##VIDEO ID:5O8tNRXCpbI## [Music] conratulations on your chicag 2 am [Laughter] he's giving me a break see if I remember how to do this it's been two years or you found your new seat that's trying to get swing you walk in in your old seats OCC a good probably be looking somewh else how are the girls doing good it's crazy how big they are now 15 it's too early he's throwing us off Andy I know Andy you Andy you ready ready yeah they're still looks like he's ready you ready yeah it's it's been nuts or not oh jeez is that our new that's happened how many how many times do that happen she's stud all right we'll call the me to order please stand for the pledge of Alle welcome everyone I think the first order business is a few Oaths of office Tom all righty last time we did this like for posty your first was by Zoom yeah well no actually we had to come in here with masks at like 10:00 a.m. that was right that's right all right inaug all right mayor King I'll do you first if you'd raise your right hand and repeat after me I Steve King I Steve King having been elected to the office of Mayor been elected to the office of Mayor of said City of Austin city of Austin do swear that I'll support the Constitution do swear that I'll support the Constitution of the United States and state of Minnesota United States and the state of Minnesota and I'll Faithfully discharge the duties of my office I'll Faithfully discharge the duties of my office off to the best of my judgment and ability best of my judgment ability congratulations sir can I get you to sign down there here's your that's a nice script you got from Chad gbt there to here's your framable thank you inde all right next Rebecca Waller Rebecca if You' raise your right hand and repeat after me I Rebecca Waller Rebeca Waller having been elected to the office of council member First Ward having been elected to the office of council member First Ward of said City of Austin that City of Austin do swear I'll support the Constitution do swear I'll support the Constitution of the United States and state of Minnesota United States Minnesota and I will Faithfully discharge the duties of my office I'll Faithfully discharge the duties of my office to the best of my judgment and ability to the best of my judgment and ability congratulations [Applause] Mike POA we're okay with even though he's line not constitutionally I think we got violated the cons that violates it in Austin I Michael posma I'm Michael posma having been elected to the office of council member second ward having been elected to the office of council member second ward of said City of Austin of said said City of Austin do swear that I will support the Constitution do swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and state of Minnesota the United States and state of Minnesota and I will Faithfully discharge the duties of my office and I will Faithfully discharge the duties of my office to the best of my judgment ability to the best of my judgment and ability congratulations [Applause] thank you now for one long sentence Paul Fisher repat after me I Paul Fischer having been elected to the office of council member third W of said city of a do hi Paul Fisher hi Paul Fisher having been elected to the office been elected to the office of council member Third Ward coun number third one of said City of Austin said City of Austin do swear that I'll support the Constitution swear that I'll support the Constitution of the United States and state of Minnesota United States and state of Minnesota I will Faithfully discharge the duties of my office I Faithfully discharge duties of my office to the best of my judgment ability best my Jud [Music] [Applause] congratulations that was good look on your face was like remember all this you lost him an eye Paul Fisher yeah Andy does oana have this much fun did oana have this much fun no all right all right congratulations everyone and uh welcome to the council starting 2025 on the roll call Tom mayor King presid council member Basin present HMA present heli present pus present fiser present Waller present council member at large Austin present we have a quum here on thank you Tom it number one's a motion for the adoption of the agenda all moved second all in favor I opposed motion carries item number two is a motion approving our minutes from December 16th 2024 so moved second all in favor I opposed that motion passes IEM number three under recognitions and awards we have uh new assistant city engineer Steven introduce please yes I'd like to introduce Andrew senson as our new assistant city engineer uh he started uh last Thursday on January 2nd so it gave us a couple days with a light workload to get acclimated and uh today he's already jumping right in uh taking care of things so Andy comes to us uh with about 12 years of experience in civil engineering he worked for the state of Minnesota and most recently uh the city of oana so like to welcome Andy to our our crew sure Andy welcome welcome I understand you're a jack rabbit is that right yeah I am a jack rabbit good good school thank you thank you anything else you want to tell us by yourself welcome too uh I've been living in town for 15 years my wife and I have been here uh we have three kids um she's a teacher in town we're busy but we're glad to be here very glad to be here well welcome we're happy you're here thank you absolutely all right moving on to item number four is a motion for the consent agenda so move second all in favor I opposed that motion carries under bids and openings we have uh receiving bids for item number five is resolution receiving bids for ashree and sump removal we got some good news there Jason we do honorable mayor and councel uh at the June 3rd 2024 meeting if you recall staff requested authorization from Council to begin the bid process for the removal of ash trees um Council agreed to this request and we began working on finalizing tree inventory and developing bid documents for the first round of bidding uh prep preparing this bid was a lengthy process I must say I think we went above and beyond with a great team of Staff um we we updated the diameter of every tree in the bid process we identified whether there was any access issues if there was any overhead cable overhead W uh Power or anything like that so that the outcome was really you could bid this project from a beach somewhere else without actually coming on site because all the