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OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
KAREEMAH FOWLER, CITY CLERK
PUBLIC WORKS & PROPERTY VACATION MAY 13, 2019 4:24 P.M.
Committee Members Present: John Voorde, Jo M. Broden, Karen White, Sharon L.
McBride
Committee Members Absent: None
Other Council Present: Gavin Ferlic, Jake Teshka, Regina Williams-Preston
Other Council Absent: Tim Scott, Oliver Davis
Others Present: Bianca Tirado, Joseph Molnar, Bob Palmer
Presenters: Eric Horvath, Jitin Kain, Kara Boyles, Dan Buckenmeyer
Agenda: Update: Public Works
Committee Chair John Voorde called to order the Public Works and Property Vacation Committee
meeting at 4:24 p.m. He introduced members of the Committee and proceeded to give the floor to
the presenters.
Update: Public Works
Eric Horvath, Director of Public Works for the City of South Bend with offices located on the 13th
floor of the County-City Building, stated, With me, today, I have Cara Grabowski, our Marketing
Director, Jitin Kain who is the Deputy Director of Public Works, Kara Boyles who is the City
Engineer, and Sean Ward who is our Director of Streets and Sewers. I think you all have met
everyone except for Sean. I wanted to make sure Sean was here, so you could put a face to the
name. Sean has been with the City for some twenty (20) years. He started as an operator and has
worked his way through the system. When Derek left us, he was the first(Pt) one(1)that came to
mind as the guy we need to have running the streets and sewers. He is well respected there, smart
and understands the operation. We are very blessed to have Sean on board.
He continued, I'm going to just do two (2) quick updates and then I'll turn it over to them. We
have a real long list of projects that Jitin and Kara are going to go through. We are going to go
through them fairly fast. By all means, you can ask questions but if it gets into too much detail, it
might be better to have a separate sit down either with the Council as a whole or individually. Just
really quickly on the Long-Term Control Plan, we've continued our negotiations with the EPA,
DOJ and IDEM. I would say it is going ok, but I wouldn't say it's going well as this point. There
has been a lot of back and forth. There is a lot of information they've wanted to make sure we
agree on some of the background information in terms of what project costs are,what our financial
capability is and those types of things. Those are the biggest things under discussion right now.
INTEGRITY' SERVICE'ACCESSIBILITY
JENNIFER M.COFFMAN BIANCA L.TIRADO JOSEPH R.MOLNAR
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SCITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
They, in general, seem to be pushing toward their thought that we can afford a lot more than$200
million worth of projects. We are pushing back, and we will see where we end up. Obviously, any
of this will come to Council before we agree to anything. So, as we get a real meaningful update
with actually looking where we are with the project and the project costs, we will update the
Council. The plan is still the SAGE Plan which is the plan we rolled out to the Council in the
previous few meetings. We probably need to do another update in a month or two(2),just to make
sure we stay up to date with what is going on with the whole process. We have our next meeting
we are trying to schedule for late June with the EPA, DOJ and IDEM. So, it will probably make
sense after that meeting to sit back down with Council and get you up to speed on where we are
with that. Again, if there are any questions on that, I would be happy to take them, but we will set
up that meeting.
He went on, The other one(1) I wanted to address because it came up real recently is the LaSalle
Street bricks and on William to Charles Martin,they are getting ready to pave. The residents there
are interested in that becoming a brick street. Part of the problem is the middle part of that, there
are no bricks there at all. We would have to find bricks and be able to put them back. The other
issue is that all the infrastructure would need to be lowered as well. They would have to cut down
and bring down the manholes because they are too high. Problem is,we don't have the funding for
that. So, we would need to figure that out but before we can even do that, we are trying to get our
arms around how much that would cost, what that would look like and where we would even get
bricks from. If we can answer some of those questions,then maybe we can sit down and figure out
how that would be paid for. We will need to do something there very quickly because we can't
leave that street like that. With that, I'm going to turn it over to Jitin and Kara.
Jitin Kain,Deputy Director of Public Works for the City of South Bend with offices located on the
13th floor of the County-City Building, stated, Thanks, Eric. I will go over a few things quickly.
This (referencing a slide in a presentation which is available in the City Clerk's Office) is an
organizational chart. As a reminder, we have five (5) divisions or offices within Public Works.
