McHenry Times

City of Harvard Transportation Committee met May 11.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Chairman Gorman called the Transportation Committee Meeting to order at 6:30 pm. Committee members present: Chairman Charlie Gorman, Alderwoman Lisa Haderlein, Alderman John Lavallee and Alderman Matt Perkins. Also present were Mayor Kelly, Alderman Jay Schulz, City Administrator Lou Leone, Finance Director Deb Bejot, Public Works Supt. Rob Lamz, Code Enforcement Officer Anne Nutley and Gary Rozwadowski, Christopher Burke Engineering.

Citizen Comments Regarding Items Not on the Agenda 

None

Future Use of MFT and Municipal Sales Tax Funds – What, Where, When 

City Administrator Leone proposed that the Committee consider continuing on the path dedicating MFT funds (approximately $220,000) for road preservation and stopgap and using the 1% sales tax for resurfacing curb to curb, sidewalk to sidewalk type projects to handle our road situation.

Alderman Gorman noted one of the areas that was lacking this year where we wished we could have done more was stopgap because only half of the City was done. He suggested focusing on roads least likely to get done that are in the worst shape and putting stopgap measures in place. Also to put an effort in place for dangerous areas and roads that are falling apart to get to the deep patches before we put too much money into curb to curb.

There was discussion that more can be spent on stopgap next year concentrating on the south half of town as there won’t be as much of the allocated MFT funds going towards road preservation. It was noted that there is still stopgap required on the north side of town as only half of the City was completed. Mayor Kelly’s recommendation was to concentrate on stopgap until we get to a point where you have a handle on it because there are roads that really need the stopgap. The stopgap program will likely take more than a few years, but at some point, the City should be caught up on stopgap and preservation. Roads in Huntington Ridge and Country Brook Subdivisions may be candidates for preservation. The Committee will need to be fluid for the next few years.

There was discussion on the 1% municipal sales tax distribution:

• Next year’s budget process for FY24/25 shouldn’t include the municipal sales tax because the City will only have collected one month; the budget for 25/26 will have a good 8 months of running distributions which will allow the Committee to make assumptions for an annual collection.

• Finance Director Bejot reported that the average sales tax last year was $131,000/month; she would estimate that an additional 1% would be $95K per month, starting in April.

• Any time there is a peak in the sales tax, there should be an equal amount for the municipal tax as well; Once we know what the common average level is, predictions can be made.

• Lag time from date of purchase - state distribution is 3 months after purchase 

• Vehicles are a high dollar ticket item that are not included in the municipal sales tax which could create a large variance.

Public Works Supt. Rob Lamz recommended not focusing on the roads that are already in a failed condition through PAVER. If we put all stopgap money into a road that’s got 20% or lower PAVER score, we’re not going to get very far. Whereas if we did some stopgap preventative on something sort of mid-range, we’ll be able to get a lot more stopgap done and be able add life to those areas. Rather than whole failed conditions, the City would be dealing with pockets of failed conditions. Rob noted that a failed road would be a prime candidate for curb-to-curb reconstruction. He further recommended that roads that are in failed condition be basically maintained by City staff using cold or hot patch, small repairs and maintenance patching. There was a consensus that moving forward to work with Rob letting staff deal with the failed roads to keep them drivable.

Rob reported that a lot of storm sewers in town are silted up to the grate. Public Works is currently out sweeping to try and slow that down. His focus is to do that at least twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, as staff have time and availability.

City Administrator Leone related that over the next 18 months, Rob can work with Gary using PAVER analysis, usage and visual boots on the ground to come up with the best possible list to be recommended to the Committee.

In the past, funding for sidewalks has been mostly MFT Funds but General Funds were also used last year. The Committee can set aside the amount they desire out of MFT funds for sidewalk which in the past has been about $75 for sidewalks and $220,000 for roads.

Gary Rozwadowski, Christopher Burke Engineering

Gary related that he has heard from different people that the City completed about one-quarter to one-half of the roads with stopgap. He related that it is more like one-tenth. Former Supt. Kruckenberg started working on a list for stopgap roads, starting in the northwest corner and got down to about McKinley. Jim submitted that list to Gary which was about $300,000 worth of patching but the City only had about $100,000 to spend, so one-tenth might be generous as to how much was done this year.

Gary confirmed that this year’s MFT Road Program will focus on pavement preservation, crack routing and crack sealing. Moving forward, he concurred with Rob to let Public Work keep the bad roads drivable. He recommended to hit some of the roads that are older (10-12 years) but still in decent shape that would be candidates for pavement preservation or crack seal and to spend the rest of the funds for stopgap. Down the road in this program, pavement preservation can be done every 2-3 years when you have a bigger quantity and will get better pricing. Mayor Kelly recommended that based on Gary’s comments, the Committee might want to consider dedicating some of the 1% sales tax to complete the stopgap before starting curb-to-curb projects.

