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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-11-12 Work Session MinutesMeridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019. A Meeting of the Meridian City Council was called to order at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, November 12, 2019, by Mayor Tammy de Weerd. Members Present: Tammy de Weerd, Joe Borton, Luke Cavener, Genesis Milam, Ty Palmer, Anne Little Roberts and Treg Bernt. Also Present: Chris Johnson, Bill Nary, Warren Stewart, Brian Caldwell, Joe Bongiorno and Dean Willis. Item 1: Roll-call Attendance: Roll Call. A. Meridian City Council X__ Anne Little Roberts X_ _ _Joe Borton X__ Ty Palmer (Telephone) X__ Treg Bernt __X___Genesis Milam __X___Lucas Cavener __X__ Mayor Tammy de Weerd De Weerd: Okay. I will go ahead and call our City Council Work Session to order. Thank you all for joining us. For the record is Tuesday, November 12th. It's 4:30. We will start with roll call attendance, Mr. Clerk. Item 2: Adoption of Agenda De Weerd: Item No. 2 is adoption of the agenda. Borton: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mr. Borton. Borton: Move we adopt the agenda as published. Cavener: Second. De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to adopt the agenda. All those in favor say aye. All ayes. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. Item 3: Consent Agenda [Action Item] A. Final Plat for Turf Farm No. 1 (H-2019-0095) by Brighton Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 4 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 2 of 17 Investments, LLC, Located off the NE Corner of S. Eagle Rd. and E. Lake Hazel Rd. B. Resolution No. 19-2173: A Resolution Reappointing Dom Gelsomino, Jennifer Bobo and Abbey Hutchins to the Meridian Parks and Recreation Commission C. AP Invoices for Payment - 11108119 - $685,465.02 D. AP Invoices for Payment - 11108119 Special - $6,548.94 E. AP Invoices for Payment - 11113119 - $766,803.14 De Weerd: Item 3 is our Consent Agenda. Borton: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mr. Borton. Borton: Move we approve the Consent Agenda as published. For the Mayor to sign and Clerk to attest. Cavener: Second. De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to approve the Consent Agenda. If there is no discussion, Mr. Clerk, will you call roll. Roll call: Borton, yea; Milam, yea; Cavener, yea; Palmer, yea; Little Roberts, yea; Bernt, absent. De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. Item 4: Items Moved From the Consent Agenda De Weerd: There were no items moved from the Consent Agenda. Item 5: Community Items / Presentations A. Light My Fire, Inc. Presentation De Weerd: So, we will move right into our community presentations. This afternoon we have the Light My Fire organization here to present a check. Light My Fire has been an amazing organization that has supported our burnout fund and other community outreach Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 5 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 3 of 17 and so I will go ahead and turn this over. And very familiar faces. Always wonderful seeing you. Cahoon: So, today is a fantastic day for us at Light My Fire. We work really hard, we put on a gala evening event where it's a dinner and an auction and in 2019 we did That's Amore party and it turned out really great. We raised 55,000 dollars that we were able to donate. A portion of that goes to Boise and the other part to Meridian. And the beauty -- beautiful part of this whole thing is that you guys do a matching grant. So, we are going to give 10,000 to fire prevention and the burnout -- fire prevention and safety and that automatically doubles, because you guys graciously double that up with this matching grant funds. So, that is like fantastic. So, thank you for that. And, then, the other part it goes to -- on the burnout fund and -- and that's where firemen used to have to take money out of their back pockets and there would be a family that maybe escaped during the middle of the night and didn't have shoes or whatever and so instead of them having to take money out of their own pockets were able to go ahead and have those funds readily available. So, anyway, I have two checks and so Jerin Jones for the burnout, 9,000 dollars. And to Pam Orr representing the fire prevention and safety, 9,000 dollars. De Weerd: Mary, maybe you can introduce your crew with you. Cahoon: Yes. I will do that. Behind me here is Bob Ricketts. He has been with Light My Fire from the very beginning. Twenty-six years. Andrea Bradshaw. She is VP with me on the gala event and has been with us for a really long time. And, then, we have Jed with CRS. And, then, Logan with CTR. Pam Orr. This woman is a crazy woman. I'm just saying. She raises so much money and she brings in so many different things and she has also included Light The Fire cadets that are involved with this and that is a really important piece for us is how they help us through that night and they are learning how to give in the community in very significant ways, just like our firemen do as well. You know, they are jumping in there, they are doing great things and it's so amazing. Over here Herb Griffin and his beautiful wife Stacy has also joined us. And there are many other committee members that couldn't make it. But we are having a Boots and Bow Ties extravaganza February 21st. So, we want to invite you guys to come. Put on your boots and your bow ties and join us to raise more money. De Weerd: Well -- and certainly, Council, if you have not attended one of these events they are very lively. They are very competitive. They even bet against me and I just don't get it. No one told them you are not supposed to bet against the Mayor. But I would like to thank you. I -- I know our community in the end is the benefactor, but this means a lot to those that are in a time of crisis certainly with the burnout fund and on the prevention side we can't -- we can't get our message out enough in telling people how we can prevent those kind of tragedies. And, Pam, just to -- to give extra to what Mary's already mentioned, your passion for this event, your passion for this -- these two causes is unmatched. I just want to tell you how much we appreciate what you do and a lot of it it goes under the radar and I just want you to know we know what you do and we appreciate you. Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 6 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 4 of 17 Orr: Madam Mayor and Members of Council, thank you so much for those sweet comments. But I have to tell you that it's about these folks right back here; right? There is no possible way that me or anybody else in this department of this city can really work as hard as these volunteers do. They have totally different worlds; right? And they come together and there is such a great team of volunteers and we meet, we have already started meeting and we will meet throughout February and they canvas so many people, you know, to get donations, but it's just the amount of hours and the love that they put into this and the love that they put into this is simply to be able to help the community -- help the bigger -- you know, the bigger good and Meridian and -- just so happens to be one of the recipients and so does Boise, but I will tell you on these -- these dollars -- I mean it's huge; right? Not only for my programs, but I really appreciate what they do for the burnout fund, because, you know, we have talked so much about different things -- like anything from PTSI to all of that; right? Anytime that we can prevent a fire we can save a firefighter as well. Anytime that a firefighter can have dollars to be able to help a family after they have had a loss; right? Anytime we can do that we are helping that firefighter as well. So, it's such a win-win and it's just a huge thing of love and I know that not all of the members of City Council have been to this. I know that you are asked to go to so many things. I'm just asking you -- I'm asking you, please, this year in February come to this event and just feel this love, because it is amazing. So, thank you again. De Weerd: Too bad you don't have any passion. Well, certainly, Pam, I agree with you, without organizations like Light My Fire -- and they are amazing community partners. But that bridge is so important and you are an excellent bridge between our fire department and all of the -- the officer -- the firefighters and our administrators that get involved. It's a lively evening. And so Boots and Bow Ties, I think we can do that; right? Yeah. And they -- they really go all out. So, if they have a theme you better dress to the theme, because you stand out if you don't. So, thank you so much again for all you do. I -- I know you are familiar faces, you have stood in front of us a number years in a row and we just want to thank you on behalf of our community, on behalf of our city and our fire department. Thank you. And to get this many firefighters out to a City Council meeting, you -- you must be -- yeah, you're doing it. Item 6: Department/Commission Reports A. Public Works: Long Term Infrastructure Replacement Report De Weerd: Okay. Under Department Reports. We will start with 6-A under our Public Works Department. Laurelei. Thank you. I know we -- we just celebrated ten years. You received your ten year as an employee -- employed by the City of Meridian. Thank you for your years of service. McVey: Thank you. All right. Well, Madam Mayor and Members of the Council, thank you for giving Warren and I a couple minutes of your afternoon to discuss the findings of our long-term infrastructure replacement report. So, this topic -- really exciting -- has gained national attention about the nation's aging and failing infrastructure. So, you maybe seen this in the media of late. It's not uncommon for us to hear about the large Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 7 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 5 of 17 funding gap around national infrastructure replacement. So, this led us to ask some of those same questions about Meridian. What do our pipes look like? What is our plan for replacing them in the future? Are we doing enough now? Are we monitoring and tracking the right things? And are we headed for future infrastructure replacement troubles? So, what we did is we put together a truly cross-functional team that included members from both utilities, as well as our engineers. This team worked over the last year to create a comprehensive 80 plus page report internally, saving the city tens of thousands of dollars in consulting services. This report took a close look at our system inventory. We looked at pipe lifespan expectancies. We took a look at industry best practices related to pipe condition assessment and, then, also pipe lifespan extension technologies. We also looked at future replacement scenarios, both in terms of logistics and also funding, and Warren and I will share many of those report findings and recommendations with you today. So, it's important to note as we look at this that this was the first phase of our assessment. So, we looked at just the water and sewer mains. So, there are many other pieces of infrastructure that were not included in this report and analyzing the impact of those is a recommendation that came out of the report. It's important to understand the scope of this initial evaluation, because as you begin looking at the system holistically, things get a little more complicated and likely more expensive. For example, a water main may have a hundred year lifespan, but you also have to consider the valves and service lines that are attached to that. They may have shorter lifespans and their failure can actually end up being the main driver for the complete main line replacement. So, all of these factors must -- must eventually be considered as we develop the comprehensive -- comprehensive full system replacement strategy in the future. So, what did we find? We have almost 1,100 miles of mainline in the city. That's enough to go from Portland all the way down to San Diego if you laid the pipes end to end. We found that 93 percent of our pipes are less than 30 