Public Works / Traffic / Transit Committee

Chris Jenkins, Director Justin Messer, Assistant Director PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION , , Cemetery Department Jody Gonzales, 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 December 13, 2023 10:00 AM. Sam King Room - 601 Broad Street PRESENT: Commissioner Beeman Commissioner Stevenson Mr. Sammy Rich, City Manager Ms. Meredith Ulmer, Assistant City Manager Mr. Chris Jenkins, Public Works Director Ms. Toni Rhinehart, Finance Director Mr. Aaron Carroll, Engineering Department Director Mr. Felipe Arevalo, Design Engineer Ms. Courtnay Williams, Transit Director Major Chris Dehart, Rome Police Department Capt. Danny Story, Rome Police Department Mr. Doug Walker, Public Information Officer Ms. Jenny Morales, Public Works Operations Coordinator GUESTS: Mr. Thomas E. Goodwin, 34 Forest Meadow, Rome, GA CALL TO ORDER REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the September meeting were approved by common consent. POLICE REPORTS Captain Story presented the November accident report. He noted there were 247 accidents for the month, up from 186 at this time last year. Year-to-date, accidents were down slightly from 200 Vaughn Road • PO Box 1433 • Rome, Georgia 30162-1433 Phone: 706/236-4466 • fax: 706/236-4532 2,070 last year to 2043 accidents. Total number of injuries were up for the month and year at 84 for the month and 654 for the year as compared to forty-one last November and 585 for the year. There were four fatalities for the month over one at this time last November and there were 9 year-to-date over 7 year-to-date last year at this time. DUI arrests were up from 15 last November to 20 this year and 264 year-to-date, up from 179 last year. There were no DUI arrests under 21 year-to-date. Following too Closely remains the primary cause of accidents. The top three highest accident intersections were Turner McCall Blvd/Hicks/Riverbend with eight accidents, Redmond Circle/Shorter Ave with seven accidents, and Turner McCall/Martha Berry Hwy with six. TRANSIT OPERATIONS Transit Updates Ms. Griffin reported they are working to finish the year. The new Grant Manger that was hired a month or so ago, is helping us to catch up. She noted she returned from GTA last week where RTD won a superior performance award for all the positive changes we have made in the last year including rebranding our new buses and increasing ridership. Financial Report Ms. Rhinehart presented the 2024 budget. She noted we are working to get operating reimbursement caught up before our GDOT representative leaves at the end of the year. She noted we are still doing free Main Line service, and Paratransit revenue is up with DHR reimbursements rising from $6.50 to $18.50 per rider over the last two years. This has significantly increased the revenue coming in for Paratransit. On the Public Works Division budget, she noted that most items are within 3 to 7% increases. The Street Dept had the most significant increase because they have increased staff to cover all the new responsibilities they have taken on with trails and the Town Green. Ms. Rhinehart noted the larges capital expense is a new milling machine for the Street Dept. Mr. Jenkins noted the milling machine we have budgeted for the Street Dept. will replace a 2009 model that mills a 4 ft section. Since our lanes are 12ft wide, it has been necessary to make three passes on each section to cover the full width. He noted the proposed machine mills a 6 ft section which would allow us to make two passes rather than the four passes required with the smaller machine. He added that we looked not the cost of contract the work out and it would be about $200,000 per year. Within four years we would have paid for the new machine. Ms. Rhinehart noted there is some restructuring in the Cemetery Department but other than that it is fairly consistent. The Solid Waste Collections Department has had an increase in staff so there is also an increase in personal services and health insurances. She added some of the 2023 requests have been rolled over to 2024, because of the difficulty in procuring capital equipment. She noted there is a rear loader for 2024. Public Work Committee/Transit Committee/Traffic Commission Minutes December 13, 2023 Page 2 of 5 OLD BUSINESS Recommendation to award Bid for Mt. Berry Multi-use trail Phase 3 Mr. Carroll reported bids for Mt. Berry Multi-use trail Phase 3 were opened on November 7th and had two bidders, S.H. Creel, and Cornerstone. The bids were extremely close together. S.H. Creel bid $1,064,168.13, and Cornerstone was the lowest bidder at $1,061,157 million. He recommended awarding the bid to Cornerstone. Commissioner Stevenson moved to award the bid to Cornerstone for $1,061,157. Commissioner Beeman seconded. The motion carried. NEW BUSINESS Petition Regarding Speeding Concerns on Horseleg Creek Rd Mr. Jenkins reported we received a petition from Mr. Goodwin regarding speeding issues on Horseleg Creek Rd. He invited Mr. Goodwin to address the Commission. Mr. Goodwin described the excessive speeding that has been experienced by residents in his neighborhood. He created a petition and visited his neighbors to get their endorsement. He said that all but one man has signed. He has investigated several options that are not viable such as speed cameras and speed tables and asked that the City endeavor to find some solution that will alleviate the excessive speeding. Mr. Jenkins noted that GDOT has classified Horseleg as a major collector with 2200 cars in an average day. Speed humps are only allowed in areas where the speed limit is 25 mph or lower. Mr. Jenkins reported he consulted the Fire