information is there the diameter and everything so um huge shout out to Mike Gras the city's storm water and GIS specialist he helped us with updating our GIS maps uh americore troops once again you know came came to the table and hit the streets uh boots on the ground did a lot of great work and then our tree crew also assisted with the process um so our plan at that time and and what ended up the result being is that we wanted to go out to bid or have the bid opening to take place after the budget was finalized um which is what we did so we held a bid opening on Friday December 20th and uh for the removal of 325 ash trees um we received 15 bids which we were very pleased with um and this includes the tree removal uh grinding the stump as well as ground restoration so um The Works plan to be completed uh by December 31st 2025 um and in your packet is a summary of the bids that we received um we are let's see the pro project will be funded using a matching hormell Foundation Grant in capital Improvement revolving funds so the project budget comes down to a hormell foundation Grant which is a part of the grant that they uh granted the city this year $917 147 with a match from the city capital Improvement revolving fund of 9174 07 so the total bid amount is $183,400 see um if you look at the 15 bids we received the low bid was 183,000 and change the high bid was 568 th000 um interestingly enough we had a good grouping in the 200,000 range which are all very competitive good bids we had zero bids in 300,000 range and then we had another small grouping in 400,000 with a couple in the $500,000 range so um we do plan to go out to bid uh a few more times um as also is presented in your packet if history shows us anything with our um treatment bid process that we did we did two rounds of bids and what happens is you know this is all public record so other contractors can see what the bid results are and then and often times when you go out to bid a second or third time they they tighten their numbers a little bit and sometimes you'll get a better uh outcome so although I will say we are very pleased with this outcome very very pleased so staff recommends Council award the bid to cars Tree Service Inc in the amount of $183,400 we're looking at probably around 1,600 trees total but keep in mind a good you know a portion of those are uh planned on being removed and currently being removed by our in-house tree Crews y um these numbers are very uh look pretty good that we might go a little bit above what our original plan for Contracting out tree removal we do and and just to mention so all these that 1600 trees I mentioned does not that's all on City maintained properties so that doesn't include trees that are along river banks and in the back 40 at Todd Park so those are trees we're not ignoring they're just less uh important I guess they're not going to create for the most part A Hazard or a danger so they're like the next phase of our plan for removal but they might get moved up a little bit in the process with the numbers that we're seeing very good are these 325 those are the worst worst ones in the city that's why you're pick that number that's partially true I would say a majority of these trees are Boulevard trees um there are a good amount of trees that are in Parks they are larger diameter trees um not all the boulevard trees are where there's overhead power but but there are many but yes that's kind of our plan is some of the more difficult trees in the first few bid processes so right now our Parks crew for example is working on um removing trees at like Todd Park and some of our other Park areas that are not within these these um the the first couple of rounds of bids and then Jason from a qualification standpoint just because I'm sure we'll get the question from some of the local companies that bid on it no concerns about qualification for the cars Tree Service reputation things like that no I don't think so and like I've I've told people that ask who did we award the bid to I'm not really that information CU that's up to you all this evening but I did meet with um Representatives the owner and the manager of cars Tree Service last week and they understand they need a you know a city tree REM Street tree contractor uh license they need the state license they need the proof of insurance I think they've even in I think they've even given us all that information already but yeah everything looks like a go with this company good one one thing I heard from a treat one of the bids is that uh it's like a large company like Asin it's like right below them they're they're all around the state they do work in cars they very reputable they do they have they have offices all over they have a lot of employees they have I don't recall where their closest office is but um they will I said December 31st is the deadline at through the bid process it won't take that long I don't think with this group um and um I'll probably let you know when they start work you might want to check it out do have a pretty neat piece of equipment that they're going to bring in with them for the process and um it makes it a lot quicker it makes it a lot safer uh it's better for the neighbors that they're going to be in and out quicker so it's less intrusive on our residents on the boulevard so um we you know of course we welcome and and encourage local companies to bid in this case it did not uh I wouldn't say they're you know they're definitely Regional though and then and they're in this area somewhat but um but it'll it'll I think it'll move quickly safely and effectively for sure great thanks Jason uh looking for a resolution for item number five awarding the bid so moved second Tom council member Basin I HMA I Elly I pusta I Fisher hi Waller hi council member at large Austin hi resolution passes 70 your honor next time under petitions and request item number six is resolution designating depositories for checking and investment of public funds for 2025 Tom annually we are required to pass a resolution designated where we can invest public funds and our our um operating funds for the city there's been no change from the 2024 year in that Wells Fargo is our main account for handling all day-to-day operating transactions um and also below you can see the several entities we have listed for our investments that we Ed to cash flow purchases um and tax levies that come in with that being