years old. We also found that at least 86 percent, but likely up to 98 percent of the system is PVC. So, what we did discover is that we do have some data gaps, both in age and material of the pipe in our system. So, that's one of the key recommendations of the report is to shore up that data gap. So, another important question that we asked is what condition is the system in. So, age and material matter, but so does condition. So, on the sewer side it's relatively easy for us to answer that question. We can use our CCTV footage to tell us that and for the most part our system is in really great shape. The small amount that's in the higher or extreme ratings, which are self-defined ratings, are either slotted for replacement or are in the process of re- videoing to confirm those conditions and make a plan for replacement. On the water side it's a little bit trickier, since we can't camera the water lines. However, a good indicator of condition is the number of water main breaks that we experience. So, we are well below the national average and are well within the top tier for industry standards across the nation for water breaks. That's some great news. Additionally, the topic of technology used to assess water main conditions is one that's growing of interest. So, we continue to see additional attention to this and we expect advances in this area and new technologies that will be able to allow us to assess our water main conditions in the future. So, in summary, we confirmed what we thought that we knew. We have a relatively young system that's made of predominantly PVC, which has a long life -- long life lasting type material and our system is in relatively good shape. But that also led us to question what Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 8 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 6 of 17 does that look like for the future City of Meridian a hundred years down the road and I will turn it over to Warren to share some of those findings with you. Stewart: So, good evening, afternoon, whichever you prefer. As Laurelei has indicated and you can see from this graph, the bulk of our infrastructure has been installed in the past three decades. Additionally, Meridian's infrastructure was put in in new -- when new developments came in in what we refer to as greenfield conditions and this basically minimized the impact that citizens have as this infrastructure went in. However, someday this pipe will reach the end of its useful life and have to be replaced and intuitively we know that logistically, as well as financially, it will be nearly impossible for it to go back in in the same fashion that it went in in the first place. The disruption to our citizens will be far too great. So, we have taken a look at the various life spans of various pipe types and you can see those on this graph. In this case PVC lifespan is theoretical. PVC has only been around for about 50 years and its theoretical lifespan is somewhere between 100 and 150 years, depending on what tests you -- or, yeah, test you look at. However, many factors go into the life expectancy of a pipe, which are in addition to its age and I would just like to share some of those with you. So, there is pipe type as you can see. Soil conditions in which it was installed. The joint type and gasket material, leaks and breaks was what Laurelei has mentioned. Service line conditions. Water quality conditions or -- or issues. Fire flow demands. And ACHD project timing also are -- are factors that are -- contribute to the life expectancy of a pipe and probably one of the more significant ones as far as PVC pipe is concerned is proper installation. So, as you can see age is not the only factor. It's an important factor, but it's not the only factor. One of the most significant for us is pipe installation techniques. We have had a few failures in the past few years and most of those failures can be attributed to improper pipe bedding of PVC material. PVC is very particular about needing good pipe bedding around the pipe or it has pressure points that get on the pipe and over a shorter period of time -- it might still take 20 years, but on a 20 year lifespan it will break prematurely. So, that's very important to us and this is why our inspection team is also an important factor in the overall lifespan of our pipe networks. They are kind of like our police force, they can't be everywhere all at the same time, but their presence popping in at various job sites has the effect of basically deterring contractors from taking shortcuts and they can hold contractors accountable when they do make mistakes. However, I think it's important to mention that we still rely on the integrity of our contractors as far as getting this pipe in and getting it in correctly. Let's take a closer -- closer look at the pipe installation bubble of the past 30 years. During the peak of the bubble over 80 miles of pipe a year was installed. We currently replace approximately one to two miles a year. You can imagine the disruption and the funding necessary if we were to install 80 miles of pipe in a single year. That would be tens of millions of dollars and entire portions of the city would be impacted by construction. We have to find a way to smooth out that bubble financially and logistically. It will take a combination of tools to do that. You have heard Laurelei mention that new pipe condition assessment tools and practices are being developed and that's -- this is all across the nation as a result of this aging infrastructure. New less invasive construction methods and rehabilitation techniques are also emerging and over the next few decades we imagine that there is probably going to be new techniques and things that will come up that we haven't even imagined yet. Public Works will be in the Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 9 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 7 of 17 process of planning strategically to make sure that we have a replacement program that is -- marries up these different techniques with the age of our infrastructure. What are we doing today? So, our