Village of Riverlea Committee on Infrastructure
Meeting minutes
March 1, 2021
The Riverlea Committee on Infrastructure met at 7:00 pm on Monday, March 1st 2021. The meeting was held on-line via Zoom due to the restrictions on public gatherings. The meeting was posted and open to the public. The following people were in attendance: Marc Benevento (Chair), Dan Schlichting (Council member), Bill Charles (Street Commissioner), Greg Ross (volunteer), and Scott Flores (volunteer). Eric MacGilvray (Mayor) attended as a guest of the Committee.
Meeting Agenda:
1. Approval of minutes from October 2020 meeting
2. 2021 Priorities
a) Contingency planning for high impact items from the asset management plan
b) Recommendation and scope, budget, and funding of sanitary sewer maintenance and repair
c) Lift station generator proposal and execution
d) Other
3. Effectiveness of gutter vacuuming for proper drainage / recommendations for 2021
4. Need for sub-committees
The meeting was called to order at 7:05. The chairperson volunteered to take minutes.
- Minutes from the prior meeting had been circulated and reviewed by the committee members prior to the meeting and were approved as written.
a) The committee discussed the potential priorities for 2021.Contingency planning for high impact items identified in the Asset Management Plan (AMP) created for the Village by Burgess and Niple in 2020. According to B&N, the pieces of Riverlea’s infrastructure that pose the greatest risk to the Village are the force main that carries waste pumped from the lift station to Worthington’s main sanitary sewer line that lies to the east, and the lift station itself. The Village is currently evaluation the possibility to add a backup generator to the lift station to avoid discharges related to power outages. In addition, the Committee will develop a contingency plan to establish actions to be taken in the event of the failure of the force main. This would include evaluation of plans of action, service and material providers, and estimated cost of emergency service.
b) Recommendation and scope, budget, and finding of sanitary sewer maintenance and repair. The Village sanitary sewers were cleaned and inspected in 2020. The system is in working order, but some areas were found to be in need of minor repair or preventative maintenance for root intrusion or mineral deposits. Burgess & Niple, recommended that repairs and maintenance should take place within the next 3 years.
Two options were suggested for the Village to explore. The first option would be do conduct point repairs, where necessary, at a cost of $90 thousand, and preventative root control every three years at a minimum cost of $8 per application. The second option would be to re-line the portions of the system in need of repair or with root intrusion at a cost of about $150 thousand. This would restore the pipe to “like new’ condition where it was relined, with an expected service life of 50+ years. With these portions of the system re-lined, approximately 40% of Riverlea’s sanitary sewer would have been relined since 2012, reducing the maintenance burden. Relining the balance of the system would cost an estimated $280 thousand.
After some deliberation, the Committee reached consensus that the financially prudent recommendation would be to re-line portions of the system that are in need of repair. This option minimizes the need for future point repairs, backups related to root intrusion or mineral deposits, and avoids the need for chemical root treatments. The cost to reline the entire system was deemed to be prohibitive because the system was found to be in good working condition and it is not recommended to extend the inspection interval even if the entire system is relined. Funding assistance, in the form of grants or interest-free loans, may be available through the State of Ohio. The Chair will begin to evaluate how an application would score based on previous experience with the street project.
c) Lift station improvements / backup generator: In 2020, the Village explored the possibility of installing a backup generator to provide power to the station’s pumps in the event of an outage, thereby preventing sewage overflow into the Olentangy River. The project will require concrete, mechanical, and electrical work, plus running a gas line to power the generator. Due to the multi-disciplinary nature of the project, it was difficult for the Village to coordinate without outside assistance. The Committee will draft a scope of work and request for proposal that can be provided to generator suppliers to determine if one can serve as general contractor for the project. The estimates received will allow the Village to assess if the project must be put to bid of if can be awarded without a bidding process. The Street Commissioner and Chair will present a draft of a project scope and request for proposal to the Committee for comment at a future meeting.
- Effectiveness of gutter vacuuming for proper function and drainage: In December 2020, the Village contracted Sharon Township to vacuum leaves and debris from the gutter pan with the intention of improving the effectiveness of the storm sewer system for clearing snow melt and sump discharge thereby preventing the formation of large ice flows in the Village.
The decision to use leaf vacuuming as opposed to street sweeping was made because street sweeping services were unsure of their ability to fully clear leaves from the gutter pan. In addition, vacuuming leaves from the gutter pan was conducted at approximately 1/3 of the cost of street sweeping. The committee agreed that, although there was some ice accumulation noticed throughout the Village, no large, hazardous ice flows were observed, and that leaf vacuuming of the gutter pan appeared to have helped. The Village may consider street sweeping in the late spring or early summer to clear debris that accumulations if there is a need and deemed fiscally responsible.
While discussing the condition of the streets and gutter pan, it was pointed out that several Committee members had observed the level of the asphalt streets to be nearly 1” above the gutter pan following the thawing of ice and snow in the gutters and streets. This was observed throughout the Village, with asphalt crumbling at the interface of the street and gutter pan in many locations. The Chair will follow up with Burgess and Niple to determine if this is normal and/or if any corrective action or repair is necessary.
- Need for sub-committees: In order to complete the priorities above, it may be necessary to create sub-committees to divide the work. The need for sub-committees was not clear during the meeting and the ideas was put aside.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:41PM.