Sustainability is lead by Therese Dorau. Streets is Sean Ware. Engineering is Kara Boyles.Utilities
is Water and Waste Water functions and that is lead by Al Greek. Kim Thompson is the Assistant
Director there and Solid Waste is lead by Kelly Smith. Our new position is Cara Grabowski, the
Marketing Director, and she works on outreach and our social media.
He continued, Some other staffing changes, I sent an email out about this to all of you a couple
weeks ago, Streets and Sewers is really three (3) divisions. You have Sewers, Streets and then
Traffic Lighting. Larry Parker has been promoted to the Sewers Manager position. He has also
been with the City for a long time and has the respect of the team, so, we think he is a great fit for
that role. In Engineering, we've been working with Zach Hurst as a full-time contract position,
really helping us catch up on the extreme load of TIF projects. We're moving this position to a
full-time position, funded through TIF, again, because of the sheer volume of projects we have
with DCI. Paving,just really quickly and Kara will talk a little bit more about it, and by the way,
the Traffic and Lighting position is still open. Once we fill it, we will send you a note. But for
paving, we will be announcing our paving list this week. There is an event scheduled with the
Mayor on Wednesday of this week at 12:30 p.m. and the idea is to bring the media out and share
the list. We usually do an event every year to share publicly the list of streets. Again, we use the
PAZER Rating System to rate all of our streets. Some of you have reached out to us with a list of
requests for streets. We evaluate those and if they fall within the range of two (2) to five (5), we
try our best to add that to our list. Just as a reminder, a rating of one(1)is a complete failure of the
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street and a ten (10) is a brand-new street. So, when we pick these annual paving lists, our City
crews, we look at ratings between two (2) and five (5). Typically, we will do eighteen (18) to
nineteen (19) miles of paving by City crews and, in addition to that, we get paving grants with
federal funds and other things. So, you will see the Community Crossings is a grant we received
from the State. There is some paving happening as part of that. There are federal funds going into
a couple of other projects that Kara will talk about. So,there are additional paving projects beyond
the annual list.
He went on, In addition to paving, we really ramped up our efforts to do crack sealing which is a
preventative maintenance effort to make sure we elongate the life of our streets. This is something
that, admittedly, we haven't been doing really well internally. We started this process really a few
years ago due to some cuts in staff. Last year we added three (3)to four(4)positions for our curb
and sidewalk program. Our goal was to be sure that crew was doing paving and crack sealing. At
certain times of the year they do snow plowing in the winter, leaf pick up when appropriate. So,
that crew has allowed us to do crack sealing. Our goal is to do forty(40) lane miles a year and we
are now underway at about eleven (11) lane miles already this year. This is to make sure that the
number of streets we have to pave each year is somewhat reduced because we are better
maintaining our streets. The spring ReLeaf Program kicked off this year with anything left over
from last fall we completed. We have a call-in process and during early April we had amnesty. So,
in addition to the call-ins, we also offer yard waste amnesty where residents can put out as much
yard waste as possible and they were able to call in and get those picked up. That is yet another
service to residents.
He continued, Wayfinding has been another project you may have heard a little bit about. We
received a grant from Visit South Bend to start the planning of this project last year. We've been
working on putting the designs together. This is a concept design for the wayfinding system which
will have a range of signs. Everything from directing visitors, first (1st) time visitor to frequent
visitors, from key entrances and key destinations in the City. So, you'll see the larger signs which
may not be as ornamental on the toll road entrances or the key entrances into the City. Then as you
get closer to districts, you'll see signs like this (referencing a slide in the presentation) which are
a little bit more detailed to direct visitors to destinations.The first(1St)phase of this implementation
will occur this summer. We are getting another grant from Visit South Bend to help with the
implementation.
Committee Chair Voorde asked, Are those lighted signs?
Mr. Kain replied, These are not. These are just regular signs. We have some that will be lit.
