1987-09-08 - Laserfiche WebLink

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~ I I I Council Meeting Minutes September 8, 1987 Public Hearings, continued Benke asked Proper to talk to the property owner about this par- ticular piece of sidewalk and advise council of his findings. Gene Witkowski, 533 Fourth Avenue N.W., expressed concern about the lumps and bumps in the sod, noting it had not been rolled, and was laid over rock and other unsuitable materials; Proper indicat- ed Mr. Witkowski's sod was listed to be replaced. In response to Brandt's question, Proper indicated the sod will be totally removed and replaced. Witkowski was displeased with the water at the south edge of Sixth Street at Fourth Avenue and believes it was poorly designed, and is concerned about what will happen when the area goes through the freeze/thaw cycle. Proper indicated, because Sixth Street was concrete, Braun Engin- eering designed the portion with overlay; and noted the water is now going across the gutter. Benke suggested Proper check out the area in question. Dahms asked what guarantee there is that the sod will be replaced in the correct manner; Proper indicated the city would use the same contractor who will need to finish all work satisfactorily before payment is made, and i nd i cated the city wi 11 II babys it II ; f necessary. In response to Dahms's question regarding the chain of command for city employees, Benke explained the city council has no authority to direct staff to do anything; all staff is supervised by the city manager; and the city manager and city council discuss a situation if there is a problem with staff that is not corrected. Williams stated we have seen lousy work here and on County Road D; council would much rather have a contractor to an excellent job and be done; and noted sometimes, because of the bidding process, a contractor does a poor job and a lot of people are frustrated. Gunderman agreed with Williams and added contractors need to know we want quality work (we need to raise standards). Richard Loscheider, 566 Fourth Avenue N.W. stated he has a problem with assessment for his water service. Benke summarized the problem: early in the project there was dis- cussion about replacing worn out and old sub-standard galvanized water pipes with copper, as required by code; residents were asked if they had copper pipes; some had the replacement done by a pri- vate contractor; Loscheider advised staff he had copper pipes; in digging up the street it was found Loscheider had non-conforming rigid copper rather than flexible copper; and the rigid was replaced with f1exible. Page 3