Golf Cart Drivers

The ability to use golf carts on city streets in Breezy Point has a long history.  It has been much appreciated by the public and for the most part has gone well with few incidents or problems.  There are rules that are required under both state law as well as city ordinances that need to be observed.  Most users are respectful of these.

State law requires that owners of golf carts who drive on city streets have adequate liability insurance coverage to drive on public streets.  This is no different than state law requiring insurance on motor vehicles.  State law also requires golf carts that drive on city streets receive a permit from the city.  Insurance coverage is required before a permit can be obtained from the city.  Many insurance policies for golf carts are written to extend only for use on private property.  It becomes important that coverage is valid for use on public streets.  There has also been a concern that youth drivers may not be covered when driving a golf cart on public streets.  

When the ordinance regarding golf carts was brought up to date the provision regarding having a driver’s license was removed as we no longer can require that condition under Mn Statutes 160.045 Subd. 7.  Previously we used the requirement of a driver’s license as the threshold for the age of the driver.  Removing this requirement meant there was no minimum age for drivers of golf carts.  At the time, we didn’t think parents would allow young children to drive golf carts on their own.  We’ve come to find out differently as young children, some who can barely see over the steering wheel, are driving carts all over the city. This seemed to be a tragedy in the making.   

With concerns of safety and the possibility of insurance not covering young drivers the city took an additional step for golf cart users.  Drivers as of January 1, 2017 will be required to be at least 15 years old.  As permits are issued for 2017 the owners of golf carts will be made aware of this provision.  Enforcement activities will include, among other things, stopping youth drivers who may not be old enough to drive a golf cart on city streets.    

Lift Station 1 Maintenance

Some of you may have seen a project that occurred along Co. Rd. 4 near the Conservation Club.  Public Works, along with a contractor, were accomplishing some maintenance on Lift Station Number 1.  This lift station takes all of the wastewater in the city and pushes it through a forcemain to the Wastewater Treatment Plant.  The project involved the replacement of two base elbows and two check valves. 

Lift stations are built with two pumps that alternate pumping which gives us some redundancy in the system.  If one pump has problems the other pump can be used while the pump is repaired or replaced.  With the two pumps you have two sewer lines that deliver wastewater to the forcemain.  Each line required the replacement of the base elbow.  These base elbow pipes direct the flow from the pump to the forcemain. Both lift pumps had to be taken out of operation to work in a manhole that would otherwise be filled with sewage.   

The sewer system was installed in 1976.  Since that time there has been some replacement of components.  In particular, the lift station started out with smaller horsepower pumps and as they were replaced, larger pumps were installed.  The additional stress on these elbows from larger pumps eventually created wear as the elbow size had not been increased with the larger pumps.  Erosion of the pipes created leakage in the seals of these base elbows.  This not only leads to lower efficiency it also leads to eventual failure of the piping system. 

These base elbows were replaced and enlarged from a 4 inch to a 6 inch pipe.  When you have a forcemain the system needs to have check valves.  These allow for a one way flow in the pipe.  Each of the two lines has a check valve.  These were also replaced as long as the system was under repair. 

Accomplishing this took a good deal of effort.  As the lift station feeds the forcemain and all wastewater goes through this lift station a temporary bypass pipe needed to be installed.  Taking the lift station out of operation meant we needed to have an auxiliary pump of sufficient size to act as a replacement lift station.  The sewer main had to be capped at the next upstream manhole so flow was stopped before getting to this lift station, allowing for work to occur there.  The auxiliary pump was then hooked up to that manhole and connected to the bypass pipe.  The main lift station manhole was then pumped out completely so repair work could be completed.  Both pumps were removed so that the base elbows could be replaced.  With the elbows replaced and pumps reinstalled the bypass was removed and the lift station was put back in service. 

The two check valves were next.  With the lift station using one of the pumps the other sewer main saw the replacement of the check valve.  Once the replacement of that line was done the process was repeated with the other sewer main, installing a check valve there.  With that installation the project was completed. 

