Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.13.15 Work Session Minutes Council Work Session Minutes July 13, 2015 Mayor Larson called the work session to order at 6:30 p.m. Present: Larson,Bonar,Donnelly,Pitcher Absent: Bartholomay Also Present: David McKnight,City Administrator;Jim Larsen,Fire Chief;Jim Schmitz,Assistant Chief; Adam Fisher,Captain;Jeff Allbee,Assistant Chief;Justin Elvestad,Assistant Chief;Kevin Schorzman,City Engineer;Cynthia Muller,Executive Assistant MOTION by Donnelly, second by Bonar to approve the agenda. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Fire Department Capital Improvement Plan Fire Chief Larsen presented a modification of the Fire CIP based on their priorities. He recommended the purchase of a new chief's vehicle in 2015 which is in the budget. They will sell rescue 1 and in 2019 purchase a rescue tender. They are not asking for an increase in funding,but are moving the purchases around. Several of the vehicles will serve a dual purpose. Council asked about the self-contained breathing apparatus(SCBA's). They are on a 15-year life cycle. The last testing was just completed which gives us five more years. There is a component that could fail that could cost$650 per pack to repair. This will only affect the visual component,not the breathing apparatus. The other part that is time sensitive is the repair parts will no longer be available. Staff has put aside$40,000 in the 2016 budget for the first of five years of SCBA replacement so we will budget money each year. No money has been budgeted for the 15-year replacement cycle in any of the CIP's. Council clarified the fire department wants to fund vehicles ahead of SCBA's because they are trying to play catch up on several different fronts. Council recalled there was an opportunity to repurpose a couple vehicles and now we are purchasing new vehicles. Chief Larsen was aware of one vehicle that has been offered for repurposing which is an SUV from the police department. The fire department already has the SRO vehicle. The plan was to transfer the commercial inspection vehicle to the fire department next year. Chief Larsen felt this would serve to replace the station vehicles which are much older. There are not enough vehicles for the fire command staff. They are using vehicles that were intended to be utility vehicles because there has not been a vehicle for an assistant chief to drive. The repurposed Crown Victoria's from the police department need extensive repairs to their bodies,there is physical damage,the logo is not correct,they have rust and mechanical issues. The police department gives it to the fire department and then they have to invest money to fix it. Then it is not a reliable vehicle. Council did not believe that is the case with the commercial inspector's SUV. Fire Chief Larsen would use that as a station vehicle,not as a primary response vehicle for one of our chief officers because of the age and condition of the vehicle. It was not designed for fire department use. His vehicle is a police Tahoe and not designed for what we need it to do. The vehicle they have explored has compartments,areas that are separate from breathing air for personal turnout gear,the SCBA and those things that have cancer causing agents on them. Council asked if the request for new vehicles is something the city has to fund or is it budget neutral. Staff explained they are funded in the CIP. The fire CIP started with some administration dollars to purchase the first chiefs vehicle. City Administrator McKnight explained the changes from the previous fire CIP. There will be a computer aided dispatch(CAD) system that will go live in 2016 which is what the DCC uses. There will be a significant upgrade in March 2016 that will provide computerized mapping. However, no money has been set aside for this. The new system will be utilizing automatic vehicle locators(AVL's). The DCC will dispatch the closest vehicle to the call. We do not have AVL's on any Council Work Session Minutes July 13,2015 Page 2 of our fleet. We also need boosters for the stations to obtain a signal. We have infrastructure we need to prepare for if we are going to maximize the technology that the new computer aided dispatch system will give to us. A cost is not available yet. There is a placeholder in the CIP for$50,000 in 2016. In 2016, $250,000 was budgeted for a new water tender. Fire Chief Larsen recommended that money be deferred until 2019 and we purchase an engine tender. That will provide a larger water tank on our fire engine and give us more options for a water supply. Instead of having two vehicles,an engine and a tender responding we have a single vehicle. With the townships and a county park we have a huge amount of rural area we have to protect. The fire department proposes to sell rescue 1 as it is not meeting our needs. Engine 22 will take care of station 2 rescue calls. The new brush truck will be used out of station 1. The engines on both sides of town will be used for auto accidents. The day to day heart attack responses will be responded to with the brush trucks. Mayor Larson appreciated moving items around and staying budget neutral. The fire CIP will be placed on the July 20,2015,Council agenda for approval. 2016 TH3 Project Update—MnDOT Mr.John Solberg, MnDOT South Area Manager,presented the TH3 project. The project consists of a mill and overlay from Highway 50 north to 170th Street. The first phase is from Highway 50 to Willow Street. The second phase is Willow Street to 170th Street. There will be ADA improvements and an upgrade to two signals. Mr. Solberg explained options 1 and 2 which included various TH3 access closures and 3/4 turns. Council's final agreement includes closing the Main Street access, leave Spruce Street access closed, leave Walnut Street access open,but close the highway median at Walnut. Larch will have a 3/4 turn. Council preferred to leave the Farmington Mall access at Hickory fully open,but would be okay with a 3/4 turn. There will be pedestrian and ADA improvements. There will also be a mill and overlay on the frontage roads and they will be turned back to the city. The project will begin in the spring of 2016. There is no cost to the city for sidewalks. A trail connection will be installed along TH3 between 190th Street and 194th Street. The estimated cost for the city portion is$30,000. The city funding for signal upgrades is estimated at$50,000. Funding for the trail will come from 2015 liquor store profits. A public open house for this project will be held on July 21,2015. MOTION by Bonar,second by Pitcher to adjourn at 8:20 p.m. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant