Infrastructure Committee Meeting

April 4, 2016

The Riverlea Committee on Infrastructure met at 7:00 pm on April 4, 2016 at the Community Church of Christ at 110 Park St. Future meetings will be the first Monday of the month at the same time and place. The meeting was posted and open to the public. The following people were in attendance: Mayor Eric MacGilvray, Marc Benevento(Chair-Council member), Bill Charles (Street Commissioner), Chad Lowe (Council member), volunteers John Oberle, Greg Ross(notes), and Dan Schlichting. Jim Dippel of Burgess and Niple joined as a guest.

The following tentative agenda was shared via e-mail prior to the meeting:

  1. Review & approve 2-29-16 minutes (Marc)
  2. Instructions for use of shared drive (Marc)
  3. Preliminary project cost model (Chad)
  4. MORPC application scoring criteria (Marc) — for more information review the MORPC funding and grants

At 7:00 pm, the meeting was called to order. Marc Benevento asked for a volunteer to take meeting minutes and Greg Ross volunteered. Meeting minutes from the 2-29-16 meeting were sent to the committee via e-mail for review ahead of time. The minutes were approved without changes.

Marc spoke with Columbia Gas about potential coordination of gas line replacement work during the sewer and street project. They requested our project schedule and the preliminary timeline was sent. Columbia Gas normally begins coordination about one year before the start of the construction work.

Marc reviewed the SCIP application submission process with the group. 2016 updates to the application will be available July 1, 2016. Revisions are typically minor. Completed application for 2017 awards is due by 5.00 pm on September 12, 2016.

There has been some community interest in the project, specifically services (electrical, cable, etc.). The group discussed AEP electrical service. Most electrical lines run behind properties and not along streets. The one exception is the portion of Dover Court from Southington Street to Melbourne Place. Based on past projects, burying electrical service is very expensive. Jim Dippel confirmed this.

The committee is using the Google share drive which is set up for the Riverlea Council. Read access is available to the committee. Village council members can upload information.

The project is currently planned as a single construction phase. The approach to funding the project, however, should be maximized by the committee. This could entail splitting into multiple applications. The focus is SCIP funding in support of the water line and storm sewer replacement. Street replacement or repair is not covered under this government finding program.

Marc provided a summary worksheet which captured a preliminary assessment of the SCIP application scoring process. The primary objective of the committee will be to maximize the Riverlea submission score. John and Dan (with assistance from Jim) will look at past successful applications submitted by other communities. MORPC administers the SCIP application review process. Wilma is a key resource at MORPC. She and her team review the applications. They will review applications before final submission and critique if provided early. We agreed we would like to collect her feedback, if possible.

Chad presented some funding options for Riverlea looking at loans, grants and bonds. The ratio of each will be determined by the outcome of the SCIP award. Ultimately, the Village of Riverlea will minimize the financial burden to the community while completing this critical infrastructure upgrade.

Marc Benevento provided these action items stemming from the 4-4-16 meeting. The primary action items appear below.

  1. Develop understanding of what is required to comply with “complete streets” – Bill C , Marc B.
  2. Review other communities’ previous successful applications to understand trends – John O., Dan S.
  3. Inquire about scoring criteria for SCIP/LTIP round 31 as it pertains to small residential entities with no corporate tax base – John O.
  4. Begin coordination with Worthington regarding repair/replacement of sanitary sewer in concert with Riverlea street work (below Falmouth). – Bill C.
  5. Begin preparation for short-term bond to cover engineering design – TBD

During the meeting in May, we will be using the information gathered on the above to refine our application. Please continue to get familiar with the scoring criteria. We will make a recommendation to village council in mid-July.

The meeting adjourned at 8:10 pm

MARC BENEVENTO (CHAIR)

PREPARED BY GREGORY BONK