Rockford Sun

Village of Winnebago Public Works Committee met March 2.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

Trustees Present: Chairman Mike McKinnon, Trustee Stan Maligranda , Trustee Paul Elsen by phone.

Guests: Chad Insko (Director of Public Works), Jimmy Johnson (Supervisor of Streets), Sally Bennett (Village Treasurer), Mary Gaziano (Village Attorney) and Seth Gronewald (Village Engineer).

1) Meeting Called to Order - The properly posted meeting was called to order at 4:03 PM.

2) Disclosure of any Conflict of Interest – none

3) Changes to Agenda – none.

4) Approve Agenda – Motion to approve agenda by Trustee Maligranda. Second by Trustee

McKinnon. Motion passed.

5) Review of Public Works Portion of COW Meeting Minutes from February 3, 2020 — No

corrections noted.

6) Public Comment— none

7) Construction Funding Report – Reviewed report. Sally noted we have received two invoices from RRWRD. These will be 2 of 3 payments for 2020. The invoices will be on warrant list for approval at board meeting.

8) Probation review of full time employee Kody Fisk – Kody has completed 6 month service. Chad has completed a performance review using the criteria of village annual review and Kody meets or exceeds the current standards in all areas. He requires further knowledge and training in various areas which is expected as we chose to hire a less experienced individual and we would train him for the position. Kody has had the opportunity to be exposed to several areas including snow plowing and water main repairs. He has also obtained his Class B CDL with air brakes and would like to test for his Class A CLD. Chad recommends the probation period be complete and an increase in wage by $0.50/hour. Motion made by Trustee Maligranda to recommend board approval that Kody move from probationary to full time status and pay rate be increased by $0.50/hour. Second of motion by Trustee McKinnon. Motion passed.

9) Selection of candidate for Public Works Meter Reader Position – Position was advertised and nine individuals applied for the position. Seven candidates were offered interviews. Three solid candidates of which Darren Burkhart was the strongest. Candidate has several years of experience in maintenance including HVAC and automotive repair. He also has a CDL and is experienced with snow plowing. He left his former full time position for an entrepreneurial opportunity in automotive repair. While that endeavor is working out for him, it hasn’t required full time hours and the part time village position would be complementary. The village could benefit from his mechanical experience and snow plowing experience that would supplement the meter reading position. Candidate is seeking a bit higher pay rate than the $13.00 +/- the position was advertised for. Based on the experience of the individual and the continued increase in minimum wage the committee believes a slightly increased rate is justified. The overall annual cost may be in line as candidate may be acceptable to slightly fewer average hours. Motion made by Trustee Maligranda to recommend for board approval the hiring of Darren Burkhart for the part time Meter Reader Position at a probationary rate of $14.50/hour with a $0.50/hour increase after successfully completing the probationary period. Second of motion by Trustee McKinnon. Motion passed.

10) Water System Upgrade – SCADA system – Chad indicates project is under way. Currently

researching hardware option.

11) Water System Upgrade – Water Meters – Chad provided committee some history and options moving forward for technology. Radio reading was a 10 – 15 year life expectancy cycle. Village currently at the 20 year mark. Replacement rate of equipment is increasing rapidly and our current radio technology may no longer be supported. Available options are costly. Cellular reading and transmission to base tower are current technology. Approximately $75,000 for base tower plus other costs is high. Cellular reading is approximately $1.00/meter/month and would be approximately $14,000/year to the village. Some offset could be gained in reduced labor expense for reading of meters and several other efficiency and customer service options with the cellular read. Village has 100 “toppers” (radio transmitters) in inventory that could be converted to cellular for approximately $50.00/each. Public works will do some additional research with a final recommendation in near future.