Gary further informed the Committee that there are two ways to do curb to curb: • Mill and resurface, assuming you have a good base, this would include some curb repairs, adjust/fix drainage structures;

• Roads at the bottom have to be totally reconstructed which is very expensive.

Slide Presentation

Alderman Lavallee reviewed a slide presentation entitled “Asphalt Pavement Importance of Quality Workmanship & Density” as attached.

• Construction oversight is something that you want to spend some money on, either inhouse or a hired engineer to conduct the oversight.

• The slide of 8th St. is a 2021 overlay which shows a “ bird bath” depression a month after it was paved that fills with water every time it rains. The curb/gutter was put in years ago when the City redid the park, and the parking spots slope back to the road so water never goes to the gutter. Gary indicated the curb was not engineered and was put in without his knowledge. The Mayor previously spoke with Steve Santeler who indicated when the road was paved, the bid was for grind and resurface only; base work was not part of the contract. This area will be susceptible to quick deterioration.

• Density is paramount to durable roads. John recommended that it would behoove the City moving forward to spend the money to make sure the contractor is giving the City the correct compaction level or you will get higher levels of permeability.

• It was mentioned that the garbage trucks take a toll on the streets. There was discussion of the possibility of changing the recycling to every other week. Lou noted that the City can look into things like that and working with MDC rearranging the schedule. The Mayor noted that the City has contracted with MDC for specific days and didn’t think the City could change the contract.

• The City should also require QC/QA (Quality Control Quality Assurance Program) for projects using MFT funds and the 1% sales tax. The contractor is required to have a technician on the job site to verify they’re getting density. Quality Assurance is a company hired by the engineer or City to monitor the Quality Control to make sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to.

Staff Report on Current State and Future Timelines of all City Road, Bridge, Sidewalk Projects Gary reviewed the major projects:

• Diggins St. (Federal) from Front St. to Lawrence The State and Feds are taking forever to approve the contracts. IDOT has had the contract since May, 2022. Gary had the Mayor send IDOT a letter so we can get the design done and constructed before winter 2024.

• Sidewalk on a State Route Again, IDOT keeps throwing wrenches in because it’s their route. The special waste took forever. Geometrics is looking at the ADA Ramps. It is getting close and the project should be constructed this year.

• Marengo Rd Bridge and Marengo Rd Rehabilitation Contracts are in and waiting to be approved. This includes Marengo Rd. from Airport Rd. to Crosby Elementary School as well as a connection to Country Brook.

• Ayer St. will start construction right after Milk Days.

• Route 173 Sidewalks This is an RTA Access to Transit Grant. The City received $55,000 to do a Phase I to install sidewalks on the north side of Route 173 from Route 14 to Marengo Road which includes getting pedestrians over Mokeler Creek. The City’s share is $40,000. Options to be determined during Phase I will be whether to widen out the triple box culverts and put in a sidewalk or put in a separate pedestrian bridge. Cost and aesthetics of both options will be looked at during Phase 1. 

• Marengo Road Sidewalks CMAQ Federal Funding. The project is from Ayer St. to Route 173. RTA takes a bunch of small projects from different municipalities and lumps them into one big CMAQ application which is presented to the Feds to get funding for all the little projects that wouldn’t get funding on their own. An announcement will come out in July if we received the funding for the project.

• 2023 MFT Road Program timing is not critical because pavement rejuvenation, crack sealing and stopgap is usually done in Sept./Oct. when it’s cooler.

• 2024 MFT Road Program Will not do pavement preservation next year, just stopgap. Time line would be to get everything ranked in August /September and to the City Council in October. Gary can get it designed over the winter and bid out early (February, no later than March 1) to bet better prices.

Parking in Front of 200 E. Brainard St. 

The Committee reviewed the public parking/striping in front of 200 E. Brainard St. which was brought to Anne’s attention by the property owner. The house has a Brainard St. address, but the parking is acutally on Johnson St. This is the same area they want to use for overflow parking for the old church on Route 14. The concern is the parking space closest to the driveway which causes an unsafe condition when cars back out of the driveway. Also, the striping in the no parking area has all but disappeared. No parking signs could be put up which would require an ordinance or at a minimum yellow stripe the space as no parking. If possible, the entire no parking area could be restriped to encompass the parking space directly south of the driveway. The consensus was to direct City staff to put in the yellow striping as recommended by the Committee.

Items for Future Meetings 

• 2024 MFT Road Program to be completed by October.

• Alderman Gorman requested that Alderman Schulz forward him the bike/walking path information when approved by the Park Board so the Transportation Committee can review and comprehensively coordinate with sidewalks or other projects. Jay indicated this had already been approved and he will direct Ryan to forward the information.

A motion was made by Alderman Perkins, seconded by Alderwoman Haderlein to adjourn the meeting. All ayes. Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned 7:44 pm

https://www.cityofharvard.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/transportation_committee/meeting/14788/minutestransportation2023-05-11.pdf