Consent Item 4i
STAFF REPORT
City Council Consent Item
DATE: May 20, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
FROM: Brendan Byrd, Public Works Director/City Engineer SUBJECT: Public Works/Engineering Department Monthly Report STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Receive report as an informational item.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Public Works Director/City Engineer
Police Facility Remodel Project
The construction contract with Sequoia is substantially completed, and the only remaining items of work are those on the punchlist. The City and contractor are working through those items as quickly as possible, and hope to have all items completed by the end of May. The final major item of the construction contract that was completed last month were the automatic gates to the secured parking facility, and the installation of the PV solar panel system on the roof facing Rohnerville Road. The City is still awaiting permission to operate (PTO) of the solar panel system by PG&E.
Over the past month, the primary effort at the facility has been outside of the construction contract.
In April, Silke Communications mobilized to the site, installed the antennas on the radio tower, and installed the interior radio infrastructure on the dispatch desks and in the server room. The City’s IT consultant, Nylex, has installed all exterior security cameras, and completed a significant portion of the wiring for the main server system. AT&T’s 911 system technician has also been a regular, getting the wiring and infrastructure set up in preparation for the dispatch move later in June. Overall, staff anticipate that by mid-June, all contractors will complete most of the facility work, and the last few weeks of June will be preparing for and performing the final dispatch/server room transfer and the phone system transfer.
Water and Wastewater Rate Study
Since the regular Council Meeting on May 6th, staff have been working to finalize the rate study mailers and to complete the information webpage on the City’s website. The website will have the rate study, the mailers, and the frequently asked question (FAQ) material for the public to review.
Currently, staff are anticipating that the mailers will go out to the public on May 17th, and that the Prop 218 hearing for the proposed rates will take place on July 1st. There is a chance that the mailers could be delayed a few days given limitations and changes at the publishing company, in which case staff would likely move the 218 hearing to the second meeting in July (the 15th).
CDBG Barrier Removal Project
Over the past month staff have been working with RAO construction to get under contract for the CDBG barrier removal project, which will make various ADA improvements to the pedestrian Consent Item 4i
facilities along N Street. Staff and our engineering consultants are currently preparing for a preconstruction meeting on May 16th, and staff are currently anticipating the contractor will mobilize to the site in late May or early June. During the past month, staff have also been coordinating with utility companies (PG&E, AT&T, and Optimum), HTA, and the affected public on various items of coordination or notification.
Mill Creek Habitat Connectivity Project
Over the past month the City’s engineering consultant has continued with performing various field surveys and studies to support the engineering design process for the four crossings along Mill Creek associated with the project. During the field surveys, a fifth crossing was found on private property, which was also determined to be a fish barrier. Recognizing the importance of addressing all barriers, given that full connectivity is what will make future grant applications for construction more competitive, staff immediately began identifying resources to fund the analysis and design of a fifth crossing (previously unbudgeted).
Fortunately, the City’s current funder, the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB), approved a funding augmentation for the project of $107,000, which will cover the additional work associated with the new crossing. Staff are working with the WCB currently on the grant agreement amendment, and staff anticipated brining a contract change order with GHD to the first meeting in June to add the additional funds to their professional services contract with the City.
Water Leak on Fortuna Boulevard
Early in the morning on May 10th City public works staff responded to a reported water leak on South Fortuna Boulevard, just north of Redwood Way. Working through the morning to identify the issue, it was found to be a break on the City’s main 12-inch transmission line which pumps water from the City’s wells on Eel River Drive, to Stewart Street tank north of Main Street.
Unfortunately, this section of main line has a number of un-valved interconnection, or interconnections with ‘leaky’ valves (valves that operate but not to full-closure), and therefore getting a sufficient water shutoff to address the problem was difficult. Eventually, it required that staff move outwards into the system to Newburg Road in the north, Strongs Creek Plaza in the south, Springville Avenue in the east, and 12th Street in the west. By the end of the day the leak was contained and water service was restored. Given the emergency nature of the break in the line, and the need to contain, staff was not able to provide the usual notifications to customers and businesses regarding the shutoff.
