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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-13-2009TO: Members of the Sebast' ity Council FROM: Al Minner, City Mana r RE: CURRENT TOPICS DATE: Friday, March 13, 2009 COLLIER CREEK The notice to proceed with construction was formally issued to S.E. Cline. Since Monday, March 9, 2009, the company has been "on the clock" and is required to complete the dredging and wall restoration within 365 days. S.E. Cline representatives have planned to start wail construction and dredging on Monday, March 16th. S.E. Cline will be starting both operations at the 512 end of the canal. They had originally planned to start dredging on the 512 end and wall construction north of the BarberAAlimbrow/Lake Street bridge; however, longer sheet sections (9' vs 8') were required and are not totally manufactured. As this plan firms up, the City will update the scheduling information on the web site and City Channel. This week, the City also finalized the last lot rental on 585 Barber Street which will be used for canal access. S.E. Cline now has six canal access points — 3 along the Wimbrow side and 3 along the Layport side. IRDiMAIN STREET PROJECT As of this writing the Indian River Drive/Main Street Project progresses nicely. The site is taking shape as H&D Construction has installed most of the new curb, underground stormwater mains and has moved ahead with removal of the old section of Indian River Drive. To date, the contractor estimates they are two weeks ahead of schedule. Next week H&D plans to begin pouring "stamped" concrete at the IRDIMain Street intersection. While official documentation has not been received by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Bruce Rutherford, FDEP Inspector, was at the construction site on March 121h. The FDEP inspection revealed that Best Management Practices (BMP) employed by the contractor has been effective and the project is being constructed in compliance with environmental regulations. This is important to note because Council has received public comment to the contrary. As soon as official documentation on this site visit is received, it will be forwarded to you immediately. PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES Gregori Construction has nearly met substantial completion on the pedestrian bridges. There were some slight modifications that needed to be made on the lighting, but those issues were worked out earlier this week. Lighting installation will be competed on the Barber Street (Joy Haven/Concha) and Periwinkle Bridges by March 20`h. One last issue concerns the attempt to solarize the Hardee Park Pedestrian Bridge. As construction proceeded, It was determined that the solar estimate was incorrect. This error was made because the solar batteries needed to maintain electric charge were under -estimated. To reduce this cost of $31,300, connection into the electric grid was required. To keep the project moving, the Hardee bridge lighting has been electrically connected conventionally. However, Council's direction to "go green" on this bridge has not been abandoned. Dave Fisher is working on a plan that will provide three options to keep moving toward "green solutions". Essentially the options are (1) stay conventional, which is cost neutral; (2) use the residual budget to set up an array of solar panels which would feed the grid and provide FPL rebates in the amount it will cost to operate the Hardee Bridge lights; and, (3) go completely green, which seems cost prohibitive. Our goal has been to finsih this project and as Dave Fisher completes a review of these altematives, Council direction will be sought. FLAGPOLE The CRA 512 Flagpole Project is moving forward. Design and permit specifications have been submitted to Indian River County. The process is now awaiting a maintenance agreement between the jurisdictions. An initial draft has been reviewed by George Glenn, Assistant County Attorney, and Bob Ginsburg. It is anticipated that the agreement will be on the March 25 Council agenda. FY 2010 BUDGET CALENDAR Last week, Council received a FY 2010 Budget memo. This memo contained strategies for balancing the FY 2010 Budget, while trying to avoid tax increases, RIFs and major reserve spending. This Legislative Session is filled with bills that propose additional modifications affecting the local jurisdictional ability to levy property taxes, as well as reserve spending. At the March 25th meeting, the FY 2010 budget calendar will be presented on consent agenda. At the request of the Mayor and based on the challenges ahead, it may be reasonable to schedule a few extra meetings with the Budget Advisory. Review Committee. These meetings would not require the full budget being prepared in advance, but rather to seek preliminary insight into some of the recommended 10 balancing strategies. DAMIEN GILLIAMS BOAT CLEAN-UP Based on the continued complaints by Damien Gilliams with regard to abandoned vessels, I visited Paradise Marina to see the complaint. While I had viewed this location in the past, I never noticed the gravity of the amount of boat debris that was washed ashore by the 2004 hurricanes, because the boats are hidden in a "cove" deep on shore. While the City removed several vessels along the Indian River Drive ROW, such as the Emerald Lady, these vessels were washed ashore in highly visible areas. Essentially, this debris has been "out of sight out of mind" from the general public. It is this situation that led to other boats being removed and not these. The cost for removal should be minor as the debris is out of the water. Jerry Converse will work out the details for access with Mr. Gilliams. It should also be noted that while Mr. Gilliams points to the CRA funding for removal of abandoned vessels, the City did allocate and spend funds on this task. Some of these costs were reduced with grant monies. in general, vessels or objects identified as navigational hazards out in the lagoon channel and in other highly traveled waterways were removed. '/4 INSTALLATION AND OTHER STORMWATER PROJECTS Sunshine Land Design Continues to move along with '/4—round installation. In FY 2010, there is a budget of $350,000. The target area is between Melrose to Clearmont (east to west) and Clearmont to Tulip (north to south). The company should have these areas complete by mid- Augustlearly-September. In other stormwater improvements, Council has authorized projects for the Potomac Crossing and George Street Ditch. Neel -Schaffer submitted permits and SJRWMD has requested additional information. The RAI responses will be resubmitted by early April and then SJRWMD has 30 days to Issue the permits. Once the permits are issued, construction bidding will commence; with construction contracts to come before Council. BARBER STREET STIMULUS FUNDING On Thursday, March 5th, the Florida Department of Transportation made a site visit to Barber Street. Present with FDOT was Phil Matson, IRC MPO Director, and me. The visit went well and FDOT will manage the project from start to finish if the City receives stimulus funding. At this time FDOT did not commit on approving the project. They did comment on completing specific improvements which included base repair, new surface and replacement of (4) stormwater crossings. in the City's project budget presented to FDOT there were other sidewalk and % round improvements. FDOT will not approve these items as it would force the Barber Street project over the $2,000,000 allocation approved by the MPO. If FDOT does approve and fund the project, Council may want to consider shifting funds to complete these improvements. FDOT did indicate that an official statement of stimulus funding should be issued by the end of March. At that time a better plan can be devised to forecast other improvements. ISBA To date, Bob Keating continues to work with a representatives from Grave Brothers on an idea to modify Sebastian's ISBA Exhibit "D". A draft of the exhibit is almost complete and i am hopeful to meet with the County on this issue shortly. The new land use ratios have increased residential development and reduced commercial and industrial land. This change is reasonable as the acreage ratios in the original Exhibit "D" over emphasized commercial and industrial. Once exhibit "D" is complete, I will provide it to Council for input. Finally when Fellsmere settles their issues with DCA and Exhibit "D" is accepted, the ISBA process should be able to move forward. DCA COMMENTS — COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND SHADY REST The City received the ORC report (Objections, Concerns, and Recommendations) from DCA regarding our Comprehensive Plan Amendment (text amendments and Shady Rest annexation). There were 8 objections from DCA. Seven are relative to the comprehensive plan text changes and are minor. Staff is working on those changes and it will be ready for Council consideration at one of the April meetings. Concerning the Shady Rest annexation, DCA had one substantive comment concerning data for infrastructure support. While DCA asked for more information to show that sufficient capacity exists to justify the annexation, staff believes DCA has not fully recognized that the area is already developed. Staff is working on a response and will be recommending that Council adopt the annexation, zoning and land use ordinances at the meeting on March 25 , conditioned upon DCA accepting our response. More information on this topic will be presented in your March 25t' agenda package. ENGINEERING RFQS On March 12th, the Engineering Department accepted 30 proposals for the Retained Professional Services RFQ. The Selection Committee, made of Dave Fisher, Jerry Converse, Ken Kilgore, Joe Griffin and I will meet next week to discuss ranking criteria. Upon formal interviews a recommendation will be made to Council for adoption of recognized retained firms. The current contracts with CDM; Neel -Schaffer; Schulke, Bittle and Stoddard; and, LPA Group expire June 2009. in addition to this RFQ, the Engineering Department also requested qualifications for designing Powerline Road North. This design would provide the City with a construction plan on extending Powerline Road from the northern portion of the Ashbury Subdivision to Sebastian Boulevard. Should Council accept the RFQ and award a design contract, there is $146,250 in escrow that can fund these costs. As always, if you have any question about these or any other projects, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.