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| | 1. | | Communication transmitting the 2015 Capital Improvements Budget Requests.
Minutes note: Meeting convened: 9:01 A.M.
Members present: Mr. Froh, Mr. Schifalacqua, Mr. Korban, Mr. Matson, Ald. Bauman, Mr. Nicolini (arrived at 9:03 A.M.) | | | |
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| | | | Department of Public Works - Fleet
Minutes note: Mr. Jeffrey Tews discussed the capital request for DPW – Fleet. Mr. Tews said that the City maintains 4,400 pieces of equipment. He said that 783 of them are considered capital equipment and that their value represents 81% of the total value of the fleet. He said the department is requesting $7.5 million which will maintain the fleet age at approximately 12.2 years. Three automated refuse packers are included in the 42 vehicle request. He said that the equipment budgeted in 2014 for the demolition of houses has been purchased. He said that 16 demolitions have already occurred. He said the goal for the year was 100. Ald. Bauman asked for a report at the next meeting of the Joint Committee. | | | |
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| | | | Department of Public Works - Forestry
Minutes note: Mr. David Sivyer discussed the capital requests for DPW Forestry. He said that the department’s request would maintain the 98% stocking goal for street trees. He said that the department removes about 3,600 trees per year. Ald. Bauman requested information about historic tree planting.
Mr. Sivyer said there are three active emerald ash borer (EAB) infestations in the City but no treated trees have shown EAB activity. Mr. Schifalacqua asked if the City receives any state or federal money to manage EAB. Mr. Sivyer said no. He said the treatment is important to ensure public safety and to be able to manage and control the timing of the replacement of the street ash trees.
Mr. Sivyer described the six year plan to remove and replace 5,400 untreated ash trees. He said the work would be done by contractors at an estimated cost of $1,000 per tree. ($700 for planting and $300 for stump removal). He said the funding source for the replacement trees has not been determined. He said untreated trees will be removed before they are infested. He said that so far only about a dozen trees have died but that all untreated trees will become infested and die.
Mr. Sivyer said that the division is unable to keep up with stump removal because of a lack of personnel. The department is requesting funds for the contract removal of 1,300 stumps each year. He said it costs the City approximately $130 to remove a stump. The contract cost incurred has been about $275 per stump. Mr. Sivyer said that this is an on-going issue and that without additional funding the stump backlog will increase each year. Mr. Nicolini asked for a detailed analysis of the assumptions used to develop the request.
Mr. Sivyer discussed the repairs and modifications need at the Central District yard and the Industrial Road Facility. He said the request includes some office remodeling to accommodate the staff required for the management of foreclosed properties and for the enforcement of the revised tall weeds and grass ordinance.
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| | | | Department of Public Works - Sanitation
Minutes note: Mr. Paul Klajbor discussed the capital requests for DPW – Sanitation. He said that the central salt dome, which services downtown and the east side, only holds 400 tons of salt. Most other locations hold between 11,000 and 12,000 tons. The requested project would add 3,500 tons of capacity. Ald. Bauman asked if this type of improvement was funded with the snow and ice fee. Mr. Klajbor said that typically projects like this are funded in the capital budget.
Mr. Klajbor described the repairs requested for 6th and Howard and the Central Area. He said parking lot paving is required for plow blade storage. He said the blades have been stored at Cameron, but the Water department is taking over that facility. He said that there might be space to store them at the Tower site but that operationally it made more sense to store them where the trucks are parked.
Mr. Klajbor said that there has been no action by Direct Supply indicating that they intend to exercise their option on the Industrial Road facility. He said the department would like to do a study to evaluate the department’s needs for a new facility and to update the cost estimate. Mr. Klajbor said the study would cost approximately $150,000. The Direct Supply option expires December 31, 2019.
Mr. Klajbor discussed the proposed purchase of brine makers. He said using brine to pre-wet salt could decrease the amount of salt used. He said the request would fund three brine makers and three storage facilities. He said the City’s current brine maker is not automated and does not allow for the addition other additives like calcium chloride. Ald. Kovac asked about the effectiveness of cheese brine. Mr. Korban said that the City received cheese brine, which is a waste product, from a cheese manufacturer in Polk County. He said that it was effective down to about 20 degrees. He said that the supply was limited in part because not all types of cheese produce brine with the appropriate salt concentration. He estimated that cheese producers would only be able to supply about 2% of the brine that the City expects it would need. He said the department is continuing to explore other options and ways to reduce salt usage. Mr. Klajbor said that even if the City could get enough cheese brine, it would need to install facilities to store it.
Mr. Korban said that the department will be appearing before the Public Works Committee to discuss Material Recovery Facility (MRF). Mr. Klajbor said that general repairs at the MRF were funded in 2013 and 2014. He said the cost of the equipment will be shared with Waukesha.
RECESS: 10:15 A.M.
