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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-01-2015 workshop City Council of Peachtree City Workshop Minutes December 1, 2015 The Mayor and Council of Peachtree City met in workshop session on Tuesday, December 1, 2015. Mayor Fleisch opened the workshop at 6:30 p.m. Council Members attending: Terry Ernst, Eric lmker, Mike King, and Kim Learnard. The purpose of the workshop was to continue discussions on the Path Master Plan and golf cart fees, traffic improvements and infrastructure, and the municipal broadband initiative. FY 2015 Budget Review Rorie said the idea for the workshop was to look at the individual topics and how they were interconnected. He began the presentation with a review of the FY 2015 budget, reminding Council that the budget numbers were unaudited. The idea of looking at the topics and making recommendations was to engage the citizenry, giving them the opportunity to provide feedback to Council and staff. The majority of the City's revenue came from ad valorem (property) taxes (37.6%) and the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) (19.9%), totaling 60%. Taxes for a $269,000 property cost the homeowner approximately $60 each month. For that $60, property owners received a variety of services, including Police, Fire/EMS, Buildings and Grounds, Engineering, Building, Finance, Administrative Services, and Public Works, which was not a bad deal, according to Rorie. During the FY 2016 budget process, the focus was on street resurfacing and cart path maintenance (annual targets were $2.5 million in paving and $665,000 in cart path resurfacing), Rorie said. Council had been presented with three options on the use of Cash Reserves during the budget process - $769,000, $1 million, or $1.3 million. Staff's proposal had been to limit the appropriation of Cash Reserves at the lowest level based on the assumption that spending would come in under budget. Council agreed, and they selected $769,000. A 0.25 millage rate increase was programmed for FY 2017, which changed the financial model going forward in terms of how much money would be needed from Cash Reserves, Rorie said. However, that assumed there would be no changes in the line items, such as no increases in the paving budget and no additional funds would be needed for cart path maintenance. Changing one variable in the financial model changed other things down the line. Rorie noted that, at the end of FY 2015, there had been $433,000 more in cash reserves than projected. He continued that it was incorrect to add the overage to the $769,000 used and assume that $336,000 in Cash Reserves would be used for FY 2016. It was also incorrect to add the amounts, saying there was $1.2 million of Cash Reserves to be used. Rorie said neither approach addressed the long-term needs for infrastructure upgrades and improvements. It was bad business to appropriate from the Cash Reserves year after year. Municipal Broadband Initiative Rorie addressed the Municipal Broadband Project next, noting the City was still in a strong position. One of the issues was how to provide maintenance responsiveness without pulling from Cash Reserves, which was not feasible. Revenues and expenditures needed to match. It was a visionary decision, and they were still weighing the odds. The City was not in the business of being in business, but private and public goals were different. The concern was demand vs. market, and the market would decide. The competitive environment would provide cost containment. City Council Workshop Minutes December 1, 2015 Page 2 Municipal broadband had not been considered quickly, but had taken almost a year, Rorie said. The feasibility study was done in February - March 2015, with the business plan development following in April - May. The renegotiation of the cell tower agreements had taken place June-August. The business plan was presented to Council on September 17, and it was accepted by Council resolution. Requests for Proposal (RFPs) were issued for design, construction, materials, and equipment in October. Meetings were held with the various stakeholders in September - October, and the RFP for financing was sent out in November. Rorie said he had asked for a delay in the RFP, and an addendum was sent out. The quotes were not due until January, which was on purpose with staff in the background looking at where the process was going and giving the project its due diligence. Staff had considered municipal broadband due to the sharply rising costs of meeting current and immediate future data needs and diminishing cable franchise fee revenues. The focus should not be on the loss of the fees, but on the public goals and data demands by the City and the public, Rorie said. Some City facilities were still not connected to fiber, the speed/capacity of the current network