Okay.

So I did restart and it is recording.

And we have most everyone except for our chair.

Okay.

I'm on that's not giving me a camera.

Oh, and we can see Bill now.

But Jennifer, you can't do your camera for some reason.

No, it says no camera found.

So it might be a problem on my end then.

No, that's what mine was saying.

No camera found, but now I found it.

All right.

What a weird system.

Sorry, guys.

No worries.

Well, I mean, I think we can continue onward.

We're not taking any votes.

So I can try hopping on and off again, but I think it's okay.

All right.

And we return to parks.

Can you guys can you guys hear me?

Yes.

So my first request is um Cole Island Park.

Um the department court request is six hundred and fifty-six thousand five hundred dollars.

This um this request is to complete a design architect um design for the tennis course, which wouldn't include pickleball.

Um the scaly course are doing being done now, but at the same time we had the a design um done last year with the appropriated money that was uh done.

So the the money that we're asking today is to complete the project.

And um this would also include ADA um accessible sidewalks to um get to the tennis courts, uh pathways, and also um the the bath um basketball courts will be redone as well.

Um also included with that request would be to upgrade the fitness zone um uh play play structure in the uh equipment in the park itself.

Um any questions on this item.

Um seeing none, I think we can move to Cummingswork.

Okay.

So um Clumings Park, um the request here is um a department quest of one million dollars, also cut by the contribution of million dollars.

So in total, um we are looking for um funding to um support a new playground with a splash and um and uh splash pad amenities, um which would include um the upgrade of the play equipment there, um which includes play surfaces and um all inclusive uh landscaping, drainage, shade structures, and all amenities included.

Um as you know, we do have um we did get awarded the Orlip grant.

Um this was not part of the the um the master plan um which the the funding is supporting the administration um is looking for private uh contributions to get this played out playground done.

Um so just to be clear on the um so this is one of a multi-year installment on that five million dollar match, correct?

Yeah, this is no, this is complete separate request from the uh the five million dollars that you put on that we already have in place.

Got it.

Um next item.

Okay, um Hatfield Park.

Um the record request here is 2.3 million dollars.

Again, this is a playground upgrade.

This is also for new place structure services amenities, um, including new hardscape and upgrade of the basketball court administration also is plan is applying for a state grant.

Um we do have some safety um um issues there at the court currently, and this is a total upgrade for that that park.

Um can you say more about the safety issues?

So they have um currently they have uh safety tiles um that are pulling up, which are tripping hazards.

There's actually rodents that are on underneath these safety tiles.

Um so there are major tripping hazards with holes in the in the place tiles.

We've done the best we can to patch, but and it's not doing anything, and it needs a total overhaul.

Um, there is a lot of tree roots within the pavers within the hardscape that are um surrounding the um the hardcape within the perimeter of the park that um are located near the the canopies, uh the pavilion area.

So there's a lot of tripping hazards within the park.

The basketball courts have severe cracking.

There's numerous uh uh tripping hazards and and safety issues along along the way in that park.

Um is is this something that um can be phased out over a couple of years, or would that significantly impact the overall cost of it?

We would have to um obviously the two point the request here is for the full renovation of the entire part, which includes the basketball court.

So it would have to be we would have to take some elements out.

Um this is a total re redo of the whole entire park, which um is the play structures, the basketball court, the fencing, the hardscape, everything um include all inclusive.

So there would have to be some stuff pulled out if it wasn't fully funded.

Okay.

Um see any questions on this one.

Uh so next uh park amenities upgrade.

Yeah, park amenities upgrade, the request here is $75,000.

This is a um a request to that upgrades all our picnic tables, amenities, our sport bleachers, our grills, anything in regards to our citywide parks um that we've we've purchased for in capital, um, any upgrades that's in our parks.

Um may I make a comment here?

Just um in the last two projects, there's um no this request Kevin said it was 75,000, but we added the one percent artwork, which is 750 uh dollars.

Um there's an art ordinance out there that any uh capital project that's uh any kind of construction that's uh public facing the city portion.

Um there's there's there should be a one percent match in art.

Um so um I'm just gonna back up you know one percent of 25,750, but I just want to back up one where um Kevin said it was two and a half million, it's actually 2.5 million, and then there's an initial 25,000 for the one percent part.

Um so we're gonna see that through some of these projects.

Um just wanted to point that out.

Got it.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Okay.

Next item.

The next project is um all season accessible park bathrooms.

The department request is 505,000.

Um, this is a continuation project.

So the balance here um shown um this year, we are implementing um two bathrooms at Scalsey to be three 365 bathrooms, which will keep open through the winter months.

The facilities director and team have established a program where they're putting the heating elements to keep these bathrooms open throughout the 12 months.

The balance will be going towards Cob Island Red Brick building.

So there's still some significant um proposals and surveys are still need to be completed and the utilities have to still have to be done.

So that will be the next bathroom that we'll be this will be attending to.

But the the idea here is to continue the momentum in regards to the phased approach.

So the $500,000 that um the 505 that I'm requesting here is to continue the implementation of the all-season bathrooms throughout the city of Stanford.

So as you can see, we'll we'll we're continue, and our plan is to um continue the bathrooms.

This was obviously the number one priority um through the strategic um uh plan um survey that we've received from all the residents in Stanford.

Um just so I'm clear.

So the 500 would fund bathroom uh cove um Portland and uh K Park here.

Yeah, cut cost, yes, go yeah.

Oh, Coskey Sco.

Okay.

And then any other balance will continue the program.

So the other balance that's there right now is gonna fund Cove Island, Leone Park, um, and any other balance would go towards those other three bathrooms as well.

I see.

Okay.

Um I do think it would be helpful if you could just elaborate slightly in the comments that um I think what you were noting about this being a key citizen request in the strategic plan, just to have that context there is helpful.

Um I think this was again, I think what this was one of the items where I think uh last year the planning board had pitched in a bit more and it got cut back as it went through the process.

Correct, yep.

Okay.

Okay, uh next item, playground rehabilitation.

Yes.

Um request here is 151 uh thousand.

1% is really throwing me off here um for the artwork.

But um the request here is uh upgrade our 20 um playgrounds in regards to um upgrade parts that we do get our 20 playgrounds annually inspected, and at times we do have to uh replace um amenities um on our play structures at um uh different times, and these parts are very expensive.

Um so as soon as we receive our annual report, we'll dictate the the amount of um upgrades that are needed throughout our playground system.

Um I do want to know this one does have a uh a balance on it.

Um is that earmarked, Jenny thing meticular.

Um we do have some um upgrades that are needed.

Um as I mentioned, a slide even costs up to 15 to 20,000.

So therefore that balance does go pretty quickly.

Um, any playground the cost that could be anywhere between 20 to 30,000 um on an annual basis.

So um it's just we were fortunate, we've been fortunate we've been putting in new playgrounds and they've been holding up pretty pretty good.

Um but I in the past we've had we've been hitting this account.

Um we've been fortunate the past two years, but I we're coming to a point where we're gonna be using this account.