replacement program has been focused on pipes that are old and not PVC. We do have some of that in the city. Pipes that are in poor condition, which we can acquire that condition from the CCTV that Laurelei talked about. Flow deficient pipes. Water quality impaired pipes or pipes that have insufficient access for operations and maintenance. We also look at replacements in collaboration with ACHD roadway improvement projects. I mentioned that we currently replace about one to two miles of water mains -- sewer mains a year. Water mains cost approximately a million dollars a mile to do and sewer mains are significantly more expensive than that, but they depend upon the size and depth. But they are always more expensive than water to put in. This kind of effort -- or as we move forward and we have to start replacing more and more of these pipes, it takes staff resources to plan, design, and construct these projects as well. Each of these projects requires these resources and as you can imagine in the next 50 to 100 years as the number of these projects increases, one of the limitations that we will have -- or one of the things that will -- will impact how much we can do is going to be staff resources. That's going to be a very important factor in how much we can do and when we do it. It also goes without saying that a major factor in a future replacement program will be the disruption that replacement efforts caused to businesses and citizens. We currently have a ten year capital improvement plan for replacing main lines and it adds up to approximately 18 million dollars and we do feel that that 18 million dollars over the next ten years is adequately -- is adequate for the work that needs to be done now. What does the future look like? The bubble of the last three decades will have to be addressed. The estimated place to remain to -- estimated cost, excuse me, to replace Meridian's main lines today would exceed a billion dollars. How do we do this? Better condition assessment tools will provide the data needed to more accurately determine pipe condition. Lifespan of PVC pipe will be better understood. New, less invasive construction methods and rehabilitation techniques will be developed. These will be part of the solution and we are fortunate that many cities have older systems than we do and they will blaze a trail for us. However, we know that we are going to have to smooth out those peaks and valleys and that begs the question of when do we start to save to meet these future challenges. Or is bonding a viable option as it puts the financial burden on the generation that will benefit from it and I'm going to turn the time back over to Laurelei to share some thoughts about future steps as far as this program is concerned. McVey: So, luckily, we don't have to make any of those decisions tonight, but some of the key recommendations that came out of the report for the near future include working to shore up the unknown data. So, primarily age of install and material type. This includes continued support of our GIS and asset management programs, because in order for us to make good decisions in the future we need to know exactly what we have, where it's at, how old it is and what condition it's in. We also need to extend this analysis to all of the Public Works assets over time. We will need to keep an eye on the break rates, as this is a primary indicator of condition and lifespan and that information and trends will be critical to future decision makers. We will also be investigating pipe dig up studies. So, what those are is -- Utah State is one of the leaders in these. They bury pipe and subjected it to different conditions and, then, they dig that up and run different tests on it Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 10 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 8 of 17 to try to better predict that future lifespan. As Warren mentioned, we need to continue with our current pipe replacement strategies. So, he mentioned we have 18.6 million dollars in the ten year CFP, which will replace about 22 miles of pipe in our system and as we continue to gather information on pipe lifespan, we can better forecast the future funding needs. We want to balance smoothing out the replacement bubble, but we want to make sure that we don't replace pipes too soon or too late. As we get a better understanding of the life cycle we may need to adjust future funding strategies, as Warren talked about. But we will keep you up to date on our progress as we continue to enhance and analyze these future replacement strategies. But like he mentioned, the good news is our system is in good shape and we have time to plan and analyze replacement and funding strategies for future Meridian generations. Any questions? De Weerd: It's pretty exciting that you have a longer term view on our system. I think that's very fiscally responsible, also environmentally responsible. It's -- it's a definite service to our citizens. When we had that main break on Eagle Road, it caused inconvenience for many and -- and not just our citizens. So, taking the -- the planning, the inspection, the evaluation of what we currently have and forecasting that is extremely important. I just want to also note is -- you mentioned the savings in not having a consultant come in and do it. I think what is priceless to this is the knowledge that all of you that participated in gained in having a deeper and more robust understanding. Rather than sitting and listening to a consultant that -- that gives you a conclusion, you will -- you were all part of that and -- and that will pay dividends long down the road. So, thank you for not only looking at cost savings, but just the exercise itself is -- will benefit our citizens longer term as well. So, thank you for that. Questions? Little Roberts: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mrs. Little Roberts. Little Roberts: Madam Mayor. Laurelei, Warren, thank you so much. What a great report. And it was perfect timing that you had me go -- gave me the opportunity to go out with collections. So, I really had a better understanding of