was insufficient, and the need for more data capacity/speed was sharply increasing. The City's particular data needs included GIS/mapping performance for Public Safety and Public Works sites; offsite video backup for the Police Department (not currently done), a central site for camera security systems for facility security, increased wireless bandwidth for facilities, utilization of higher bandwidth internet connections through City Hall internet (to avoid bottlenecks for internet access), reliable access for fire stations and maintenance facilities, and electronic plan submissions for the Building and Fire Departments. The potential solutions had been to buy/lease more capacity from fiber service providers and pay higher costs or build and operate the City's own municipal fiber optic network, Rorie said. The buy/lease from the provider option would result in higher annual costs for service and would not solve the problem of the revenue loss (more than $500,000) of the annual cable franchise fee. If the City built its own fiber network, it would have to meet data demands for City operations. It would also provide an opportunity to replace the lost franchise fee revenue, and the City would be able to use the utility as an economic development tool. Finally, it would allow the City would to control the destiny of the infrastructure. Rorie briefly looked at the Phase I basic assumptions in the business model, saying there would be 22.54 plant miles serving 17 government/education sites at a monthly rate of$300. There was the potential to serve 11 commercial sites, with monthly fees ranging from $380 for 100 Mbps to $14,370 for 5 Gbps. The total number of potential commercial sites was 76. Municipal bonds were recommended for project capitalization, and $3.23 million would be needed along with three employees. Financial projections showed a loss $175,772 in the first year of operation, with the potential to show a profit over$1 million by year eight. Rorie simplified the break-even point, saying $1 million in annual revenue would pay the $365,000 in annual debt service (for $3.2 million bond) and $700,000 in operation and maintenance expenses. There were actually 256 potential customers at the target use of 1 Gbps, and only 24 were needed to break even. Rorie continued that the survey led to his gut instinct telling him the project was feasible. If costs of all the alternatives were equal, it allowed the analyst to focus on the differences in benefits among the alternatives, according to Rorie. If the benefits of all alternatives were equal or could be presumed to be equal, it allowed the analyst to focus on the differences in costs. City Council Workshop Minutes December 1,2015 Page 3 Ultimately, it was a "purchase a service or provide a service" decision, Rorie said. He continued that he was not willing for Council to vote on the municipal broadband until he was sure Council should move forward. He asked Council to delay the decision so staff could keep doing their due diligence to ensure the project was sustainable. Fleisch asked Rorie if he recommended cancelling the 6:30 p.m. Facilities Authority meeting on December 3. Rorie said he did, and he would ask Council to continue the item on the December 3 agenda until January 7. lmker said he supported delaying the decision. He believed it was a good project for the City, but two things were missing. He had contacted the top four potential users, and none of them said they were prepared to buy service from the City at any level, only that they were interested in it. He wanted to have something in writing, more than a survey, that showed businesses were willing to buy the service. The business plan was impressive, but lmker also wanted to see a program management plan (PMP) that dealt with the cost, schedule, technical performance, and logistical supportability. Every angle needed to be identified and documented. Rorie said that was why staff was recommending due diligence. lmker said there was a risk to the citizens. If the project failed, the citizens would be on the hook for the $3 million bond. The City could sell the lines and equipment to help recoup the funds, and the City's best case scenario would be $1 million left that had to be repaid. It would cost the average citizen $5 annually over 10 years, which lmker said was acceptable. Ernst said his major concern was whether or not the City was ready to take on the responsibility of running the business. Rorie agreed, saying it was a philosophical debate in terms of where the City fit into the market. He wanted to ensure the risk exposure was limited, and it was a good decision for the City. Andy Macke, the government affairs liaison with Comcast, told Council that Comcast appreciated being part of the dialogue. From an economic development standpoint, Comcast had been partnering with the City