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| | 1. | | Review and approval of the minutes of the July 7th meeting.
Minutes note: Meeting convened: 9:06 AM.
Members present: Bill Christianson present for Mark Nicolini, Ghassan Korban, Ald. Mark Borkowski, Martin Matson and Ald. Robert Bauman
Excused: Ald. Milele Coggs and Mariano Schifalacqua
Ald. Borkowski moved for approval of the minutes. There were no objections.
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| | 2. | | Presentation of the Fleet Condition Report.
Minutes note: Mr.Jeff Tews discussed the condition of the City’s fleet. He said the mission of the department is to provide responsive, flexible, efficient and comprehensive fleet services and dispatch operations to support the delivery of public programs and services for the City of Milwaukee. He said that most technicians are ASCE certified. He said that Milwaukee was recognized in 2016 for third year in a row as one of the top 50 fleets in North America. He said the department greens the fleet wherever it is practical and economical and that the department uses training and technology to improve operations.
Mr. Tews said that the department has 123 different types of equipment. There are 4,712 pieces of Fleet maintained equipment. (2,975 Fleet and 1,737 non-Fleet) The replacement value of the fleet is just under $238 million. $174 million is for fleet services. Capital equipment is 833 units with a value of $144.5 million. Average cost is $163,700. O&M is a greater quantity at 2,092 units and a replacement value of $29.9 million. He said 223 units are used for snow and ice. Many of those units shift over into construction in the warmer months. Sanitation has 309 units. Mr. Tews discussed recent additions to the City’s fleet including snow and ice dumps, a new mason truck and new aerial lifts.
Mr. Tews discussed the use of compressed natural gas (CNG). He said 7 CNG refuse packers were received in 2016. He said diesel fuel is about $2 a gallon, which is the lowest it has been in many years. He said prices are not expected to stay that low. Mr. Tews said that even with the low price of diesel, CNG trucks save $2,000 per year. He said CNG engines are run cleaner and don’t require as much maintenance as the new diesels do. They are also 50% quieter. He said the department will soon open a 2nd CNG fueling station on N. 30th Street and W. Ruby Avenue.
Ald. Borkowski asked if it was possible to generate revenue by having advertising on City vehicles. Mr. Tews said that years ago, the Department had public service messages on many vehicles, but that they didn’t generate revenue. Ald. Bauman said that about 3 years ago, the City hired a consultant from Cleveland to analyze sponsorship and revenue potential. He said the consultant was paid about $100,000 and that the program is under the jurisdiction of the Dept. of Administration. He said that no revenue has been received. Mr. Korban said that one lease of street light poles to small cell vendors has been brought forward. Mr. Matson said that one of the challenges with advertising is the appearance that the City is endorsing a particular brand or product. He added that there was a long list of items that were going to be explored
Ms. Brengosz asked about equipment availability. Mr. Tews said that the industry standard for equipment availability is 90% and that for the year the department is at about 90.2%.
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| | 3. | | Presentation of the Water Works Condition Report.
Minutes note: Ms. Carrie Lewis discussed the condition of the City’s water treatment and distribution system. She reviewed several ongoing projects including the replacement of motor control centers, roofs, the steel pipe assessment at the Linnwood plant and the painting of tanks at W. Lincoln Avenue and N. 35th Street. She said the focus for the capital program for the next few years will be on water mains.
Ms. Lewis discussed the condition assessment process. The assessment is broken down into two sections; treatment plants and storage facilities. She said there are 43 identified assets at each plant. Each asset is rated individually. She said the ratings for the Linnwood plant, which was built in 1938, are consistent from year to year. They are improving a slightly and are quite a bit lower than the ratings at the Howard plant, which was built in the mid-1960s. She said the pumping and storage ratings have not changed much overall, because improvements made at some facilities are offset by the aging of others.
Ms. Lewis reminded the committee that MWW’s service area is not restricted to Milwaukee. MWW owns and maintain the water mains in Greenfield, Hales Corners, St. Francis and some in Franklin. Including those areas, MWW has over 1,800 miles of distribution mains, 138 miles of large mains, 20,000 hydrants, 50,000 valves and 168,700 services.
