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Jim Hammons City Administrator Report: Streets, Parks & Cemetery July 6, 2010
Flower Creek Dam On Tuesday, June 22nd, meeting with Brian Williams of NTL Geotechnical Services from Great Falls and Mike Kennedy of CRUX Subsurface Inc. They looked over Flower Creek Dam to give the city an estimate of what it will take, and how much it will cost, to do the core sampling of the dam. One issue is that the road is steep and starting to get grown over, the city crew will rebuild the road for equipment to have access to the dam. A contractor will have to set up rigging in order to drill into the face of the dam. The DNRC has requested coring from places where the dam was poured in “Liefs”. This is where the dam is seeping the most water. The core will be 6” in diameter and 1 ½ ft to 2 ft long depending on the location. Once the cores are out they will take a camera to the holes and look for any problems and fill them with grout. They will get back to the city within a couple of weeks with an estimated cost. Cabinet Heights Edstrom Construction has completed the placement of the 8” gravity sewer pipe and most of the acceptance testing of the sewer line and manholes has been completed. This remaining acceptance testing will not interfere with the chip-seal pavement which is beginning July 1, 2010. The Contractor is focusing on all the preparation work required for the completion of this chip-seal pavement which should be mostly completed by the second week of July. This will be followed by the final acceptance testing of the sewer lines and manholes and then the Contractor will be moving onto the hookup of the individual home sewer service connections, completion of the grinder pumps and the lift station near the Golf Course Club House. At this point the sewer system will be considered in beneficial use to the City of Libby but not yet completed. As noted below the to-do list for this project is still the same as last month but should come together rapidly this month if the Contractor remains on task and at the proper manpower level. Edstrom Construction’s task to complete for this Project: · Completion and acceptance testing of the sewer lines and manholes · Complete the road restoration and preparation of the road for the double shot chip seal · Spray the prime coat MC-70 oil on the road surfaces and blot with sand, then let it cure out for approximately 24 hours depending upon the ambient temperature · Complete the chip seal pavement · Installation, electrical and completion of the Grinder Pumps along with their small diameter force main pipes · Installation, electrical and completion of the Lift Station and Standby Generator · Hook up of the sewer service lines to the houses · Abandon the septic tanks · Landscape surface restoration · Placement of erosion control bark Department Information Now that the weather has changed, city street crews have been busy. There are a lot of small patching jobs and a few that are approximately ½ a block. One that we are looking at that is quite bad is at the intersection of 6th Street and Main Ave. by the post office and library. This is a high traffic area and would be a small logistical challenge to route traffic around the area. There is a ½ block section on 4th Street between Nevada Ave. and Idaho Ave. that we have excavated and are now prepping for paving. This section has been a trouble spot and had a very poor sub-grade under the pavement. Water Distribution finished up the hydrant flush and now they are busy chasing down water leaks. So far, we have had three breaks in the main surface and there have also been a few service lines broken. They have also been busy replacing non-working meters. They have discovered some clever ways and devices customers are using for getting non-metered water. The Water Treatment Plant has had a few minor electrical problems that have been keeping the operators busy running some of the valves manually. New parts were ordered and repairs made. Things are running smoother although they still have some issues to work out. Waste Water is moving forward with their improvements. They had a meeting last Thursday to discuss the progress. Thomas Street APEC Engineer Aaron McConkey, Pat Greer from Noble Excavation, Corky Pape and I inspected the work on Thomas Street. Noble brought us a final cost of $40, 717.50. We held out 5% (total allowed by state law) until the City is satisfied that the project is completed to the specifications of the contract. Noble has a lot of costs that they feel are to be paid to them, either for work completed or parts purchased that were not in the contract. This list comes to a total of $6647.05. I have gone over the list and feel the City should not pay the total amount. There are some items and parts that should be negotiated, but most are in the contract. As for any “punch list” item to be completed by the Contractor, there is an issue with a section of Thomas Street that has to be put back to a surface that the City feels is acceptable, right now, it is not. Noble is going to do some improvements on Thomas Street. Hopefully they will be finished soon and it will be up to the City’s standards. Draft - RFQ Draft RFQ for the City pertaining to the water system and Flower Creek Dam is ready for the City Council to review. Once we have it finalized by the City Council we should move forward with the process of finding an engineering firm to work with us on the requirements for the DNRC for Flower Creek Dam.