Okay, that's helpful context.

Uh next item, Koske School Park.

Yep.

Cascusco Park.

The request here is 101,000.

Um this request.

So the balance here is going towards the the light retro retrofit um for the the lights in the park, um, which is going out to bid um shortly in two weeks.

Um so that the remit the funding that I'm asking for this year is to um get a design concept plan, which will upgrade the parking lot, the pedestrian pathways throughout the park.

Um this will this will need deep approval, um, which will include the drainage upgrades.

Um, we will need to hire an environment environmentalist over which will have oversight because of the landfill.

Um there'll be disposal requirements, etc.

Um, we will also like to um initiate some waterline uh utilities to uh certain planted areas to um for assistance.

We do have some um assistance with our um our neighborhood groups that are upon it or pathway in that in that park that um assists us with some plantings and it'd be uh nice to have some water access um in these planted areas um for all the work that they do for us.

Um so this those are the ideas for that uh funding requests.

Um could you speak a bit more to the current condition of the parking lot?

Yeah, the current condition is um uh completely complete nightmare.

Um it's it's a gravel lot.

Um we repair it.

Um we have uh we put work order into work order after every rainstorm.

It seems like the the drainage in that park.

Um when it rains heavily, the creates a lot of potholes.

Um so therefore um uh there's definitely a drainage issue.

Um so the landfill when they did this park, the drainage was not included, it gets clogged quickly.

Uh the crushed gravel gets uh um blocks the drainage.

Therefore, it's it creates um uh reoccurring potholes within the the drive-through, uh the main drive strip through the park.

Um as you know, it's a very busy park with all the new development.

It's a very popular destination park.

Um, a lot of traffic through that park um day in, day out.

Um and it correct fixed.

Um we've also had contractors there um to um to see what they could do in regards to um putting material down and grading it correctly, but it it's basically um you know putting a band-aid on on repair.

Um and we've also used city resources, highway department has helped us out um time and time after time, and the problem is not going away.

So the answer is obviously get the deep approval, what needs to be done the correct way, hire an environmentalist, what we could do, get the approval, get the drainage study, get a design, have an engineer, have the engineer department oversee this project and do it correctly.

Okay.

And next item, parks fencing.

Yes, park fencing.

The request here is a hundred thousand dollars.

This is a citywide request where we have um upgrades that have a fencing and throughout our city parks on on an annual basis.

This this account is again used citywide through our park system to upgrade any set any fences.

Um I see it.

So it there's a note that the balance is already spoken for.

The balance is yeah, the balance is to be used for the West Beach Turf divider that's actually going in next week.

Okay.

All right, next item.

Oh, wait a minute.

Uh sorry, I'm sorry, Mr.

Hand.

Go ahead.

Yeah.

Uh Kevin, um this fund uh for a park fencing is also for repairs of fencing that's needed.

Isn't it isn't that so or am I misunderstanding?

For I don't like to say repair, I like to say upgrade because most of the time, you know, all the fencing that is damaged is mainly a new fence at times.

I don't like to say repair.

Um, it's more or less a new a new section, a new fence.

Um a new backstop, a new a new set a new new new panel, you know.

That's what we use it for.

But the but the source of the need could be such things as you know, damage caused by uh uh a car hitting a fence or something like that.

Is that not so?

Yeah, I mean, obviously um we hope that would go through insurance, but uh a claim, but uh, but that would um you know if we would have to um if a car did go through one of our park fences and if it was in a safety issue, if I had to move on it quickly, I would have to use some sort of fund to to get the job done.

I would I would I would tap it if I need to.

Okay, but I I would try just to use this for any upgrades.

I don't I would use my operating funds to do any repairs.

Okay, all right.

I appreciate that.

Thank you.

Yep.

Okay, um, next item park lighting.

Park lighting.

Um so uh the balance is going towards um the Coskiesco um retrofit for the LED uh park lighting upgrade.

Um and therefore I'm asking for $50,000 to to build that account because obviously we do use park lighting upgrades within our in our city parks.

So um I'm starting to build up that account again because we do use it.

Um do you have an anticipated next uh project for this account?

Um I don't have anticipated account, but we are doing a uh a pretty significant um project at Cubetta Stadium, which is at Scality Park.

It's a it's a pretty significant account that I've been using this project, um this capital project for many years, which is gonna eliminate me using it.

Okay.

That's good news.

Okay.

Paving and drainage.

Uh this request is for 300,000.

Um this is upgrades for our city um city parking lots, um, our ADA um access um within city properties.

Um you I could um you could remove K Park parking lot.

I've um I should have taken taken that out because that's the design concept plan in that in that project, so that could be eliminated.

Um therefore everything bumps up a notch.

So West Beach parking lot and um the Ford 26 Japan are the 300,000 that I'm asking for.

Um there sorry, there's also a note about a fort Stamford driveway and parking upgrades.

Is that included in the scope?

Yeah, that was um that was not completed last year, so that would be on a wish list that you're down the road.

Okay.

Okay.

Next item, Scalsey Park.

Um the request here is 757,500.

Um, the request here is for a new maintenance building with ADA bathrooms.

This is the only building that doesn't have ADA bathrooms.

Um past years we did the two bathrooms, one near the backy court, one near the skate park.

Um, the maintenance building that I'm referring to is closer to the tennis courts that are recent are currently being done.

Um this is more or less our high use area next to the stadium.

Um it's our um maintenance um shed slash bathroom um building, um original building.

So therefore, this number will um provide us to do the uh new ADA bathrooms and the maintenance shed for the building.

Um the balance here is um going towards the as I mentioned before, it's gonna go towards the new LED sport lights um from Moscow, which will be a 25-year warranty um project um purchase, which we're gonna tap off the source well contract, and we will not have to pay for any repairs or um fixes for 25 years, and we're gonna reduce our um uh consumption and we will reduce our um um our lights from 96 to 52 and it'll all be LED.

Okay, um city wide tree planting.

Yes, the request here is 50,000.

Um the balance will go towards trees.

Um basically uh a number that I've been putting in is 700 per tree.

Could it it depends on the species of the trees?

Um we will spend that balance.

Um but again, this is kind of building up the account again.

We do have some planting plans for our park system um this coming spring.

So therefore, this would build our account again.

Okay.

Um are there any particular parks of note that are highlighted in the replanting plan?

Um I would I wouldn't say any parks be all parks, they're all be part of this this idea.

Okay.

Next, Rosa Hartman Parks.

Yep.

The request here is 151,500.

And this is um a request uh to implement a trail system which will connect to the newly installed trail system that uh the Greenwich side did um the past two years.

Um it's a shared park for those that might not know.

So therefore, we would like to do some upgrades on the Stanford side to make usable um and make it um an attraction for Stanford.

Okay.

Um I will just note this one is missing the location information in terms of neighborhood and uh where it's situated.

Okay.

Yep, for Stanford Park.

Um there is an unfunded balance.

Um the request here is 75,000.

Um lost my light here.

