Public Works Committee

TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING May 18, 2023 Page 1 CONVENE: 8:00 a.m. PRESENT: Chair Eileen Swarthout and Councilmembers Michael Althauser and Charlie Schneider. Staff: Transportation and Engineering Director Brandon Hicks, Finance Director Troy Niemeyer, Transportation Manager Mary Heather Ames, Sustainability Coordinator Alyssa Jones Wood, and Administrative Assistant Bonnie Hale. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE, APRIL 6, 2023 & APRIL 20, 2023: MOTION: Councilmember Schneider moved, seconded by Councilmember Althauser, to approve the minutes of April 6, 2023, and April 20, 2023, as published. A voice vote approved the motion unanimously. RESOLUTION NO. Manager Ames reported the City’s Six-Year Transportation Improvement R2023-008 SIX-YEAR Program (TIP) for 2024 – 2029 serves as the foundation for transportation TRANSPORTATION funding within the state. Each city prepares a TIP for submittal to the local IMPROVEMENT planning organization. For Thurston County, Thurston Regional Planning PROGRAM: Council (TRPC) serves as the region’s local planning organization. The TRPC submits local TIPs to the state to form the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The City’s TIP is an intentional comprehensive list of transportation projects. Updates to the TIP are in three main categories of removals, modifications, and additions. The Tumwater Town Center Connector Road project has been removed, as the location has changed. Projects in progress have had funding amounts adjusted accordingly. A new project, Trosper Road, Littlerock Road to I-5 has been added. The Trosper Road, Littlerock Road to I-5 is a new project that includes planning and preliminary engineering to address capacity and safety issues in the area. Other projects included on the list include the I-5, Trosper Road, Capitol Boulevard Reconfiguration project and the E Street Connection project. Funding has not been secured for the E Street Connection project; however, including the project on the TIP affords an opportunity for staff to seek grant funding. The City is continuing the Pavement Maintenance Program, which is funded primarily by the Transportation Benefit District. The substantial project improves quality of life for users of the City’s transportation network. TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING May 18, 2023 Page 2 The Fish Passage Barrier project was added to the current 2023-2028 TIP during an amendment process earlier in the year and has been carried forward into the next year’s TIP because construction is scheduled in 2024. This year the TIP totals $30 million in planning grant funding with over $50 million in local funds for a total of approximately $90 million. The TIP is not financially constrained and projects are included to enable the City to apply for funding. Manager Ames shared a map of all project sites. Manager Ames invited questions and feedback on the proposed TIP. Staff scheduled a public hearing at the City Council meeting on June 6, 2023, to receive public testimony on Resolution No. R2023-008 Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program. Councilmember Schneider asked about the status of the roadwork project along Tumwater Valley Drive. Director Hicks advised that the signal work has been completed along with realignment of the road to provide access to the Craft District complex to enable the opening of the Market Building. The developer is not improving the roadway from its access point to the remaining portion of Tumwater Valley Drive until more tenants can be secured within the Craft District. The connection to the golf course remains the same. The signal will become operational soon; however the route will not serve as a complete thoroughfare at this time. Chair Swarthout asked about the status of the projects that have advanced to design. Manager Ames said the designated column indicates funding included within the TIP; however, it is not intended to reflect the status of the project. If funding is secured, projects will advance through the different phases. Each year, the TIP is updated to remove and add projects. The addition of the barrier removal project required an amendment to the current TIP. INVESTMENT Coordinator Jones Wood updated the committee on the Investment Grade GRADE AUDIT Audit project. PROPOSAL DISCUSSION: Recent sustainability project updates include completion of LED lighting at the Tumwater Library removing 900 fluorescent ballasts and replacing with LED bulbs at a cost of $65,508.38. The projected first year savings is $5,500 with a payback of 8 to 9 years. The project was completed in December 2022. Installation of two ground mounted solar arrays was recently completed at two water resources and sustainability infrastructure locations totaling 3.8 kilowatts of solar power. The solar panels installed at the Crites Street Water Fill Station and at the Sapp Road Pressure Reducing Valve Station are able to generate enough electricity to cover regular usage of the facilities. The cost of the project was $50,012.50. Work began in October 2022 and completed in late April 2023. TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING May 18, 2023 Page 3 The electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at City Hall were installed by Home Street Electric. The charging stations are level 2 charging ports. The installation expanded the panel electrical