said we would request Council approve the resolution that would authorize us to use these Brokers for our investments and cash management thank you Tom Council if there's no questions looking for a resolution move to approve second time council member basket I HMA hi Hy hi pusta hi Fisher hi Waller hi council member large Austin hi resolution passes 70 your honor thank you have number seven is a resolution approving the budget adjustment to the general fund for 2025 Tom well we're one meeting in and we already want to adjust the budget for 2025 um most of these items of the first section of these items are all hormell Foundation grants that were received or approved at the end of December that we are now going to would like to incorporate into the operating budget which includes just under $134,000 of capital outlay items in the general fund and another 250 grand for the emerald ashb grant that hormell Foundation gave for us in addition to that we've talked in the past about setting aside a million dollars of City general fund fund balance to help with the tree removal process which again this could take three or four years tree removal and tree replacement process um so again that million dollars we'd like to transfer over to the capit Improvement revolving fund where Jason and his team can then code all those expenditures and we can track the dollar is going in and out related to that so with that we'd uh certainly try to answer any questions you may have very good thanks Tom coun any questions from Mr Daner if not looking for resolution so moved second Tom council member Basin hi HMA hi Elly hi pusta hi Fisher hi Waller hi council member at large Austin I resolution passes 70 your honor thank you I number Eight's resolution setting the Mage reimbursement rate for 2025 Tom IRS has set the mileage reimbursement rate for 2025 up from 67 cents last year to 70 cents this year so an increase of three cents per mile so this is what we would reimburse employees council members Etc staff for travel outside of the City of Austin um for City related business this does not affect those four individuals getting an actual car allowance this is only for those that get mileage reimbursement and with that being said we'd request Council approval of such thank you Tom look for resolution Council so moved second Tom council member Basin I HMA hi Hy I pusta hi Fisher I Waller hi council member at large Austin I resolution passes 70 in number nine is requesting approval uh for the Cannabis ordinance Council any questions or discussion on this I I would have to ask I missed the discussion being one of those that asked for it and then I regretfully missed the the meeting that we talked about it but I'm assuming and glancing through this I did not see that we put any buffers in this at all basically the same way it was yeah before Craig was there any modifications or original draft again okay so it's back to the original draft we had before we had the discussion of putting parameters few thank you discussing more that's fine otherwise we're looking for a motion for uh uh preparation of the ordinance so move second second all in favor I post motion carries uh 9B for the adoption of the ordinance so moved second Tom council member Basin hi HMA hi Hy hi pusta hi fiser hi Waller hi council member large Austin uh nay I know it's not going to change the ordinance I'm just is going to prolong the process but I would have liked to have seen buffers put in as a first reading it does not pass all unanimous votes we will carry forward to the next meeting it's fine no need to do see okay item number 10 is resolution receiving feasibility report and calling for public hearing on February 18th for the street improvements on 6th Street Northeast from 30th Avenue to 36th Avenue Northeast project 19106 Stephen to have that back up for the backup but my backup and my backup aren't working here so paint a picture with your mind yeah be here all night I get very detailed to make sure everybody's picturing the same thing well first we'll get started with anything look plugged in Andy I think he needs your assistance right now yeah I'll turn it over D it's been a while since it's been a while since he's done any of these yeah that's there you go that too I'll start out with the memo that we have um to start out the document um this was the memo these were the projects that we presented back in early December to uh request feasibility reports and we're bringing those to you now there's a couple projects on there that you can see that are uh Struck from the list um ath Street Southeast on that project um we started to review some sanitary sewer trunk main alignments in the Southeast over by Woodson school and that was something started by uh Mr Wenham our previous assistant and we weren't able to finalize that so we we want to wait with that project uh until we get a better handle on that trunk sewer um what our options are with the trunk sewer there and then project number five listed 13th Street Northwest and 11th Avenue Northwest um as this fall as The Detour of the four Street Bridge began and we we seen all of the additional traffic in that Northwest area we thought that we don't were hesitant to start work on 13th Street Northwest and and push some of those parked Vehicles out to um 8th Avenue and 10th Avenue which are currently being used for the detour so for those reasons um we it would be our recommendation to not move forward with those two projects uh this year as part of this feasibility report process so does anybody have any questions about our thought process there with those two projects sounds good all right sounds process jumping forward into the feasibility report uh our first one is Sixth Street Northeast from 30th Avenue Northeast to 36th Avenue Northeast um this project came in front of the council uh about five years ago and we presented that um at that time there was not uh High interest from the adjacent Property Owners to move that project forward and at that time Council recommended to move it back on our 5-year Capital Improvement plan um so that's what brings us back today the project is uh the roadway is still in need of repair so we're bringing that back forward tonight for feasibility report and again it's same project as we had before where we would regrade uh the south portion of the roadway it's currently gravel and the north portion of the roadway uh was not