Um so the the idea here is the building, um, the building ADA upgrades and and also uh a land planting upgrade scheme um that we would like to implement.

We do have a beautiful uh good body garden that does have stone masonry that would need some upgrades and and some time as well.

So we definitely would like to build an account.

The balance would be used obviously for the building and also the the property itself.

So the um to sounds like the hundredths that's there until you're able to build up the account that you're not able to spend the hundred that's there.

Yeah, I would I wouldn't be opposed to um putting um spending the hundred and then putting the 75 and the out years to save money.

Okay.

Okay, so you can you can face this.

Okay.

No, no.

Okay.

Um baseball upgrades.

Yep.

This is um another project that um we would like to implement.

It we did not um start the process as of yet, but this is something that would be coming around soon.

Um we did get this project approved.

Um it got it got reduced obviously last year, but the 250,000, we believe this would address um one field, possibly two, but there would need to be significant engineering design surveys done um in each field would be different depending on the need.

So therefore, the idea here is obviously to make um in fields um uh turf.

So we were looking to um turf in fields that had light lights first.

So we were looking to do one turf baseball field and one turf softball field.

So we would just girls and boys um with the 250,000, and then we would do the same thing for um the recreation side um with softball, which boys and girls do play and co-ed.

We would look to do um just uh two softball fields um with the other 250.

Um, but again, there has to be significant um um proposals and uh engineered assistance to um put this in motion.

Um what are the anticipated locations for these?

So the anticipated locations is um Galaxy Park, Little League or Droder Park, Springdale.

Those are the two little league, um, not sure which one as of yet, and the softball destination for the first phase would be Troy, one of the Troy fields.

Um, probably most likely it'll be the lighted field in Troy next to the ice shrink.

So those are the two, those are the three areas for the the first 250,000 that we already have funding for.

If we could do one, hopefully we could do one, maybe two.

Um the next two would be this year's request.

That would be the the other, the third one that I mentioned, either Springdale, um, or it would be one of the the co-ed um softball fields at Cummings Fields, which are lighted as well.

So it'll be four fields in total.

Got it.

Okay.

And last north of the park.

Yeah, the last one's uh it's just an out year request, just for uh advisement.

Um we do have a balance that um the land use and engineering department will be doing a master plan design with with a balance.

And we'll be what we we're gonna be putting in a request next year for actual play structure equipment that at Stark School.

Um this playground is going to be uh relocated.

Currently the playgrounds um um located on the slope, which we're having major drainage issues.

Um the play equipment's really outdated, so therefore we would like to relocate the the play structures on a flat flatter surface, which would be on parkland, and also um do the redesign, which we would um redevelop that that slope over there and make the the place structure safe and more usable for the school in the park.

Okay, I think I recall when this one came to us that was the oldest play structure in the system.

Yeah, it's uh it's it's up there.

So we're actually doing a very good job with a lot of upgrades and a lot of we're doing hard school this year, so a lot of improvements on our web, but this is the next one that's gonna be the really thing to get done.

All right.

Uh any further questions from the board on the parks items.

All right.

Um seeing none, uh, thank you very much for your stewardship of all of these places.

Thank you, everyone, and good luck with your deliberations.

Thank you.

Have a good night.

Uh next, uh operations land use.

Good evening, everyone.

Um we have uh three capital budget items uh this year.

Uh the first one is the below market rate housing program management system.

So uh as you might be aware, um our below market rate program has been around for 20 years or so.

Uh it has uh by now yielded about um 1300 units of below market rate housing.

And um obviously in the beginning it was uh a handful of units and it was sort of designed uh uh on a shoestring.

Um so as the program has grown, um there are growing demands to make sure uh that all the participating uh buildings and owners uh comply with all the rules.

Um but uh another very important aspect of this is that um the below market rate housing program, it's it's actually quite convoluted and difficult for uh potential uh residents to apply for BMR units.

So currently uh you have to apply to each building individually, they all maintain separate uh waiting lists.

So that means obviously a lot of work um for uh an applicant.

Uh it also means uh a lot of in transparency for applicants where they are on the waiting list and different buildings, and it also means uh that they have to pay um application fees uh more than once.

So the purpose of this uh capital project is really to hire consultant to develop with us uh a management system that uh makes it easier for um applicants, future residents of the BMR program uh to apply, uh, to submit their documentation, um uh to know where they are on the waiting list, um, not having to apply to multiple uh buildings.

And uh the second component is uh that we um as the land use bureau uh have um on time information uh about um every building uh and every resident uh um uh at any time um so that we can help residents um if they have a concern that they're paying too much for rent or utility costs or or any of the other requirements of uh the um the the BMR program.

So that's basically what what this um uh capital project is for um just to um a note um I think what you were saying about the tenant application fees um isn't necessarily indicated here so clarifying that would be helpful and I think even if it isn't necessarily cost savings for the city, I think uh I think checking the cost savings is still appropriate because it'd be an accumulative cost savings to our residents.

So that's basically what what this um uh capital project is for um just uh um a note um i think what you were saying about the tenant application fees um isn't necessarily indicated here so clarifying that would be helpful and i think even if it isn't a cost savings for the city i think uh i think checking the cost savings is still appropriate because they'd be in a cumulative cost savings to our residents yeah yeah that's a good point um and i think this counts as infrastructure too yeah it could be considered infrastructure I agree um but yeah I think this is something that has been requested for a long time yes yes um if there are no further questions I'd like to move to the next item sure so uh the next uh item is uh for a feasibility study and uh maybe also implementation of um uh microforests so uh microforests are um uh relatively small forests uh about five thousand square feet obviously plus minus um that uh have been uh tried in many different communities actually Norwalk just did one uh there are a couple of those in uh in bridgeport and uh they're actually uh really useful with uh managing um the urban heat island island effect so we will prioritize uh those micro for uh forest um locations uh in areas of town where we uh have a lot of imperial surface is the east side uh water side south end um and uh they of course can also help uh uh very much with um stormwater uh management um so the idea really is to densely plant uh uh an area uh and through the dense planting uh they actually uh mature faster and grow faster so that the benefits of uh of having trees uh and more tree coverage actually come much earlier uh into fruition than if you uh plant for example street trees uh or something like that and and what we also know is uh that oftentimes tree trees don't do all that well because they don't have enough space uh to grow and they're not uh very well taken care of um we also think that this is a very good strategy for um uh sort of left over uh uh areas that the city owns uh but not really knows what to do with um so one of the sides for example we're we're looking into is in the south end uh a couple of years ago the city um realigned Henry Street the intersection of Henry and Atlantic Street uh took a property and obviously part of the property was used for the for the street realignment but now there's like half a lot or so uh left over from the taking and there's nothing happening so we think that this um microforest uh tree study uh or microforest study uh could really help finding an additional purpose for uh those sort of leftover um uh parcels that the city owns um they can't really sell um um and uh they still need to be maintained to uh uh make them useful and and help uh in um the city's uh uh attempts to uh address uh resiliency in climate change issues um more effectively um we see a hand from amil yeah so i just wanted to share with you um you know the board of representatives is in the middle of a tree ordinance discussion part of part of the issue and this is more of a fyi for this body um there is a lot of focus at the board of representatives on increasing our tree planting and on increasing the urban canopy the one thing I would share with the plant planning board is I believe you would find a lot of support for this right now on the board of representatives so my counsel to you would be um you it would surprise me to see there be negative feedback if this were to move forward I yield okay that's that's good to know and thank you for that following a bit the progress on that um I think um yeah Ralph I think if you could add in to the description this piece around the the kind of scraps of city owned land I think that's also um useful context uh just as a way to show the ability to expedite the implementation yeah um and then the estimate for the professional services is that based on the experience in our neighboring towns in Norwalk and Bridgeport

Um I think um yeah, Ralph, I think if you could add in to the description, this piece around the the kind of scraps of city owned land, I think that's also um useful context uh just as a way to show the ability to expedite the implementation.