Kara Boyles, City Engineer for the City of South Bend with offices located on the 13th floor of the
County-City Building, stated, Alright, I have about thirty (30) exciting slides. There are about
thirty(30) projects in the first (1St) five (5) slides. So, the way I set this up started with explaining
some of the major projects and updating you all with what is going on in 2019. There is a lot
happening. This slide (referencing the presentation) gives an overview of all the projects we are
involved with related to TIF investment. For instance,the Main and Jefferson Earthwork Retention
Project that began just recently. We are doing some preliminary work there now with a future five
(5) story building. The Drewry's debris clean up with take place this summer. We are working on
doing a little more analysis on the classification regarding the waste that is there. We are getting
ready to open bids on that at the end of May. When we do these projects,we work with Community
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CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
Investment and look at them like they are our client and assisting them with all of the engineering-
related aspects of their projects.
Committeemember Jo M. Broden asked, When you are including and doing these elements of
those given projects, where is that identified in the process when it is at the Redevelopment
Commission? Where is that?
Ms. Boyles replied, I can lean on Dan to get back to you, as well, but certain projects we are
initiating through Engineering,we are asking the Redevelopment Commission for a budget request
to do projects. Other projects are function-development agreements. So, that is the virtue of the
request for budget.
Committeemember Broden followed up,And where is that tucked in, though? I have not seen that,
historically.
Dan Buckenmeyer, Director of Business Development for the City of South Bend with offices
located on the 14th floor of the County-City Building, clarified, I'm not sure I understand the
question, I'm sorry.
Committeemember Broden stated, So, that anticipated amount for that budget for a given
assistance from this internal department, where is that included in our redevelopment agreements?
I don't consistently see that. So, where is that? There is usually a reference to it but there is not an
actual identified project, nor a budget amount included in the development agreement.
Mr. Buckenmeyer replied, Typically, every redevelopment agreement comes, and they vary in
their specificity. But, it comes with a specific amount that is being allocated from TIF whether it
is the whole project or part of the project. Then there is typically an exhibit that describes the LPI,
the local public improvements, that are specified or to be specified.
Ms. Boyles followed up, And sometimes we just can't specify those at the initiation of the project
until we really get into understanding what type of work the developer wants to undertake. They
then typically work with us in Engineering, for the most part, to help define what makes sense as
a local public improvement.
Committeemember Broden stated, Ok, I just typically don't see those. So, I would like to actually
see those for maybe the past years projects. This is comprehensive after the fact, but I think when
the Redevelopment Commission considers them, I think a budget should be included in those local
public improvements. I don't see that customarily identified when it goes before the
Redevelopment Commission.
Mr. Buckenmeyer replied, Just to be clear, the Redevelopment Commission is absolutely
transparent. The agendas go out before the meetings, everything is accessible online. All those
development agreements can be accessed by the public.
Committeemember Broden interjected, I read those.
Mr. Buckenmeyer continued, They are reviewed and remain online and are archived for decades.
I would be happy to share and grab anything you would like.
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CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
Committeemember Broden requested, I would like to go through that process because I am not
routinely seeing them.
Ms. Boyles stated, And the trail continues through the Board of Public Works.
Committeemember Broden interjected, And that is when I do see them is when it hits you guys.
Then, we see it as a Council in an update like this. I know some of the Commission members are
asking these same questions, too, about the actual amounts. Thanks.
Ms. Boyles continued, These are some of the current Fire Station projects (referencing a slide in
the presentation). Station Nine (9) is almost complete. It is estimated to be completed in June. It's
estimated to be $3.6 million. We've stayed pretty close to that with minimal change orders. The
Training Center is also anticipated to be complete at the end of July, actually, with an actual target
of September. So, they are way ahead of schedule. We are also working with Fire on some future
renovations for Stations Three(3) and Six (6). Both stations need some interior renovations,really
looking at adequate separation between living quarters and the truck bays.We are going to upgrade
those with some safety features. Station Six (6) is going to need separate restroom spaces. There
is also a list of projects ongoing with Venues, Parks & Arts. I don't want to step on anyone's toes,
these all belong to those departments but, again, we do assist them with managing all of these
projects. The West Bank Trail is going to have a new ADA accessible trail with some overlooks.
We are getting ready to open bids on that at the end of May. Leeper Park construction is starting
soon. The first (Pt) phase and then the second (2"d) phase will follow. All of that should be
completed by the end of the year. Pulaski, we are doing some entrance improvements, new
restrooms and soccer fields. Pinhook is getting trail improvements and a new playground. We are
doing some renovations at some of the athletic courts. Replacing the Muessel Grove restroom and
the Morris Theatre is an interesting project. We will be repairing the decorative plaster that wraps
around the base of the domes. We had a façade failure almost a year ago, now, so, there is a small
window of time we don't have any scheduled events and we will get in there and get it done
quickly.