finished as part of the development years ago and the pavement has Det deteriorated to a point where it's no longer salvageable so we would recommend um reclaiming that pavement into Aggregate and then overlaying the entire segment of roadway into um uh with 4 in of asphalt to make a 22ft wide roadway a project like this where this area has not been assessed before and they have not built their roadways up to City standards uh this first installation of of roadway would be we would recommend it to be assessed at 100% of the project cost back to the adjacent Property Owners um we we would not propose to put in kban gutter or sidewalks or anything like that the nature of the neighborhood right now just does not fit that design it's all rural section so we would be just matching the existing fit of the neighborhood Sten yes so when you said 100% charge of the property owner why why when it project yeah cuz typically when a development comes into Austin um we require a developer to build that first roadway section to City standards um this one was not when it was brought in so we are now bringing it up to a rural City standard um and then that gives the Baseline then from there on future year years down the road when the uh future projects are done it would then fall under our normal assessment policy but this first time to get it up to standards uh we would recommend 100% cost on the adjacent Property Owners so you either have to do it when you build or you have to take the 100% assessment at some future date and that that was their choice back when they built well this area was annexed into the city in 2009 or 2010 is part of our Lancing sewer project and the condition that the roadway is now is the condition that it came in at at that time thank you yes we estimate the total project cost to be about $160,000 and with Council approval we would request Council um and with further conversation request um a public hearing be set for February 18th 2020 so Stephen on this one excuse me the last time we talked about recall the objection was hey we don't really want to do this the road's fine we're okay with it it's a pretty low traffic thing am I understanding correctly over the next five years the road has really deteriorated even past where it was last time we talked about it yeah the asphalt portion has gotten worse I think originally we were planning to just add an overlay to the existing asphalt now that's no longer an option a few more houses have built in this neighborhood I believe it's it's built out pretty close um uh so so yeah we just believe now bringing it back is the right time to bring it up to City standards with with asphalt pavement and get rid of the aggregate roadway section that is there okay but yeah I believe you're recalling it correctly that we did get some push back from the residents that they didn't feel that this Improvement was necessary okay so the developers responsible for the rest of the rest of it um where there's no houses on to the farthest north end where there is no houses our project would stop at the houses we'd go from the houses to the South and we would not redo the area to the north until the developer or something drove a need for that roadway to be rebuilt to the north right now we're going to we would dead end it uh right where the houses end thank you any other further questions on item number 10 if not looking for resolution so moved second Thomas council member Basin I HMA hi Kelly hi pusta hi Fisher hi Waller hi council member at large Austin I resolution passes 70 your honor thank you time item number 11 is resolution receiving feasibility report and call for a public hearing for February 18th for Street improvements on 21st Avenue Southwest from fourth drive to 12th Street Southwest project 2512 Stephen yes this project is a continuation of a project from last year when we did 9th Street Southwest down in this same neighborhood uh the project for this year is as you described 21st Street Southwest from fourth drive to 12th Street uh with this project we will be uh it was originally constructed in about the 1950s some of the existing homes along 21st AV 21st I'm sorry that says 21st Street Southwest at the very beginning of the resolution that should be 21st Avenue but uh the home started to be constructed in this neighborhood as part of a development in the 1950s so the roadway is likely of that similar age um our plan the is to remove the existing asphalt pavement any unhealthy trees or trees that need to be removed as part of the project we would then uh Salvage a majority of the curban gutter there would be a section of curban gutter that would come out on the south side of the roadway then we would replace it with new asphalt pavement and aggregate base uh a caveat to this project is there are a couple sidewalk segments that are missing um there is a there is very there's little to no sidewalk on the north side of 21st Avenue uh but there in the last block from 11th Street to 12th Street there is one property owner that has sidewalk there on the North side and we would propose adding sidewalk to one additional property owner there between 12 Street and 11th Street pausing for a dramatic effect it's working May is this chumak road no uh one one down Bo by the South Grove Park this this goes by South Grove Park Sten yeah okay continuing on with the sidewalk discussion um majority of the property owners on the south side of the roadway have existing sidewalk there is sidewalk from 12th Street to 10th Street and with this project we would propose to add additional sidewalk from 10th Street to 9th Street on the south side and then we would also add it on the south side near South Grove Park from 9th Street back to Fourth Drive where it would Connect into the park and Connect into our trail system on fourth drive so there are we are proposing to add sidewalk in missing segments on this project um with that the overall estimated project cost is $950,000 uh We've estimated about $667,000 would be funded with assessment bonds we have a dollar is associated with our wastewater treatment plant fund and also our storm water fund so with that again if Council approves we'd recommend setting a public hearing for February 18th 2025 and again the sidewalks we all know that's a Sticky Wicket but the I think um I I I like the idea because it's it's by the park and there is some connectivity issues with the trail and