Public Works / Traffic / Transit Committee

Chris Jenkins, Director Justin Messer, Assistant Director PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION , Cemetery Department Jody Gonzalez, Superintendent Engineering Services Aaron Carroll, Director Public Works Vehicle Maintenance Department Joe Krinke, Superintendent Solid Waste Collections Department Tim Garrett, Director Solid Waste Processing & Disposal Department Lee Stone, Director Streets & Drainage Department Chad Hampton, Director PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSIT COMMITTEE AND TRAFFIC COMMISSION July 14, 2021 10:00 AM. Sam King Room ‐ 601 Broad Street PRESENT: Commissioner Mark Cochran Commissioner Bill Collins Commissioner Bonny Askew Mr. Sammy Rich, City Manager Mr. Joe Smith, City Clerk Mr. Chris Jenkins, Public Works Director Mr. Justin Messer, Assistant Public Works Director Ms. Toni Rhinehart, Finance Director Mr. Art Newall, Planning Director Ms. Kathy Shealy, Transit Director Ms. Courtnay Griffin, Transit Assistant Director Capt. DeHart, Rome Police Department GUEST: Mr. Thomas Dugan, P.E., LeCraw Engineering, Inc. Mr. Jake Hager, South Rome Alliance CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Cochran called the meeting to order. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the previous meeting were approved by common consent. 200 Vaughn Road • PO Box 1433 • Rome, Georgia 30162‐1433 Phone: 706/236‐4466 • fax: 706/236‐4532 POLICE REPORTS Captain DeHart reported there has been a software issue that has delayed getting the reports up to date. He presented the May accident report. The total number of accidents has increased slightly. Injuries are down. There were no fatalities in May but six for the year all of which occurred in the first quarter. Total traffic cases are up slightly for the month and almost double for the year. The highest accident intersections were Turner McCall/Martha Berry with nine accidents and Turner McCall/Riverbend with seven. TRANSIT OPERATIONS Bus Update Ms. Shealy reported that the decision was made to put the Tripper buses for sale on Gov Deals but then the Federal Transit Administration was contacted by a Transit Agency in South Dakota interested in purchasing several buses, so we were asked to delay our sale. It would be preferable to sell several at one time to South Dakota, but after a long delay with no response from South Dakota, Ms. Shealy has requested permission to move forward and is waiting from word that the sale can proceed. She added that in the meantime, she proposed a budget revision for the purchase of some smaller buses so we could move forward with our Transit Development plan. GDOT explained that since they are in the process of reviewing FY22 contracts and are short staffed due to several personal changes, they don’t know when they can address the budget revision. Ms. Shealy reported the FY22 contract came in on July 1st of this year, and the City’s portion will be 10% instead of 100%. She noted that on this contract she has one 30‐ft Gillibus and four less than 30‐ft buses. She recommended proceeding with the purchase of the four smaller ones. These should take from 5 to 6 months to arrive, although there is a micro‐chip they are waiting for that could delay the delivery. She added that it would cost the City approximately $90,000 for the 30ft Gillibus and the four smaller buses. The Gillibus wouldn’t be delivered until next year. Commissioner Collins moved to have the City pay the 10% to finalize these purchases. Commissioner Askew seconded. The motion carried. OLD BUSINESS Mr. Jenkins reported the speed table has been purchased and is in Canada waiting on a driver. We hope it will be shipped next week. Mr. Jenkins reported the pressure washing on the North bound side of Broad Street has begun. The 400, 300 and 200 blocks are complete. The 100 block will be finished soon. Public Work Committee/Transit Committee/Traffic Commission Minutes, July 14, 2021 Page 2 of 5 Mr. Jenkins reported the RFP’s for the 5th Avenue bridge went out yesterday and will be proposals will be in on August 12th. The RFP for painting of signs, light poles, bollards and benches is in progress. Mr. Jenkins reported that Mr. Grant Waldrop of GDOT District Six will be here at our August meeting. NEW BUSINESS Pollock Street Development Request for Easement Mr. Thomas Dugan, P.E., of LeCraw Engineering, Inc, introduced himself and reported that his firm is designing a new development on Pollock Street. Mr. Jake Hagar, Executive Director of South Rome Alliance stated this will be an 84‐unit multi‐family complex of one to three bedrooms townhouses apartments built on the former Case Meat Packing plant property except for one section owned