for a long time in terms of the state of its network, the investment Comcast was making in its broadband infrastructure, and the employment investment Comcast had in the Dividend Drive facility. Infrastructure was critical in attracting new businesses to the City and to grow existing businesses. Their network was second to none in terms of service offerings to business customers, up to 10 Gbps. Comcast had identified a base of 90 customers that fit the profile of a fiber-based service offering. It was a highly competitive environment, and there were at least three other entities in the City - AT&T, NuLink, and Windstream. The price points would continue to go down because of the competition, which the City needed to keep in mind. Employees and pay were another consideration for the payback model. Macke said Comcast's franchise fees to the City had increased over the last several years. They had been having active talks with the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) regarding revisiting the franchise fee system to ensure cities could count on the revenue they had on an historical basis. They were looking at a communications tax model, which had been adopted by several states. Macke also noted that other cities that had gone into broadband based on similar analyses, and they found their upfront costs had doubled. Peachtree City Multi-Use Path Master Plan City Council Workshop Minutes December 1,2015 Page 4 Rorie noted that the path system was the City's number one amenity, and it set Peachtree City apart from every other city in the country. The current system had more than 97 miles of paved paths, 29 tunnels, 35 multi-use bridges (carts and pedestrians), and 177 at-grade crossings. The cost of materials only to pave a mile of path was $73,000. In FY 2014, five miles were paved at a cost of $365,000. Six miles were paved in FY 2015 at a cost of $440,000. In FY 2016, nine miles would be paved at a cost of $665,000. Rorie added that the goal was to pave nine miles every year of paths rated below 80 on the scale (paths and roads rated from 0- 100). Too often the focus on paths was based only on the paths a person used, Rorie said. He briefly went over the locations to be paved in FY 2016, noting that there would always be root problems. There had also been an audit of the path/mile markers on the system and with 75% of the audit completed, there were 261 markers missing. Rorie continued that $665,000 had been budgeted for path maintenance in the FY 2016 General Fund, which would be offset by $180,000 in golf cart fee registrations at $15/cart/year. The maintenance plan did not include expansion of the system or bridge/tunnel replacements/additions. The funding was just for laying asphalt. The recommended ordinance changes for FY 2016 included increasing the resident registration to $15 per year or three years for $45. Out-of-City registration and user fees would increase to $115/year. The reciprocity with Tyrone would be eliminated. The fines for failure to register/update would also increase. Rorie explained that the increase in the out-of-City fees was similar to the tier rate for the recreation programs. Children living within the City limits paid a $15 facility maintenance fee. Children who lived outside the City paid a $25 facility maintenance fee. If the children lived outside the County, the fee was$50. The maintenance fee was based on tax participation. The increase in fees for residents in FY 2016 would garner more than $495,000 (11,000 X $45), with the fees for 2017 and 2018 deferred to those years. Fees for non-residents (1,000 X $115) would provide $115,000 ($345,000 over three years). The total estimate for three years was $840,000. Rorie questioned whether that was enough to do the job. The Multi-use Path System Master Plan was last updated in October 2010, Rorie said. The plan identified 59 new path projects totaling 24.61 miles, five new multi-use bridges/tunnels, and 10 new tunnels to replace existing corrugated metal tunnels. The estimated cost in 2010 was $15.3 million, but the real cost would be more. The paths were prioritized in the 2010 master plan using an evaluation matrix, including connectivity, design and construction, safety, and funding, Rorie said. The cost of the proposed new paths had increased, including Huddleston Road, SR 54 West to Dividend Drive (#50 with estimated 2010 cost of $97,109; new estimate of $159,319); Crosstown Drive (#24 with 2010 estimate of $24,000; current estimate of $376,677);and SR 54 East, Robinson Road to Carriage Lane (#11 2010 estimate of$61,000; current estimate of$95,950). Multi-use path bridge projects included SR 74 multi-use bridge and path, Crabapple Lane to Kedron Office Park (rated #1); SR 54 east multi-use bridge and path at Lexington, Lexington Circle to Peachtree East Shopping Center (#9, estimated cost - $1.5 