there are some sporadic sidewalks but I so I think when you write the letter the only the only I guess uh request I would have is that when we got our letter on Ninth Street it said sidewalks zero so because the city's going to pay for them right they're going to put them in because they're the first time they're going in so what the What the residents told me was I I get it it looks like they're just going to not have sidewalks it says it says zero so somehow if you get write it in your letter to them that we're adding sidewalks but it'll cost the homeowner nothing because when you just the I got my letter just said sidewalk Z I was like I don't have a sidewalk now I'm not have a sidewalk again so it was just a little bit wonky The Way It Was Written so if you could just describe that a little better to them Council anything Stephen just you know this is my favorite topic and I'm sure we'll get asked um so on the North side you're just adding one little section kind of halfway between between 12th and 11th what's the purpose of that section if we were not going to continue it past 11th down the road uh the purpose would be folks that are coming down on 11th Avenue wouldn't have to cross 21st Street right there they can continue over to 12th Street Service Road and go back to the north it just Contin it just um it completes a connection so it's literally only one property owner that is correct it's one property owner okay anything else for this item number 11 if not looking for resolution move second done council member Basin hi HMA hi heli I pusta hi Fisher hi Waller hi council member at large Austin I resolution passes 70 you're on thank you number 12 is resolution receiving feasibility report and calling for public hearing on April 7th for Street improvements on Oakland Avenue from First Street Northeast to 12th Street Northwest 1 Avenue Southwest um from South Main Street to 12th Street Southwest project 25103 Stephen all right so this project has a lot more detail so I'm going to go through things kind of kind of line by line here and I know that we've had multiple presentations to the Council on this project before but it this this really goes into detail about the extent of the project so um Oakland Avenue was last reconstructed in 1979 and First Avenue was last reconstructed in 1953 both roadways are 44 ft wide and they have sidewalk they're made of concrete with curb and gutter and they have sidewalk on both sides our project moving forward is to remove this this is a bit of a unique project for us where we are going to we're going to gut everything we're going to remove everything from sidewalk to sidewalk including the sidewalks r roads driveways um and and everything we're going to remove ash trees unhealthy trees and trees impacted by construction which I believe is about every tree on the project it's a very narrow Boulevard and the trees have not grown up very well in this environment so I believe we plan to remove all of the trees on both Oakland and first uh signal lights will be eliminated on Oakland Avenue at First Street Northeast and First Street Northwest at those two intersections um Oakland Avenue East from Main Street to First Street will be converted from the existing two-way to a oneway westbound traffic so from the Twin Towers to Main Street right by the fire station will be converted to one-way westbound traffic two lanes as we've talked before as you go from East Side Lake to Highway 105 this is the only block that doesn't have two lanes of westbound traff traffic and it creates a bottleneck for us that is why we are making this uh change in recommendation we plan to construct new pavement 8 in concrete 8 in of aggregate 12 in granular Barrow curbing gutter at a width of 41 ft so we're going from 44 down to 41 that's made up of two 9 and 1/2t parking Lanes on each side and two 11t driving lanes that is all based on feedback that we heard from the public about you know wanting to keep two parking Lanes we talked about bike Lanes with lots of different things that we talked about and this is where where things were settled uh sidewalk will be replaced at a 5- foot width on the left hand side as you're driving down the one ways and it will be replaced at an 8ot width on the right hand side as you're driving down the one ways so the 8ot sidewalk would be on the north side of Oakland and it would be on the south side of First Avenue we'll improve um all of our Ada pedestrian curb ramps planning to put bump outs at Main Street Fourth Street and 8th Street to improve and shorten The Pedestrian Crossing distance as well as a traffic calming measure give pedestrians more visibility we're going to replace and upgrade and improve all of the storm sewer on the project all of the sanitary sewer main services and manholes will be replaced within the right of way uh we're going to install drain tile some pump stub outs for uh some pumps to connect into we're going to put decorative Street lighting throughout the whole both corridors we're looking at three decorative street lights per block so it'll be it'll be at the intersections and one mid block for each segment of of roadway uh signal lights will be upgraded to meet ADA requirements with push buttons and audible messages and Boulevard Landscaping Improv improvements will be constructed along Oakland Avenue and Main Street 1 Avenue Southwest and 12th Street at the island down by quick trip and also there'll be Landscaping on the bump outs uh Council allocated a total budget amount for those improvements any Landscaping improvements of somewhere in the $200,000 range believe that was the number from from past notes uh we'll look to plant Boulevard trees wherever possible um where they don't impact visib ility underground utilities and overhead obstructions Austin utilities plans complete water main reconstruction on the project they started some gas main work this fall but they will continue that throughout the project timeline and then there'll be electrical service lines and power line relocation as necessary as they're encountered throughout the course of construction our total project estimate is $15 million for this project even it's even a little bit higher than that with some of the um Engineers estimates that we're getting from whks we'll use assessment bonds and grants to fund um about 2third of the project the remainder will come from our wastewater treatment plant fund and our