Public Works Committee

TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING August 3, 2023 Page 1 CONVENE: 8:00 a.m. PRESENT: Chair Eileen Swarthout and Councilmember Charlie Schneider. Excused: Councilmember Michael Althauser. Staff: City Administrator Lisa Parks, City Attorney Karen Kirkpatrick, Transportation and Engineering Director Brandon Hicks, Finance Director Troy Niemeyer, Water Resources and Sustainability Director Dan Smith, Assistant Transportation and Engineering Director Mary Heather Ames, Communications Manager Ann Cook, Utilities Operations Manager Steve Craig, Sustainability Coordinator Alyssa Jones Wood, and Administrative Assistant Cathy Nielsen. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE, JULY 6, 2023: MOTION: Councilmember Schneider moved, seconded by Chair Swarthout, to approve the minutes of July 6, 2023 as published. A voice vote approved the motion unanimously. AGREEMENT WITH Manager Craig reported the request is for the committee’s recommendation CLEARCREEK to the City Council to approve Amendment #1 for the Palermo Lagoon CONTRACTORS FOR Dredging & Maintenance project. THE PALERMO LAGOON DREDGING The Palermo Lagoon is located at the end of M Street adjacent to the & MAINTENANCE Tumwater Municipal Golf Course. The lagoon removes contamination from PROJECT groundwater prior to entering the Deschutes River. The project scope AMENDMENT #1: included removing vegetation and accumulated sediments from the pond to restore it to its original design and operational ability. The project is funded by an agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation for up to $175,000. Dewatering of the root sediment was difficult and required additional time and resources. Additionally, the scope included importing sawdust material used to mix with material to stabilize waste for transport and disposal. Removing the sediment destabilized the saturated embankments of the pond resulting in some sloughing during the project. As sediment was removed from the lagoon embankment, sloughing increased resulting in the cessation sediment removal by approximately 50% of the original design to prevent further sloughing and to protect the integrity of the lagoon. Sufficient levels were restored enabling effective operation of the aeration pumps and treatment process. The pond is effectively operating as designed. TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING August 3, 2023 Page 2 Additionally, the south end of the lagoon was not accessible without affecting golf operations with no work on that end of the pond, which affected one of the three aeration pumps. Two of three aeration pumps are in service and operating. The changes in scope were because of additional efforts to dewater and stabilize the sediment for transport and disposal and importing material to stabilize the embankment areas compromised during the project. The original contract cost was $126,650. The amended contract cost increased by $21,702.80 for a total contract of $148,352.80 to complete restoration and operation of the lagoon. Manager Craig invited questions. Chair Swarthout asked whether the project was completed. Manager Craig explained that one additional task is pending. The pond includes a series of six monitoring systems used for monitoring the level of sediment. The systems are part of the mitigation project to monitor the operation and effectiveness of the pond. During the sloughing operation, one component of the system was affected. Staff is negotiating with the City’s contracted survey services to restore the component or replace the component at its original elevation. The work performed by Clearcreek was completed. Chair Swarthout inquired about the status of the third inoperable aeration pump. Manager Craig responded that the original design of the pond was based on two aeration pumps to treat groundwater effectively. The third pump was added as a redundant source for cycling and alternating needs. Today, the pond is operating as designed and is treating groundwater appropriately. Future maintenance will address the south section of the pond. Chair Swarthout asked about the frequency of removing sediment from the pond. Manager Craig explained that the project closeout identified future tasks for maintaining the pond. The maintenance project is the first since the pond was constructed. Over the years and through several flooding events on the golf course, sediment had accumulated and created the need for the project. Staff plans to schedule additional future maintenance and review access improvements to ensure the pond is restored to its operational capability. MOTION: Councilmember Schneider moved, seconded by Chair Swarthout, to recommend the City Council approve Amendment #1 for the Palermo Lagoon Dredging & Maintenance Project for $21,702.80. A voice vote unanimously approved the motion. TUMWATER Coordinator Jones Wood updated members on the status of the Climate CLIMATE WORK Mitigation Work Program for 2023 and 2024. TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING August 3, 2023 Page 3 PROGRAM DISCUSSION: The City Council accepted the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan in 2021. The plan includes greenhouse gas emission reduction goals of 45% by 2030 and 85% by 2050 based on 2015 baselines. Implementation of the strategies and actions in the plan can be implemented by one jurisdiction independently by all four jurisdictions together, or by one or more jurisdictions working together. A new template work program for each jurisdiction was developed to communicate to the public all measures each jurisdiction is undertaking. Each jurisdiction plans to release the same template work program in the next several days outlining the work to be completed during specific timeframes. The work program outlines approximately $24 million in investments by the City of Tumwater between 2023 and 2024. Each City project