Committee Chair Voorde asked, What about the Erskine Clubhouse?
Ms. Boyles replied, I think that is on schedule to be done soon but I can't remember off the top of
my head.
Councilmember Jake Teshka replied, The last time I talked to Aaron Perri, it was scheduled for
some time in June.
Committee Chair Voorde stated, Ok. And, that hydro plant at Seitz? Is that still scheduled?
Ms. Boyles replied, They are supposed to be analyzing soon and it is still a go.
Ms. Boyles continued, Some Waste Water related projects, we are doing $6 million worth of
electrical improvements to change the way the feed comes into the plant as well as to do some all
over modifications and updates to outdated equipment and some of the standby backup power. We
are also doing a project related to Digester Gas Utilization. This will help with our CNG fuel
station. There will be some piping and some instrumentation controls that allow us to clean gas.
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CITY OFSOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
Ameritech Lift Station, an upgrade there as well. We are replacing a control plan on pumps. At the
Waste Water Treatment Plant, we are doing a stabilization project there and that is along the St.
Joseph River bank next to the coordination of our discharge back to the river. This is actually phase
three (3) including some vegetation and some tree planting. The Douglas Road Lift Station
relocation is part of the Douglas Road widening project. That is scheduled for late 2020 and we
are relocating our lift station in order to make way for the new road. We also have quite a few
Water Capital projects. Many of these were funded by TIF. This is part of the rate increase and the
allocation of TIF dollars over the past two (2) years to get some of these projects started. We will
be getting ready to bid out the Edison Filtration Roof Repair this summer. There will be some
decent improvements at the Olive Station. These are chemical fluoride upgrades to the treatment
plant. Similarly, we've done some chemical fluoride equipment change out at Cleveland Well and
those are those smaller quote projects. We anticipate bidding maybe a portion of South Well Field
improvements. There is a new water main in that project as well as a new high service pump and
some updates to the disinfection process. So, there are some property acquisition issues there and
we are working through those in order to get the real estate to build our water main. SR-23 from
US-20 to Mayflower is a new water main and that will close the loop. It involves, really, two (2)
phases. We are looking at fitting the first (1st) phase into this fall and winter or the water main
under the Bypass, and then remaining second (2nd) phase will take us all the way down to close
the loop on Prairie. We have a couple other projects coming up. The Pinhook Water Treatment
Plant, we will be looking at replacing valves, motors and the air handling system. We have some
piping work to do at North Station and our Fellows Project will come online after the South Well
Field because we need one (1) to do the other. So, there is a lot going on with the Water side of
things.
She went on, So, Light Up South Bend, you all know this project well. We are getting ready to
kick off. Of course, we have the annual portion of this program which is partnering with I&M. I
believe we've presented some preliminary districts to Councilmembers Scott and White. We are
still working on that now.We also have,of course,the Lamppost Program which will involve solar
lights this summer. We will have two (2) new target areas this year. We've got the boundaries
listed there(referencing a slide in the presentation). We anticipate it to be a ninety-ten(90-10)cost
share, so, it kind of helps residents to get a little bit of a reduced rate on the solar lamp. We plan
to get that out soon. We are also working on some traffic calming. This year's budget is $250,000.
We are working in numerous neighborhoods. There is some work happening along Riverside, the
Harter Heights neighborhood, the Walnut Grove and the Monroe Park neighborhood. There are
also continuous requests from other neighborhoods, so, we are trying to look at some
comprehensive programs for those neighborhoods. We also received a grant recently from the
State from the State Health Department which will help us look into some communities over by
Madison School on Park and Riverside. And there is another grant we applied for to help us do
some other potential traffic calming in neighborhoods that have higher ages. So, Walnut Grove
would be a really good candidate for that.This year's Curb and Sidewalk Reimbursement Program
will have a new structure so that we can assist some residents in an additional way. The first (1st)
line and column (referencing a slide in the presentation) should be the traditional which is fifteen
dollars or twenty dollars ($15/$20) per foot for curb and sidewalk reimbursement. Then the next
section should be your target area where we doubled that reimbursement rate. Followed by the
addition of non-homeowner business, so, we have added that category this year. We've had many
requests in the past from churches and schools, this gives an opportunity for them to participate.
