Good evening.

We're ready.

Welcome to the public works committee.

And we have, oh, and by the way, all our members are here.

All the committee members are here.

Mr.

Hanlin, we have Bill 29.

Bill 29.

$50,000 to find certain public works capital projects.

Okay.

Good evening.

Good evening, Vice President Moda.

Good evening, City Council.

So what you have before you this evening are four capital improvement projects that were approved as part of the 2026 budget.

So what we're doing this evening is we're coming before council and appropriating the funding and get it into the correct expense accounts so we could start doing work on these projects.

One of the projects that you could see here that we're undertaking this year is the Canal Street Bridge that's currently at the entrance to Canal Park.

So the bridge deck there is compromised and it's there's weight restrictions, it's reduced to one lane of travel.

This bridge here is 86 years old.

It was built in 1940.

So with all the structural deficiencies that we're having with this bridge, uh we're requesting funding this year to do a design.

Once the design is completed, then we're going to be putting this project out to bid for construction.

I know that we have to put this out to bid, but um do you have sort of like um uh do you happen to know how much you know around the range?

How much will this be?

Yes, so the for for this for the um did this the design work is 250,000, uh, which we're expecting an entire year of design work, so we won't begin construction until roughly the first quarter of 2027.

So we'll have to come back before council once the design is completed to request the funding to complete the construction.

Can you tell me what happened with this bridge?

It's just uh over the years.

It it took a beating, it's old, it's 86 years old.

Um there's wear and tear with any bridge or roadway that we have within our city limits, and it's just at a point in time where it's just past its its life expectancy, and it's it's time for replacement.

So people can um the cars cannot pass uh through that bridge at all?

They can, but it's reduced to a single lane of travel.

The area to the right there where it's the area that's closed off is is where we're having the most issues with the with the bridge decking.

So what we did temporarily was we blocked off that area to preserve the bridge as long as we can, but we're at a point now where the bridge just has to be replaced.

Okay, thank you.

You're welcome.

Well, we'll be the second.

I did have a question about this one here.

So given you know the state of bridges in Pennsylvania, it's a kind of universal issue around here.

Where any like grants looked at for potential bridge or bridge replacement costs at all, or is there any way that the any of this is covered through outside sources?

We did look into it and there was currently no grant opportunities out there.

Uh but we before we get into the construction, we're gonna take a look another look just to make sure at least cover the construction component of it.

Uh but the 250,000 dollars is is just an estimate to get the design done.

Once the design is completed, then we'll pretty we'll have a project that's shovel ready and it'll qualify and become eligible for additional grant funding, future grant funding.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Okay, so do we have any comments then?

Um from the Dais.

Do we have any comments from all of us or just no?

Just that.

I guess we're gonna go one by one then.

Okay, that's fine.

Oh, I was thinking about going you know through everything, but let's let's let's do it like that.

We don't yeah, go ahead.

Do you have any comments?

Or for something later.

Any any other comments from the dais?

Okay, any comments from the public?

Okay.

Go ahead.

Go ahead.

Okay, so the second project, Capital Project is over at the streets department.

And this is the salt dome that we call it.

Uh this is where we keep our entire winter supply of uh of road salt stockpiled.

As you can see in the pictures here, the roof is bursting at the seams.

Uh there's structural deficiencies within the foundation of the salt dome.

Uh our current stockpile capacity is only 3,000 tons.

Uh so what we're proposing under this new capital improvement plan is to replace this salt dome with a larger salt dome.

Um, and we want to double the stockpile capacity from 3,000 tons to 6,000 tons.

Uh this winter that we faced was a challenging winter.

Uh there was a huge demand for road salt, and with the colder temperatures that we had, the supply unfortunately couldn't meet the demand.

Uh so there were a lot of municipalities out there that were running out of salt or facing salt shortages.

And in turn, you know, we there was a few instances where we had to purchase salt at a much higher rate uh from other vendors just to keep up with winter operations.