million); SR 54 East/Lake Peachtree bridge (#16 $470,000 for widening, $650,000 steel truss bridge); SR 54 West multi-use City Council Workshop Minutes December 1, 2015 Page 5 bridge and gateway feature, MacDuff Shopping Center to MacDuff Parkway (#54, $800,000 for land; $2.5 million bridge); and there was a need to consider a bridge at Crosstown Road. Corrugated metal pipe multi-use tunnels needed to be replaced in 10 locations, including Windgate Road, McIntosh Trail, and Crosstown Drive, with a replacement estimate of$6 million. Rorie discussed possible funding mechanisms, saying registration fees would bring in an estimated $840,000 over three years. A millage rate increase of 0.50 mills would bring in $928,000 annually or $2.8 million over three years. An increase of 0.65 in the millage rate would bring in $1.206 million each year or $3.6 million over three years. An increase of one mill would bring in $1.856 million annually or $5.6 million over three years. Rorie noted that a millage rate increase was the least effective way to get funds for the paths. Rorie said there were talks concerning a 1% Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) from 2017-2021, which would bring in an estimated $6.9 million to $7.8 million per year or a total of $20.7 million based on the current Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) formula of 30.4%. An additional 1% to the City would be an estimated $220,000 per year (31.4%). He recommended increasing the millage rate first, rather than waiting to see if a SPLOST was approved by the voters, then increasing the millage rate if the referendum failed. Staff recommended Council consider approval of the proposed ordinance amendments regarding registration fees, consider an increase in the millage rate in FY 2017 between 0.650 and 1 mil (rate to be determined by paving and traffic improvement decisions), and consider placing a SPLOST vote on the ballot in November 2016 with the caveat that the FY 2016 millage rate could be reduced in FY 2017 if approved, Rorie said. Imker said he had been thinking about this, and he recommended there be no millage increase until after the SPLOST vote was on the ballot. The revenue would start coming in halfway through calendar year 2017. If the SPLOST failed, the City should increase the millage rate the next year. Council consensus was a SPLOST was common sense, but the voters needed to be informed regarding how a SPLOST could help the City. Ernst noted that each entity decided how to spend their SPLOST funds, and he did not believe that had been explained the last time a SPLOST was on the ballot. Learnard said it would be a terrible mistake to increase the out-of-City fees from $60 to $115 annually. She suggested $60 for Tyrone residents and $115 for everyone else. King said it should be$115 across the board for non-City residents. Imker said another reason to wait on a millage rate increase would be the re-registration in 2016, which would add another$800,000 to cart path paving. Financial Services Director Paul Salvatore said the City would have the cash up front. However, Salvatore had checked with the auditors, and the revenue would have to be deferred. The City would be upside down the first year and would make it back the next two years. Imker said that took trust. Rorie likened it to a shell game, saying the City would not be collecting enough to balance the books now. This item would be on the January 7 Council agenda. Caren Russell said she agreed a SPLOST was needed, but the wording on the ballot should be user friendly, and the publicity needed to be done. She suggested Council appoint someone to work on a public relations plan before the election, and for the City to be proactive in explaining how the funds would be used. City Council Workshop Minutes December 1, 2015 Page 6 Fleisch pointed out that, per state law, the members of Council were not allowed to support the SPLOST. Learnard said Council had an obligation to get the word out to the voters. Imker, whose term would end December 31, said Council could count on him to help educate the voters. King said the next election should be in an even-numbered year, which would have an 80%turnout of voters. Keith Larson, Southside Cycle Club, said he had worked with staff to get the City declared a Bicycle-friendly Community. He continued the reality was the path system was multi-use, and there were more pedestrians on it every day. There were more than 25,000 bicycles in the City, and the riders also had "skin in the game." All the areas in the County were becoming interconnected, and it was only a matter of time before there were paths across the County. He asked if it would not be better in the long run to have reciprocity across boundaries, especially with a possible SPLOST. The City was well above the standards for the bicycle network requirements