what -- what goes on out there. But you caught -- really caught my attention when you said a possible failure could happen because of a connection from a house to our system. Could you give us another -- more in depth on that? And are there anything -- is there anything in place maybe in other cities to kind of head that off? Do places inspect -- make houses inspect their connections? McVey: Madam Mayor, Councilman Little Roberts, that's a great question. So, we are responsible from the property line out to the main. So, we are actually responsible for a portion of the service lateral is what we call it. There is no requirement beyond that to -- to have any inspections or any conditions. But it is a big consideration in the future when we look at that, because you can't really just replace the city's portion without also replacing the homeowner's portion. So, eventually, the infrastructure across the whole city will age. We -- we run into this sometimes in areas of downtown where there is older types of material that were installed and we end up having to replace the city's part of the Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 11 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 9 of 17 lateral and the homeowner also replaces their portion of the lateral. So, it's part of that holistic picture that -- that those -- those other pieces will matter to the whole picture. Little Roberts: Thank you. De Weerd: And there is programs out there that can help homeowners that the percentage of what -- when that happens. I had it happen on my brand new construction and it was after they covered someone hit one of the tail ends of the pipe and it broke at a joint or at the elbow and for two years we didn't use sewage, it just kind of deposited into the ground. I think I should get a refund, because I was paying my sewer bill the whole time. But it was -- it wasn't until it backed up and -- into our home that we had it come in and scope it. I don't know how you avoid those. It's -- it's just some things do happen and it doesn't -- it's not found until you have sewage coming back into your house. But I -- that's a service line and it is on the homeowners. I think some of the older systems -- and I was just -- a couple weeks ago part of a discussion where other cities have such old systems they do work with some of these entities, businesses out there that provide warranty or kind of insurance for both water and sewer, the surface lines, and that helps defray costs. Mr. Cavener. Cavener: Madam Mayor, thanks. Laurelei. Warren. Great report. It can be somewhat sobering. A little scary about what the future can bring. I know when you visit a lot of cities on the east coast they have, you know, huge full-time staff that their job is day in and day out just repairing the breaks on a daily basis and so being proactive is -- is the correct approach. I'm curious today in terms of direction that you guys take for that one to two miles that we are replacing, what drives that? Is -- is it age? Is it future development? I mean what -- what determines where you choose to do those replacements? Stewart: Well, as I mentioned in there, it's a combination of things. But currently the -- we look at a few things. So, age is one of them. Pipe type is another. Some -- we have some -- like in the sewer lines we have some clay pipes still out there in the system. So, we do look at that, do the assessments on that, because we can video it and a lot of times that's the kind of stuff that's being replaced. On the water side we have some older pipes that are made out of -- they are old galvanized iron pipe or -- or ductile iron pipe that's really old and it's got tuberculation. You have seen some of the presentations that we have had here where we have showed you some of the iron pipe and it's got all the corrosion on the interior of the pipe. We -- we certainly want to, you know, target those kinds pipes and get those out of the ground. We have -- even some of the PVC pipe that has gone in -- you know, all PVC pipe hasn't been created equal over the last 50 years and so some of those PVC pipes they tried different techniques as far as how the pipes were joined together and some of those -- actually the joints between the pipes have proven to be problematic. They leak and -- and they fail more regularly than the pipe itself and so it's also what ACHD is doing. I mean we look at, you know, the sewer and the water line in the roads that ACHD is going to be rebuilding, look at the age, look at the condition and in some cases we will look at it and say, well, this sewer pipe's in really bad shape. The waterline might not be, it isn't in bad shape, but maybe it's been in there for Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 12 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 10 of 17 40 years and if we are going to rebuild this road in its entirety, maybe it makes sense for us to replace both the sewer and water at this time, so that it's -- it's set for the future. So, we look at a lot of different things and take those all into consideration. Cavener: Madam Mayor, follow up. Warren, Laurelei, when you -- when you look at a million dollar liability, you know, a million bucks is just a drop in the bucket, so I guess I'm not necessarily saying, boy, do we need to be doing more sooner, but do you guys feel that we are doing the appropriate amount right now or should we be prepared over the next few years for you guys to be more aggressive on some of this when you look at some of the age -- when you look at a significant amount of construction that's going on in Meridian, is that something we should be prepared to consider? Stewart: Well, I can let Laurelei chime on this as well, but I think that was kind of one of the main components of this whole study is to see, you know, where we were at and we still have some more work to do, but I think after the work and the effort that we have done so far we feel pretty good that the infrastructure that we have by and large is relatively new and is going to last for many many years and that we do have a program with the money