RECONVENE: 10:30 A.M. | | | |
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| | | | Department of Public Works - Infrastructure Services
Minutes note: Mr. Craig Liberto discussed the capital request for bridges. He said that most of the state and federal funding received in the last solicitation was for construction funding in 2017 and 2018. He said the local bridge requests will be about $10 million for the next several years. He said the local request has increased because state and federal funding is less available and the City’s moveable lift bridges are no longer eligible for state aid. He said that when allocating funds in the bridge program the state looks at what was received in previous years. He said that overall state funding for bridges has remained relatively stable, Milwaukee is just getting a smaller proportion of the funding. Mr. Schifalacqua said he believes the funding formula the state uses is flawed. Mr. Liberto agreed and said that other programs such as the Connecting Highway program may be able to supplement the state’s Local Bridge program. Mr. Polenske said that from the federally funded Surface Transportation Program, the City used to get about $4 million right off the top. He said the rest was competitively distributed . He said that the FHWA has required a process where all projects are competitive. He said that in the full competitive process the City received $42 million out of $84 million over the next four years. He said he was hopeful that the state’s bridge program would move toward the same kind of competitive process.
Mr. Nicolini asked if the 1st Street bascule bridge has been designed. Mr. Liberto said the City will issue an RFP for the design work later this year. He said the bridge has required a lot of maintenance and the deck is in very poor condition. He said that consultants will be used to design the Michigan Street Bridge. He added that the Clybourn and Pleasant Street bridges were designed in-house. He said that city staff is also utilized to design parking structure repairs and some of the riverwalks. Mr. Nicolini asked if there was an opportunity to assess railroads for the cost of the bridges that span their rights-of –way.
Mr. Polenske discussed the other capital requests including the sidewalk replacement program, the local street program, the high impact program, and the alley program as well as the street lighting and traffic control programs. Mr. Nicolini asked for additional information on the bicycle related improvements. Mr. Polenske said bicycle projects are typically funded by CMAQ grants. The projects take time to develop and the grants have sunsets.
Mr. Bryson discussed the capital requests for underground conduit and manhole repairs. He said that the request for underground conduit was based on shortcomings identified by ITMD, and is largely driven by paving projects. Ald. Bauman asked why there was a big increase from last year. Mr. Bryson said that most of the work was related to state and federal paving projects. He said the department has prepared a prioritized project list. Mr. Schifalacqua said that when you get more grant and aid funding for major street paving, it becomes necessary to increase funding for street lighting and conduit. Ald. Kovac said the departments should be requesting the funding that they believe will meet the City’s needs, not the amount they believe the City has the ability to budget.
Mr. Polenske said that the department is in the process of hiring a new crew to do manhole repairs. He said that most of the repairs done in 2014 would be by contract. Mr. Nicolini said that funding was added to this capital account in 2014 with the expectation that city crews would be utilized to do the work.
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| | | | Department of Public Works Facilities
Minutes note: Mr. Paul Fredrich discussed the capital requests for DPW Facilities. He said the department has seven on-going programs and several special projects. He said that the ADA account will bring three facilities into compliance in 2015. He said that the department has established site specific plans for the Facilities Exterior program. He said that in 2014 the department focused on Northwest garage. In 2015 the department will be concentrating on Lincoln garage. He said that DPW general requests funding for facilities used by DPW and general areas in the City Hall Complex. Mr. Fredrich said that all of the requests are generated or substantiated by the FCAP.
Mr. Fredrich said that City Hall Foundation project is in the early draft stages of establishing the need. He said he expects that actual work will begin in 2015, but that work will not start until the terra cotta is complete. He said the foundation will likely be a staged, design/build project. Mr. Korban said that a report on the progress is expected in May.
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| | | | Health Department
Minutes note: Ms. Yvette Rowe presented the capital request for the Health Department. She said that the department used the FCAP to develop the capital budgets for 2014 and 2015.
She said that the recent window project came in under budget so the department will be able to make some smaller additional improvements in 2014. She said that the request for 2015 focuses on building automation systems for three buildings and the replacement of the garage roof at Northwest Health Center. She said that the department had to seek a temperature variance this past winter because it was unable to keep the buildings warm enough for clients.
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| | | | Library
Minutes note: This item was taken up first on the agenda.
Ms. Paula Kiely and Ms. Taj Schoening discussed the capital requests for the Library (MPL). Ms. Kiely said that the express library at the West Lawn housing development and the new East library will open in 2014. She said that in the next six years the MPL plans to replace four neighborhood libraries with new mixed use libraries. Ms. Schoening said that the capital request was based on an assessment of the facilities which includes the life cycle of the building components as well as the functional adequacy of the buildings. She said the total request for 2015 is $9 million. She said that the focus of the interior improvements at the Central library has always been on the public spaces and that most staff spaces have never been updated. She said the façade restoration on the original Central library building is complete. She said that funding is requested in 2015 to renovate the interior of the Tippecanoe library.