Yeah um and then the estimate for the professional services, is that based on the experience in our neighboring towns in Norwalk and Bridgeport.

Um not so much.

The actual cost um for microforests uh is much higher.

Um but there are also uh state grant programs uh available uh for those things.

So we we did have a long conversation, uh Erin and I uh with uh uh with the colleagues in Norwalk and Erin uh actually also had um more conversations with the folks in Bridgeport.

Um so this this is really sort of um to to get the ball rolling uh and uh trying to secure so this is really more planning work um for evaluating the different sites.

So what we've also done, we we uh purposefully selected very different locations.

Uh one location that we have identified is basically a vacant lot where you literally probably just have to plant a couple of trees.

Other areas will probably require uh that the soil be removed because it it has been paved uh and and the soil is is very compacted.

And one of the the things about microforests is that you need uh very good soil quality.

You cannot just plot uh the the trees in and and hope that it grows.

Uh so it's it's really trying to assess the different sites uh that that we have and different situations that we have with the hope of of um uh getting most of the the money and financing through uh state grants for uh urban forestry.

I mean the the other thing that I that I want to mention here is so so um uh Erin McKenna is is listed as the um uh the project uh uh lead um and obviously she has a couple of other tree planting initiatives um uh uh ongoing.

So uh this is really embedded in in all those efforts to to increase um uh the urban tree canopy, especially uh in those areas um uh around like I-95, um, north and south, where we where we a have a lot of like health-related issues, but also where issues like the the the heat island effect um are uh uh particularly severe uh and obviously are expected to uh get more severe um uh in the future um so with that context of the other um kind of tree planting efforts and accounts.

I I was I was actually kind of wondering um so this CP is specific to the feasibility study for the microforests, and so if this um if the city's successful in getting deep urban forestry grants, would those go into a different one of those other existing CPs, or might it make sense for the scope of this one to be inclusive of the study, but also the eventual implementation costs.

I think it will the the grants we're hoping uh to secure, they they're really more uh uh will be focused on the microforests.

Um I mean also uh representative Goldberg uh mentioned the um uh the tree ordinance that the uh Board of Representatives is is deliberating.

And um if I understand it correctly, what is planned there is also that uh the tree ordinance would would create uh a funding mechanism for street trees.

Uh so hopefully that that uh would sort of be a self-sustaining program um for planting more uh street trees and such.

So this this is really sort of widening the scope and and uh getting beyond uh just the the street trees um uh and uh trying something new that has proven to be very um effective in in other communities.

So this this is really sort of widening the scope and and uh getting beyond uh just the the street trees um uh uh and uh trying something new that has proven to be very um effective in in other communities okay I I think then I I wonder if it could make sense given that there would be even if they're grant funded some implementation costs down the road to actually indicate that in the in the um the out year forecast yeah okay um and to kind of retitle this to be the it's need a microforest study and implementation yeah um I see your hand again yeah I just wanted to make sure so Ralph thanks for for mentioning um the funding mechanism that's currently envisioned in the ordinance of course that is going to be driven largely by um I just want the planning board to be aware that that is a new funding stream that would be coming on board for the city it is not clear to me how large a funding stream that would be um nor uh it's not entirely clear what it's how it's going to be structured so there's a lot of negotiation going on in that I just want to temper uh any enthusiasm you might have for uh a new annuity stream uh to be using and I would also say that I think the board is contemplating being very prescriptive as to how any annuity streams from that ordinance are used so just wanted to caveat that as you think about new potential revenue streams thank you I yield no I I think uh that's that's a very good comment uh I mean also the tree ordinance will establish like uh the enforcement and compliance mechanisms that that uh need to be paid for somehow um but I also want to mention that actually uh the zoning uh regulations have a requirement for for a street tree planting uh but also um uh if the street trees cannot be planted because there's underground utilities or things like that that there is a fee and loo payment that needs to be made um and uh that's actually another uh revenue stream for tree plantings uh that is already available and I believe uh we haven't received all the money yet because uh the the fee and loo becomes uh uh is due when um the building permit is issued and obviously not everything that the zoning board has approved in recent months uh is at the building uh permit stage but approved we have uh I believe around 200,000 dollars generated through that fee and loo mechanism in addition to the like two or three hundred street trees uh that that are required so um uh yeah as I as I mentioned before I think the the microforests are sort of um a new effort uh to to expand on on the good work uh that is already happening with uh with street trees okay there are no further questions go to our next item uh yes last not least uh we have an oldie um but a goodie uh this is a project that we have uh submitted um for uh several years now unfortunately uh it never made it um through the process um so uh this is an overall needs assessment for um all the city fields um in schools in parks uh including um um uh the public swimming pool um uh that we have uh it is um actually uh responsive to the uh 2023 park strategic plan which is a recommendation or action item number one uh had to uh execute a parks facility needs um assessment and the purpose of that would be to really look into how are uh the city fields used how will the use change in the future um before i think uh kevin mentioned a project uh that they would um uh build uh pickleball courts um uh in in uh certain parks um obviously the uses uh usage of parks and and sort of the the demand for for different types of athletic field changes um our uh cities demographics change we have an aging population um how will they use parks in the future um uh and and how can we keep uh that demographic more engaged so so this will really be um uh a comprehensive effort to um uh answer