Ms. Lewis discussed water main breaks. She said the number of water main breaks has been trending downward. She said that 2014 was an especially bad year because of the extremely cold winter. She said that the number of breaks in August was unusually high, probably because of the drought, but that overall, 2016 is still expected to continue the downward trend.
Ms. Lewis said that the Public Service Commission is requiring that a water main replacement study be performed before MWW can apply for a rate increase. The PSC has directed that the study be done by a consultant. She said the study will do a cost benefit analysis of alternate replacement methods. Ms. Lewis said she believe the rationale for MWW’s capital planning has been sound. She said operational practices that reduce stress on the system should be taken into consideration when determining an appropriate amount of annual main replacement. The consultant’s report is expected by the end of 2016.
Ald. Borkowski asked how MWW will be addressing lead service lines. Ms. Lewis said that MWW has been working very closely with the Health Department, the Budget Office and the Mayor’s Office. She said MWW has done a mini-research project to better understand how lead service lines disturbed by construction affect the lead level at the customer’s tap. She said that MWW suspended replacements on water mains with lead service lines. She said the department is changing some construction practices and implementing the consumer safety protocols that have been developed over the last year. The jurisdictional issues regarding the replacement of lead service lines are complex. She said more information would be available in October as part of the budget discussions.
Mr. Christianson asked if the use of plastic or PVC pipe is accepted in the industry. Ms. Lewis said that there are many utilities that use plastic pipe for various aspects of water mains and services. She said the service life of those materials is unknown because they haven’t been in use long enough. She said some materials are porous to contaminants in the soil such as hydrocarbons or fuels. Milwaukee has contamination of that type and so MWW has not used them. In addition, those types of materials are not suitable for large water mains. She said the materials are less expensive, but the construction process is not. Mr. Korban added that plastic is more vulnerable during construction. It is less resistant to impact especially in colder temperatures.
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| | 4. | | Presentation of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Condition Report.
Minutes note: Ms. Kristin Bennet discussed the City’s Bicycle Transportation Plan, which was approved by the Common Council in 2010. The goals of the plan included increasing bicycle use by 5%, having some type of bicycle facility with ¼ mile of all residents, having safe and attractive facilities to reach the broadest range of residents and visitors, to reduce the crash rate by 50%, and to increase network mileage to more than 350 miles. The plan also included non-capital item such as information resources, mapping, traffic counting and encouragement programs. The plan is available on line on the City’s web site. Ms. Bennet said that since the plan was adopted the City has added about 71 center line miles of bike lanes. She said a large number of facilities were installed using federal grant funding. Ms. Bennet said that the department is trying to be as opportunistic as possible and adding bike lanes in conjunction with other paving projects especially the High Impact paving program.
Ms. Bennet discussed various types of bike infrastructure. She said approximately 6 miles of buffered bike lanes have been added since the plan was adopted. She said the raised bike lanes that were constructed on Bay Street were the first in the state. The plan recommends 4 additional miles, but there is no funding for them. She said green bike lanes have been added in four high conflict areas; two at the intersection of N. Humboldt Avenue and E. Locust Street, one at N. Humboldt Avenue and E. Center Street, and one at N. Oakland Avenue and E. Locust Street. She said 10 additional locations will be added this fall with a federal grant.
Ms. Bennet discussed bike boulevards. She said that Milwaukee is ideal for a bike boulevard network because it has a very dense grid throughout most of the city. She said a corridor has been designed on S. 37th Street to connect the Silver City neighborhood to the Valley Passage and the Hank Aaron state trail. She said a federal grant has been awarded to construct bike boulevard improvements on N. Fratney Street from E. Keefe Avenue to E. Meinecke Avenue and also on E. Wright Street from where it dead ends at the Beer Line Trail to at least N. Palmer Street. She said it would be good to go further west but there may not be funding for it. She said there are 65 miles of bike boulevards in the plan. She said that it is more difficult to get grant funding for bike boulevards because they primarily utilize local streets, not arterials or connectors.