that we currently have in the CIP that will address the problems that we have -- we think we are going to have over the next ten years. So, we believe we are adequately funded for the next ten year CIP. McVey: Councilman Cavener, to follow up on that, too, the -- the advances that are going to occur with both replacement pipe life -- lifespan extension technologies, construction practices, we really think those are also going to assist with that future bubble, because we will not be the only ones facing that bubble. So, we know that the industry will evolve and that it won't require us digging up and replacing 80 miles of pipe. De Weerd: I think what it really has done, too, is -- is really underscore the importance of the scoping and the bringing the cameras down into the pipes. You see where some of the vulnerability exists and, then, you watch it and scope it more frequently. So, I think the technology has been great and the Council support and investing in those kind of technologies to -- to go in and really see inside what our systems are has been very valuable. Stewart: Madam Mayor, to sort of maybe add on to that, this -- on the sewer side of things I think we have some -- some good assessment tools currently, as well as some pretty -- pretty good options for rehabilitation of sewer line. The real vulnerability that we have so far is on the waterline side. You can't camera it. It's hard to assess its condition and replacement is a little bit more tricky. But the good news is they actually are -- and Laurelei mentioned this -- developing some new techniques for doing waterline pipe condition assessment that's non-invasive that I think are going to really be important for us as we move forward, as well as there is -- there is emerging technology that's being developed for how you might replace it without sort of the really invasive techniques, such as digging up the entire system. So, on the sewer side I think that measure progress, continue to do so. On the waterside they are a little behind, but they -- it's coming around. Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 13 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 11 of 17 B. Public Works: Budget Amendment for $252,000 for the Design, Procurement, and Replacement of an Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) [Action Item] De Weerd: Well, thank you for the report, for the work, and we appreciate your diligence. Thank you. Okay. Item 6-B is also under Public Works and I will -- Laurelei. McVey: All right. Madam Mayor, Members of the Council, so I have a budget amendment request in front of you for 252,000 dollars for the replacement of an automatic transfer switch at the wastewater plant. So, what an automatic transfer switch is -- it's a really critical piece of equipment that allows us to transfer -- when we lose mainline power coming into the plant, it allows us to transfer the plant onto our backup generators. So, during a recent power outage the switch did not function, which left us completely without power for about 45 minutes. This is a really scary place to be, because the flow keeps coming. We only have a certain amount of time before we can get power back on. So, what we discovered after the outage was that there is a faulty component in our switch. However, when we reached out to the manufacturer to get repair on this, we were told the switch is no longer serviceable and no longer has spare parts. So, this puts us in a really vulnerable situation. So, as such we are requesting a budget amendment that's in front of you today to fund the replacement and installation of a new automatic transfer switch for the plant and timing is of the essence as I mentioned. The plant is really vulnerable until we get that new switch up and running. So I can stand for any questions. De Weerd: I know -- maybe you should explain what happens if you don't and it doesn't work. Cavener: I don't think there is much -- De Weerd: Any questions? Mrs. Little Roberts. Little Roberts: Madam Mayor, hearing no questions, I move that we approve the budget amendment for 252,000 dollars for the design and procurement and replacement of the transfer switch. Milam: Second. Cavener: Second. De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to approve Item 6-B. If there is no discussion, Mr. Clerk, will you call roll. Roll call: Borton, yea; Milam, yea; Cavener, yea; Palmer, yea; Little Roberts, yea; Bernt, absent. De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried. Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 14 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 12 of 17 MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT. C. Parks and Recreation: Power Plus Change Order #7 for LED Conversion at Discovery Park for the Not-To-Exceed Amount of 195,055 [Action Item] De Weerd: Thank you, Laurelei. Item 6-C is under our Parks and Recreation Department and Mike Barton will present on this one. Barton: Good afternoon, Madam Mayor, Members of Council. I'm here this afternoon to talk about a change order that will fund the replacement of the -- the retrofit of the HID lights at Discovery Park to change those over to LED. This -- this change order we have it in our budget. It -- the pricing that we have that we are bringing forward reflects a 10,000 dollar reduction in the price to reuse the lights at another site. It also reflects a 10,000 dollar reduction in the waiver of a construction management fee from our CM that's on site and we kind of -- we ran some numbers on, you know, why doing it now versus had we done it in the first place and it actually -- the cost that we had -- if we would have done it in the first place was 7,000 dollars cheaper than doing it now, but we have a commitment from Idaho Power to fund a rebate anywhere between ten and twenty thousand dollars for the retrofit of these lights. So, when it's all said and done we are looking at do it -- if we do it now it's actually cheaper than if we would have done it in the first place, so -- I mean not to mention the power savings going forward and the reduced maintenance. We have been hearing that these