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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10C - Street Sweeping Operations MEETING DATE: AGENDA #: PREPARED BY: AGENDA ITEM: DISCUSSION: ISSUES: CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MAY 21,2007 10 C ROSS BINTNER, WATER RESOURCES ENGINEER CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION SETTING A POLICY FOR CONDUCTING STREET SWEEPING OPERATIONS IN THE CITY OF PRIOR LAKE. Introduction The purpose of this agenda item is for City Council to approve a resolution setting a policy for conducting street sweeping operations in the City of Prior Lake. Historv The City of Prior Lake is committed to good housekeeping practices that are constantly improved to operate in a safe, efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly manner. With the recent purchase of a high efficiency "regenerative air" street sweeper with the assistance of a Prior Lake Spring Lake Watershed District grant, the City wishes to further leverage this capital investment by creating a sweeping policy that promotes the efficient use of our new equipment. Current Circumstances Currently city crews sweep all streets two times per year and when needed. Prior to replacing one of its sweepers the City used two mechanical brush type sweepers. A spring sweep occurs to clean winter road debris from the roads and another sweep occurs in the fall to collect leaves from street surfaces. The sweeping policy proposal is summarized here, and presented in full in the attached policy. The policy sets forth goals and recording requirements that, when implemented, create a consistent and measurable sweeping effort. This ability to monitor effort put forth and results achieved gives staff immediate feedback on any single sweeping effort and the ability to monitor long term trends and modify the effort using the best information and most up-to-date science in the industry. One feature of the new policy is the establishment of different sweeping zones. A "direct-to-Iake" zone has been created that focuses special sweeping efforts on those streets in the City that flow directly to a lake without first being treated in a pond. Because sediment falling on these surfaces will have a larger effect on water quality and no other treatment is available, eco-friendly stewardship favors that these roads be targeted for more frequent sweeping. As part of the $10,000 Innovative Water Quality Management Grant that helped pay for the new street sweeper, the grant proposed the creation of a www.cityofpriorlake.com Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245 Street Sweeping Policy. Throughout the development of this policy the Watershed District has been consulted and is supportive of the policy. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The City invested nearly $140,000.00 in its new street sweeper. The cost to operate and maintain this equipment is included in the Public Works budget. Increased frequency of sweeping are expected to increase costs marginally. After completing this policy the City will be eligible to apply for reimbursement from the Watershed District for the remaining portion of the $10,000.00 grant. ALTERNATIVES: 1. Approve a resolution setting policy for conducting street sweeping operations in the City of Prior Lake. 2. Deny this item for a specific reason and provide staff with direction. 3. Table this item until some date in the future. RECOMMENDED MOTION: Staff recommends Alternative #1. Steve Albrecht, Public Works Director/City Eng. 4646 Dakota Street S.E. Prior Lake, MN 55372-1714 RESOLUTION 07 -xx A RESOLUTION APPROVING A POLICY FOR CONDUCTING STREET SWEEPING OPERATIONS IN THE CITY OF PRIOR LAKE. Motion By: Second By: WHEREAS, The City of Prior Lake is committed to good housekeeping practices that are constantly improved to operate in a safe, efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly manner, and; WHEREAS, City wishes to leverage capital investment in new sweeping policy by creating a sweeping policy that promotes the efficient use of our new equipment; and, WHEREAS, The policy is consistent with environmental goals set forth in the City Local Surface Water Management Plan and its Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan. WHEREAS, The policy sets forth goals and recording requirements that, when implemented, will create a consistent and measurable sweeping effort; and, NOW THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA as follows: 1. The recitals set forth above are incorporated herein. 2. The Sweeping Policy is hereby approved. PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 21ST DAY OF MARCH 2007. Hauaen Haugen Erickson Erickson Hedberg Hedbera leMair leMair Millar Millar YES NO Frank Boyles, City Manager www.cityofpriorlake.com Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245 City of Prior Lake Street Sweeping Policy 1. Introduction The City of Prior Lake assumes basic responsibility for sweeping City streets. Sweeping is necessary to promote clean and clear driving and walking surfaces and to remove particulate pollution before they enter natural waters. The City will provide street sweeping with the following goal: Sweeping should be done in safe, cost effective and environmentally sensitive manner. The City will use City employees, equipment and/or private contractors to provide this service. Operation dates are dependent on weather conditions, personnel and equipment availability. The Street and Utility Supervisor or his/her designee will be responsible for scheduling of personnel and equipment. 2. Statement of Need In an effort to create a consistent and measurable sweeping effort, this policy sets forth goals and recording requirements that will allow the City of Prior Lake to monitor and improve its street sweeping effort as new science, information, practices and techniques are developed in the City and the sweeping Industry. 