storm water fund for those Associated um utility infrastructure items we have uh $ 7,680 th000 in Grants that will be applied toward the project those grants will come in over the course of about four years starting in 2005 and carrying through 2028 we'll we'll construct the project in three phases our first 2025 phase will start at the Twin Towers on Oakland Avenue and go west to about Hon's office which is between 7th and 8th Street Northwest that will be year one year two will pick up where we left off there between 7th and 8th Street and we'll go down to Quick Trip at 12 Street in addition to that we will also leap prag over on First Avenue and do four blocks from Main Street to about Papa Murphy's so we're kind of alternating two segments of the one ways in that middle year of 2026 and then in 2027 we will complete the mder of First Avenue from Fourth Street or Papa Murphy's carrying us back toward 12th Street by Sterling with this phasing we are taking into consideration the four Street intersections and school um working through that we're setting up a a detailed phasing plan for the contractors to um ensure that we we don't start we don't tear out the Fourth Street intersection until school is released in the spring early early June and then having the roadway the intersection back in usable condition before school starts again um in August so taking that into consideration we're also taking concerns from businesses and access trying to do whatever we we can to limit those those impacts but we we know that there are going to be um impacts to businesses and the traveling public throughout the corridor um assessing these properties becomes unique when a project is spread out over three years like this so our plan is to utilize the assessment rates that we're setting here in 2025 and they will apply to everyone on the project whether your project is done this year in 2025 or it's done two years from now in 2027 you'll all pay the same front footage amount but we don't want people in 2026 and 2027 we don't want to assess them this fall before they've even seen any a lick of work on their on their roadway so we will assess each year based on their segments so this year in the fall we will assess the people that are part of the 2025 phase in the fall of 26 we will assess those that were part of the 6 phase and in the fall of 27 we will assess those that were part of the 27 phase but they all will receive the 2025 assessment rate creates paperwork and you know anytime somebody sells a property during that three-year period to create more work for the clerk's office recording all of that keeping track of all of those things but we think this is the fairest way that everyone is assess the same assessment rate yes yeah we we will we'll have one public hearing for all of these properties and you'll see um in your handout we're we're proposing to have the public hearing on a different day um than all the others the other Street projects we have about a 100 properties that we're notifying on our normal street reconstruction program we're proposing to have those um public hearings on February 18th but this group of properties on Oakland Avenue and 1 Avenue they make up about 170 property owners and we're proposing to have their public hearing on March 3rd so I would uh ask to um make that change in your feasibility report currently say April 7th where we're looking at March 3rd for the public hearing for Oakland Avenue and First Avenue properties um lastly someone may ask you know why are we doing it this year we've got the bridges going on we've got traffic impacts um yes this isn't the perfect situation but our grants require us to do the work this year we got these grants five years ago and they called for construction to occur in 2025 when we applied for these grants we didn't realize or didn't know schedules for the bridges we didn't know in detail how all of that would would schedule out but it's the it's the cards that were dealt they have state and federal dollar grants on their project that required them to go at this time we as well have state and federal grants that require us to start this this project within this construction window so uh that's why we' looked to phase it out we've tried we've um we will look to phase it with con construction and try to minimize those impacts as as much as we possibly can so with that I've turn it over to council for any questions that you might have very good thanks for the explanation and noted that the change will be for that public hearing on April from April 7th to March 3rd thank you Council any questions for this project yeah Stephen you kind of anticipated my question in terms of the why now I mean is there anything we can do to get like a waiver or an extension or something just cuz I think we all understand kind of the challenges of getting around with the Fourth Street Bridge being out or are there like is there a bare minimum like you know if we rip up a tree and like knock over a curbing gutter technically we've started then now it can be a fouryear um we would have to push it back to 2027 if if that is a desire um because the the four Street detour will continue through 25 and the 14th Street detour will be occurring in 26 um we have grants for this project that come in 25 27 and 28 um we and they and we have multiple grants I think we have about six different grants um uh I haven't asked that question but I think it would be very difficult to get a delay on using the grant dollars you know any entity whether it's state federal or even City if we give someone money we want to see him spend it and use it up so that is the general consensus that we get from mindat as well when we get a grant um if if a community doesn't use it they're always looking to move that money to another community that can M so just from past conversations that I've heard that question would would be frowned upon if if brought to those funding agencies okay it certainly just falls under the the price of progress I know it's going to be uncomfortable and it's going to be impacting motoring public but I'd hate to jeopardize two-thirds of that project with the grant money if they if it gets was wonky so I get it we're gonna beg The public's patience and I I just think they've they've had some time to chew on it and invest their time in going to meetings and putting their input in there so I I would just I mean I'll do respect