bulbs that are in these lights right now are going to be -- they won't be made five years from now, so if we start having light bulbs that go out, you are pretty much faced with taking them down and warehousing them and -- and using those for replacement on another site, so -- so, because of the energy savings and the reduction in the overall cost of doing it now, we are requesting your approval of change order number seven for 195,000 dollars and 55. De Weerd: Council, I could say -- you probably have seen some e-mails about this and if we would have -- if we would have let neighbors know you probably would have had a standing room only in support of this solution. One of the things that -- when this was brought in front of you to see if -- if we wanted to pay the extra amount for LEDs, what we didn't know -- or didn't realize is this is on a knoll and so it's a little different from our other parks where the tree canopy eventually hides it. Because this is on a hill it is more pronounced and it's why there isn't the light spill that it's still within the regulated amounts, it just is noticeable. So, this -- I appreciate the diligence. They have looked at every option, every cost opportunity and this is what we kept coming back to. So, I just want to tell you, Mike, how much we appreciate what -- all the detail and research you have been doing on this. Any questions from Council? Cavener: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mr. Cavener. Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 15 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 13 of 17 Cavener: I appreciate you saying -- that was going to be my question is about -- kind of a likely -- I know that some of the neighbors are experiencing. It sounds like this is going to have a dramatic improvement on their quality of life. Barton: Yeah. So, there is -- so, there is two -- I mean there is light spill and there is glare. The light spill right now is well within our code, but the glare is substantial. The technology between HID and LED lights -- the HID used the ballasts to reflect the light down to the field and it reflects it everywhere, where LED lights they -- it's a pointed beam to where you are trying to light. So, the -- the reduction in glare is substantial. Milam: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mrs. Milam. Milam: Mike, I know that going through this process, you know, I talked to Steve and I'm like, well, let's do this first, let's use -- so, sorry for being a badger in that way, but I'm not -- sorry, but I'm not sorry. No. I really think it was a better way to go about this and having I think all of those -- all of the ducks in a row and knowing what we are doing with the old lights and -- and getting some money back for them I think is really the proper way to do this. So, thank you for taking those extra steps and getting on it right away and all the hard work. I appreciate it. Barton: Thank you. We appreciate it. De Weerd: And the Idaho Power rebate -- Milam: Yeah. Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mrs. Milam. Milam: I move that -- I can't even read anymore. I need glasses. To approve the Power Plus Change Order #7 for LED conversion at Discovery Park for the not to exceed amount of 195,055 dollars. Cavener: Second. De Weerd: I have a motion and a second. Any questions? Discussion? Mr. Clerk, will you call roll. Roll call: Borton, yea; Milam, yea; Cavener, yea; Palmer, yea; Little Roberts, yea; Bernt, abstain. De Weerd: All ayes. Thank you. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSTAIN. Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 16 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 14 of 17 D. Human Resources: New City Compensation Policies De Weerd: Okay. Item 6-D is under our Human Resources. Welcome, Crystal. Ritchie: Thank you and good evening. All right. Thank you so much, Madam Mayor, Members of Council, for your time this evening. As you know, the HR Department and the senior leadership team -- it has an ongoing effort to review and continue to be focused on the city's benefit programs and compensation programs. If you will recall this past summer as a part of the budget preparation for FY-20 I represented the compensation committee with some recommendations for some benefit and compensation enhancements and this evening I'm here in front of you this evening pleased to present our paid parental leave policy. In addition to that we have made some minor tweaks on language to our current compensation policy as well in an effort to move this forward for FY-20. So, what you have in front of you is a paid parental leave. This will be a new policy that you approved over the summer. This explains how the policy will work. Very high level, it is intended to provide city employees two weeks of paid time off for -- to welcome the birth of a new child or the adoption of a new child to their family. It's intended to give them bonding time with that new family member. The policy does state that this paid parental leave will be in conjunction with an approved FMLA and, in addition to that, any employee at the city who would want to be the recipient of this benefit could do that or utilize that within the first 30 days of the new child being welcomed into their family. The second policy that you have in front of you in your packet is an existing policy. This is our compensation program policy number 3.4. While we didn't make any changes to this actual policy, the change that was brought forward to you over the summer was a procedural change. However, we wanted to take a moment while we were here in front of you this evening to go ahead and bring forward to you some of the language changes, some tweaks that we are working on to consistently drive consistent language across all of our policies, so you have that updated version in front of you for consideration this evening as well. De Weerd: Okay. And these are all in response to budget approved items that needed some policy amendments to actually put them in place. Council, any questions? Cavener: Madam Mayor? Little Roberts: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mr. Cavener. Cavener: Thank you, Madam Mayor. Great work. Thanks for bringing this back. I think this is just a step in the right direction for employees. I got an inquiry from an employee, though, that I didn't have the answer to and I don't mean to catch you off guard. Does this also pertain to domestic partnership relationships? So, if two people are not in a married situation and they have the birth of a child or they adopt, is that employee covered? Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 17 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 15 of 17 Ritchie: This will apply to any employee who can provide us the proper documentation for the new addition to their family and that documentation is outlined in our policy. Cavener: Madam Mayor. That -- I guess that works for me. I reviewed it and I couldn't come to a conclusion on my own and so I guess maybe just from a terms of practice how we communicate that to our employees I think is -- after reviewing it I couldn't come to the conclusion we couldn't say definitively yes or no, so maybe an opportunity to better communicate that to our staff so they understand that. De Weerd: I think probably with -- you know, either HR and/or legal would make those determinations. There is oftentimes some one off that they are asked to make those calls, because nothing can be so prescriptive that you can cover every single thing. Nary: Madam Mayor, I could follow it up. The policy is intended to -- it has no -- it has no relationship with the relationship between the parties, it's an introduction of a child to the employee's family. So, if they are in a domestic relationship or not married or whatever, it doesn't really matter. It's the relationship of the child to the employee. So, that's why they would be covered. Ritchie: Council Member Cavener, that's a great question and I appreciate you asking that. We have developed an FAQ that we will be sharing when we roll this out. So, we will address that question as well. De Weerd: It would be a good question to add to that FAQ. Cavener: And, Madam Mayor, I was really -- it was just -- it was like, oh, this is just a really interesting question and I think the Mayor's point, the policy is intended to encompass as much as we can, but in some specific situations maybe there is -- it's a little ambiguous. So, I appreciate knowing also the process so our staff can be better informed. Ritchie: Absolutely. Thank you for asking the question. De Weerd: Mrs. Little Roberts. Little Roberts: Madam Mayor. Crystal, thank you. So excited about getting this accomplished. So, is it my understanding that it just has to start for the parent within the first 30 days? So, they could actually even start on day 30 or it has to be completed? Ritchie: It has to be taken within the first 30 calendar days of the child being introduced to their family. Little Roberts: Great. Thank you. E. Resolution 19- 2175: A Resolution Of The Mayor And City Council Of The City Of Meridian To Amend The City Of Meridian Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 18 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 16 of 17 Standard Operating Policy And Procedure Manual By Amending Policy 3.4 — Compensation Program And By Creating A New Policy And Procedure 4.11 — Parental Leave Policy And Providing An Effective Date. [Action Item] De Weerd: Okay. Any other questions? Okay. The next item on our agenda does adopt these. If there is -- if we can move to the next item. Okay. Nothing further we will move to Item 6-E, which is Resolution 19-2175. This covers the content of what Crystal just discussed. Cavener: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mr. Cavener. Cavener: The HR liaison -- I didn't want to step on anyone's toes. Please Council Member -- I will defer to Council Member Bernt if he wants to make a motion. Cavener: He is so quiet. It is so unlike him. Bernt: So, I would like to make a motion to approve Resolution 19-2175 with suspension of rules. Cavener: Second. De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to approve Item 6-E. Any discussion? Mr. Clerk, will you call roll. Roll call: Borton, yea; Milam, yea; Cavener, yea; Palmer, yea; Little Roberts, yea; Bernt, yea. De Weerd: All ayes. Motion carried. MOTION CARRIED: ALL AYES. De Weerd: Thank you, Crystal. Ritchie: Absolutely. And, Madam Mayor, Members of Council, I just want to take a moment and thank you for your approval and your work on this with us, as it benefits our city employees and strengthens our benefit package and helps us with our talent attraction and retention. So, on behalf of the committee and the employees we thank you. Item 7: Executive Session per Idaho Code 74-206( 1)( f) to communicate with legal counsel for the public agency to discuss the legal ramifications of and legal options for pending litigation, or controversies not yet Meridian City Council Meeting Agenda November 26, 2019 – Page 19 of 352 Meridian City Council Work Session November 12, 2019 Page 17 of 17 being litigated but imminently likely to be litigated De Weerd: Thank you. Item 7 is Executive Session. Borton: Madam Mayor? De Weerd: Mr. Borton. Borton: I move we go into Executive Session pursuant to Idaho State Code 74-206(1)(f). Cavener: Second. De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to adjourn into Executive Session. Mr. Clerk, will you call roll. Roll call: Borton, yea; Milam, yea; Cavener, yea; Palmer, yea; Little Roberts, yea; Bernt, yea. De Weerd: All ayes. MOTION CARRIED: ALLAYES. EXECUTIVE SESSION: (5:20 p.m. to 6:02 p.m.) De Weerd: Council, I would entertain a motion to come out of Executive Session in our work session. Cavener: Madam Mayor, I move that we come out of our Executive Session and adjourn our work session. Milam: Second. De Weerd: I have a motion and a second to come out of Executive Session, as well as to adjourn our work session. All those in favor say aye. Okay. All ayes. MOTION CARRIED: FIVE AYES. ONE ABSENT, MEETING ADJOURNED AT 6:02 P.M. (AUDIO RECORDING ON FILE OF THESE PROCEEDINGS) MAYOR T DE WE ._aP�EOA� . DATE APPROVED ATT E � 0 ,,101yur