3. Time of Operation Street sweeping will occur seasonally when roads are clear of snow and ice, generally from March to November. Hours of operation will be between 7:00am and 3:30pm, Monday to Friday. Extended work days may be utilized for spring sweeping or emergency operations; however, for safety reasons no operator should work more than a 12 hour shift in a 24 hour period. 4. Areas of Operation Street sweeping will occur citywide as well as in a series of zones that require extra sweeping effort due to land use or specific water quality concerns. The following zones are established under this policy and are depicted on the attached map 1. These zones are listed ranked by environmental susceptibility from least to most. a. Citywide residential. b. Commercial/Industrial zone. c. Downtown zone. d. Wellhead zone. e. Direct to Lake zone. Sweeping may occur outside Prior Lake City boundaries on contract or under agreement with other municipalities. Sweeping efforts within the watershed draining to Spring and Prior Lakes has a benefit for the City of Prior Lake, due to the connectivity of water resources. 5. Method of Operation Equipment The City owns two street sweepers, a mechanical broom sweeper and regenerative air sweeper. These two pieces of equipment vary in utility and efficiency. The following is a summary of capabilities of each piece of equipment: Mechanical Brush: The mechanical brush sweeper is good for picking up gross pollutants such as gravel and coarse sand. The mechanical brush is well suited for streets with heavy loads of construction material. The mechanical brush is best for dry sweeping of roads, using its brushes to loosen up any caked on mud and then lifting it into its hopper. The mechanical brush is less effective for picking up fme grained sand and silt material, and does not clean out cracks well. Regenerative Air: The regenerative air sweeper is good for picking up a wider array of sediment and is especially effective at picking up fmer grained pollutants such as coarse sand to silt and can clean into cracks. The regenerative air is also well suited for Wet biomass such as grass clipping and leaves and can be used on wet surfaces. Speed and safety Both machines are operated between 2 and 5 mph. This speed allows for safe and efficient pickup. Sweeping operators must be vigilant to keep watch for pedestrians and children at play, due to the residential nature of many City roads. 6. Frequency of Operation ZONE Minimum Frequency 1 Citywide residential 4 times per YEAR 2 Commercial/Industrial 6 times per YEAR 3 Downtown 1 time per MONTH 4 Wellhead 1 time per MONTH 5 Direct-to-Lake 2 times per MONTH Citywide residential areas and areas not in another zone will be cleaned a minimum 4 times per year. The fIrst sweeping will take place in late winter or early spring when roads are mostly dry and clear from snow. A follow up cleaning will occur the following month after the risk of late snow has passed. Fall sweepings will occur one or two weeks after leaves start to drop, and continue just prior to snowfall. Commercial/Industrial zones will be cleaned on the same schedule as residential areas with two additional sweepings taking place in the summer. Downtown and wellhead zone will be swept monthly. Monthly sweepings can occur any time during the month; however, efforts should be made to time the sweepings prior to periods of expected rainfall. Areas that drain directly to lakes will be swept 2 times per month. Hotspots with notable dirt or sediment in the direct-to- lake zone will be covered with multiple passes of the regenerative air sweeper. 7. Record Keeping and Use of Data Over the course of the fIrst two years implementing this policy the City will collect and track data related to the sweeping effort. Information will be collected for duel purposes; to track the short term variations in time, distance and volume of material collected in and to collect data for analyzing the long term efficiency of sweeping operations. Through data collection and continual reassessment of the effectiveness of operations the City will strive to continually improve operations. Data will be summarized on the daily use of each sweeper. A sample of the data for used is presented below: A1 OPERATOR A2 SWEEP ZONE 81 EQUIPMENT 82 DAILY VOLUME MATERIAL C1 C2 COLLECTED D1 START TIME D2 START ODOMETER E1 END TIME E2 END ODOMETER F1 TOTAL TIME F2 TOTAL DISTANCE APX IDLE DISTANCE SWEEP DISTANCE J1 PRODUCTION (Daily Volume/T otal Hours) (Daily Volume/Sweep K1 EFFICIENCY Distance) (Sweep Distance/Sweep L1 SAFE SPEED Time) These data can then be used by the operator to make an immediate assessment of the current day's operations. Production and efficiency can be compared and safe average operating speeds can be confIrmed. These data can also be used in the long term monitoring of sweeping data. Analysis of the data as well as observations of the operators will give the public works department a fIrm basis to modify and improve the sweeping policy in the future. This continual improvement of the process will promote an efficient use of pubic funds and an assessment of the benefIt. 8. Storage and disposal of waste material. Material gathered through sweeping operations will be stockpiled at a City owned stockpile site. This and all stockpiles are inspected as part of the City MS4 Permit at least annually for erosion. Ultimate disposal or reuse of the material is dependant on potential contaminants determine by testing the soil. Stockpile may be required to be disposed of in a sanitary landfIll. If soil tests show material to be under recommended thresholds for tested pollutants other appropriate uses may be available; such as, non-sanitary landfilling, use as miscellaneous fill material, or topsoil. 9. Contract Sweeping and Erosion Control Enforcement. The City includes provisions in development agreements that state if a developer fails to sweep within the prescribed period according to NPDES construction site permit the City has the right to sweep the area and bill the developer. The contract rate for sweeping will be set at $150 per hour. This rate is meant to safely cover staff time and capital and maintenance costs of equipment so that the enforcement of this provision does result in a loss for the city.