by the City that they will need an easement for to access the complex. He requested the City grant this easement. Commissioner Agnew moved to approve the request for an easement. Commissioner Collins seconded. The motion carried. Addington Drive Speeding Issue Mr. Jenkins reported he has received a speeding concern from Patrick Hopper of 42 Cross Creek Dr. Mr. Hopper’s property backs up to a sharp curve on Addington Drive where there have been from 10 to 15 accidents over the last 15 years where motorists have lost control in the curve and wrecked into his backyard. In 2013, Mr. Hopper requested a Stop sign in advance of the curve, which was denied since they cannot be placed in a curve and must be at an intersection. Since then, we have put up chevrons to alert drivers to the curve and we have scuffed up the pavement to give traction in the rain, which he appreciated. Mr. Jenkins noted that we would like to try a guardrail at this location noting there is a possibility that a guardrail could increase the likelihood of injuries if they should be hit. He noted that staff will continue to investigate this problem further but wanted to inform the Committee of the situation. Commissioner Agnew suggested the use of crash barrels so we could at least get an indication of how often these accidents occur. Cochran requested staff continue to investigate solutions for this issue and notify Mr. Hoper that we are working on a solution. Public Work Committee/Transit Committee/Traffic Commission Minutes, July 14, 2021 Page 3 of 5  Paving Update Mr. Jenkins reported we have begun paving. He noted that we normally can pave about five miles per year while we have 265 miles in the City limits. He noted the cost is about $100,000 per mile making that about $500,000 per year. We get funding from GDOT’s LMIG grant program. For 2021, the amount we receive went down to about $431,000 because part of this funding comes from the fuel excise tax, and because of COVID last year, those funds were reduced. We can start making the application for 2022 with our list of roads we want to pave now. Traditionally we pave about five miles per year but this year we are paving 15 miles using LMIG, SPLOST and local funds. The money is sent to us within 2 weeks of submitting the application. He noted that we are two roads behind from last year. We were unable to pave Horseleg Creek Road last year due to a Water Dept. project so we will be finishing that road up this year. Included in those 15 miles, there are 57 roads focusing on residential neighborhoods so we will see much improvement in our roads when paving is complete. Commissioner Cochran noted that since so much of our paving and patching is cut up by the Water Dept. they should contribute to our paving costs. We should make it a priority to keep our roads in good condition. Mr. Jenkins noted that the Water Dept. does pay us for the asphalt we use repairing water cut‐ins. MONTHLY REPORTS The monthly departmental reports were distributed for review. Commissioner Cochran noted the Street Department report showed work hours spent on the trails. He asked what is the responsibility of Public Works versus Parks and Recreation for the trails. Mr. Rich replied that when we renegotiated the agreement with the County, we took over trail maintenance, but he thinks we need to revisit it, because it makes more sense for them to maintain their trails. Mr. Jenkins added that Public Works has dedicated one employee check for trash and litter daily as well as water the flowers on Broad Street. He added that the Street Department also mows the embankments, while Parks and Recreation mows the flat areas. OTHER Commissioner Cochran asked about the poor quality of the Atlanta Gas light paving on Shorter Avenue. Mr. Jenkins noted that he corresponded with GDOT District Six Engineer, Grant Waldrop and GDOT Area Engineer, Ricky Boatner, who have replied that it would not meet their smoothness test for a newly paved road but does meet the smoothness test for a patch. In any case, Mr. Boatner has noted there is a major GDOT paving project scheduled to pave the whole road within the next two years, at which time it will be subject to the paving smoothness test. Mr. Jenkins noted that we will have Grant Waldrop at our next meeting and can discuss this Public Work Committee/Transit Committee/Traffic Commission Minutes, July 14, 2021 Page 4 of 5 issue with him Mr. Rich suggested we invite our GDOT board member to attend our August meeting as well. ADJOURN There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully Submitted, Margaret Hollingsworth Margaret W. Hollingsworth, Secretary Public Work Committee/Transit Committee/Traffic Commission Minutes, July 14, 2021 Page 5 of 5