to be declared a "bike-friendly" community, but there were no markings/labeling on arterial streets for bicycles, which made riders feel unsafe when riding bikes to work. He asked Council to think about the future and alternate transportation routes, and the totality of opportunities that could make a big difference moving forward. Transportation/Highway 54 Projects Rorie noted the City had approximately 179 miles of roads and streets. An 80 or below rating had been given to 38% of the streets (approximately 69 miles or 362,656 feet). Full Depth Reclamation (FDR) for those streets was estimated at $21,847,000, or approximately$320,000 per mile. Not all the roads would get FDR. The funding target for the FY 2016 budget was $2.5 million (eight miles). The Gateway Coalition was composed of representatives from the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), Fayette County, Tyrone, Fairburn and Peachtree City, and its purpose was to look at development along SR 74 North. The City had standards in place, but the standards were different in each area. They did not want to duplicate the 1-85 interchange. The Coalition was trying to avoid the same thing happening along the entire corridor. Currently, there were requests to add two lights on SR 74 North, including Kedron South, and one on SR 54 East. The City and the other entities were engaged in the planning and zoning initiatives for SR 74 up to I- 85, and they were trying to develop a master plan for the corridor. One of the key components on SR 54 West was the Coweta County side and Fischer's Crossing. Commercial property created traffic. Four-lane crossings would be limited by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), and the way to keep traffic moving was to limit the number of traffic lights, which the City was already experiencing on SR 54 West. A restricted- crossing u-turn (RCUT) intersection was planned on SR 74 North that would only allow right turns. City Engineer Dave Borkowski gave an update on the current projects in development. The green-T intersection at Line Creek/SR 54 West was progressing. Borkowski discussed the proposal for the MacDuff Parkway/SR 54 West intersection, noting staff had met with MacDuff area residents and GDOT several times regarding the upgrades. The problems included an inadequate southbound lane from MacDuff onto SR 54, an inadequate left turn lane for future demand from SR 54 onto MacDuff, and a crosswalk location on MacDuff in the shopping center area that did not meet current standards. GDOT had expedited the review of the draft plans, and staff was preparing the final construction plans, which should be completed by December 11. Construction easements would be needed. All the work was City Council Workshop Minutes December 1, 2015 Page 7 being done between the curbs, and no widening would be needed. The lanes would be reconfigured to add another left turn lane onto SR 54. The remaining lane would be a straight/right turn lane. The lanes coming out of MacDuff Shopping Center would also be reconfigured to include a left-turn lane onto SR 54 West and a shared straight/right turn lane. The median at the intersection of MacDuff Parkway with the access road/Zaxby's and Discount Tire would also be shaved. The proposed changes at the Planterra Way/SR 54 West intersection included taking out the grass median on Planterra Way and adding a dedicated left-turn lane, as well as a dedicated straight lane and right-turn lane. Learnard said the City would be rewarding bad behavior of the drivers who cut through Planterra to get to SR 54 West. Borkowski said they would still have to sit at the light since GDOT's priority was to keep traffic on the state road moving, not to move traffic on the side streets. Borkowski continued that the final construction plans should be completed by December 11, and construction easements would be needed from Home Depot and Walmart. The median improvements had been broken out separately and had been approved by GDOT. The permit was being processed. The changes would eliminate the split-phase operation of the traffic signal. The median on SR 54 would be shortened to allow more ease in making the left turn from Walmart. Commerce Drive/SR 54 was the next intersection Borkowski reviewed, saying it was currently difficult to turn left on SR 54, and there was inadequate storage for the left turn lane from SR 54 onto SR 74. In 2014, there had been 19 wrecks at the location, with three involving right turns exiting Commerce Drive and seven involving left turns exiting Commerce Drive. One vehicle crashed making a U-turn at Commerce Drive. Eight of the accidents were rear end collisions on various approaches. Borkowski said staff had recommended Commerce Drive be made a right-in/right-out/closed median and to lengthen the SR 54 West left turn lane. In addition, a signal was recommended