capacity to enable the addition of future chargers. The project was recently completed and opened to the public earlier this week, with a total cost of $63,378.49. The project was funded from the general fund. Staff is applying for grants for additional EV chargers. Because of the City’s location to many other fast EV chargers throughout the region, the City is often not able to secure federal grants. Staff continues to seek grant opportunities for level 2 community chargers or identify fast charger locations that meet the scope of the different funding sources. Councilmember Schneider asked whether the public is charged for using the EV stations. Coordinator Jones Wood advised that the City is piloting the project at no cost to the public until 2027, when staff will review data and the cost to the City. The Finance Director produced a document reviewed by the City Attorney, which determined the cost was minimal to the City equating to approximately $1500 or less. Providing free charging is an important step to ensure electric vehicle access is available to all income levels. The Investment Grade Audit is an inventory of all City facilities to identify efficiency improvements to meet the City’s cost-effectiveness goals. The overall scope supports two actions in the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan for water audits and municipal energy efficiency. The audit is one of the implementation actions within the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan. In July 2022, the committee reviewed an interagency agreement with the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) to complete the energy audit process. Since then, three site visits were completed by DES and the contractor, McDonald-Miller, an energy services company. The City worked with DES staff to determine cost effectiveness criteria for the project. The work should result in a 2% decrease of electricity consumption each year or a 20% decrease from 2019 levels by 2030, a 3% decrease each year in potable water consumption or a 33% decrease from 2019 levels by 2030, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 45% by 2030 for City facilities. The work falls within the estimated funding availability. The contractor has proposed the Investment Grade Audit based on the site visits. Prior to proposing the audit, the contractor created a list of energy efficiency measures and anticipates the City meeting the cost-effectiveness criteria. Staff reviewed the list and provided some recommendations on changes based on operational knowledge. Since March 2023, the contractor has benchmarked City buildings using the Energy Star Portfolio Manager program. Currently, City Hall is the only City building that is required to meet the Clean Building Performance Standards. Some potential energy efficiency measures include lighting and control upgrades, small building analytics for heating and cooling spaces efficiently, TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING May 18, 2023 Page 4 replacing water heaters with heat pump water heaters, door controls for bay heaters in the public works building to ensure heaters are not operational when doors are open, converting Heating, Ventilation and Air Condition (HVAC) systems near end of life to electrical alternatives, as well as indoor and outdoor low flow water fixtures. Next steps include authorizing McDonald-Miller to move forward with the Investment Grade Audit. After completion, the contractor will provide the City with an Energy Services Proposal of cost effective projects meeting the City’s definition of cost effectiveness. At that point, the City determines whether to move forward. If the City elects not to move forward, the City is responsible for the payment of the Investment Grade Audit. If the City elects to move forward, the interagency agreement would be amended authorizing the construction of the improvements. The cost of the investment grade audit is rolled into construction costs. The DES will assist in managing the construction projects and the program in general. Construction has a guaranteed maximum cost and a guarantee to meet the cost effectiveness criteria. Once the construction projects are completed, the next step is the measurement and verification stage to ensure guarantees are achieved. The update is a briefing only with no action requested by the committee at this time. Councilmember Althauser asked about the approximate cost of the audit should the City elect not to complete the improvements. Coordinator Jones Wood advised that the cost of the audit is $42,863. The audit will provide an inventory of all energy infrastructure and energy consumption. Councilmember Althauser asked whether other jurisdictions are pursuing a similar process. Coordinator Jones Wood advised that many other jurisdictions have undertaken similar projects. The City completed a 2013 project that is currently in the measurement and verification process. The City of Olympia has completed a similar audit for its infrastructure and buildings. During the site visits to City infrastructure locations, the contractor advised that the City of Tumwater has achieved energy efficiency in water and sewer infrastructure. In 2013, the City worked on HVAC systems. ADJOURNMENT: With there being no further business, Chair Swarthout adjourned the meeting at 8:24 a.m. Prepared by Valerie L. Gow, Recording Secretary/President Puget Sound Meeting Services, psmsoly@earthlink.net