MINUTES City Council Public Works & Utilities Committee Wednesday, April 2, 2025 - 3:30 PM City Council Chambers Members Present: Mac Morrow, Chair, Council Member Lauren Wise, Vice-Chair, Council Member Owen Carson, Citizen Member (Joined via Zoom at 4:15pm) Mayor Maureen Copelof, Ex-Officio Staff Present: David Todd, Assistant City Manager Dennis Richardson, Water Treatment Plant Supervisor Wesley Shook, Public Works Director Aaron Winans, Wastewater Treatment Plant Supervisor Becky McCann, Communications Coordinator Selena Coffey, Assistant to the City Manager Guests: Harvey Sankey, Dave Bradley (Transylvania Times) A. Welcome and Call to Order Committee Chair Mac Morrow called the meeting to order at 3:31pm. B. Certification of Quorum Assistant to the City Manager Selena Coffey certified that a quorum was present. C. Approval of Agenda Todd requested to add an update on the new Wastewater Treatment Plant Supervisor. Wise made a motion to approve the amended agenda, seconded by Morrow. The motion carried unanimously. D. Approval of Minutes Wise made a motion to approve the agenda as amended, seconded by Morrow, and all voted in favor. E. Introduction of New Wastewater Treatment ORC Todd announced that a thorough interview process had resulted in Aaron Winans being selected to succeed Emory Owen as Wastewater Treatment Plant ORC upon his retirement recently. F. Project Updates 1. Stormwater Masterplan Todd reported that staff advertised and received submittals from four firms: CDC of Asheville, McAdams of Charlotte-Asheville, TRC ofCary-Asheville, and WSB of Charlotte. Based on the firms' submittals, the review committee will be interviewing the two top firms on April 8 at 10am (McAdams) and April 10 at 10am (TRC). After the interviews, staff anticipates presenting the final recommendation to city council for their approval. Once council approves the final firm, staffwill begin negotiating with the selected firm on cost and scope of work. 2. Mills Avenue-Hillview Culvert Todd provided an update on the Mills Avenue/Hillview Street culvert that was heavily damaged during storm Helene and subsequently caused a sinkhole. He reported that staff has considered several options for the repairs, including the installation of pre-cast fiberglass liners, build-in-place fiberglass liners, and slip lining. Staff contacted six general contractors and received cost estimates from two ofthem for a full replacement of the culvert, which ranged from $200,000 to $600,000 and indicated a much longer time frame than was anticipated. Todd stated that the final method that staff has considered involves a cast-in-place new pipe, which uses the existing culvert as a form and the culvert is lined with concrete type material. He indicated that this is a method that is not quite as reliable as some. Todd then provided an overview of the spin casting method whereby a machine is run through the pipe and applies concrete using centrifugal force, allowing the use ofal high strength polymer material. In reviewing all the options for the culvert repair, Todd stated that he is recommending the spin-cast repair, which will cost approximately $150,000. This does not include the work that staff will need to perform, which is estimated to cost approximately $50,000. Because this total amount exceeds purchasing limits, council approval will be required. Todd stated that he hopes to place this item and recommendation on the upcoming agenda. Morrow noted that the city's 2007 Stormwater Master Plan indicated that the existing sized culvert would not meet anything above a 50-year flood and recommended that the city upgrade the culvert to accommodate for a 100-year flood. Wise asked what size of culvert would be required for a 100-year flood. Todd read from the report that this may require a six-foot box culvert and stated that staff would need to work with the contractor to determine a new approach to address the 100-year flood structure. Todd agreed that we do need to consider this and estimated that this larger culvert project may cost upwards of$500,000. Copelof reminded the committee that the city is requesting reimbursement from FEMA for the project. Todd stated that staff will work with an engineer to determine how to proceed in increasing the size of the culvert to meet the 100- year flood requirements and proceed as necessary. Minutes - Council Public Works and Utilities Committee Meeting = April 2, 2025 Page 2 of 4 3. Gallimore Sewer Basin Rehabilitation Project Todd stated that he anticipates this project to be completed within a couple of weeks, noting that a couple of point repairs had not yet been scheduled. Once all elements are repaired, the contractor anticipates final completion in mid-May. Todd stated that he believes that the city remains on target on timing for the Gallimore project. 4. Sewer Lift Station Rehabilitation Project Todd noted that the bid opening for sewer lift project had to be pushed out because there were changes made to the project after it was out to bid. The bids are now due to be opened on April 8 and we should expect project completion by the end ofOctober 2025. He noted that the city's engineer expected that the city would have five bidders for this project. Todd re-stated that staff continues to work with the affected property owners to obtain the necessary easements. 5. Water Treatment Plant improvements Todd updated the committee stating the bid opening on this project was held and received only two bidders, which means that staff will need to re-bid the project. He noted that the city's designer is reaching out to the initial eleven interested bidders encouraging them to submit a bid for the next bidding process, which will begin April 15. 6. Wastewater Treatment Plant Todd noted that KCI reports that they have completed the analysis of the existing plant and continue to model the processes. He noted that he anticipates receiving the phase 1 preliminary engineering report in April and the phase 2 and 3 preliminary engineering reports in May. Once these reports are received, the city will need to decide ifi it wants to move forward using KCI or advertise for proposals for a new designer. Staff noted that they had been pleased in working with KCI, who were knowledgeable and had been responsive to staff. G. Public Comment Harvey Sankey congratulated Aaron Winans on his promotion. He asked Todd how the list of projects that had been reviewed were classified. Morrow responded that the culvert on Mills Avenue/Hillview Street is an emergency project but that the other projects that Todd reviewed had been in the works for years as the city had been committed to the environment and resiliency in upgrading the city's utilities. H. Set Date for Next Meeting The next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 3:30pm. Minutes - Council Public Works and Utilities Committee Meeting - April 2, 2025 Page 3 of 4 I. Adjourn With no additional business before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 4:22pm with a motion by Wise, second by Morrow, and both in favor. Minutes Approved: May 4,2025 Aue Dusues Mac Morrow, Chair, Council Member Lauren Wise, Vice Chair, Council Member lena Selena D. Coffey Assistant to the City Manager Minutes - Council Public Works and Utilities Committee Meeting = April 2, 2025 Page 4 of 4