manager assigned an action or a project aligning with the plan will be included within the implementation actions. While the impetus of some projects might not have involved the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan, some components of some projects may benefit the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan. Of the $24 million, $7.8 million is from awarded grants and nearly $558,000 is pending a decision from funding agency. Most of the funding invested in the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan implementation is from transportation and land use. One of the strategies in the Plan is increasing the efficiency of the transportation system with roundabouts identified as a strategy, as well as improving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. The City’s $12 million I- 5/Capitol Boulevard/Trosper Improvement project achieves those specific strategies. Coordinator Jones Wood outlined some of the activities planned over the next 18 months. Some of the energy strategies in the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan include reducing energy use in existing residential buildings, in new construction or redevelopment, and converting to cleaner fuel sources. Some activities in 2023 and 2024 include submitting for the City’s Sole Source Smart designation, a national program that is designed to reduce the solar soft costs for installing residential solar, adopting the new state building code requiring heat pumps in new construction, and continuing the LED lighting upgrades in City facilities. Transportation and land use strategies include increasing urban density, increasing the efficiency of the transportation system, increasing the adoption of electric vehicles, and increasing the mode share for lower carbon forms of transportation, such as walking, biking, and transit. Projects scheduled in 2023 and 2024 include the Linwood Avenue Sidewalk project, trail improvements near the Palermo Wellfield, completion of an in-house fleet electrification plan, energy code adoption requiring EV charging, EV ready, and EV capable in new development, and other projects pending grant TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING August 3, 2023 Page 4 funding, such as an off-grid solar powered EV chargers at Pioneer Park. Water and waste strategies include increasing the efficiency of water and wastewater infrastructure, reducing water consumption, diverting solid waste from landfills, and reducing consumption of carbon intensive goods and services. Water and waste projects in 2023 and 2024 include the investment grade audit of City facilities to include a water audit, composting at City events whenever feasible, composting at City facilities, and continued implementation of the compost procurement ordinance adopted by the Council in January 2023. Agriculture, forest, and prairie strategies include reducing emissions from agricultural practices, supporting agricultural practices that sequester carbon, preserving tree canopy, and managing forests and prairies to sequester carbon. During 2023 and 2024 efforts include updating three sections in the code pertaining to trees, completing an inventory of all trees on City property, development of a maintenance plan and budget, and continuing work on the Habitat Conservation Plan and program. Crosscutting strategies in the Plan involving many sectors are mostly focused on advocacy with the public and the Legislature. Work in 2023 and 2024 includes completion of the City’s Sustainability webpage, improve and increase information available to the public on different sustainability topics, internships, guest lectures, and pursuing the City’s legislative agenda. Coordinator Jones Wood invited questions. Councilmember Schneider commented on recent legislation pertaining to wildfire buffer zones. He questioned how the new law would affect the strategies. Coordinator Jones Wood said the new law will have some impact. The Community Development Department was tasked with reviewing the new legislation and how it might affect the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan and the City’s progress to date on revising urban forestry codes. Councilmember Schneider asked whether the two-year grace period for not charging the public for EV charging would be available for the public at Pioneer Park as well. Coordinator Jones Wood advised that the City is offering free EV service at City Hall until the end of 2026. If the EV charging stations at Pioneer Park are funded by a grant, the City has committed to providing the EV stations to the public at no charge. The EV stations will be off-grid and solar-powered to reduce electricity usage. Chair Swarthout commented on the challenges of encouraging the public to compost during City events. She asked about reducing the recycling options to composting and regular waste. Coordinator Jones Wood replied that the City is recruiting for volunteers for the Tumwater Brewfest. To date, two TUMWATER PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING August 3, 2023 Page 5 volunteers have signed up to serve as compost and recycling attendants during Brewfest. The intent is to offer three designated locations. OTHER BUSINESS: Chair Swarthout inquired about the status of the Trosper Road freeway off- ramp. Director Hicks said the northbound on-ramp opening was delayed and did not reopen at the same time as the off-ramp. The Trosper Road off-ramp is now open. The contractor was able to complete the work earlier than scheduled. Additionally, the City is completing the pavement maintenance project throughout the City. The project along Israel Road is under construction, and staff continues to work on the design of the new Operations and Maintenance Facility as well as for the Southeast Reservoir project. The department is very busy working on the capital program. 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