And then, of course, back to the traditional and target area,just looking for another opportunity to
encourage residents to take advantage of the program and make it more affordable.
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Committeemember Broden stated, These are exclusively for repair. There are some areas in our
City where there aren't sidewalks. I think of Greenlawn, specifically. There has,heretofore,never
been a sidewalk on an area that clearly provides access to our Zoo and a lot of schools. That would
not qualify, though. So, is there a way to perhaps look at some areas that don't have previously
existing sidewalks but would meet a high community access need?
Ms. Boyles replied, We've done it in the past.
Committeemember Sharon L. McBride interjected, I actually made that request two(2)weeks ago.
Committeemember Broden followed up, Good. But, we don't have anything formally in terms of
the program,right?
Ms. Boyles replied, Well formally we could do an appropriation for a project that we deem
specific. We've done that in the past. We did an appropriation a few years ago, I believe, for the
Ironwood sidewalks. So, we built those, and it was a budgeted project. I think it's challenging to
fund our program internally to do a new sidewalk because our internal crews are doing the bulk of
this work. That makes it so that it is effective and efficient in replacement.
Ms. Boyles continued, So, there are a couple projects under construction at present that I would
like to go over. We have a Safe Routes to School project underway in the LaSalle and Marquette
School areas. We are going to put in more than two (2) miles of sidewalk. Also, a lot of curbs and
curb ramps. This project should be complete by the end of the summer. I'll have to check on that.
This is in that LPA project, which means we received eighty percent (80%) of the funding from
INDOT and the federal government. We share in the cost twenty percent (20%). We are also
extending sanitary sewer at the present time along US-20. We are putting in over 4,000 feet of
twelve (12) inch diameter sewer. Of course, that extension will accommodate all kinds of new
surfaces there near the interchange. This is almost a $700,000 project that will be done this
summer. We are getting ready to, starting this week, to improve the Ironwood and Mishawaka
Signaling. There are some ADA improvements as well as signal updates,new pavement markings
and the very critical piece is the emergency vehicle signal preemption. We will be doing that at
20th and Mishawaka as well as Ironwood and Mishawaka. With the presence of the new Fire
Station it will have signal pre-emption. So, whatever direction they go, they are going to need
some help. That should be underway as we speak. We are also doing some sewer and manhole
lining. We will continue to pick up work on the CSO Eighteen (18) sewer as we make our way
toward Bowman Creek. We are also doing various other locations, smaller lining jobs throughout
the City. We actually did this very large project in 2018 when we came back and awarded our
2019 funding with this project.This is a large project worth two(2)years of funding. We also have
some small drainage projects going on right now. This is a result of the Local Roads and Streets
money that we budgeted last year for storm water drainage projects, so, that is happening. Olivia
Circle, Hawbaker Street, Creekwater, these are all residential areas where we are seeing some
drainage concerns.
She went on, I also want to highlight this project(referencing a slide in the presentation). This was
one(1)that is really a pretty tremendous effort on behalf of many different members on our City's
team. That top picture shows you what this street often looks like when it floods and when we get
a good rain. Sean can attest to this. We would have to put Road Closed signs out for many years.
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We pooled together many members of the team. As you can see, in that picture, you really can tell
but there are a lot of leaves and debris. What you didn't see before was, in that bottom left-hand
corner picture was the sidewalk which was completely covered prior to this project. Sue Ellen did
a quick quote on this. She pooled together different members of the City including the N.E.A.T.
Team, the Sewer Team, the Forester, and was really able to get a nice project completed in a very
short period of time. I think, all in all, it was about two (2) weeks of work. In our last rain, we
received no real water sitting on the street. I believe a resident of this area wrote in the South Bend
Tribune's Voice of the People section, thanking Councilmember Scott and Sue Ellen on this. So,
that was a very nice project. The West Side Quiet Zones, we are working still to establish our
silencing of the trains on the west side. We've done some work along a few crossings on the
Northfolk/Southern Corridor.We've done pavement markings and signage and Grandview,Meade
and Olive. So, we have some challenges with the railroad. As part of our notice to the railroad,
they came back and said they needed to make some programming updates at Meade Crossing. We
just entered into a construction agreement with them and they are doing around $2,000 worth of
work to update that crossing signal. So,they are moving that forward but we don't have a time line
from them but hopefully it is soon.