So with increasing our stockpile capacity, 6,000 tons, that should be enough road salt to get us through an entire season without having to worry about a shortage or pay an increased cost.

Okay, I have a question.

So how much is a ton?

We currently pay $90.64 per ton.

Okay.

And uh when you send emergency, how much is it that we're paying?

We were paying up to 150 dollars per ton on on an emergency basis.

So that means that if we do this, then it will be a cost savings for us.

There'll be a cost savings, and we'll be able to purchase the entire year's supply of salt at a much cheaper rate, and we'll have enough salt for our winter operations.

And I I would like to share that uh Miss Ortega and I, like a month and a half ago, we did uh we did a video there, and um it's about time that he gets fixed because he looks really beat up.

I I agree.

It's it's long overdue.

Um this salt shed here is 60 years old.

Uh in a city our size, we should be in a position where we can uh double our stockpile capacity.

Citadfield the city of Philadelphia currently has a salt dome that's capable of storing 20,000 tons.

Uh so we're we're gonna be in a much better position here with doubling our stockpile capacity, 6,000 tons.

Okay.

Any any comments?

Uh go ahead, Mr.

Pongo.

Thank you.

So I see in the bill we have an allocation of about $800,000 for the salt shed.

Is that enough for the full replacement and demolition of it?

Or is it going the same spot?

Are we going somewhere else?

It's going in the same spot, and we're expecting that the entire $800,000 will cover demolition and the the addition of a new structure.

Okay.

And given that the structure, any I mean, design requirements for that.

I mean, I know sometimes design can be a little costly as well.

So I mean, is that allocating design and construction?

That's design and construction.

That's correct.

Okay.

Thank you.

Any other comments from the Days?

Any comments from the public?

Go ahead.

The third project?

So the third project is the roof replacement project.

There's two major big roofs.

Uh the first one is at the bridgeworks facility, uh, and the second one is at the central fire station.

Uh both roofs are in complete disrepair.

We have large amounts of water that are coming into both buildings.

And I could speak from first hand experience over at the bridgeworks facility.

Um, our crews, our work crews in the traffic department after each rainstorm, rather than being out there in the work field getting work done, they're in the garage squeegeeing water to the floor drains.

I mean, we have substantial amounts of water that are that's entering into our building.

Uh so what under this capital project here?

Uh we're proposing to replace both two roofs at two different locations.

First one's at the bridgeworks location, and second one's at Central Fire.

How much will that be?

That's a total of a million dollars between the two roofs.

Okay.

Which one are you doing first?

Bridgeworks is first, and then Central Fire second.

Why bridge work?

That's that that roof there is it's a larger roof, and that's where we have the majority of the water coming in.

Uh so we felt that one was more critical than Central Fire.

Okay.

Any other comments from the comments from the public?

Oh, go ahead, Mr.

Thanks.

So um, if I recall from this is I believe last year, but and and I say this noting that um one of the directors noted their water feature in Central Fire when they're in their office.

So I acknowledge the need to have this done.

But my question was did we do some roofing last year for Central Fire?

I remember one of the council people bringing up the expense for it given that it was going to be replaced.

I'm just kind of trying to understand how much did we spend last year and how much are we spending this year for that roof?

So we've done some temporary repairs.

Unfortunately, I don't have the cost with me, but I could certainly get that to you.

What we spent in terms of temporary repairs over the last two years.

But we're at a point where these band-aids are just popping off, and yeah, we can't continue to put band-aids on something that's actively leaking.

Okay, I was just trying to understand because I know that I I tried to find it this morning that they we're talking about some sort of large amount of money, but I'm wondering if that maybe just didn't happen.

It was just uh someone saying something.

So all right, thank you.

You're welcome.

And is that gonna go through the process of dating?

Oh, yeah, that'll be part of an RFP process that we put out the bid.

That's okay.

Any comments from the public?

Okay, none.

Go go ahead.

