From: Jimmy Thompson
Sent: Thu Dec 29 10:42:24 2016
To: Gerald Fisher
Subject: RE: Molalla Ave Construction Update
Importance: Normal
Great comments Gerald. Thank you.
Jimmy
----- Original Message -----
From: Gerald Fisher <gfisher@cityofmolalla.com>
To: CWilliams@MolallaPioneer.com
Cc: Dan Huff <dhuff@cityofmolalla.com>, Jimmy Thompson <jthompson@cityofmolalla.com>, Debbie Rogge <drogge@cityofmolalla.com>
Sent: Thu, 29 Dec 2016 09:19:27 -0800 (PST)
Subject: RE: Molalla Ave Construction Update
See comments in red below.
Regards,
Gerald Fisher, P.E. | Public Works Director
City of Molalla
117 N Molalla Ave. | PO Box 248 |Molalla, OR 97038
Office: 503.829.6855 | Direct: 503.759.0218
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in this email message,
including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended
recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any
unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you
are not the intended recipient and have received this communication in
error, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of
the original message. Thank you.
From: CWilliams@MolallaPioneer.com [mailto:CWilliams@MolallaPioneer.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2016 7:57 PM
To: gfisher@cityofmolalla.com
Subject: RE: Molalla Ave Construction Update
Thanks for the speedy response! Couple of follow up questions I forgot:
What was the very original scheduled finish date? (I've been hearing
different dates, wanted to make sure) Original contract date was November
30th. With the latest inclement weather days the new completion date is
January 6th.
Was there ever a penalty fee added onto that budget if the developer
Contractor went over that scheduled date? If so, where does it go? (One
business owner told me he thought it should go back to the businesses
affected, but I doubt that's how it works) There is a clause in the
contract that provides for $1,000 per day in liquidated damages. That is
money we would deduct from the final contract price. Those unspent funds
can be used on other urban renewal capital projects at a later date.
I'm sure there were more than a few things the developer Contractor ran
into along the way that impeded the process. Any insight to that? (To try
to somewhat ease the concerns of people saying it should've been done
sooner) As discussed before, this is a reconstruction of 2,000 feet of
roadway including a new 10" waterline and 30" storm line. I have heard and
read that people in the community thinks this kind of work should have
only taken two months (recent editorial). Clearly these folks have never
talked to me about what was involved on this project. Based on their
comments I can also infer that they have never designed, constructed, or
managed a project of this scope or cost. The Contractor ran into
underground abandoned fuel tanks that no one had record of, unmapped and
very old underground (water/sewer/storm), unlocated fiber lines, and
buildings set at varying elevations. All of these along with underground
pipes that were different from old construction drawings had to be
addressed and many were not simple fixes. Whenever you rebuild
infrastructure in a developed area you run into issue. Those of us in this
industry understand that and have to find solutions quickly to the
problems on a daily basis. It is easy to criticize the work of others when
you have no concept of what they do. In the end, the community will get a
brand new downtown that other communities would love to have. Folks should
be grateful that the mayor and council members saw the value of improving
the infrastructure in Molalla's downtown business district and had vision
to fund the projects that they have to date. For decades, the community
has done very little to rehabilitate and replace its infrastructure. Now
the community is in a situation where they have to play catch up to fix
its aging infrastructure and that all comes at a cost in both money and
inconvenience. We still have properties in the community that have their
roof downspouts connected to the sewer system that inundates the
wastewater treatment plant every winter causing it problems. This happened
because the community has not invested in adequate storm drainage and
street systems. Creamery Creek is conveyed through an old corrugated metal
pipe though town and in some cases it goes under buildings. It costs money
to realign these piped systems and abandon the old ones properly. I can go
on and on about this. The fact is I have been here about 5 months and the
community has had decades to fix these problems. It will take decades of
construction work similar to Molalla Avenue to fix these problem and if
they truly care about the long term viability of the community then they
should be supporting the work that the Council and City staff are doing
for them to make this a better community.
If you use the above response do not paraphrase. I'm tired of reading
opinions from uninformed individuals that do nothing to celebrate what
this community is trying to accomplish. It is easy to tear things down. It
takes real courage and dedication to build things.
Thanks again!
Conner Williams
Sports/News Reporter
Molalla Pioneer
Office: 503-829-2301
Cell: 503-475-6501
Twitter: @Molalla_Sports
From: Gerald Fisher [mailto:gfisher@cityofmolalla.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2016 11:33 AM
To: Conner Williams <CWilliams@MolallaPioneer.com
<mailto:CWilliams@MolallaPioneer.com> >
Cc: dhuff@cityofmolalla.com <mailto:dhuff@cityofmolalla.com>
Subject: RE: Molalla Ave Construction Update
Hi Conner,
See responses in red below. Hope this helps.
Regards,
Gerald Fisher, P.E. | Public Works Director
City of Molalla
117 N Molalla Ave. | PO Box 248 |Molalla, OR 97038
Office: 503.829.6855 | Direct: 503.759.0218
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in this email message,
including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended
recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any
unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you
are not the intended recipient and have received this communication in
error, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of
the original message. Thank you.
From: CWilliams@MolallaPioneer.com <mailto:CWilliams@MolallaPioneer.com>
[mailto:CWilliams@MolallaPioneer.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2016 11:07 AM
To: gfisher@cityofmolalla.com <mailto:gfisher@cityofmolalla.com>
Cc: dhuff@cityofmolalla.com <mailto:dhuff@cityofmolalla.com>
Subject: Molalla Ave Construction Update
Hello,
I'm doing a story for this week on Molalla Ave since it looks nice and
paved now and traffic is flowing through. Here's a couple of questions via
email, but feel free to call me if that's a better way to talk. My
deadline is tomorrow at noon. Thank you!
How much is done at this point? Approximately 85-90%.
How much is left to do? Waterline from Robbins to Heintz, balance of curb
on west side, balance of sidewalk on west side, bike plaza at Long Park,
balance of street trees and streetlights, final lift of asphalt, signing
and striping. When is the scheduled total finish date? Contractor
anticipates substantial completion by February 17th.
When was the southbound lane opened up to traffic? Friday, December 23rd
Can you give me figures for the original project budget versus current
total costs, if there have been any additions? Original contract
$2,059,551. Current contract $2,131,850.69. Total project increase of
3.5%.
How are things looking? I've noticed a storm drain on the east side of the
street by Hi-School Pharmacy that is always flooded whenever it rains.
How's that being addressed and is there anything else like that that needs
fixing? Once the final lift of asphalt is installed the street will
completely drain and the small intermittent puddles will go away. We are
continuing to asking drivers to slow down, obey the 25 MPH speed limit,
and watch for pedestrians and construction workers. Most of Molalla Avenue
is in a commercial business district and drivers need to be aware of their
surroundings and lower their speeds. There will also be a new mid-block
pedestrian crossing at Long Park so drivers will need to pay attention to
the new improvements compared to what they were used to with the old
roadway.
Conner Williams
Sports/News Reporter
Molalla Pioneer
Office: 503-829-2301
Cell: 503-475-6501
Twitter: @Molalla_Sports