Garden City Public Works

GARDEN CITY PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT REPORT

March 10, 2016

Reported by Anita Weston

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  Marh 10, 2016. Riley Argyle reported that he had reviewed the site where the new flag pole will be placed in Heritage Park.  He approved of the location.  Half of the cost for the new flag pole will be paid by a grant and the other half will be paid out park monies.    While he was at Heritage Park, he noted that a pipe line needs to be laid between the pond and the playground.  This should be put in place soon.  There are two more locations at the playground that needs more bark—at least two loads.

The bike path has been brushed and cleaned.  It is ready to go.  The roller has been used on the beach.  It really does a good job and makes everything look smooth and attractive.

Some replacement parts are needed at the water treatment plant.  Also, there are quite a few spring water leaks that are taking time to get fixed.  A new valve will be needed in Buttercup.  The water there sill have to be turned off to install the new valve.  Five homes will be without water during the repair.

A Garden City employee has taken the test for a license to work at the treatment plant.  He won’t receive the results on the exam for at least a month.  He is also scheduled to take the culinary water distribution test.  That will give him the needed certification to handle water leaks that occur in the water system. The Town’s water system is rated as a Level one system.  Riley Argyle noted that he had been reviewing and discussing with Tom what he will need to know to pass the distribution test.  They will review everything just prior to him taking the exam.

The City will be getting another tractor to use on the beach.  It will be a larger machine than the Town used last year.  It will cost the City $1,800 more for this year because of the larger machine.  It will be delivered on the first of this coming month and will be used until the first of September.  The City owns a skid-steer which can be attached to the tractor.  A lot more of the beach will be plowed this year.  That should help with the insect problems.  Since the City obtained the federal license, the City is permitted to take care of the beach.  Riley Argyle thought it would be a good idea to run the plans for beach work past the D&R concerning 150 South area.  There shouldn’t be any problems.

Argyle noted that he and Kathy Hislop had completed the water report.  The City did use about 10 percent more water this last summer than the previous year.  It was noted that the months of September and June were the months of the highest use.

An agreement has been made between the City and Swan Creek HOA concerning water shares.  The paperwork has been submitted to the State for their approval.

This past winter two loads of salt and two loads of sand were used.  The workers make a 50 percent mix when salting the slick roads.  This is about an average amount used for the past several years.  It costs the City about $2,000 a load for the salt.  The City then takes care of some County Roads in payment for the sand they obtain from the County.

The new snow plow truck has not yet gone into service.  The service station in Laketown is waiting for a valve that is needed to get the truck into service.  Since we seem to be moving toward spring, this truck will probably not be used until next winter.  One of the Council members noted that perhaps the City needed to make arrangements with another repair company so that if the waiting period becomes too long, the equipment can be moved to the other company where the repair can be done in a more expeditious manner.  It was noted that International Equipment in Cache Valley has helped the City out in the past and may be the one that could be used as the alternative.

One of the employees, Glen, has decided to stay and continue to work part-time for the Public Works area.  He will become the commercial building inspector and will not be able to work fulltime for the City.  He has always been paid on an hourly rate, so that won’t be a problem.  He is still waiting for the results on his inspector exam.

Garden City needs to become involved with the wild land insurance bill.  The state of Utah is divided into areas. There are three areas:  green requires the least amount of insurance and won’t cost much.  Yellow areas must pay $2.50 per square acre within a city.  Red areas must pay $5.00 per square acre.  Garden City needs to insure all of the land within the City because, if and when a fire occurs, the city is totally responsible for open areas.  It will cost the City about $2,000 for the city’s insurance plan.

The City needs to dig another well in the City Park.  The one dug at Heritage Park has worked very well.  This will save the City money.  Instead of installing a water meter and paying the city for the water used, the City can pump the water from the well to keep the park looking green and attractive.  It will cost the City about $5,000 to dig the well and get in working properly.  Water shares that the City owns will be used to cover the amount of water being used by the two park wells.

Riley Argyle reported that some cooling devices (there are 12) at the water treatment plant need to be rebuilt.  It will cost about $150 each to rebuild these parts.  This is going to be cheaper than buying new units.

Argyle recommended that the City hire Austin again this coming summer.  He is not currently attending college this semester, and Argyle asked if he could be placed on the payroll soon and finish up all of the GPS work that needs to be completed.  He could finish out the entire project by fall.  He will work for about the same rate as last summer.

Argyle noted that he will be attending a training to become certified to work with asbestos.  The training is a week long course.

Raspberry Days probably should include an entrance fee.  Everyone under the age of 12 should pay $1 each day of attendance.

The flag pole should be in place in time for a dedication on Memorial Day.  It has been decided to place four granite monuments around the fishing pond at Heritage Park.

Tom Wahlberg mentioned that there are old airplanes and tanks that no longer run.  Perhaps placing an airplane or tank in the Heritage Park play area would attract and be enjoyable for children to play on.