parks facility needs um assessment and the purpose of that would be to really look into how are uh the city fields used how will the use change in the future um before i think uh kevin mentioned a project uh that they would um uh build uh pickleball courts um uh in in uh certain parks um obviously the uses uh usage of parks and and sort of the the demand for for different types of athletic field changes um our uh cities demographics change we have an aging population um how will they use parks in the future um uh and and how can we keep uh debt demographic more engaged so so this will really be um uh a comprehensive effort to um uh answer all these questions um and the other thing is also really looking into um how do we uh manage uh that that resource that we have all those those athletic um uh facilities currently uh school and uh athletic facilities and park facilities are not managed uh um together um are there ways to to improve on that and obviously um while the land use bureau is putting in for this capital request um this is uh closely coordinated with the parks and recreation uh department and um erin uh works very closely with kevin on uh uh on a lot of parts related um uh projects um so um as i said before it it is uh a project that we have um uh submitted for several years uh we think it's a very important um uh project and i think also in light of uh the um comprehensive plan that was just approved and and one of the themes being a healthy city and the green city um i think uh uh the the needs assessment for city fields uh is a very important item yeah um i think it might be worthwhile under the justification i think there's there's some positive operational impact on this given the looking at the synergies between uh school fields and uh parks and rec fields um kevin just pointed out several uh fields that are adjacent to schools in the prior slate of projects um i you know i mean certainly it's up to the department to determine priority but i might encourage nudging this up to priority too i think we i believe we included this in our in the um in the planning board recommendation uh last year and it didn't quite make it through um i think also the note about um yeah i mean we're the school facilities plans are also moving right now so the the um the timeliness of this concurrent to that yeah um seems worthwhile to point out yeah yeah yeah yeah no that's an excellent point um because i think by the time this needs assessment is completed we'll probably be on to whatever is next in the queue after uh it's starting the planning for whatever is is up next after the south school plans uh are isolated so yeah yeah um all right so uh that was it for uh the land use bureau projects um this next item um after uh talking to uh director can't um we are um at this point uh pulling this request uh there's uh there's other efforts um going on and and that would be uh a little bit duplicative to to uh what the administration is working on okay that makes sense i did wonder about uh given the holding pattern with the uh library grant yeah that's exactly that's exactly the point yeah got it all right thank you very much okay thank you very much all right we're in the home stretch we're on to operations maintenance facilities good evening everybody can you hear me yes thank you great uh good evening Scott butch director of facilities and sustainability uh so kicking off this is a a new program uh citywide facilities lifecycle planning and assessment uh the goal being to develop a long-term strategic facilities and life cycle cost plan uh so we utilize professional services having to do a citywide facilities assessment uh with the outcome being uh building a uh building by building life cycle cost assessment uh with the goal of actually being able to produce a 10-year capital waterfall kind of um I'm sure you've kind of seen those so um yeah this is really critical to you know where we're going as a facilities department um I'm just entering my third year you know the first two years were you know trying to identify where a lot of the main issues were trying to develop capital plans around you know knocking out as many of the fires and trying to build out our infrastructure as best we can and now we're at the point where we're really able to um

I'm sure you've kind of seen those.

So this is really critical to you know where we're going as a facilities department.

I'm just entering my third year.

You know, the first two years were you know trying to identify where a lot of the main issues were, trying to develop capital plans around you know, knocking out as many of the fires and trying to build out our infrastructure as best we can.

And now we're at the point where we're really able to um you know dive into a 10-year plan.

And in order to do so, we really need to complete a citywide facilities assessment building by building.

All right.

I believe there is a tailor-made uh bullet in the comprehensive plan that aligns with this.

So I would highly recommend adding that to the comments.

Um priority number two.

So this is the citywide facilities building and energy management systems.

Uh so two years ago I initiated this program.

Uh we're given $665,000.

Uh, I mentioned this in the pre-planning meeting.

It it takes a long time to actually expend um, you know, that those funds.

So last year we did request some.

I know we didn't get any, but we have been able to uh expend all of that capital over this last kind of 12 months.

So uh we just commissioned the government center this week.

We're building out Old Town Hall, we're upgrading the police department, we're planning to add uh central fire, and then with the additional money, we'd like to add uh BMS systems and points at City Garage, Fleet Maintenance, Latham Water, Yearwood.

Uh, we also want to add uh water detection points.

Um this is really important for us to be able to see what's going on citywide.

Uh most of our building management systems, if we had any, were very outdated.

Uh so we've been able to work with Siemens to create a citywide uh platform.

It's called the De Siemens DeSigo Building X system.

Uh, and the new funding would be able to um continue to expand to our outer buildings uh citywide.

Okay.

Um I I note and I see in the justification there's the um cost savings there.

I don't know if you've been able to quantify the um the scale of operational benefit that we've seen from the system so far.

Yeah, yeah.

So we just commissioned the system this week.

So what you're gonna get with a lot of the new systems are um much better occupied and unoccupied spaces.

Uh we're going to be able to have much more controls over lighting controls.

Uh Old Town Hall, for example.

We currently can't control the boilers.

They're pretty much on full bore all the time.

So, you know, the building management system, we can come in and actually control boilers.

So it's gonna be energy savings there.

Um that's going to be kind of essentially happening citywide, as well as from an insurance standpoint, being able to put in water detection points.

Um, you know, we had a flood event at a building last year.

So being able to potentially uh limit our liability, limit our risk, potentially decrease insurance coverage, as well as energy savings citywide.

And so you kind of get a lot of different things from BMS systems.

Okay.

Yeah, I think I know it's sort of alluded to in um the second to last sentence around insurance, but I think just being explicit about the potential for this to decrease the insurance premiums for the city.

Uh it's important.

I think this is the kind of project that um makes a lot of sense and also can feel a little bit esoteric as it moves through the the um the other boards.

Yeah, it also, I mean, there's labor savings, you know, as opposed to having you know your HVAC tech having to go out to every single building to make sure things are working.

There's a lot of you know, there's there's myriad kind of ways you can look to at savings by the other absolutely there.

Yeah.

Yep.

Okay, great.

Thank you.

Uh next is heating system replacement.

Uh so we're looking to continue to kind of fund this at a healthy level.

Uh, this is a really critical line item for us.

Um, one, it's trying to be proactive with uh, you know, uh replacing end of life cycle units as well as having funding available for emergency replacements.

Uh some of the ones that we're looking at are the lathe and wider RTUs, city garage RTUs that haven't been replaced.

Questman Theater needs a significant number of rooftop units replaced, uh the facilities building, Glenbrook Community Center, the Historical Society.

So there are a number of buildings that we'd like to tackle uh with heating system replacements, and then we also like to make sure that we have funding available as we're looking at the government center domestic boiler, which we feel confident in right now, but um I certainly would like to have funding available if we need to do any partial or full replacements there.

Um are you able to note the ages of the um the units that are at end of life cycle?

Uh we we could do that, yeah.

Yeah, that would be helpful.

Um next item.

Excuse me.

Um citywide facilities, energy and sustainability.

So this this line item has kind of evolved since I first initiated it two years ago.

Initially it was looking at energy savings.

Um it's kind of evolved through the Mayor's Climate Action uh climate change executive order.

Excuse me.

Let's grab trickle water here.

This has evolved to um looking to electrify our buildings in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

So this from a facilities standpoint and uh in terms of city-owned facilities, the the best way we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions at city facilities is to electrify our buildings.

So what that means is replacing end-of-life cycle gas-fired uh heating and cooling units and replacing those with all electric heat pumps.

Um, so we've done a lot of work over the last year working with a few partners.

Um I do now have cost estimates that have come in uh right around 500, 600,000.

So what we've done is we've worked with a company called resource lighting and energy.

