MINUTES
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
CITY OF REDWOOD FALLS, MINNESOTA
TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a regular meeting of the Redwood Falls City Council was called to order in the Municipal Chambers on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, at 5:00 p.m.
Roll call indicated Mayor Tom Quackenbush and Council Members Jim Sandgren, John T. Buckley, Matt Smith, Larry Arentson, and Denise Kerkhoff were present constituting a quorum.
Also present were City Administrator Keith Muetzel, City Attorney Trenton Dammann, Public Works Project Coordinator Jim Doering, and Council Secretary Caitlin Kodet. Director of Finance & Administrative Services Melissa Meyer was present via electronic means.
A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Kerkhoff to approve the agenda. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Buckley and seconded by Council Member Sandgren to approve the February 16, 2021, minutes as presented. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Arentson and seconded by Council Member ¬¬Smith to approve the following items on the Consent Agenda.
1. Approve 2020 Fixed Asset Disposal List
2. Declare 1996 Van as Surplus Property
Motion passed by unanimous vote.
Parks & Rec Director Ross Nachreiner was present to introduce the 2021 Joint City-School Projects request.
Mr. Nachreiner stated the Community Center Board met on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, to review a list of project requests. The Board recommends approval of the 2021 Joint City-School Projects as presented and requests to disperse the 2021 Joint City-School funds to the Independent School District #2897.
Mr. Nachreiner stated the money that is not spent each year will carry over to the next year allowing for larger purchases to align with the Community Center Board’s Capital Improvement Plan. The School District holds the funds and is responsible for the purchases.
A motion was made by Council Member Buckley and seconded by Council Member Kerkhoff to approve the Community Center Board’s project requests and purchases as presented. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Sandgren to approve the disbursement of the 2021 Joint City-School Funds in the amount of $10,000 to ISD #2897. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Arentson and seconded by Council Member Smith to approve the Community Center Board’s request to declare surplus and authorize the trade of the presented equipment and authorize the sale of an AMT machine. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
Public Utilities Superintendent Chuck Heins was present to introduce Resolution No. 13 of 2021 – Authorization to Execute Purchase of 15 KV Primary Power Cable and Padmounted Switchgear from Irby Utilities.
Mr. Heins stated at the January 19, 2021 Council meeting Council authorized the advertisement for bids on 15 KV power cable and padmounted switchgear for the new underground circuit to feed from the west substation to the main power plant. This will replace the overhead line, which traverses the valley and crosses the Redwood River with no real means of accessibility. On Thursday, February 18, 2021, two bids were received and opened. Irby Utilities was the apparent low bidder at $360,896.00, the other bidder was WESCO. Copies of the two bids were sent to DGR Engineering for their review and recommendation.
A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Buckley to waive the reading of Resolution No. 13 of 2021 – Authorization to Execute Purchase of 15 KV Primary Power Cable and Padmounted Switchgear from Irby Utilities in the amount of $360,896.00. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Kerkhoff and seconded by Council Member Arentson to approve Resolution No. 13 of 2021 – Authorization to Execute Purchase of 15 KV Primary Power Cable and Padmounted Switchgear from Irby Utilities in the amount of $360,896.00. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
Public Utilities Superintendent Heins introduced the Authorization to Solicit Bids for Electric Distribution System Improvements.
Mr. Heins stated staff is interested in seeking bids for the installation of power cable from the existing west substation proceeding east along the Highway 19 right-of-way to the sewer bridge which crosses the Redwood River and continues on to the entrance road of the power plant to an existing man hole. The existing man hole was installed during a previous project. This will allow for better reliability during storms and winter weather, by having these main line circuits underground. This project is part of the long range plan to get most of the City’s main feeder system underground.
Mr. Heins stated the bids will be publicly open and read at 1:15 pm on March 25, 2021. DGR will review the bids for accuracy. The project award will be brought to Council on April 6, 2021. This project was in the 2021 Capital Outlay – Enterprise Fund section of the budget. The budgeted dollars will come from what was listed as Hospital Project. Most of the Hospital Project was completed in 2020 and staff will use money set aside to finish this project.
A motion was made by Council Member Kerkhoff and seconded by Council Member Buckley to approve the Authorization to Solicit Bids for Electric Distribution System Improvements. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
Public Works Project Coordinator Doering introduced Resolution No. 14 of 2021 – Authorization to Execute Task Order No. 2021-4 for Engineering and Planning Services for the 2021 ADA Transition Plan.