Unfortunately, when staff visited the site on Saturday to inspect the repair, it was found to be leaking. As such, staff conducted a similar system shutdown and completed a second repair. After further reviewing the issue, staff have determined that a more comprehensive repair will be necessary to ensure the long term efficacy of that section of pipe. To that end, staff have engaged Mercer Fraser and have planned another shutdown from 2 – 9 pm on May 15th to address the issue.
As this will be a planned shutoff, staff were able to provide notices to all businesses anticipated to be affected, and issued press releases on City social media pages. Staff can provide further information on this item on the day of the Council Meeting.
Consent Item 4i
Utilities Division- Utility Lead
Service Call Summary
In the month of April the utilities division completed 80 service calls by operators. Figure 1 below shows the distribution of service calls by type. Underground Service Alert (USA) - there were zero miss-marked lines, resulting in zero broken utilities.
Figure 1. Utility division service calls by type in April.
Water Distribution System
Read water meters and completed meter worksheet.
Did 32 water shut off for non-payments.
The utilities team installed two new services in the month of April. In the month of April the utilities team changed out 16 dead water meters. Continued to check service lines for lead, we are 95% completed with that effort which has a regulatory compliance completion date in October.
Replaced six bad angle valves.
The utilities team did several unsuccessful attempts at shutting down the 12’’ fire line running into the Mill Site lot from the Boulevard for a contractor. During the emergency water shutoffs noted in the Public Works Director report above, staff believe we have identified the way to shut the line off, and the contractor is tentatively planning on performing the service interconnection on May 21st.
Repaired five water leaks resulting in an estimated 16,350 gallons of water lost. 0 5
10 15
20 25
30 Connect Disconnect Occupant Change Service Action
Number of Calls
Service Call Type
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Table 1. Water leak rate and water loss estimates for April 2024.
Wastewater Collections System
Utilities cleaned 10,000 feet of sewer main.
We had two sewer plugs in the month of April resulting in no spills or overflows. Performed daily sewer pump maintenance up on Christian Ridge.
Miscellaneous Tasks
The utilities division performed monthly maintenance on the division’s heavy equipment, including greasing and checking all fluids.
Water Treatment/Wastewater Division- Chief Plant Operator Wastewater Treatment
Table 2. April wastewater plant effluent flows for the past five years in Million Gallons (MG) and Million Gallons per Day (MGD).
Date Location Pipe
Information
Estimated
Leak Rate
(Gallons
per Minute)
Leak
Duration
Total
Estimate
Leak
Volume
(Gallons)
4/2/2024 1815 Main Street 1’’ PVC 0.25 7 Days 2,250
4/16/2024 Coast Central
Credit Union 2’’ PVC 50 30 Minutes 1,500
4/23/2024 Rohner Park 1’’ Steel 0.25 1 Day 360
4/27/2024 Acacia Drive ¾” Plastic 10 6 Hours 3,600
4/30/2024 Tammy Drive 1’’ Air Relief
Valve 2 3 Days 8,640
Year 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Total Monthly Flow, MG 35.424 33.670 38.220 41.510 29.668 Maximum Daily Flow, MGD 2.466 1.380 1.880 1.830 1.321
Average Daily Flow, MGD 1.181 1.122 1.274 1.384 0.989
Consent Item 4i
Figure 2. April wastewater plant effluent flows for the past five years in Million Gallons (MG) and Million Gallons per Day (MGD).
Wastewater Events & Maintenance Tasks Completed
Staff removed secondary clarifier 4 from service due to summer flows and scheduled service and inspection.
Staff pumped out the percolation ponds, which filled in over the winter with rainfall and river-flow. This important task will enable the contractor to rehabilitate the ponds in early May—an annual requirement before staff can divert the effluent to the ponds. The Water Boards stipulate that effluent cease flowing to Strong’s Creek (and thus into the percolation ponds) by May 15th each year. The project was completed on May 10th, and staff switched the discharge to the ponds on May 14th.