Okay, so the the last project here is it's called the VAV project.

It's a variable air volume project that we're undertaken in City Hall.

Um, and this is upgrades to our HVAC system.

Over the years, uh we've we've spent good amounts of money on improving our HVAC system.

We've replaced both air handlers, we've replaced the chiller system, and we've replaced the boiler.

This is the last component of upgrading our entire HVAC system.

And with this project here, what we'll have the ability to do is we'll be able to actually regulate the temperature on each floor of city hall.

So right now we're in a position where when the heat is on, it's just on.

All five floors are being heated.

Uh some floors are warmer than others, other floors are cold.

Um the the airflow is just not properly circulating through the building.

So with this very variable air volume project, we'll be able to make sure number one that the airflow is circulating throughout the building properly, and more importantly, we'll be able to regulate the temperature than on each floor of city hall, and each floor would have their own thermostat where they'd be able to regulate the temperatures.

Will that affect um the new police station that um that the uh the administration is planning to build?

No, the the new police station will have their own system, so this will have no effect on it.

Okay, and how much will this be?

This project here is three million dollars.

How old is the HB um system?

Do you happen to know?

The major components of this, I don't have the age of the actual system, but the major components of the system all have been upgraded within the last three years.

Um the air handlers, the boiler, the chiller, those are the most expensive pieces of the system.

Uh and this is the last step here.

If we ever want to get ourselves to a position where we could actually control the airflow and the temperatures at each floor of City Hall, this is the last step of the process.

So once we get through this step here, essentially our entire HVAC system is brand new.

Okay, that's good to know.

And any comments from the um quick question is your has your department or maybe working with um you know sustainability.

Have you determined any cost savings with some of these replacements when it comes to efficiency and so forth?

That's a good good question, uh, President Napoli.

Um I just we didn't have an opportunity to really dig down and compare energy costs after these components were installed.

Um but after that we get through this step here, this will this will be a good case study for us to monitor.

Um go ahead, Ms.

Affam.

Uh, we talked about the police department.

Well, this I then it's not gonna be built for a couple years, and we know they went through a lot last year.

Will this help them?

This will also help them.

It will provide uh relief on their end, and they'll be able to um so this system here will feed both public safety and city hall, but when the construction takes place, they'll have their own operating system.

This year, possibly next year.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Any other comments?

Yeah, just in the one more over here.

Um so on a similar note, I was just curious.

So I know we're saying they're independent systems from the police station.

I'm glad to hear we got a new air handling units by the same time.

I'm just curious.

I think if there's any investigation that's been done as far as any efficiencies by potentially combining any sort of systems, obviously they're independent buildings, but if there's any sort of plant, you know, whether it's chiller units that are tied into both buildings or any any opportunity to size the unit to serve both buildings.

I mean, it sounds like we've already replaced the major equipment here in the city hall, but it I you know, especially as design progresses, I would encourage us to look into hey, how do any of the components in that project potentially supplement the needs of this one or vice versa?

Um, I think there's an opportunity to future proof there.

So thanks.

Thank you for that comment.

Definitely take it into consideration.

Any other comment from the tallest?

Any comments from the public?

Okay.

Do you um would you like to share something else?

Um the only thing that I'll share with city council is uh we've unfortunately last week uh we we abruptly lost our facilities manager, Nick Ruber, to Lafayette College.

Umfortunately, there was a better opportunity for him there, making a whole lot more money.

Uh so we're currently in the in the process of searching for facilities manager.

Uh the good news is that we've had 24 people that applied for the position and I've been spending my entire week this week and next week with conducting interviews.

So hoping within the next two weeks or so we could find our a replacement for our facilities manager.

Okay.

Any comments on the dias?

Any comments from the public?

I need someone to make a motion.

Um I'll second that motion.

Those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Okay, so Bill 29 will be um is voted favorably in front of full council.

Okay, so at this point, this meeting is adjourned.

Thank you.

Thank you.