Mr. Doering stated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires all local government units that receive federal transportation funding to perform a Self-Evaluation of the City’s policies, practices, and programs to identify ADA deficiencies. Local government units are also required to complete an ADA Transition Plan that documents those findings and provides a plan and schedule for bringing pedestrian facilities
into ADA compliance. With the requirement, MnDOT has set a mandate to complete these Transition Plans by the end of 2021. In addition to the scheduling deadline, future Municipal State Aid System (MSAS) and federal transportation funding will be contingent on having the plan in place.
Mr. Doering stated staff recommends approval of Resolution No. 14 of 2021 and Task Order 2021-4 in the amount of $47,987.00. Due to the direct impact of the plan to funding eligibility, if approved, the ADA Transition Plan will be considered part of the 2023 4th Street Reconstruction pre-planning effort. Not completing the plan will inhibit future MSAS funding.
A motion was made by Council Member Sandgren and seconded by Council Member Buckley to waive the reading of Resolution No. 14 of 2021 – Authorization to Execute Task Order No. 2021-4 for Engineering and Planning Services for the 2021 ADA Transition Plan in the amount of $47,987.00. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Kerkhoff to approve Resolution No. 14 of 2021 – Authorization to Execute Task Order No. 2021-4 for Engineering and Planning Services for the 2021 ADA Transition Plan in the amount of $47,987.00. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
Public Works Project Coordinator Doering introduced the Change Order No. 1 for the 2021 Northwood Drive Sewer Lining Project.
Mr. Doering stated staff is requesting Change Order No. 1 for the 2021 Northwood Drive Sewer Lining Project. Based on Council’s suggestion, staff requested the contractor develop a price for cleaning and lining the additional 1,103 feet of 12” concrete sanitary sewer pipe running north to south along CSAH 101 since the manhole rehabilitations are already included in the project. It has also recently been found that with the emergency fix of Northwood Drive and the exterior encasement of the concrete pipe in cement, some cement seeped into the 15” pipe and has to be removed prior to lining. This change order includes the robotic removal and cleaning of that repaired area to prepare that section for lining.
Mr. Doering stated the change order also includes a 36” casing that was installed under Swain Street to run the 15” sewer pipe through to support the road. With recent camera work, it was revealed that instead of running the 15” pipe through the casing, previous installers utilized the casing itself for the sewer pipe. The last 120’ of piping is 36” rather than 15”. Staff requested a cost to line the casing in last 120’ under Swain Street where the Northwood Drive sanitary sewer passes through. Due to the recent discovery, a quote was not available at the time of the meeting but an engineer’s estimate of $15,000 is being reflected in the not to exceed amount of $67,615.00.
Mr. Doering further stated the original engineer’s estimate for construction was $463,620.00. With this change order, the bid construction amount of $380,516.00 will increase to $448,130.40, which is $15,489.60 under the original construction estimate. The total project cost reflecting approval of this not to exceed construction amount with the prior approved engineering task order is $516,630.40.
A motion was made by Council Member Buckley and seconded by Council Member Arentson to approve Change Order No. 1 for the 2021 Northwood Drive Sewer Lining Project not to exceed $67,615.00. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
Public Works Project Coordinator Doering introduced Resolution No. 15 of 2021 – Declaring the Official Intent to Reimburse Certain Expenditures from the Proceeds of Bonds to be Issued by the City.
Mr. Doering stated the City received bids and has initiated the construction process for its 2021 Northwood Drive Sewer Lining Project. As the current project funding plan includes the issuance of tax-exempt bonds to fund project costs, federal regulations require that the City declares its intent to reimburse itself for capital project costs incurred in advance of receiving tax exempt bond proceeds. By declaring the City’s intent to reimburse project costs with bond proceeds, the City is not obligating itself to issue bonds, but rather, preserving its ability to do so in the future if the funding plan is determined to be acceptable.
A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Kerkhoff to waive the reading of Resolution No. 15 of 2021 – Declaring the Official Intent to Reimburse Certain Expenditures from the Proceeds of Bonds to be Issued by the City. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Arentson and seconded by Council Member Buckley to approve Resolution No. 15 of 2021 – Declaring the Official Intent to Reimburse Certain Expenditures from the Proceeds of Bonds to be Issued by the City. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
City Administrator Muetzel stated the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.
Bills and Claims were presented to Council for informational purposes. No questions, comments, or concerns were raised.
There being no further business, a motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Buckley to adjourn the meeting at 5:41 p.m. Motion passed by unanimous vote.