at SR 74/Westpark. Borkowski continued that staff met with property owners in the Westpark area and their engineer. The most repeated comments included they did not want the median closed, a left turn was needed into Westpark from SR 54, and an alternate egress was needed if the left turn out of Commerce Drive was restricted. The owners' concepts included a traffic signal at the intersection, which would provide full access to Commerce Drive and address safety concerns at the intersection. However, the minimum spacing requirements for signals would not be met, and there would be the potential for congestion between the proposed signal and the SR 74/SR 54 signal. The owners also considered a continuous green-T intersection, which would provide full access to Commerce Drive with parcel egress to the Northlake Drive signal. It also addressed the safety concerns at the intersection. However, the construction costs would be significant, and there were environmental concerns about the impacts of an access road to Northlake Drive. Borkowski reviewed the last option presented by the owners, which was to make Commerce Drive right-in/right-out only and provide signalized access at a road between the bank and convenience store. This option would provide full access to Commerce Drive and addressed the safety concerns. However, it did not meet the GDOT minimum signal spacing requirement, City Council Workshop Minutes December 1, 2015 Page 8 would be very costly, and there were environmental concerns about the impact of the access road. Richard Fangmann, Pond & Company, said if local funding from a SPLOST was used for any of the options, there would not be as much environmental worry. Access roads would have significant costs due to streams, floodplain, and the main sewer line. Rorie looked at what needed to be done going forward. He suggested discontinuing the landscaping grant on SR 54 West, contracting with the Overlook contractors to shorten the median "nosing" on SR 54 West at Planterra, bidding out the MacDuff Parkway project, bidding out the Planterra Way project, engineering plans for Commerce Drive (with or without a signal), and deciding how to fund the projects (millage increase or SPLOST). lmker said the Commerce Drive intersection needed to be closed to left turns. It was a dangerous intersection. He understood why the businesses wanted to keep the intersection open. He was interested in the costs of a one-way access road to Northlake Drive. Rick Lindsey spoke on behalf of the businesses located in Westpark, noting his legal practice was one of them. The owners had asked for police reports for accidents at the intersection. While there had been several accidents at the intersection, none of them had been at a high speed. The businesses were convinced that closing the intersection would have a terrible impact on the value of the properties and the businesses. Westpark was the nicest office park in the area, maybe south of Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, and Westpark Walk was one of the original shopping centers. It was the most visible corner of the City with many vibrant businesses. He encouraged Council and staff to keep working with the businesses and property owners. The safety concerns should be addressed, but not with a solution that had unintended consequences. More time was needed to find a solution that worked for everyone. Fleisch said the stacking for the southbound turn lane onto SR 74 created the sight issues for people who wanted to turn left onto Commerce, asking if there was anything that could be done to help. Fangmann said there was probably not enough volume for there to be two left turn lanes, but that did not mean it could not be considered. Most of the left-turn accidents were when drivers came out of Commerce Drive. They thought having a left-turn lane onto Commerce was a viable movement. Similar intersections allowed a left-turn into the area, while a left-turn out of the area was not allowed. Phil Prebor said that improvements at Planterra could have more people cutting through the subdivision. He suggested adding a second left turn lane at Huddleston Road. Fangmann said that had been looked at, but there were other issues with that location. Prebor suggested eliminating left turns on SR 54 West at certain times of the day. Rorie said everything that could be done with signalization and timing had been done. Prebor said he was not talking about timing, but eliminating the left turns. Other municipalities did it to keep the traffic moving. Rorie said there had been some discussion on that, but there were limitations on what the City could do, and there had not been any discussions with the homeowners association regarding that option. Jeffrey Smith, the traffic engineer who prepared the owners' concepts at Commerce Drive, said the eastbound travelers