12) Street Project for 2020 – Current scope of project is chip sealing a portion of Willingham subdivision roads and a portion of Benton street south of Soper, as well as wedge grind and overlay a portion of McDamyn Circle. Chip sealing will extend road life 5 – 10 years. Village was hoping for project to come in under $75,000. Current construction estimate is $85,000 with $7,700 engineering ($6,100 design and $1,600 construction) with village employees doing the majority of the construction observation to hold costs down. Village has $100,000 in budget for road upgrade and road maintenance so based on construction estimate this would cut deeply in the road maintenance budget. Motion made by Trustee Maligranda to recommend board approval of engineering and letting of the project for a cost not to exceed $6,100 from line item 01-42-532. Second of motion by Trustee McKinnon. Motion passed.

13) Ability to make left hand turn at south entrance of Sullivan’s – Fehr Graham has done some preliminary review of this item in preparation of the proposed Elida Street Road upgrade project in 2022. Due to requirement of turn lanes and striping requirements this could be a very expensive project and requiring reconstruction of the entire intersection. Much more involved than simply removing the triangular island. This would also potentially require improvements on Sullivan private property and it would be inconsistent with DOT recommendations of distance between full access intersections. Based on the depth and potential cost of project it is the consensus of the committee to not pursue this.

14) Highlands Development – Attorney has requested additional work and Fehr Graham is updating estimated costs for all work required on unplatted areas. Seth advised their work should be completed within a few weeks.

15) RRWRD – We need to resolve village financial responsibility for the uncompleted items in the IGA. We suggested having a dedicated meeting with key village representatives to identify the areas of concern and then request a meeting with RRWRD staff.

16) Cross Roads Church – After discussion with village and Fehr Graham, Cross Roads considering applying for a special construction permit with an option to not have an operating permit issue until the looping is complete.

17) Retention/detention pond issues – Chad advised that there is a fair amount of fill required for RRWRD to abate the lagoon for the sewer plant. There may be an opportunity to leverage this project with removal of silt from some of the larger retention areas (Resh Farms). This would take coordination with the contractor for RRWRD and property owners as this is private property and property owner responsibility. Chad will discuss with contractors and assess feasibility.

18) Budget issues – Chad advised the budget lines for part time seasonal employees in the street department and O & M departments disappeared during the budgeting process. With the budget now approved, the line item for streets is $0 and the O & M is reduced to $1,500. This is a combined reduction from $7,500 to $1,500 which is not realistic. Chad has discussed with Sally and he is requesting line item transfers from contingency and building maintenance to restore the budget. The committee concurs. This should be a line item transfer on the board agenda. Chad commented the Elida Road projected tentatively scheduled for 2022 could possibly be moved up to 2021 by bonding MFT future funds. Fehr Graham to do some preliminary investigation for further discussion.

19) Employee Input – Nothing in addition to items noted in other areas.

20) New Business – The village office received resident feedback about speeding vehicles on Westfield Rd. and the resident suggested solution might include a stop sign on Westfield Road at the Soper Street intersection. The issue was referred to the public works committee to evaluate the request. The consensus of the committee was this is not a viable option. This has been referred to the police department and they will increase monitoring of this area for speeding.

21) Priority of Attorney Projects -- Highlands Development

22) Salt purchase – No discussion

23) Sullivan’s Lot. – No open issues

24) Capital Equipment/Sinking Funds – No discussion.

25) Downtown Parking/Overnight/Tenant Parking – no discussion.

26) Tree removal in Right of Way, Pecatonica St. – No discussion.

27) Sidewalk/Driveway Permit – No discussion.

28) Trail Head – No discussion.

29) Street Maintenance/crack filling – No discussion.

30) Part time/seasonal help – No discussion beyond budget issues in item 18.

31) WINGIS – No discussion.

32) IGA Between Village of Winnebago and Winnebago Township - No discussion

33) Stop light at Elida St./Landmark – no discussion

34) Executive Session – none

35) Next Meetings – COW Meeting Monday, April 6, 2020, 4:00 PM

36) Adjournment – Motion to adjourn meeting by Trustee Maligranda. Second of motion by Trustee McKinnon. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 5:40 PM

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