Staff performed maintenance on the polymer feed system: replaced mixer motor, impeller seal, all hose and two valves.
Staff replaced belts on headwork’s biofilter fan, replaced oil in aeration basin blower, and performed routine maintenance on chemical analyzers at effluent.
Water Treatment
Table 3. April potable water production for the past five years in Million Gallons (MG). 0 5
10 15
20 25
30 35
40 45
0 0.5
1 1.5
2 2.5
3 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Total Flow, MG
Flow, MGD
Total Monthly Flow, MG MAX Daily Flow, MGD AVG Daily Flow, MGD Year 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Total Production, MG 34.400 31.892 26.589 26.483 27.751 Maximum Daily, MG 1.460 1.424 1.445 1.405 1.426
Average Daily, MG 1.147 1.063 .0886 .0883 0.989
Consent Item 4i
Figure 3. April potable water production for the past five years in Million Gallons (MG).
Table 4. Average April depth-to-groundwater static levels in the City’s active wells for the past five years in feet.
Water Events & Maintenance Tasks Completed:
Staff spent significant time and effort cleaning around city stations after the rains stopped. Staff discovered that pump 2 at Underhill had developed a hole in the casing and ordered a replacement.
General Services and Streets - General Services Superintendent The following is a list of scheduled assignments completed by the General Services staff in April:
Staff passed out notifications in the areas of the
recent paving operations. Staff trimmed tree limbs
that were in the way of the paving operation. Staff
provided and assisted in traffic control during the
paving operation. The paving locations were located
on Fortuna Boulevard, and three locations on
Rohnerville Road. The striping of the new surface is
scheduled for May 28th and 29th. Installation of the
loop detectors and striping was completed in midMay (see photos inset right, top picture is Fortuna Boulevard and bottom picture is Rohnerville Road).
Staff continued on working on the wash rack at the
Corporation Yard. Staff poured a concrete pad and
located the water line for future connection.
Staff raised water boxes and manhole for sanitary
sewer, and storm drain culverts in the paving locations. 0 0.5
1 1.5
2 0
10 20
30 40
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Flow, MGD
Production, MG
Production Max Daily Avg Daily
Year 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Well #1 27.4 26.6 26.4 20.8 20.55
Well #2 24.2 23.5 23.9 20.6 17.8
Well #4 29.8 29.3 29 24.4 22.9
Well #5 32 31.1 30.9 26.2 24.7
Consent Item 4i
Spencer Electric installed the two remaining
solar powered street lights on 12th Street. Staff
provided traffic control while the pole was
being erected.
Staff Brandon Craig was provided driving time
to collect hours needed to take his driving test
at Department of Motor Vehicles for his Class
B license.
Staff filled potholes in various locations prior
to a storm event.
Staff excavated three locations on the median islands on North Main Street. The information was passed on to the design team for the future welcome sign on the medians. Staff removed overgrown trees and vegetation on the new lot next to the Monday Club.
Staff secured the picket fence from falling onto the sidewalk. Staff hauled approximately nine loads of debris.
Staff removed temporary asphalt patches with hot mix asphalt on Newell Drive from waterline repairs.
Staff noticed multiple pallets in the creek at the Strongs Creek fish passage from transient activity. The fish passage is located under Fortuna Boulevard. Staff removed the debris dam from the fish passage.
Staff removed the remaining parking bumpers at the new police facility. Staff cleaned and removed duff from the parking lot area.
In addition to the special tasks noted above, staff also engaged in the following regular routine maintenance activities including USA’s, street sweeping, recycling and trash management, collect batteries at City Hall, road maintenance, Dog Park maintenance, vegetation management including sniping of curbs, and safety training and inspections.
Staff is available for questions, requests, and emergency responses to the community.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
Receive Public Works Department Monthly Report. Consent Agenda vote.