Uh we just completed an LED replacement project citywide, which was approved by all the boards about a year, year and a half ago.

Uh, that now is in the final stages of commissioning.

What that does is that now gives us 12 months with EverSource to tack onto our incentives.

So we received $300,000 and incentive rebates back from membersource for that lighting project.

If we add in additional incentive measures, one being electrification of buildings, uh, something EverSource is really excited about that we're looking to do.

Uh we can add an additional 15% incentives to the overall um expenditure.

So we'd be looking at rebates of approximately 120,000 by adding this in.

Um so we're really excited about this opportunity.

We've identified the South End Fire Department as the best potential opportunity.

Uh as I mentioned, we do have cost estimates in as of last week.

So we'd be looking to essentially turn that building, replace all of the existing units with electric heat pumps, uh, cash in on the EverSource Incentives, and then any additional funding we'd look to do design on additional buildings, probably the next one being Chipan Fire Department.

Okay.

Um I think adding in the description, the piece about the Eversource incentives and the time sensitivity about of that.

Um be useful context.

Um and also it sounds like there's some cost savings that is in here, both from the timing of it, but also I assume kind of long-term and the life cycle replacement of these.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

So we could replace, you know, these are end of life cycle, we know, um, but uh by putting it on to electrifying by putting it under the over source grid, you're reducing greenhouse gas emissions because they have so significantly increased their renewable energy on their grid.

Um, so in terms of you know, we can calculate the greenhouse gas emissions, but this really falls in line with all the sustainability initiatives and the comprehensive plan.

Um from uh operating costs, you know, standpoint, I couldn't guarantee operating costs because of the difference in electrical rates, but you know, certainly we know this is in line with what we want to do as a as a city.

Okay.

So next is the Latin Water Community Center sprinkler system.

So the reason that we're looking to add this in as its own line item is uh we know we have some federal funding in place.

I know there's a government shutdown at the moment, but we know we have federal funding in place to do some work at Latham Wider that we really want to focus on a lot of the program spaces.

Um that building, as you know, has been closed for the year.

Um it's due to reopen sometime, it looks like sometime next week, uh, which is really really exciting for us as a city.

Um, kind of a, I know Lindsay did a lot of work on kind of the program side, reimagining Latham Wider.

Uh, we've done a ton of work upgrading all the mechanical systems, all covered by insurance following a flood event.

Um, so as we look at continuing to, you know, uh refurbish and amend that building.

Uh that building currently does not have a sprinkler system.

So anything that we do from a schematic standpoint, once we touch it schematically, uh it's going to trigger a code upgrade, which will require a sprinkler system.

Uh, we do have cost estimates, about $850,000.

That's a 72,000 square foot building.

It's a huge building.

Um, it does have, you know, the CLC is in there.

We have children, you know, mapping during the day.

Um, it's probably long overdue, you know, 30 years overdue for a code sprinkler system.

So we want to put this in as its own line item.

We feel it's very critical.

We want to have the funding in place.

So as we do get ready to do any schematic changes and utilize funding that we have, we believe in place.

Uh we want to get this done first so we can move ahead with what we want to do in that building uh pretty quickly.

Okay.

Plumbing and sewer pipe replacement.

So this was a program that we initiated when it began two years ago.

We'd like to be more proactive.

Unfortunately, we've had to be quite reactive, which happens.

You know, we have a significant number of you know old buildings, a lot of deferred maintenance, a lot of old, old pipes.

So, you know, we want to make sure that we have funding in place both for the reactive replacements, which usually when they come in are upwards of 50,000, as well as trying to be proactive and identifying where our most uh kind of biggest liabilities are, uh trying to do some design work with MEP firms uh to actually go out and proactively do sewer pipe replacement and plumbing replacement throughout some of our you know critical uh older buildings.

Um, a lot of times a lot of fire departments we have issues in.

Um, you know, we we have a lot of older buildings, as you know, citywide.

So um you can see that we've expended, you know, uh money um in this account, um, and that's before we've really been able to be proactive.

So we are seeking 500,000 to begin uh to get more proactive with with some of our plumbing and sewer pipe replacement work.

Um this one, if um so one, I appreciate wanting to be proactive about these.

If we had to do a partial funding of this, what would be kind of a meaningful amount to be able to move a complete project forward?

Yeah, yeah.

So I mean, it it's hard to say.

So, like I said, when we have, you know, we had central fire departments going through a minor issue right now.

That's a $50,000 piece of work.

So, you know, if you're to do even a partial bit of sewer work, you're talking about digging, um, you know, design replacement, you know, just just a single building or in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

So you know, this might get you a partial building, uh, might get you, you know, pieces of one or two buildings.

So um, you know, these are these are big jobs.

Okay.

Got it.

Thank you.

So roof replacement.

Um, so you can see that this is a significant request.

And and the reason being is I'm just trying to be realistic about um where we are as a city in terms of our roofing.

So this has historically been um managed by the engineering department, um, just in terms of kind of the operation administration side of facilities is you know, taking a bit more of this on on our own.

Um, so we are seeking 1.5 million dollars at the top of the list is Lake and Wider.

Um, I already talked about it.

Um, that roof uh is beyond end of life.

Um we it's beyond patch, and we've patched it so many times where we're pretty much running out of ability to do so.

Um, and because of you know, the reimagining and the reopening happening next week, um, we've we believe we should be able to cover the full replacement um as well as the design of potentially the questing theater and the dressing room theater, um, which both badly need roofs as well.

So um, you know, this is for full roof replacement for at least one building and design of one or two more.

All right.

Uh next flooring replacement.

Uh, this is one that we began two years ago.

Uh, we've been very aggressive citywide.

You know, we focus a lot on government center for those of you that have been in government center on floors six, seven, eight, nine, and ten have all had the uh ancillary, you know, space repoils, lobbies replaced.

Uh, we've done a significant amount of carpet on the ninth floor and tenth floor.

Uh, all the flooring that building is over 40 years old, it's never been replaced.

And as we're looking citywide, most of the flooring citywide is 30, 40, 50 years old.

Um, so it's about refreshing, it's about replacing.

Uh, you can see that you know, if we're given the money, we expend it.

Um, so I am seeking an increase because there's so much more we want to do citywide.

Uh, so I am asking for an increase in funding for this account because we will spend and be aggressive with it.

Okay.

Um, if you could uh add the specificity of the the ages of the flooring that you're looking to replace, that is helpful.

I think unfortunately, this is the kind of item that does get pushed to the side, unless it's clear that things are really, really deteriorating, which I mean they are, but yeah, and if you you know next time if you in a government center, if you look at the third floor and fifth floor, which haven't been done, and then you look at you know the other floors, it it's such a significant difference, both in health and wellness and quality of life for the employees and the staff.

So um really trying to expand the citywide is uh is really important to us.

Oh, yes, no, I I agree, and I'm I'm well aware.

I think just uh certainly have heard comments that you know flooring in the government center, how important is it really?

Um so just being able to underline the uh the age of the current uh flooring, I think helps to drive the case home.