Chief who expressed concerns about emergency vehicle response time if speed humps were installed. He added that there is a substantial amount of speeding. The City portion of Horseleg Creek Rd. is about 2.8 miles long with a posted speed of thirty-five mph. He noted the area Mr. Goodwin is talking about is in the vicinity of Whippoorwill Lane and Featherston Rd. Staff performed a speed study from November 13th to November 29th. Results showed that and found that 64% of motorists travel over forty-five mph. Major Dehart noted the difficulty in enforcement in this area is the lack of a shoulder for police cars to park so the only tools they have are the two motorcycles. Captain Story added he has received permission to sit on the Seville’s property, but they found that motorists also tend to flash each other in warning of an officer’s presence so only two were caught. He found that the residents are the ones that are speeding. Mr. Rich added the more time RPD can devote to this are the better. Mr. Goodwin stated he knew of several neighbors that would allow officers to use park on their property to enforce the speed. Public Work Committee/Transit Committee/Traffic Commission Minutes December 13, 2023 Page 3 of 5  Mr. Jenkins stated it would be beneficial to hire a third party to look at the speeds, the road width and design as well as other factors to determine what the speed limit should be. The Committee took no action. Request from NW GA Housing Authority to Close an Alley or Portion of an Alley Parallel to Maple St. between E14th Street and E 12th St. Mr. Carroll reported NW GA Housing Authority is planning a project for an early learning center on Maple St between 14th Street and 12th Street. They have already done much of the surveying work. He presented an overview of the layout of the project, noting there is a topography change at the rear of the project, which will require a lot of retaining walls and some grading. By closing the alley at the back of the property they could reduce the retaining walls needed and increase the grading. He recommended closing the entire alley as part of it already belongs to the City and the Housing Authority already owns part. He requested closing either a portion or all the alley contingent upon getting the proper signatures. Commissioner Beeman stated that although the Housing Authority employs her, she does not have any personal gain or involvement with this project. She added that she knows the early learning center is a necessity. The request was approved by common consent. Request to Close a Portion of Morningside Drive Mr. Messer presented a request from Steve Crook of 407 South Broad Street to close an unopened and unmaintained section of Morningside Drive. He requests to close the 30’ by 63’ section adjoining the back of his parcel. The only adjacent property owner is the City of Rome. He is requesting the closure to allow for more space for his vehicles. The request was approved by common consent. Request to Close a Portion of an Alley between E14th Str. And Archer St. Mr. Carroll reported we had a request from Robert E. Barclift, PE, who plans a townhouse development eventually. He noted the portion of the alley that abuts his property is landlocked as the rest of the alley has already bene closed. There are no utilities in the area. The request was approved by common consent. Request for Yellow Curb at 201 E. 13th Street Mr. Jenkins reported a request for yellow curb at 201 E. 13th Street by the new property manager of the apartments located at this address. In order to clean up the area, he decided to put in a dumpster instead of having all the carts out in front of the property. He built a dumpster pad and placed the dumpster adjacent to the apartments. His issue Public Work Committee/Transit Committee/Traffic Commission Minutes December 13, 2023 Page 4 of 5  is that when cars park in front of the dumpster, it is impossible to service it. He recommended the request be a The request was approved by common consent. Request for Guardrail on Horseleg Creek Rd Mr. Jenkins reported that several people have requested guardrail on Horseleg Creek Rd bordering the Seville property just up from Featherston Rd. Over the years there have been two or three accidents that occurred where motorists left the road and broke down a section of fence. Commissioner Collins forwarded a request from Keith Winslett to consider putting a guardrail at this location. The issue is the steep slope at the side of the road. We would have to widen the road 25ft on each side in order to place the guardrail, which would require purchasing additional right of way unless the property owner donated the land. Mr. Jenkins said he approached an Engineering firm to do a design and survey for this project, which was quoted at $32,300. The estimate for completing the project would be from $300,00 to $500,000. He noted that this came up in 2015 and it was determined at that time they placed some PVC pipe there to be a visual aid for motorists. Mr. Jenkins felt the cost was not warranted with so few accidents. No action was taken. Solid Waste Collection Fee Increase Mr. Jenkins reported that the last time we increase the Solid Waste Collection fees was in 2018. To help with rising costs, we are proposing a 3.33% increase in fees across the board. He reviewed the resolution with the Committee, and recommended it be approved. Commissioner Beeman moved to approve the proposed Solid Waste Collection fee increases. Commissioner Stevenson second. The motion carried. MONTHLY REPORTS The monthly reports were distributed for review. 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 December 13, 2023 Page 5 of 5