She continued, Alright, so now I will talk about some projects that are getting ready to be bid out.
Of course, the 2019 Curb and Sidewalk Program, we have a budget of$500,000 to facilitate that
as well as your Council allocation program. The Michigan Street Improvement Project, we expect
to open bids for this at the end of the month. This is estimated to be about $1.8 million. You've
got pavement reconstruction from Western to Colfax. We are also updating our parking to sixty
(60)degree angle parking.We are also replacing the lighting in that southern section from Western
to Wayne. That last section is where we have some lighting that hasn't functioned in a while. The
2019 Community Crossing Project,as mentioned earlier,received a grant from INDOT. It provides
for fifty-fifty (50/50) funding, so with our budgeted match of$600,000, we received $600,000
from INDOT. So, we will be paving another $1.2 million worth of roads with this available
funding. There are a couple exceptions we can do here with a contractor under maintenance of
traffic. Actually, along Jefferson we will be doing some striping there for the continuation of the
bicycle lane. We also have some additional money budgeted for outsourced paving as well this
year. It is our hope to apply again for another$400,000. The program can provide up to $1 million
annually. So,if we can leverage another$400,000 worth of paving,we will double that and would
then be able to do $800,000 worth of work once more. But that is going to be in the fall. Western
Avenue is in phase three (3). So, we will continue moving to the west from our previous phases,
Falcon Street to Dundee Street. We will have some storm sewer separation here and some new
water mains. There are quite a few underground infrastructure improvements as well as the new
concrete overlay. This is coming in at a pretty high estimate, so, we will receive bids for this
starting at the end of May. The Bendix Drive Reconstruction, we've talked about this a few times.
This should be in the fall, September, by INDOT. It is an INDOT LPA Project, so, eighty-twenty
(80/20) funding. We will see a new concrete three (3) lane section and the reconfiguration of the
Nimtz Parkway intersection. We will do this construction in two (2) phases. We will do the work
north of Boland and then the work south of Boland separately. When we do the work north of
Boland, the County will also be working on the bridge and will be replacing the pavement of the
south-bound bridge. That will actually be in the spring.
She went on, There are some other projects that are under design still. Traffic Signal inventory,
this is a really much needed project we undertook this spring to inventory all of our signals in the
City and make sure all of the data can capture things such as ADA improvements, the timing and
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developing a new model for our traffic signals. The school zone flashing beacons, this project is
now under design. This is an LPA project as well. This receives ninety-ten (90/10) funding. We
just initiated a professional services agreement for these signs. We have a list of schools and I can't
remember the number off the top of my head, but I can get you that. We estimate that the
construction won't start until the spring of 2022. That's when the funding becomes available by
MACOG. In that year,we will have$750,000 for this work.We are also moving through the River
Bank Stabilization Project over by Yukon and Riverside. This is funded eighty percent (80%) by
an IDNR Lake and River Enhancement Grant. We just completed the feasibility study and we
actually have applied now for the design. This project continues to move forward, looking at our
options. The Lincolnway East Corridor Improvements, you've probably seen that we finished that
project last fall with respect to moving the curb. The State is ramping up to complete the
replacement of the pavement throughout that corridor. I believe they are starting in Mishawaka
and then moving toward South Bend. They are coming through and then restripe to go back to our
same four (4) lane section. We are actually going to put a pause on this project in order to take a
step back. There were some conversations with Mishawaka with respect to how they are changing
lane configurations throughout the corridor. We are going to take a step back and do a Master Plan
and look at the entirety of the section from Michigan all the way to Ironwood,just to update traffic
volume and really get an idea of what the appropriate configuration should be through there.
Committeemember Broden asked, Does that include bike lines, or not?
Ms. Boyles replied, There is a proposed section, yes.
Ms. Boyles continued,Alright, so the Coal Line Trail is ongoing.Again,that is still a two(2)phase
project and we are still in the design phase of this, but just wanted to highlight that it continues to
move forward. Ewing and Fellows, we are anticipating bidding out the traffic signal
improvements. This is one (1) of the oldest signals in the City at present. It still has a mechanical
controller which Roger refers to as a museum piece. So, that will be a nice upgrade to that
intersection. Again, we are working on some more small drainage projects. We have a couple
projects. Overlook Court and other residential neighborhoods are looking at design and
constructions later this year. That is always dependent on our budget and how far we can get with
what we have. That will be paid for using storm water fees.