So government center renovations.

Uh so this was one, it's been an ongoing one, but it's one that we really refocus a lot on beginning in fiscal year 2025.

So you can see the expenditures in 24 and 25.

We're seeking to continue with this work.

Um, kind of some of the ones on the list are um upgrading the ninth floor uh law department, uh, some core engineering department.

And I'm also going to focus you on item number five, which is the upgrade of the access control and security camera systems.

Uh so Josie Carbanzano, the deputy director of operations been doing a lot of work on access control and security citywide, um, which is going to be significant upgrade at a significant cost, which is really critical to the health and safety of the employees and the staff, uh, both at government center and citywide.

So as you can see, you know, we've been spending this money aggressively.

Um, there's a lot more that we want to do at government center.

Um, and again, if we continue to fund it, um, we will be able to continue with the upgrades of which are badly needed really at government center.

As we said, that building hadn't been touched um, you know, in a significant way in a very, very long time.

So uh we've been able to make a lot of strides, and we'd like to continue to continue to do so.

Okay.

ADA compliance.

So obviously I'm gonna, you know, show your attention to the to the balance of the amount available.

So that funding is being held for the government center plaza.

Um, so I I'm considering that account at zero.

So that that money is, even though it hasn't gone through a proper requisition, that money is being held aside for the government center plaza replacement, uh, which is a critical ADA necessity for the city for as you guys know for so many reasons.

Um, so the reason that we're asking for funding for this is because uh the city has been engaged with West COG on a citywide AD um ADA assessment, um, which they are currently assessing um all of our city facilities again for the first time in 10 years.

Um, the output of that will be a report, which we will then be able to review and begin to try to determine priorities for fixes and upgrades, uh, which will be significant.

Um so we're looking to fund this account um in order to kind of prepare for the report that comes out of that West Cog assessment.

Um, can you give us a little bit more of a sense of uh the type or scope of projects that would be covered under this?

Yeah, so uh it's it could be lots of different things, could be you know, grade changes and in public buildings or public parks.

Um it could be bathroom, you know, fixes that bathrooms that aren't ADA compliant.

It could be you know, ramps that are not you know ADA accessible.

Um, you know, as you know, government center just had all the bathrooms redone because none of them were ADA accessible.

So, you know, any building that's a pre-1992 building is not gonna be ADA accessible.

Um I think the last report, I want to say it was over 400 pages long.

I'd expect a similar report.

Um, I know that was done you know before I was here, but I I have reviewed it.

Um so you know, we're waiting for the updated report, and then you know, we'd like to begin trying to do what we can, you know, to to try to you know um make our buildings as ADA accessible as possible.

Okay.

Um I appreciate the having it in the out years as well for this.

Life safety system upgrade.

So uh, you know, this is an account that we began two years ago.

Um you know, this is just to have money when we are ready to begin a uh a project, upgrading, you know, fire panels, strobe upgrades, any life safety code compliance needs that we have.

Um we haven't been super active on this, I know, but you know, this is on our list of you know uh projects that we want to begin kind of working on.

So we are seeking to continue to fund this year after yeah.

Okay.

Environmental hazard abatement.

So this was one that kind of gone a bit dormant.

Uh, we're trying to revive it.

So this is for um the abatement of uh specimens containing materials, lead paint, um, you know, anything that um is potentially an environmental hazard out of city buildings.

So again, as we're getting more aggressive with trying to refurbish and renovate buildings, we're coming across this and again all of our pre-1983 buildings.

Um, so we want to have this funded and ready for you know, if we do come across you know, trying to renovate a space that we have money available.

Um, and we are seeing it all over all over the city, um, as you can imagine.

So we'd like to make sure we have funding in this account for that.

Are there um are I know that you kind of just encounter some of these as you go, but are there particular sites where you anticipate this being drawn down in the coming fiscal year?

Uh so lathan wider, absolutely.

Uh Glenbrook Community Center potentially, uh Cove Island, bathrooms, which we're looking to do some work in.

Um, yeah, those are probably the three at the top of the list.

Okay.

That that is, I think it's helpful to just have the specific locations in mind there.

Okay.

Uh crash door replacement.

So I I know, yeah, I know that you know that we're currently funded, and I appreciate the money we've gotten.

So we are going out to bid on this in the next couple weeks.

Um, so we have 156 garage doors citywide.

So you know, you're thinking about all the fire departments, city garage, fleet maintenance, uh, the fire departments and particular.

We we spend upwards of 30 to 40,000 a year in operating expenses repairing garage doors.

It drives me crazy.

Um, this is such kind of a simple one for us.

So we finally have enough funding there where we can probably get somewhere between six and ten doors done.

Um, so we are seeking to have this funded again so we can do another six to ten doors next fiscal year.

Um, there is an operating cost um savings.

Uh that isn't shown there, but it should be upwards of $20,000 a year as we continue to fund this.

Yeah, I think if you could include that here, I do recall from last year that being a compelling case for um for keeping this account funded.

All right, and that is all of the items.

Thank you very much for I appreciate the comprehensive and proactive approach.

I've been on this board long enough that I remember for a while.

The question was always, you know, which of these things do we have to fix first to not be sued?

So it's nice to have that to be in a mode that's more proactive and planful.

So thank you very much.

Thank you.

And Tony, are we doing the senior center or is Chris Crane doing that?

Uh I believe you are.

Let me pull that up.

Okay.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

I think you just X did out, but um Yeah, yeah, I did.

Okay.

Senior Center outdoor version.

So I think it's for $80,000.

It's it's for the so I I think this is being led by Chris Crane in the senior center, but because it's in the government center, kind of falls under facilities.

I'm happy to talk it out.

Um, so they're requesting a replacement of the servicing at their outdoor recreation area.

It's on the second floor patio of the government center.

Um, because this is an outside agency under the comprehensive plan, I believe this is being submitted kind of under non-city agencies.

Um, so this is remove the old turf and install an approved rubber playground surface uh for use by the senior center.

So that's pretty much it.

Okay.

Um I have a hunch this is one that might benefit from some pictures.

Okay, yeah.

Okay.

Um, I think that is it then.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

And last but not least, we have stormwater management and traffic and road maintenance.

Hello, everybody.

Hello.

Uh so this is environmental compliance.

This is for the stormwater division within the highways department.

Uh the money, any balances you see there are ARP monies and they are being spent.

So we're asking for $50,000 just to make sure we still have a balance for next fiscal year.

So you're anticipating the balance to be spent down by Yeah, well, we we have a time limit.

So Tyler's been working on spending it and buying resources for it.

So we just want to make sure we have money for any other stuff that pops up.

Okay.

Uh and next to street patch and resurfacing.

So this is the paving program that everybody should be familiar with by now.

Uh, we typically ask for 10 million each year.

And especially right now, I keep getting a lot of people asking me when am I paving their road?

And I try to give them a realistic time frame depending on where it is.

But I always end the sentence by as long as the budget supports it.

So keep it simple.

