06-20-23-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JUNE 20, 2023 9 Bolton & Menk Principal Engineer Waltman said they will consider the project phasing and what works best when they get into the final design and indicated we do not want a truck going over a brand new mill and overlay road. He stated it's best to do the reclaim, pave the bottom layer, then mill the adjacent streets and pave the final layer all at once. He said this is the goal and noted they are on the same page as Councilmember Holden. C. Assisted Hearing Technology City Administrator Perrault stated the Council decided not to move forward with additional action on assisted hearing technology in March. He worked with Councilmember Fabel prior to this meeting to make some adjustments to the T-Coil machine he uses, but that didn't address the larger issue of equipment. Councilmember Monson said if it is working as is they should leave it. City Administrator Perrault noted whether they go with the T-Coil, wireless or hip pack, it only solves the issue if people speak into the microphones. Mayor Grant thought they should give it some time to see if the issue was resolved. Councilmember Holden said she can't hear Councilmember Rousseau next to her sometimes. Mayor Grant said they did turn up the microphones at the last meeting. He also sometimes has trouble hearing Councilmembers Monson and Rousseau. Councilmember Monson felt they could all speak into their microphones better. Councilmember Rousseau suggested they bring this back up in a couple of months and see if the situation has resolved itself. Mayor Grant directed staff to bring the item back for more discussion in August. D. Water Meter Replacement and Lead/Copper Inventory Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen stated the brass of water meters are aging and they are looking at doing a full replacement throughout the city. There has been a budget placeholder in the CIP to account for the costs of the project. It was discussed at a work session last year and Council requested it be brought back again in about year to see how the meters are doing. The EPA requires a lead and copper inventory, so if they move forward with the project they will tie the two together. If they don't move forward with meter replacement, staff will have to figure out an alternative to collecting the data for the EPA. Staff would like direction on whether or not they should move forward with the water meter replacement which would involve replacing brass components of the meter body and replacement of the meter. There has been an increase of failures of the reading system. They are at about 4% water loss which is a good number to see, meaning the accuracy of the bodies themselves seem to be doing well. He wasn't sure if there would be a tipping point where that number would suddenly increase, so they are continuing to monitor it.