As stated this may not seem to be a large project.  It was however fairly complex and costly to accomplish.  The project went as well as could be expected.  Working in sewer manholes replacing parts that are 40 years old took some expertise and patience but it is now in place for hopefully another 40 years.

Pelican Lake Public Access

I had reported earlier that we had received a grant for the paving of the public landing to Pelican Lake.  This public access is off of North Drive.  The grant provides for the construction costs only.  The city has to pay other costs such as engineering.

Engineering includes, among other things, the drafting of plans and specifications, bidding process, and construction administration.  The engineering costs are somewhat higher for this project as we need to deal with prevailing wages and meeting state standards for all construction requirements. 

Bids for the project were received on August 16.  The bid for the construction work came in at $81,041.70 from Anderson Brothers Construction.  Their bid was accepted and awarded so construction will occur this fall.  Construction is proposed to start the week of September 19^th or the 26^th.  They anticipate the project will take about a week or two to accomplish. During construction the access will be closed.  

The outcome of a paved public access is something we’re all looking forward to.  Not only that, we have a more environmentally acceptable one that no longer drains gravel into the lake and drainage will be handled with a sedimentation basin.  We look forward to this being completed. 

Finance Services

Organizations of all kinds run on the skills and actions of the people who work for them.  There are obvious differences in large organizations versus smaller ones.  Larger organizations have a depth in staffing, workloads and outputs.  Smaller organizations require the same types of outputs at a smaller scale.  The means to get there however are constrained with staffing.  With a smaller staff count there are few opportunities for redundancy in staff doing the same chores. 

Administrative staffing in Breezy Point is light.  There is one person doing the majority of the financial transactions and others doing other administrative tasks.  We don’t have the luxury of cross training and we cannot get by without that staff position being filled.  Keep in mind we’re talking payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and utility billing along with monthly financial statements.   

Recently the staff person who accomplished the financial functions for the city decided to accept a new challenge and move on to another employer.  That left a large hole for the city to fill in terms of accomplishing all the financial functions of the city.  Hiring to replace a position takes time to accomplish given all the tasks necessary to fulfill that goal.  A temporary solution was needed to fill the gap. 

In looking at options NJPA has developed a relationship with the accounting firm of Abdo, Eick and Meyers.   They have specialists that are familiar with municipal accounting and the software we use to fulfill our needs.  A contract was approved at the August council meeting to hire this firm to assist us with our finances.  This is a short term contract of 6 months that can be terminated early with notice.  NJPA will also assist us with a small portion of the costs associated with this transition.  We are very fortunate to be able to find this solution.

In the meantime we’re looking for a dedicated employee who has the skills and expertise to accomplish our finance functions.     

Public Access Progress

Another step has been made towards the paving of the public access on North Drive.  With the grant being received for the construction costs the city moved forward with the development of plans and specifications for the construction.  These were reviewed by the city council at the July meeting.  They were approved and the council also asked that bids be received on construction.  Bids will be received on August 16^th and will be considered that evening.  If the bids are acceptable an award will be made. 

As part of the grant process Crow Wing County submitted the grant for the city.  Funds from the grant come from the DNR State Road Account.  This makes the process and funding vehicle a State Aid project.  Certain criteria are required as Crow Wing County is also the fiscal agent.  As such they have requested an acknowledgement from the city that we understand our role in this process.  The city is responsible for all phases of the project including but not limited to engineering, design, permitting, award and construction.  The city understands that Crow Wing County is solely a pass-through, fiscal agent for the project. 

Once the project is bid the city will request funds from the county and they will request funds from the state.  The county will provide 95% of the funds to the city to accommodate construction costs.  When the project is completed the city will receive the remaining 5% of the construction costs. 

There was some concern that the city could be obligated to additional costs, particularly if the bid comes in higher than the construction amount.  The city could reject all bids and rebid in the spring if need be.  Change orders could also be a concern.  The council is aware of these possibilities and would like to see the project completed this fall if possible.  Hopefully we’ll see the project completed in that time line.