Mr. Horvath announced, We will email this presentation to the Council Members, so you have a
copy of it. It will also be online, so it is accessible to the public, as well.
Mr. Buckenmeyer stated, All Council Members should be on the email list and should be getting
emails for the Redevelopment Commission and they should be receiving full development packets,
prior to every meeting. We did add, as an additional item, the target district for every project so
that as you look through it, you can see if a project is in your district. Please let us know if you are
not receiving those.
Committee Chair Voorde then opened the floor to members of the public.
Sue Kesim, 4022 Kennedy Drive, stated, I'm curious, is the lane mile cost still $100,000 per lane
mile?
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CITY OF SOUTH BEND ', OFFICE OF THE CLERK
Mr. Horvath replied, Roughly. We put it out to bid and then we find out what exactly those costs
are.
Ms. Kesim followed up, You are changing your depth of resurfacing. You were going to make it
deeper or something. Did you get that equipment? What is your depth of resurfacing now?
Mr. Horvath replied, To get at your last question, that is per surface cost. So, per lane mile per
surface so that is not full replacement. I'm not sure what you're talking about but the new mill,
you'll notice in the past that crews would just keep paving over roads to the point there was no
more curb exposure. So, our new mill will do deeper cuts, So, it just depends on the road and the
need, they'll make deeper cuts and will have more curb exposed when they are done.
Ms. Kesim followed up, I looked at something called eco-patch. They use it down in Indy and
other places,and it is cost-effective. I'm wondering if you could save on filling potholes by looking
at eco-patch. Have you considered it?
Mr. Horvath replied, We actually have a machine that is almost identical to the system they have
with eco-patch. It's not all eco-patch, but we have two (2) methods at doing potholes. One (1) is
the hot box. You'll see the Mayor goes out and he does that. We do that because that is our process
and we want to make it work. The other process is an arm that goes out and blows the pothole out
and that is a one (1) person operation. Machines are much more expensive and that is part of the
problem. That is something we will look into putting into the 2020 budget.
Ms. Kesim then stated, When I looked at Virginia, there was some road surfacing institute thing.
I'm thinking maybe it would be a good EnFocus project to look at doing better road materials
because we have such extreme weather here. Our costs for that would make that a great EnFocus
project. I'm wondering about the nine hundred and fifty dollars ($950) for ADA ramps. Does the
person have to pay for that or is that the City paying for that? On the ADA ramp?
Mr. Horvath replied, We do have a thing called LTAP, Local Technical Assistance Program that
is mobile that helps rate and evaluate pavements hoping to make it last longer. For the ramp, that
is a reimbursement. The City pays the nine hundred and fifty dollars ($950). The idea is that is
what it should cost to do a ramp and we are trying to cover the entire cost of the ramp for the home
owners.
Jim Bognar, 807 West Washington Street, stated, I have two (2) questions. This Council passed a
green initiative. I would think one (1) of the best green initiatives we have is to continue to work
with AEP. So many areas of this community do not have good lighting. We've talked about this
at times. I wonder why we aren't talking about where we are with AEP and why we are not pushing
them harder. The second (2nd) issue is, on my corner, which is a very dangerous corner, Chapin
and Washington, and then down on Western and Chapin. They were high-density prototype lights
they put up. That whole area is now dark. I tried to go through the 311 system on Washington and
Chapin and it is the City's clover lighting. I never got a response from anyone. I think Council has
an opportunity, in the next six (6) months, to work and try to get a better deal with AEP and get
them to be more responsive to this. I think this is something that is critical to helping our
community. I don't know why they don't want to do more cost-efficient lighting. I know the City
is trying to do more and more and do their part. Can't we bring them to the table and get Council
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110 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
together? I've talked about this for years. You all passed a green initiative,how about greening the
lights?
With no further business, Committee Chair Voorde adjourned the Public Works and Property
Vacation Committee meeting at 5:14 p.m.
Respect i • Submitt .,
John , rde, Co • ee hai
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