with that and at the end of the day I mean we we probably know where we end up I would love to take another swing at it because I I get what you're saying right like normally it's a hey we give you money we want you to use it I would think this is an extraordinary situation where it's like yeah we are we've diverting a bunch of traffic and creating a you know a huge pain for the public to tra like I think we've got to put like what is in the best interest of the City of Austin short and long term on there now if it comes back and it's a hey it's us it or losing in 25 then I think we can at least look people in the eye and go did you want to pay more taxes in order to get this great but if there is I would love to at least have the conversation before we get a no well but if we push it forward will we end up paying more anyway because we're going to be paying the construction prices two years down the road or three years down the road I it's gonna be a pain no matter what even if we push it to 2027 we'll still have Bridge construction going on in 2027 um uh 14th Street will be 26 so it'll be 26 should be be done the done with Bridge construction in Fall of 26 and I I think as much of yeah I think people have gotten very are very adaptable and are figuring out ways to get around in town um I mean I've seen traffic flows uh where I work which is right at the ground zero basically and uh they've uh traffic flow has changed considerably in the last month I would say so I think people figure out quickly the easiest ways to go and work with it and when to go and when not to go fair argum just put all the pain together and suffer through St how does it work perfect St and you're make you're making the sidewalk 8 foot say you're a business owner your mofer Center your Godfathers and you taken away their part of their parking spaces do we buy that from them see your Godfathers and you take the the the sidewalk out into the street the the sidewalk why so we're we're narrowing the roadway 3 ft we're going from 44 ft to 41 ft for the roadway with so we're narrowing the roadway 3T and we're taking that 3T that we narrowed the road and we're adding it to the sidewalk on one side so we're we're staying within our boundaries our right of way for the total project width um we are currently getting um easements from Property Owners to be able to uh grade back and Match Into the new sidewalk um for so that like one one layer of s to to grade that in we've gotten about 115 of the 170 we've talked to and gotten easements from so we are going back onto private property a few feet to make a a more gra make a more moldable slope make it better for the property owners in the long run um but that is just a um it's not a permanent item we're not taking property from any of the property owners um one other note on the sidewalk as we talk about um the city's assessment policy being applied to these Property Owners um I think it's important to not it because of all of the construction because of us taking out all of the sidewalk widening the sidewalk for for different reasons um it would be our recommendation that we only assess for the street portion of the project that we not assess them for sidewalk that is something a little bit unique on this project but because of the complex grants involved um that would be our recommendation and we would ask that that be incorporated into this if you agree with that position that's SS reasonable yep can agree Stephen last question on my end and I mean thank you for all the time and energy and work that's gone into this because I know there's been a ton of strategy that goes um you mentioned something in passing around hey we're already getting kind of engineer estimates that are higher if we think it's going to come in higher than you know the 15 million we already have allocated are there aspects of this project we should be rethinking like now or like starting to take out or how do we think about that um right so with the project uh and we look at our funding package um I believe it was a month or more ago we we talked about how the grants fit in when they're coming and and where are we going to find the the stop gap or where we we going to if if costs come in lower or higher where is our our bounce Factor there and we have uh dollars through our state aid account that we can apply toward this project and they will fill that Gap um so so I feel comfortable that we have the money we need to build the project um when it comes to where do we cut um to give you an idea by narrowing the roadways from 41 from 44 to 41 ft that saved the project uh almost $250,000 um so there are things that can be done um we talked about the $200,000 that was allocated for landscaping you know during that discussion we it that kind of entailed with the decorative Street lighting you know wanting to this is our one chance to really do something in this Corridor and um during those discussions that was the dollar amount that was was um given us for direction on that um you know everything else be besides the 8ft sidewalk you could narrow it down to to normal 5 foot if you desired uh that if the roadway has a $250,000 cost savings by narrowing it 3 feet narrowing the sidewalk maybe saves us 75,000 um just because of the thickness is so much thinner so much concrete that goes into pavement um besides that it's it's a standard roadway it's it's aggregate based it's concrete it's the same thing we would build whether we were here or in another part of town when it comes to the concrete pavement so it becomes difficult to find areas to cut okay no that's that's helpful to know thank you thanks Stephen Council if no further discussion looking for a resolution for I number 12 I'll make a motion to move forward resolution okay second Tom council member Basin I HMA I Ellie I pusta hi fiser hi Waller hi council member at large Austin I resolution passes 70 your honor thank you Tom moving on to item number 13's resolution receiving feasibility report and calling for a public hearing for February 18th for Street improvements on Sixth Avenue Northeast from 18th drive to 9th 19th Street Northeast and 18th Drive Northeast from fifth Avenue to 6th Avenue Northeast project 25106 Stephen yes we've been working in this northeast neighborhood for the last four years or so and this is just a continuation of that this is more our normal street reconstruction program where uh we're rebuilding