City Council Committee Agendas

Public Works/Library Committee Meeting June 9, 2021, 6:00 pm Attendees Present: Mayor Boudreau Council Members: Beaton, Brocksmith, Carías, Hudson, Hulst, Morales, Molenaar Staff Members: Public Works – Bullock, Chesterfield; Library Director – Huffman; City Attorney – Rogerson; Project Development Manager – Donovan 1. Approval of Public Works Committee Minutes: Councilmember Hulst moved to approve the minutes from May 12, 2021, with paragraph 5a Library Commons Update, rewritten to correct federal vs. state representative information as follows; Seconded by Councilmember Hudson; Carried by all. The City advocated to Senator Murray to fund up to $2 million in addition to $250500,000 in EV design, both at the State funding level. These grants both just need to be signed in by the Governor. Additionally, on May 11, 2021, the City presented to Skagit County for .09 contribution. An Also, an application for $152.5 million was submitted to Congressperson DelBene who was able to shortlist this project into one of her 10 selected projects for federal transportation grant funding. An application for transportation funds (up to $15 million) was sent to Senator Murray's office as well. 2. Program Coordination Division – Blaine Chesterfield a) Freeway Drive Force Main Outfall Improvement Project The City Street Division is installing the first 22-ft section of the Freeway Drive forcemain outfall this week; the final 26-ft section will be completed later this summer. This project improves Freeway Drive stormwater pump station capacity by upgrading from a 12” pipe to a 24” pipe. Though this will increase the capacity for the foreseeable future, additional capacity could be added by upgrading the pumps if it ever becomes necessary. b) Brown and Caldwell Professional Services Agreement Staff is finalizing a new two-year professional services agreement with Brown and Caldwell for NPDES Municipal Stormwater implementation and plans, the agreement will be for July 2021-April 2023. One major addition to this contract, that will affect the budget, is the Stormwater Management Action Planning, a new permit requirement that will entail more work than what has been required in the past. As a result, city staff will be conducting more annual reporting on their own. Staff is currently working on finalizing the scope of work and budget with Brown and Caldwell and anticipates presenting the agreement to council on June 23, 2021. June 9, 2021, Public Works/Library Committee Minutes Page 1 of 4 3. Project Updates – Bill Bullock a-1) Adoption of the 2022-2027 Six Year Transportation Improvement Program At Council tonight, Public Works will request to set a hearing of the 2022-2027 Six Year Transportation Improvement Program to be adopted at the June 23, 2021 Council session. This will now be an annual program from here forward. a-2) PBS Contract Amendment for Freeway Drive (Construction Management) Also, at Council tonight, staff will request an amendment for construction management services to the existing Professional Services Agreement with PBS Engineering for the Freeway Drive Improvements Project (from Cameron Way to College Way) in the amount of $203,290.00. Construction management services provide the oversight for the construction improvements which include full sidewalk on the west side, bicycle lanes on both sides, stormwater improvements, street lighting, pavement rehabilitation, and the addition of a center turn lane on the north end. b) 2020 Curb Ramp Improvements To date, 27 of the 81 curb ramps for this project have been constructed. Work is currently underway at Laventure and Kulshan Avenue in preparation of paving this summer. This project is anticipated to be complete by the end of July 2021. c) Hoag/Laventure Intersection Project The City was unable to come to an agreement with Reichhardt and Ebe Engineering for this project. As a result, staff is working on a Professional Services Agreement for design services with a TranspoGroup, whom the city has worked with previously. The estimated fee for this work is $243,000.00, funds provided by TIB. Staff is expecting to bring the agreement to Council at the June 23, 2021 meeting. This project is still on track to construct next year; however, the City will likely come to Council in September of 2021 to purchase the poles early due to the long lee way necessary before product delivery. d) PSE Agreement for the Kulshan Trail Lighting Project The City signed an agreement with PSE for the Kulshan Trail Lighting project. Since the agreement was executed, electric tariffs have changed for monthly facilities charges and the agreement will need to be revised to reflect the current costs. These unmetered lights are charged a flat monthly fee that has increased from $122.90 to $187.78 per month; the revised agreement will be brought to Council June 23, 2021. e) Freeway Drive Improvements (Construction) This project went out for construction bid on June 8, 2021 with a bid opening scheduled for June 30, 2021. It is getting late in the season to put out this type of bid for construction this year, therefore if bids come in too high or the paving cannot be completed prior to October, the project may need to be rebid in December, which is a prime time to bid for construction in 2022. This project is estimated to cost $1.8-$2 million. June 9, 2021, Public Works/Library Committee Minutes Page 2 of 4  f) SCOG Grant Awards Skagit Council of Governments selected two Mount Vernon projects for funding (pending final approval by SCOG Policy Board).  