning the Stormwater Division this is where a lot of the inspections take place such as MS4 permits, water quality, and outfalls inspection. Mr. Peele added that the total number of Service Requests, Work Orders and inspections reached a total of 1,985 as shown in the above slide.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 11 of 24 Mr. Peele stated that earlier today the Bids and Purchases committee approved the Drainage Canal Restoration CMP for $190,520. Mr. Peele stated that they had carryover money from last year that was able to be added to this project. Mr. Peele stated that the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) CMP was budgeted at $255,000, which is higher than the bid that went to Purchasing earlier this year which was $200,811. Mr. Peele stated that the Shem Creek Water Quality Assessment was budgeted for $135,000 which has already been completed. Mr. Peele added that he will discuss the next phases of the Shem Creek Water Quality Assessment in some subsequent slides. Mr. Peele stated that the Snee Farm Rehabilitation and Improvements are still being worked on to finalize easement acquisitions. Mr. Peele added that the bid process would be the next step as well as the loan process, since there would be federal/state funding. Mr. Peele stated that they plan on a June start date.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 12 of 24 Mr. Peele stated that the Waste Management Division totaled 7,404 Service Requests and Work Orders. He added that there were 21,851 tons of garbage collected and 20,675 tons of construction and demolition (C&D)/vegetative debris collected. Mr. Peele added that after Hurricane Irma there were 27,916 cubic yards of debris that was collected by Town forces, in a 25-day span. Mr. Peele stated that the transfer operation is where the debris is brought into our transfer yard and where a contractor picks it up and hauls it off on large trucks. Mr. Peele stated that the Town used to do this with our own staff. Mr. Peele continued by saying he feels that it was one of the best decisions the Town made by contracting this work out because it saves money and wear-and- tear on equipment.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 13 of 24 Mr. Peele added that two garbage trucks were approved today during the Bids and purchases committee. Mr. Peele added that these trucks should arrive around June, and will soon after be put into operation. Mr. Peele stated that around 6,000 containers have been purchased to begin the transition to fully automated trucks and the assembly and distribution process will soon begin. Mr. Peele stated that he believes these trucks can empty roughly 1,000 containers a day. Mr. Peele added that the goal is to have at least 8,000 containers out by the time the new trucks are operational. Mr. Bustos asked Mr. Peele when he means fully-automated does that mean only a driver? Mr. Peele answered in the affirmative. Mr. Peele stated that with these trucks it gets our employees out of the elements and into a safer environment. Mr. Peele continued by saying employees would no longer be working behind the trucks. Mr. Peele added that Waste Management Collectors have one of the most dangerous jobs due to traffic conditions. Mr. Peele added that the purchase of these new trucks will help reduce the danger. Mr. Peele stated that the new trucks are operated with a joy-stick to pick up the containers. Mr. Peele added that a few years back they talked about getting these trucks, but the main obstacle was that these trucks need containers that are compatible.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 14 of 24 Mr. Peele added that the Town started buying these containers a few years ago so most of the newer subdivisions already have compatible containers. Mr. Peele noted that he believes, I’on is the only neighborhood that these new trucks cannot collect in, due to the on-street parking. Mr. Peele moved on to the Engineering Section by stating the total numbers as shown in the above slide. Mr. Peele stated that the Town needed roughly $400,000 for the Old Village Drainage Study and they took that money out of the Stormwater Repair and Rehabilitation Programs $1,475,000. Mr. Peele stated that he is waiting on the reimbursement from midyear budget review, so we can continue to do more projects. Mr. Peele added that all of this money has been spent on projects in: Belle Hall, Hobcaw Creek Plantation, Charleston National, Hidden Cove, Chelsea Park, Hamlet Square, I’on, Shem Drive, and many more. Mr. Peele stated that the Public Services Facilities Masterplan will include our locations at Six Mile Road and Lieben Road. Mr. Peele stated that we are looking for the masterplan to show us how to best utilize the space we have allocated to us and support current and future Public Services Department capabilities and functions. Mr. Peele stated that this project will come in as a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) project and it will be an expensive but it is needed to support our efforts in order to provide a high level of service to residents in the future.