The more money I have, the more streets I can pave.

I'm wondering on this one, kind of what kind of cost escalation you've been seeing versus prior years, because it's one thing to keep this steady, but you know, if you're not if the cost of the paving is going up, that's helpful to know.

Well, COVID really raised the prices.

But the the supply chain also went nuts, and it was very hard to get materials, which also caused uh prices to go up.

Plus, we had like a nine percent inflation rate for a while.

So it went up like 30, 40 percent, and maybe it's down 10% from there.

So it it has gone up about 30% in the last five, six years.

Okay, got it.

There's really nothing we can do about it.

I mean, we go out to bid, it is what it is.

Okay, okay.

This is utility paving, which is a fairly new program.

Uh it's only about a year or so old, and this is the one where when the utility tears up a road, uh, we assess it.

You know, engineering tells me they're done.

I go look at the road.

If the half that they're not gonna touch is in bad condition, I determine it's better for the city to take a check from the utility for their share, and then we will go and pave the entire road curb to curb, and it just it benefits the residents, and there's maintenance cost savings because we're not filling potholes on that side anymore.

And typically utilities costs are a little higher than ours because we deal in more bulkiness than they do.

So it usually covers about 60% of the road.

So we're getting a whole road paved for like 40% of the price.

So it's a win-win all around.

Uh I think sorry, go ahead.

Just to add to that, so where we are in that program, they would give me a bunch of roads that they already finished, and then I'll go look at them.

But we're at a point where we can do this in real time now.

So as soon as they finish, I can assess it and determine whether it's ours or theirs, and that saves that two year period that people have been typically waiting with the trench road for it to get paved.

So we're asking for this amount of money so I can keep it in a real-time kind of operation and not have to wait six months or a year.

Yeah, we just replenish this account with an appropriation like a week or two ago.

Is that right?

Yeah, that's that's gonna be spent by the end of the fiscal year.

I have like I just added five roads that came that just finished, and I want to get done the season, which by season I mean calendar year, and then for next spring, I'm gonna have more roads to pave.

So that balance is gonna be spent.

Okay.

I think if you're able to just add that bit of detail um in the description, that's helpful because this is a you know, this is significantly more in the requests than the recent year expenditures, and I'd certainly see the value of being able to do this proactively.

Well, we're doing over 30 roads a season, so it's pretty significant.

Okay.

Uh citywide sidewalks, this is our sidewalk account.

Uh, like Luke was talking about earlier, his projects tend to have more design related issues.

Mine is pretty straightforward, rip out and replace.

Uh, this hasn't been really worked on during the Martin years.

He just found it too expensive.

So there's a plethora of areas all over town that could use our attention.

I do try to save money by putting in, let's say a concrete curve, but the asphalt uh would you be used for sidewalk instead of full concrete, uh depending on the the area we are.

You try to match whatever you rip out and replace it with the same, but wherever I can serve some money and extend the use of this account, I do it.

Okay, great.

And so the balance uh you're expending that to you're expecting that to be spent down by the end of the fiscal year.

Yeah, I mean, just to give perspective to do one block is 200 to 250,000, you know.

And and if you do streetscape, it's even more.

So you don't get much out of it.

That's why I try to conserve the money wherever I can.

Okay.

Um, I do just want to commend you on spending down quite a bit because I know last year we didn't really add to this account because it was at a very high balance, and you've plowed through it.

Yeah, we've done a lot of work this season.

Okay.

Uh unaccepted road.

This is a brand new project.

I don't know if everybody is familiar with the terminology of unaccepted road.

Just to summarize, it's basically a road that was never built to full engineering specifications, and therefore was never officially accepted by the city because of that.

And it's kind of left in a in a state of limbo, or basically the city owns it, but never fully accepted it.

But we're talking like 50 years, so there's nobody around to really hold accountable, and per the charter, we're really not allowed to do basic maintenance on it because it's not fully set to fully accepted.

So they just they've just fallen down to massive deterioration.

But yet we still have to plow them.

We still do leaf pickup on them.

And if it does get so bad that it's really dangerous, we do do emergency repairs.

So it's just a drag on the city.

It's not fair to the residents on those streets.

There's about 80 of them.

And this account would allow me as I'm already paving near one.

I could use this account to just go fix the road, bring it up to par, make it safe and acceptable, and then the official paperwork process of accepting it can go forward, but at least the residents are safe, and the operations cost is gone, and you're basically done with the physical part of the process.

This has been lingering for decades, and it needs to be resolved one way or another.

Okay.

I think the the piece around um kind of doing these as you're as you're already paving nearby is a useful detail around the operational efficiency of that.

Yeah, I try to do that.

The only the utility paving is kind of spotty because you never know where those guys are going, but I always try to cluster the work and make it much more efficient for the whole process.

Okay.

Downtown sidewalks is just like it sounds.

That's the extra lines in the concrete and the brick and the granite curving, which is the most expensive.

Um, we've done a lot of work down there, there's not that much left.

So I just have uh I'm asking for the 50 grand because there's little projects we've been working on uh in coordination with the DSSD for any brick areas that need upgrading or curve or any safety issues that they find.

They're very helpful with their eyes out in the field.

So it's just to keep this one flowing and fixing basic safety issues at the moment.

Okay.

Um, are you projecting to spend down the current balance by the end of the fiscal year?

What is the balance say right now?

Uh 154.

That's unfunded.

I don't I don't know if Tony's ever going to share the wealth and give it to me.

You don't need the 50,000 then.

If it well, if you fund that, then no, I don't need the 50.

Okay.

Thomas, when when we raised this during the pre-planning, you said you were going uh to use that 154 for the government center sidewalk.

Oh, that was what Luke said, yes.

So all right, that money spent, I need the 50 grand.

Thank you for reminding me.

Yeah, that that's considered downtown, and they need that for that project.

So he's correct.

So I'll need the 50 just to maintain the rest of downtown.

Okay.

All right.

Um, yeah, I guess if you just add that note to the comments that the balance is earmarked for that.

Okay.

And guardrails.

So guardrails, that's for any guardrails in town.

If it gets hit by a car and we know who it is and we get the police report and the insurance, then risk management will get the money to repair it.

But half the time we do not, you know, a lot of people hit and run with that stuff.

And it's a safety issue, so it needs to be repaired fairly quickly.

And we also do fencing out of this account.

Any kind of fencing issues, mainly with uh around town that needs to be done.

Again, it's a safety issue, so I asked for the minimum just to keep this account with some kind of funding in it.

Got it.

Okay.

And that is all of our capital edited items for this evening.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Okay.

Um, so our next regularly scheduled plan board meeting is uh on October 28th.

It will be a regular meeting.

Sorry at the beginning for trying to time jump a week.

Um after that, we will return to capital budget on November 5th, noting that's a Wednesday since election day is on the 4th.

Um, and then more capital budget callback on the 19th.

All right.

Well, thank you very much, everyone.

Have a good evening, and we'll see you next week.

Thank you.

Time is 9 22.