October 6, 2014 Road Update

At the October 6, 2014 Acting Southfield City Engineer Leigh Schultz updated Council regarding current capital and road projects throughout the city.

Southfield May 5, 2014 Infrastructure Work Session

Overview
At the May 5, 2014 Southfield City Council meeting council heard presentations from Leigh Schultz the city's assistant city Engineer as well as representatives from OHM and Hubbell, Roth & Clark two firms the city works with, regarding infrastructure.

The representatives, including Gary Tressel, Rhett Gronenvelt made several points about infrastructure funding and the city's need to plan for the future.

Google Satellite Map

Power Point Presentation



Highlights

• In 2014 in Southfield's Jurisdiction based on the PASER rating system, which is based on how much maintenance roads need,  there were 66 roads in poor condition 122 roads in fair condition and 56 roads in good or very good condition. 
• It is financially more efficient for the city to maintain roads in fair (PASER Rating) condition than it to repair roads in poor condition.
• Prioritizing based on the last point would mean that roads that roads that are in poor condition would be that last to get money and without increasing road funding the city could not efficiently both maintain fair roads and increase the quality of poor roads in that model.
• Conditions of the roads and politics might not permit the city to stick to the more efficient model and council needs to decide how to balance cost efficiency and practicality.
• Based on 10 year (2024) projections both maintaining fair roads and improving the quality of poor roads would require roughly $10 Million a year in infrastructure investment. (Page 18 of PowerPoint) Currently the city invests roughly 2 million (Page 20)
• If the city were to raise funds through a millage it would need to do so by 3 mills or about $225 a year for a $150,000 home. (Page 20)
• In order to gain further efficiency the city should coordinate water and sewer projects with road construction. Doing so will allow money in the budget to be used for both water/sewer projects and road projects when underground work is needed.
• In defending criticism against some of the road aesthetics from council the engineers pointed out that while maintaining the road is cost effective it does not always leave the road looking the best. In particular resurfacing the road is a short term repair that is not expected to last as long as full reconstruction. 
• Also the engineering teams discussed the problems of recycling pavement and how the unknowns about the process in the 90's and early 2000's may have lead to some of the durability and lifespan problems council has been mentioning.
• Over the past several weeks the council has been debating road work warranties. Both the legal and engineering departments agreed that the increased cost and negotiating effort of those warranties may outweigh their benefits.
• Various Detours and Impacts of Evergreen Construction between 8-Mile Road and 9-Mile Road
• Due to the low bidder missing a Michigan Department of Transportation deadline on the Evergreen 10-Mile to I-696 project completion of the will be delayed.

Actions Taken

• New Pump Station and Force Main North of Ten Mile Road Between Southfield Road and Greenfield Road (Positive Consensus) (Page 38)
• Preliminary Design Engineering For BASF Cul-De-Sac (Positive Consensus with Reservations from Councilman Moss) (Page 44)
• Preliminary Design Engineering and Estimates to Aid in Federal Economic Development Grant Downtown Development Authority District Locations (Positive Consensus) (Page 48)
• Preliminary Design Engineering and Estimates for Bridge Street Industrial Park Federal Economic Development Administration Grant (Positive Consensus) (Page 50)
• Set May 19 5:00 PM Meeting to Discuss Potential Road Millage (Positive Consensus)

Useful Links

• Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council's Website Which Includes Interactive PASER Maps
• Semcog Road Statistics
• Southfield's Evergreen North Road Project Webpage 
• Southfield's Evergreen South Road Project Webpage 
• Meeting Agenda and Package

Southfield City Council Meeting May 5, 2014

Southfield City Council Meeting Held Monday May 5, 2014

Topics Discussed Include

• Road Funding
• Road Conditions
• Projections of Road Conditions at Various Levels of Funding
• Various Road and Water Infrastructure Projects
• Methods of Communication to the Public Regarding Road Infrastructure Particularly on the City Website
• Delays in Evergreen and 10-Mile to I-696 (Evergreen and Civic Center area) Project
• The Need to Discuss a Road Millage
• The Appointment of Michael Racklyeft to the Position of City Assessor
• The Mayor's Presentation and Transmission of the Proposed Budget for the Next Fiscal Year
• A Brownfield Redevelopment Plan For The Site of the Former St. Bede Church on the Corner of Southfield and 12-Mile Road.
• Changes to Building Department Bonds

An agenda and related documents can be found here.

Note: I will be posting a more in-depth post about infrastructure in a few hours depending on a few factors.

Southfield City Council Meeting March 26, 2012

City Council Meeting held in Southfield, Michigan on March 26, 2012

Topics Include

• Lasher Road Reconstruction
• The Resurfacing of 8-Mile Road
• A GIS Map web portal for Southfield (Destination Southfield)
• Concerns regarding DTE Energy

An agenda and related documents can be found at here.

Southfield City Council Meeting July 11, 2011

City Council Meeting Held in Southfield,Michigan on July 11, 2011

Topics include

• Enforcement of Building Codes
• Northland Mall
• A streetlight project along J.L. Hudson Drive and Northland Drive
• Amendments to the Zoning Ordinance that would affect Daycare, parking, and recreational facilities in light industrial zoning.
• Ice arena and swimming pool refurbishing
• Tax Abatements

Southfield City Council Meeting July 11 2011 Reupload from Greg Miles on Vimeo.

An agenda and related documents can be found here.

You can download audio of the meeting here.