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 15 of 24 Mr. Peele stated that the Recreation Field Electrical Upgrades have already been approved with the funding of $383,000. Mr. Peele added that it will include Fields Two and Three at the Duffy Complex. Mr. Peele continued by saying that this project will make a major improvement to what is currently there. Mr. Peele stated that the Old Village Study on the slide above has already been conducted and is already in the next phase which is the design phase.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 16 of 24 Mr. Peele stated that the above slide shows what is planned for 2018. Mr. Peele added that most of these projects are already known to Council while the others will be discussed as part of the CIP/CMP retreat for council. Mr. Peele stated that the Stormwater Improvement Program is something that has recently been added. Mr. Peele added that this program will allow for funding for design and construction of improvements identified in CMP Stormwater assessments. Mr. Peele added that once the studies are completed, they will then need to move to the design phase such as the Old Village Plan. Mr. Peele added that once the design phase is complete, funding if available, will be allocated the following year for construction. Mr. Peele added that these projects will be further discussed at the CIP/CMP retreat with Council. Mr. Peele stated that the Drainage Canal Restoration Program is a continuing program addressing our canals. Mr. Peele added that we are currently working on the canal behind the old Whitesides School which is the Milltract canal. Mr. Peele asked Mrs. Repik if the survey has been completed for the Whitesides Canal Project. Mrs. Repik stated that the survey is done, but we are waiting on money for the construction of the project. Mrs. Repik added that there are plans for surveying the next three canal locations.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 17 of 24 Mr. Owens asked Mrs. Repik if the surveying money is secured. Mrs. Repik answered in the affirmative. Mr. Peele stated that the Stormwater Repair and Rehabilitation Program is for the repair or total replacement. Mr. Peele added that sinkholes near boxes are contracted out because of the injection process they use. Mr. Peele added that the injection process works well and is a one-time fix. Mr. Peele stated that the Pitt Street Business District Drainage Project is a moving target with the date and funding. Mr. Owens asked Mr. Peele if there are still easement issues on this particular project. Mr. Peele stated that he has not heard of anything being nailed down, but there has been discussion regarding the powerlines. Mr. Peele added that he is not 100% sure and believes Amy Livingston would be able to answer the question. Mr. Owens asked if Ken Rhye, Town Engineer, had anything to add. Mr. Rhye stated that they met with business owners as well South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G). Mr. Rhye stated that SCE&G said they have done everything they could on their end adding that if there was still interest in burying utilities that would need to be taken on by the business owners.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 18 of 24 Mr. Owens thanked Mr. Rhye for the information. Mr. Peele continued discussing the calendar year 2018 look ahead projects as shown on the slide above. Mr. Peele stated that the Public Services Operations Center Design/Construction is just an estimated number. Mr. Peele added that he will be visiting the North Charleston Public Works Facility which is a new state of the art complex. Mr. Peele stated that we are gathering information to support the development of the master plan. Mr. Owens asked where the location of the building will go. Mr. Peele stated that we have two locations in mind. Mr. Peele stated that we have our existing location which is located off Six Mile Road and the other location is off Lieben Road. Mr. Peele added that at our Six Mile Road facility we own both sides of the road. Mr. Peele added that our transfer yard is across the street from our existing facility. Mr. Peele stated that the new land that was just acquired off Lieben Road was the old Berkley Electric facility. Mr. Peele stated that the Shem Creek Water Quality Assessment Phase II is the next step of our Shem Creek Water Quality initiative.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 19 of 24 Mr. Peele stated that the NPDES Water Quality Monitoring/Wando Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) is a 4-year program to identify the issues effecting the Wando. Mr. Peele added that once this program is complete, we will be able to start addressing the problems. Mr. Peele stated that water quality is an expensive task. Mr. Peele stated that the two fully automated garbage trucks should be implemented sometime later this year as shown on the above slide. Mr. Peele added that during next year’s budget we will likely be asking for two more trucks to continue the transition to fully automated collection. Ms. Landing asked Mr. Peele how many garbage trucks it will take to get the entire fleet fully automated. Mr. Peele stated that on a normal collection day there are anywhere from 9- 10 trucks being used. Mr. Peele added that he believes nine trucks would do it; but would like to see how efficient they are before he gives an exact number. Mr. Peele added that there are still areas, such as I’on, that would not be able to take these trucks; but he believes if the Town is able to get two trucks every year, that in the next 2-3 years the Town will be fully automated. Ms. Landing also asked Mr. Peele the estimated time of completion for the Snee Farm Project.