Fulton's new public works warehouse facility that will replace the current dilapidated structure on Westminster Avenue is on schedule for completion in December, said Interim City Engineer Kyle Bruemmer, despite recent heavy rainfall.
Bruemmer updated the Fulton City Council on the project's status during its Tuesday meeting. The council approved the low bid from Eldon-based company Curtiss, Manes and Schulte Inc. in September at more than $6.625 million. When the project is complete, six buildings will stand at the Brookside Drive location.
He said almost half of the dry wall has been installed in the administration building and dry wall in the utility building is nearly completion. Of all the facilities, the garage is the furthest along, he said, and security locks need to be installed on doors. The call out structure, a building located outside the warehouse fence to allow to a service vehicle, has a roof. The solid waste building is the furthest along, Bruemmer said, and primarily needs painting at this point.
Bruemmer said the next major steps in the project are tackling the dry wall and painting in the administration building and getting each building under a roof.
The warehouse was also a major point in another topic discussed at the city council meeting - a recent storm water audit conducted by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Mike Smith with the DNR conducted the audit on Thursday, June 18, looking for any negative effect to the city's storm water system. Bruemmer, who followed Smith during the auditing process, said Smith identified the new warehouse construction as a point of concern and that the city needed to evaluate how it controls erosion and sediment. The city needs better oversight of all construction and post-construction, he added.
Bruemmer said that the DNR would like to see the city increase its public education and awareness of storm water issues. For example, making the public aware of what's unacceptable to be dumped into a body of water, like a creek, so that someone witnessing a violation can report an infraction to the city.
While the city does an adequate job of reviewing storm water plans, but does not do enough in terms of follow up inspections of those plans and record keeping, Bruemmer said. The city also needs to improve its storm water regulation in order to maintain clean creeks, he said, which new city ordinances can help enforce when a business, for example, contributes to poor water quality. These results are preliminary, Bruemmer said, and he expects an official DNR report to be released in a couple weeks at the earliest.
In other news, the council reviewed and accepted the city's 2014 audit. Williamskeepers in Columbia performed the audit and found the city in good standing without noting any significant changes. One auditor said one change the city should make is for all grant reimbursements to go through its Chief Financial Officer, Kathy Holschlag.
At the conclusion of the meeting, longtime city clerk Carolyn Laswell announced her plan to retire. In her more than 20 years working for Fulton, Laswell has collaborated with four mayors and three city administrators. Laswell said she's made a lot of friends in her tenure and has enjoyed working with city staff, department supervisors, administration and council members.
"I've enjoyed being the city clerk," Laswell said. "I love my job."
story created on Tuesday 6/23/2015 at 8:34:18 pm by Brittany Ruess
story modified on Tuesday 6/23/2015 at 9:13:49 pm by Brittany Ruess