the roads that the mayor described with our normal uh new curbing gutter new asphalt pavement um 18th drive is a little unique roadway it's only has about a 5050 foot wide right of way so we don't have the opportunity to put in sidewalks in that area because it's such a narrow right of way so we're just recommending an asphalt roadway with kbon gutter we'll upgrade the underground infrastructure as necessary um this project also has a couple sidewalk segments that are missing uh we would recommend adding new sidewalk on the south side of 6th Avenue uh from 1910 218th drive it impacts three four five six seven properties on this project but it can it completes a a leg of sidewalk there on the south side of 6th Avenue on the north side of 6th Avenue there is already sidewalk from 19th drive to uh 19th Street and there's currently no sidewalk from 18th drive to 19th Drive and we're not proposing to add it in that location the total estimated project cost is $900,000 and we would recommend uh using our assessment policy to assess adjacent property owners and we' request Council set a public hearing for February 18th 2025 for this project excellent thank you Stephen Council any questions on item number 13 if not looking for a resolution so moved second council member basket hi HMA hi Hy hi pusta hi fiser hi Waller hi council member at large Austin hi resolution passes 70 your honor thank you Tom lastly item number 14 is a resolution receiving feasibility report and calling for a public hearing for February 18th for Street improvements on 25th Street Southwest from Oakland Avenue West to 7th and Eighth Avenue of Southwest project 25107 Stephen yes this project is located out by fordtown Shirley Field Park South of Oakland Avenue uh these roadways were constructed back in the late 80s and early 90s and the surface is deteriorated and in need of refurbishment so we're planning for a mill in overlay on this project where we would Mill off the top couple inches of asphalt and replace it with new asphalt there is a segment of sanitary sewer we we try not to do underground construction on these types of projects but there is a segment of sanitary sewer that the circular sewer M has has egg shaped and become in become smaller causing stress on the pipe and we feel that now is the time to replace that segment we'll look into it some more but that is in the 300 block of 25th Street Southwest Austin utilities they have some bad water m in this neighborhood they have a stretch little bit outside of our project area on 24th streets Southwest from Fifth Avenue to 7th Avenue that they know that they need to replace they're also going to look closely at the water main in this segment of roadway on 25th Street to determine if there's any replacement needs here as well again we try to limit underground replacement on a Mill and overlay but in this case where there's some underground infrastructure that is failing uh now is the time to do it so with that our estimate for the project is $200,000 we would recommend as um assessing the adj and Property Owners based on our Mill and overlay assessment policy and setting the public hearing for February 18th 2025 excellent thank you Stephen Council any questions for this item looking for resolution Mo second Tom council member Basin hi HMA hi Hy hi pusta hi fiser hi Waller hi council member at large Austin hi resolution passes 70 YK time not seeing any citizens to address the council and not having an honorary council member uh present tonight we're on to reports and recommendations Craig uh thank you mayor members uh we want to extend an invitation to the public to join us for our January 15th comprehensive plan open house at the Hornell Nature Center from 4: to 6:00 p.m. you can help learn about the project voice your opinion and help shape Austin's future so we'd encourage people to do so if you go to comp plan2 45.com you can get more information there there are surveys there for both the city and county if you're interested in doing that but otherwise we would hope people would be engaged and attend that open house otherwise that's all I have very good thank you Craig uh on with Council Paul anything just thank you to all the city staff for the things they do every day we appreciate it thank you Paul chice I agree with Paul and welcome back Becky and congratulations to everybody that was sworn in tonight thank you Jo Laur um I want to say congratulations to the mayor and council member postma uh for speaking Saturday night at the aauw's story show um they did an excellent job there are some others in this room who have also uh been part of that event and um I thought it uh represented the City of Austin very well and it's also um one of those things that we can do as residents to um feel connected and as a community and resist polarization um and I also want to congratulate Mr Lang on being able to hire that um engineering position um it's a difficult hiring environment particularly for that skill set and I understand that um there's maybe some personal connection so um it matters who your leaders are it matters who they're connected too and it it's making a big difference for the City of Austin so that's there thank you Laura Jeff uh nothing your honor Hy I have nothing your honor Jason um would also welcome Andy have known him and his family for many many years so excited that you're here with the city of Austin and yeah welcome back Becky and congratulations on the re-election for the other folks that were sworn in thank you Becky I just want to say I'm happy to be back serving the City of Austin and looking forward to get getting back to work excellent very good appreciate it thank you I have nothing to add um again welcome Andy thank you thank you for taking the job and welcome to the City of Austin um with that looking for a motion to adjourn to Tuesday January 21st so moved second all in favor closed all right we'll take a five minute break or so until the work session pizza's here's there pizza's over there eat up my inlaw that's nice when the in-laws get you yes they said I I like piz is back in the rotation while that is a pro tip yes it could be the order you put it in it could be anything we see you later last time I went your you got a coworker I can borrow for 2 hours [Music] tomor think usually Becky yeah thank you no it's not I took a twoyear break now I'm so 2022 was the last time I serve done that e e e e