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 20 of 24 Mrs. Repik stated that the project was scheduled to be a two-year project. Mrs. Repik added that there are two large flood improvement projects: pipe rehabilitations, as well as five water quality structures. Mrs. Repik stated that this project is neighborhood wide and although it will take longer than we would like, we believe the timeline given was adequate. Mr. Owens asked Mrs. Repik who the designer of the project is. Mrs. Repik stated that the design engineer is Woolpert. Ms. Landing asked Mrs. Repik how much traffic through Snee Farm will be affected. Mrs. Repik stated that one of the main flood areas is on Whipple Road and Law Lane which will include new pipes under Whipple Road. Mrs. Repik added that there will be traffic detours and delays; but because we widened Whipple Road, we will also be able to shift traffic rather than close the road down completely. Mrs. Repik added that the neighborhoods will also have detours, but will be receiving two week look-ahead alerts. Ms. Landing asked Mrs. Repik about the barrels on Highway 41 at Joe Rouse Road; stating that the barrels were put in to replace something that was not working well for a few weeks, but the barrels are still there after two months.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 21 of 24 Mrs. Repik stated that the Transportation Department would be able to answer that question in more detail. Mrs. Repik added that she believed they were supposed to be replaced by something more permanent. Mr. Peele stated that every year he sits down with Mr. DeMoura to talk about the equipment needs. Mr. Peele stated that First Vehicle comes up with a five-year plan on all equipment and what they feel needs to be replaced. Mr. Peele stated that the above slide includes all the equipment that First Vehicle put on this year’s list. Mr. Peele noted that the garbage trucks are to be replaced with the fully-automated.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 22 of 24 Mr. Peele noted that in the budget year of 2017-2018 equipment replacement was deferred as shown in the above slide. Mr. Peele stated that they would like to add a vegetative debris crew next fiscal year due to the growth of the Town. This would require the addition of one claw and two scows. Mr. Owens asked Mr. Peele that due to the cold weather that will be coming in, if there is potential for purchase of a brine truck or even a sand-spreader. Mr. Owens continued by saying he would like to see some cost figures for these two pieces of equipment. Mr. Peele stated that he would be more than willing to research the cost. Mr. Peele added that they are slide-in units, so we wouldn’t have to purchase a truck. Mr. Peele added that he will research the cost as well as the attachments that the equipment might require.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 23 of 24 Mr. Peele stated that every budget year he talks with Mr. DeMoura about manpower requirements and future openings. Mr. Peele stated that depicted in the above slide are potential new positions for discussion. Mr. Peele stated that the Department will be able to re-classify positions as we implement more fully automated garbage trucks. Mr. Peele added that he would like to replace the knuckleboom trucks with a claw machine and two scows because of the inefficiency of the knuckleboom trucks and the growth of the Town. Mr. Peele added that we could staff this capability by reclassifying existing manpower, but we would need the equipment. Mr. Peele added that the additional claw machine and scows associated with Town growth shown in the above slides would require three employees. Mr. Peele added that these employees are already employed within the department because we would be taking another three man truck off the road which was planned in next year’s budget to replace.  Public Services Committee Minutes January 2, 2018 Page 24 of 24 Mr. Peele added that as we replace two and three man trucks with a one man truck the personnel could get new job classifications to fill other needed positions within the Department. Mr. Peele asked if there were any questions. Mr. Bustos thanked Mr. Peele for a very thorough presentation. Mr. Owens stated that he wanted to thank Mr. Peele and all of his staff for the work they do for the Town. Mr. Owens added that he looks forward to better and brighter things for the 2018-2019 year. 5. Adjourn There being no further business, Chairman Owens adjourned the meeting at 3:57 p.m. Respectfully submitted by, Andrew Dolan January 11, 2018