Preliminary engineering services for Riverside Drive Improvements from College Way to Skagit River Bridge, in the amount of $348,000.  The River Dike Trail project, 10’ wide from Division north to City Limits, in the amount of $263,000. Committee discussed public access as the area is currently gated and locked. This project would have to be a cooperative one with Dike District #3, whom the City has worked closely with regularly. The ownership and access details would need to be investigated prior to the project fully developing and will be discussed further as the project progresses. SCOG also placed three projects on the contingency list as follows; Riverside Drive Improvements Phase 2 (south of College Way), 30 th Street Improvements (Kulshan to College Way), and 15th Street Sidewalk Improvements near the hospital. 4. Public Works Director Comments – Mayor Boudreau a) Public Works Director Hiring Process Mayor Boudreau provided an overview of the hiring process for a new Public Works Director. The advertisement was published today, and the announcement has been emailed out. Applications, including a detailed cover letter and resume, will be accepted until July 2, 2021. Interviews will be scheduled for July 15, 2021 and will be of a round- robin style including a director team and Public Works managers and employees, as well as a peer Public Works Director, stakeholder, and a representative from WSDOT. The interview rounds will also include a tour as part of the rotation. Furthermore, Erin Keator will be working with APWA, AWC, and a few other key websites for additional advertisement. 5. Library Committee – Isaac Huffman a) Library Commons Update Isaac informed Committee the City successfully obtained a .09 grant from Skagit County, adding about $.5 million towards the project. Last Thursday, June 3, 2021, a Library Commons kick-off meeting was held and included some great discussions. Mount Vernon deserves a great facility with cost/funding that needs to be maintained in the forefront. Challenges include the lot size, old utilities, and the costs of steel and wood. HKP has clear goals and sharing new imagery and sketches before the final design is important. The key will be for the building to fit into the community while being the tallest building in the vicinity. The Foundation’s capital campaign is developing, with a soft launch anticipated in January 2022. The City has partnered with Skagit Community Foundation to manage donations and investments for the project; they keep good records and are audited and accountable. June 9, 2021, Public Works/Library Committee Minutes Page 3 of 4  The Foundation has already fruitfully invested donation funds from a few years ago, nearly doubling the amount initially invested. b) Changes to Library Building Isaac highlighted changes to the library building that are being made as the library prepares to reopen. Displays are going up, computers are in place and ready to use, and the self-check machines have been moved to the front desk to be closer to staff assistance. Additionally, books in bad condition or not being used are being weeded out. One significant change is moving the fiction and nonfiction sides, devoting more space to fiction; the latest trends have shown more overall interest in fiction than in years past. Staffing the library is slowly moving forward with one new hire. The library will not be fully staffed in time for opening; it will reopen three days per week with additional hours as staffing increases. c) Garden Update The outside garden areas were cleaned up yesterday; it has been reconfigured to require less staff time to maintain and to create a safer area. The gardens are not completed quite yet as the mulch still needs to be placed. d) General Update 1) Bird Watching Backpack Staff contacted the local Audubon Society and, as a result, received donated binoculars and books to be checked out by library patrons. 2) Summer Reading The Summer Reading program will be in full effect this year from July 5 to August 16, 2021. The age range has been expanded to older children and adults. The Parks Department has installed a story-walk at Hillcrest Park with the help of Friends of the Library. This will be a permanent facility with the ability to change out the story as needed easily. 3) Lego Boost Kits These kits are sponsored by the Foundation and will be available for select checkout. The community has been handling items well, and these entry-level robotics kits will be placed into circulation accordingly. The meeting adjourned at 6:44 p.m. Submitted by: Sherri Pritchard Sherri Pritchard, Public Works Department June 9, 2021, Public Works/Library Committee Minutes Page 4 of 4