Ms. Bennet discussed off street trails. She said several pieces of trail have been constructed since the bike plan was approved in 2010, including the northern section of the Beer Line Trail (the Artery), two sections of the Kinnickinnic River Trail, and a trail along Freshwater Way. She said the City has only 3.6 miles of off-street trail but there is a substantial amount of trail located within the City boundaries that are under the jurisdiction of the Dept. of Natural Resources or Milwaukee County. She said planning is on-going in conjunction with MMSD for a potential expansion of the Kinnickinnic River Trail to Jackson Park.
Ms. Bennet discussed protected bikeways. She said that there is growing demand for the separation of facilities because of safety concerns. There has been an increase in bicycle crashes and fatalities in Wisconsin and throughout the United States. She said there is no Milwaukee specific analysis, but that the department is working with The UW-Milwaukee School of Urban Planning to develop one. She said separated facilities are not currently eligible for funding through WisDOT. She said there are opportunities in Milwaukee, but that it requires rethinking how street space is allocated. She said plowing, sweeping and maintenance are also important considerations.
Ms. Bennet discussed the Bublr bike sharing system. She said the City has developed a solid partnership with the non-profit operator. There are currently 39 stations operating from a variety of funding sources. She said there are plans to have between 58 and 60 stations by the end of the year. She said Shorewood, Wauwatosa and West Allis have received federal grants to expand the system. Monthly meetings are held to share information and advice. Ald. Bauman asked for a list of existing and proposed Bublr bike stations. He also asked about operating results and City support for the system. Ms. Bennet replied that the City is not subsidizing the operation of the system. Mr. Polenske said that the Bublr system is heavily subsidized by sponsors and local supporters. He said the agreement the City has with Midwest Bike Share requires them to develop a plan to maintain non-City funding. He said user revenues are expected to increase as more stations are installed. Ms. Brengosz said that Bublr posts monthly usage statistics on its website. Mr. Polenske said that the system had over 50,000 trips so far this year. Last year there were about 20,000 for the year.
Ms. Bennet discussed bike parking. She said the City received a federal transportation alternative grant to install new bike parking. She said the goal is to develop a cost share model because the grant only pays for the capital equipment, not installation. She said the grant is for new parking, not the replacement of old parking. She said there is a capital need to replace existing racks. Approximately 1,500 bike racks were installed with a 2008 grant. Some of the racks are starting to rust and need to be replaced. She said bike parking should be removed if it doesn’t meet City code. She estimated that replacing 150 racks annually would allow for cyclical replacement in a timely manner. She said the department is purchasing racks that have a longer service life. She said the department partners with UW-Milwaukee to create a GIS asset management system for our bike parking.
Ms. Bennet discussed railroad crossings. She said there has been an increase in the number of crashes at railroad crossings. She said that staff is working with the railroad and with any businesses that are being served. She said solutions could include removing unused rails, retrofitting rails with boots, or installing additional signage or pavement markings to alert bicyclists of the potential hazard. She said that getting accurate crash data is difficult because most crashes that do not involve a motor vehicle are not reported.
Ms. Bennet discussed bicycle and traffic counting. She said the department has four counters. She said the department has partnered with Milwaukee County Parks and SEWRPC. She said the data is shared with UW-Milwaukee School of Urban Planning for use in a research project. She said the data show that between 40,000 and 50,000 people use the marsupial bridge every month.
Ald. Borkowski asked if skateboarding in bicycle lanes is legal. Ms. Bennet replied that Oregon and Wisconsin were the two states where skateboarding in bicycle lanes was legal, but that she would verify to see if the statutes had changed.
Ald. Bauman said that he has received many complaints about bicycles on the sidewalk on Prospect Avenue. He said there is bike lane, but people still ride their bicycles on the sidewalk. He asked if stenciling “Walk Your Bike” on the sidewalk would be feasible solution. Ms. Bennet said that she would have staff look into it.
Ms. Brengosz asked if the status of the state’s Complete Street policy will affect the City’s ability to implement the bicycle and pedestrian improvements. Mr. Polenske said the state’s Complete Street policy is legislatively is non-existent. He said the federal government has a Complete Street policy and that many of the City’s projects are constructed with federal funds.
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