The committee discussed the existence and importance of carryover borrowing authority as it relates to budgeting additional funds. Mr. Nicolini said that uncommitted expenditure authority is more relevant to budgeting decisions than carryover borrowing authority. Ald. Bauman said that the City budgets based on its capacity to pay debt service and suggested that departments should not be given more borrowing authority until they use up what they have. Mr. Nicolini said that new borrowing authority should be tied to whether prior expenditure authority has actually been used. Mr. Schifalacqua said that carryover borrowing authority in a parent account should be looked at differently than carryover borrowing authority in a project account. Mr. Matson said it is necessary to know what will be expended in 2014.
Regarding the construction of new mixed used libraries Ald. Kovac said that he had a high level of confidence that the projects will proceed. Mr. Nicolini said that funding can be spread over multiple years because generally the process s of identifying and purchasing the land parcels can be done separately from the construction of the building. He said the Budget office monitors development plans to make sure that authority is not budgeted before it can be used.
Ald. Bauman asked if all the libraries were needed. Ald. Kovac said that in the last decade, closing branch libraries has been actively contemplated. Ms. Kiely said that a facilities planning project done between 2007 and 2010 considered several options including neighborhood library consolidation and the addition of express and mixed use libraries. She said that mixed use libraries have been welcomed by the community and are cost effective for the City. Mr. Nicolini said that the capital planning process has made it clear that the administration recommends rebuilding four libraries over six years and refurbishing Tippecanoe. He also said that the administration felt that access was better preserved by maintaining the existing neighborhood library system.
Mr. Matson recommended that the capital request forms be modified to include carryover that is related to specific projects. He alternatively suggested that the committee advise the departments to be prepared to discuss carryover amounts at the table.
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| | | | Police Department
Minutes note: Mr. Chuck Burki presented the IT related capital requests of the Police Department. He said that the City currently has 13 radio tower sites. He said two more are scheduled to go live in two weeks, one will be constructed in 2014 and two are being requested for 2015. He said that sites located near the City border in adjacent communities have special equipment that reflects the signal back into Milwaukee. He said that whenever possible the department negotiates for free access to sites.
Mr. Burki said the department is requesting $4 million to continue the replacement of the department’s record management system (RMS) He said that vendor demonstrations will be in April and that the contract should be awarded in July or August. Mr. Plant said that virtually every record that the police department creates with the exception of CAD, which is a separate system, goes into the RMS system. He said the new system will improve both the way that the department interfaces with the FBI and the department’s daily use of tactical data. He said the new system will exponentially extend the amount of automatic analysis that can be done. He said that the state of the art now is to have a robust technological system mine the data then it is given to a human analyst. Mr. Burki added that the new system will have a crime data warehouse that will allow the analytics to be done more efficiently. Nr. Nicolini noted that the methodical approach improved the project’s chance of success.
Mr. Burki described improvements needed for the CAD system. Mr. Schifalacqua asked if the department had considered a new system instead of an upgrade. Mr. Burki said that a new system would cost between $3 million and $4 million. He said it would also require the data migration, a re-evaluation of business requirements and RMS interfaces, and the creation of a new message switch.
Mr. Burki discussed the remaining IT related capital requests. Regarding the replacement of mobile data computers he said that the department would like to replace 320 computers over two years. He said the department keeps 20 spare computers on hand because of high failure rates in the existing computers. Mr. Burki said that new digital asset management software would provide a single access point for all digital files and documents associated with an incident regardless of their format. He said that it would also automate post processing of photos. He said that currently photos must be edited on at a time. Mr. Burki said that the current in-house system for tracking the training and certification requirements of officers is not keeping up with the department’s needs. He said a new system will allow for automated warnings and alerts for when re-certification is require. The department intends to issue an RFP.
Mr. Moore said that department’s request for funding for the PAB reflects a change in the construction schedule. He said the next level of construction funding will be required in January 2016. He said the request included funding for leasing space on the old Concordia College Campus for the department’s Human Resource division for the next two years. He said other departments will be located in the same space during future phases of the project.
Mr. Moore said that the restrooms and a janitor’s closet that are being requested will allow the department to comply with CJIS and FBI security protocols. Mr. Moore discussed the other building projects being proposed for various district facilities.
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| | | | Fire Department
Minutes note: Mr. Dale Schwark discussed the Fire Departments capital requests. He said the department is in the fourth year of a twenty year facilities capital plan. He said the department is working with DPW to evaluate the condition of the firehouses. He said the first an asset review is expected in June. He said the department has revised the proposed purchase pattern for fire engines to reflect the closing of three companies.
Mr. Schwark discussed the fire repair shop options. He said that workspace is limited, heating and cooling are problematic and that it is inefficient to have reserve equipment dispersed around the city. He said that a site for the proposed new shop has not been determined. Chief Rolfing said that the department was asked to revisit the original shop request that was submitted four years ago. He said the annex and shop upgrade request reflect that review. Ald. Bauman said that if there was a more valuable use for the site of the current fire repair shop, that could be justification for building a new garage.
Meeting adjourned: 12:00 P.M.
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| | | | This meeting will be webcast live at www.milwaukee.gov/channel25. | | | |
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