were turning left on Commerce Drive from SR 54. The SR 54 eastbound counts for the left turns were 188, and they were employees in the office park. Closing the intersection would put more strain on the Northlake/Willowbend/SR 54 intersection, as well as the SR 54/SR 74 intersection as people travelled through there to get to the Westpark entrances off City Council Workshop Minutes December 1, 2015 Page 9 SR 74. Approximately one-quarter of the traffic from Commerce Drive turned left to go east on SR 54. Smith said he understood why Council wanted to close the intersection, but it was really important to find a compromise to get people over to Northlake. There was good interparcel connectivity, but there was not another good way to get into the area from SR 54 other than a u-turn at Northlake. Imker said he expected approximately 200 cars to be taken out of the SR 54/SR 74 intersection when MacDuff Parkway was completed, which would help alleviate traffic if the Commerce Drive/SR 54 intersection was closed. Learnard said closing the intersection would provide more storage for the left turn lanes onto SR 74. Rorie said there was storage for approximately eight vehicles, then they were in the straight lane. King said, if the median was closed, it would be difficult to make a U-turn at the Northlake/Willowbend light. The left turn lane at SR 54/Northlake had only a three-car stack. Fleisch asked Rorie if staff needed priorities. Rorie said they would going forward. Engineering plans should be done by Christmas, so they could move forward with potential permitting for Planterra and MacDuff. Funding was the issue. He wanted to put both projects out to bid so they would know the actual cost before the February Retreat. Rorie wanted firm costs for the FY 2017 budget process. In addition, Rorie said that staff wanted to discontinue the landscaping grant for SR 54 West, adding there was no way it could be done with all the work planned in the area. Jay Shively asked if the money had already been approved for the Planterra intersection. Fleisch said only the funds for the engineering had been approved (most of the conversation did not take place near a microphone). Shively asked if there would be another traffic meeting, noting the work on the SR 54 end of MacDuff Parkway would not be done before the completion of the road to SR 74. The cost of doing the work should be much less since the work would be done in between the curbs. Rorie said he did not know what the cost would be. He said staff had to have to plans to submit for the bid process. His concern was the impact of limiting access for that intersection for for 90 days. Learnard recalled that Council had discussed there would be no improvements to the SR 54 end of MacDuff until the road was completed, but now there was a real possibility of the work being done before that. Rorie said until staff had bid documents they were operating on pure speculation. Shively noted the elimination of the split-phasing at the Planterra Way intersection and asked if the time for the green turn arrows would be longer. Learnard said there would be two lanes turning at the same time from Planterra and the commercial area. Rorie said if both lefts could go at the same time then theoretically 15 seconds would be cut off the time. Fangmann added the time would probably be reduced, and cars going straight or right would be able to bypass the vehicles waiting for the left turn. Russell asked about back-ups in The Avenue area (questions and answers inaudible as no one used a microphone). She also asked if the right-turn lane from Planterra Way onto SR 54 would have a trigger so that lane could go if there was no one in the left-turn lanes or the straight lane. Borkowski said that had been included in the design, and GDOT asked that it be taken out. Russell asked Borkowski to try again. She continued that the high-wattage street light in the median would be removed to add the second left-turn lane, which would make the intersection very dark. Borkowski said there would not be a median to put it in, so they would have to look at it. City Council Workshop Minutes December 1, 2015 Page 10 111 lmker noted the Cash Reserves was projected to be $2.7 million over the 25% threshold. Some of the traffic improvements were one-time expenditures, and there were funds in Cash Reserves to pay for some of the improvements without hurting the City's credit rating. Salvatore said it was a valid use of Cash Reserves, but it could be a red flag for the credit rating agencies. However, that would be a policy decision by Council. Rorie said the costs would not be known until the bids were received. lmker said he hoped the next Council would use those funds for the traffic improvements. The workshop concluded at 9:26 p.m. 1111k)._ _11111116 Pamela Dufresne, De. ty City Clerk Vanessa Fleisch, Mayor