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Frequently Asked Questions By Residents |
| Q. When Are you going to fix my street? A. Unfortunately the City has neither the money, manpower nor the equipment to repair everyone's street as nice as they would like it to be. We try to do as much every year as weather, time and money will allow. Priorities are determined by traffic load, condition of road base and condition of surface. It is our goal to chip seal each street we pave or blade patch and seal coat patches that have been done where the street has been excavated. |
Q. Who do I contact for street repair? |
A. The contact persons for street repairs are Corky Pape, Street Shop at 293-2776, Jim Hammons City Administrator at 293-2731 ext.#4, or Barb Desch, City Council street committee chairperson at 293-1863. |
| Q. How often are the streets swept? |
A. We can't sweep the streets when the temperatures are freezing because the operation requires water as well. But, we do start sweeping as soon as weather permits and sweep the entire city limits. Once the whole town has been completed, we try to sweep and wash the downtown areas and highways within the city limits on a weekly basis. Residential areas are swept on an as needed basis depending on conditions and all areas are swept as late in the fall as possible to gather leaves and debris that could clog the storm drains. During the summer months the city tries to wash and sweep every other Friday and before any special event such as parades. |
Q. Do I have to contact the city if I want to remove or plant a tree on the parking strip? |
A. Yes, you need to contact the city for for removal and for planting a tree on city right a way. The proposal is reviewed by the tree board and a recommendation is brought to the city council for approval. |
Q. I see a street light out, who do I call? |
A. Please call City Hall, ask for either the City Administrator Jim Hammons at 293-2731 ext.#4 or the City Clerk Glena Hook at 293-2731 ext.#2. Please give us the location and we will send someone out to fix it. |
Q. Whose responsibility is it for side walk repairs in front of my residence? |
A. By city ordinance it is the property owners responsibility to maintain and repair sidewalks in front of their residence. |
| Q. Is there an ordinance on weeds and mowing of lawns? |
| A. The city has a high grass ordinance that is in effect from the 15th of April through September 30th. |
Q. What are the rules concerning street parking in the winter? |
A. Ordinance No 1550, chapter 10.88 reads as
follows:
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Q. How much does it have to snow before the streets are plowed? |
A. 4" or more is a very general guideline. Snow depths actually do vary quite a lot from one side of town to the other. Weather conditions play a large role. If it is still snowing hard and expected to stop soon, crews will try to hold off until it stops so all the snowfall can be removed at once. At times during the season, it becomes necessary to widen the streets if the berms start to narrow the widths. It is also necessary to remove slush accumulations after a rain or thaw as needed. This makes it impossible for citizens to know when plowing will or won't occur so the ordinance needs to be followed even if new snow has not fallen. If a snowfall occurs during a weekend or holiday, the plowing may be delayed to avoid employee overtime pay, which over an entire season can severely stress City budgets. |
| Q. Why can't the City use sand on the streets in the winter? |
A. The rock material that is required by the air quality authorities for use on streets in the winter is very expensive to have processed. It requires a crushing or screening operation to remove all the "fines" and leave just a clean rock. To cover the areas we have designated as top priorities for application, many tons of this material would have to be processed. It just isn't affordable. |
Q. What is that liquid de-icer made of? |
A. The de-icer the city uses is mainly magnesium chloride with a corrosion inhibitor added, HOWEVER, it is still quite corrosive to metal and vehicles and equipment should be washed regularly when in contact with it. |
Q. What areas of town is the de-icer used? |
A. All street and avenue intersections which are controlled by stop signs or lights, the normal bus route, business district and school cross walks, the avenues and streets that go up the south Libby hill off of Cedar street, ambulance and fire stations and some specific problem areas we are aware of. |
Parks Q. When does Firemen's Park open? |
A. The playground and small restroom facility is usually the first to open. Usually around April 1st. The campground side generally opens about the first of May. Weather is a main factor with both of these openings due to water freezing and so forth. The availability of the camp host also determines when the campground opens. |
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