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Memorandum

Date:            March 29, 2007

To:                Mayor & Commissioners

From:           Kenneth Schenck, Town Manager

Re:                Town Update – April, 2007

_________________________________________________________________________________

I am providing you with brief updates on some of the Town’s continuing projects and events. 

Stormwater Drainage Project - South Phase – On April 18, 2005 Chaz Equipment Company, Inc. (Chaz) was given the notice to proceed to start work on the South Phase of the stormwater drainage project.  At the January 8, 2007 Town Commission Meeting a change order in the amount $61,250 was approved for Chaz Equipment Company for the installation of the control panel to the south property line of the Turtle Beach Condo.  The remaining items to complete include the installation of the pumps and control panel for the Tropical Drive pump station. The pump manufacturer FPI, Inc. is in the process of installing the pumps on Tropical Drive. C.R. Dunn, Inc. is presently installing the control panel at Turtle Beach. The project should be complete and operational by mid May.

Woolbright Detention Area Landscaping – Mark Tomberg Irrigation and Landscaping, Inc. (Tomberg) has completed all of the installation of the landscaping, irrigation and fencing for the Woolbright Road detention area.  They have started the regular maintenance of the site during the establishment period of the plant material and are providing a one (1) year warranty for the plant material.  Tomberg has completed the replacement of some of the pink muhly grass that had died.  The dead palms that were put in by Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful have been replaced. Aquagenix has planted about half of the plants in the bottom of the detention area. They have turned down the rest of the plants from the nursery because they felt the drought had affected their quality and will finish the planting as soon as they can obtain good quality plants. They have removed the Algae from the bottom of the area prior to planting.

 We have done some experiments at the Woolbright site to get a better handle on the source of the water in the detention area.  Most of it is from the infiltration in the storm water collection pipes.  The volume of the infiltration is much higher than was anticipated.  However, even if we could reduce the infiltration there would still be a problem keeping the detention area continually dry.  This is because of the level of the groundwater and the influence on it by the tidal action of the intracoastal.  Unfortunately the groundwater elevation is very close to the bottom of the detention area.  The bottom of the detention area is at the highest elevation allowed by the regulatory agencies.  When the tide comes in it raises the elevation of the groundwater thereby keeping the bottom moist.  The groundwater level is high enough that it reduces the soil storage capability.  This situation plays a part in keeping water in the detention area.  After discussions with the engineers involving the dynamics of the system we believe another step must be taken.  There are 2 options.  One is to go back to the original plan of a pond.  The other is to plant aquatic vegetation throughout the bottom of the detention area.  Both will solve the aesthetics associated with the present situation.  The plantings will be less than $10,000 while the pond would be well over $100,000. The Commission approved the plantings at their last meeting.

The dedication memorial has been delivered and is on the site at the corner of A1A and Woolbright Road.

Temporary Relocation – At the July 25, 2006 Budget Meeting the approval was given for the staff to start preparations for the construction of the new Town Municipal Building.  The Town Hall and Police Department will be relocating to two (2) portable buildings for the duration of the construction of the new building.  The two (2) portable buildings were delivered, located and installed on the north side of the garage at the end of December.  The temporary parking has been completed but the building architect is recommending the installation of a temporary road to provide access to the portable buildings directly from A-1-A.  The temporary road is needed because the access on the south side will be blocked during construction of the site improvements and the building.  The temporary road is presently being constructed.  Construction of the wood decking with stairs and a ramp to provide access to the portables has been completed.   Florida Power and Light has installed the feed for the power at the bottom of the power pole.  The Town’s electrical contractor will be responsible for installing the underground electric service feed from the power pole to the garage.  FP&L will come back when we are ready to connect the feed and install the electric meter.  Bell South has completed the installation of the cable for the telephone lines. The electrical contractor is presently installing the electric connections. We lost a couple of weeks because we pursued a lower bid to do the installation. We saved about $20,000 by getting additional bids.  Another contractor is being scheduled to start work on the computer, telephone and cable TV wiring.  The temporary relocation should be complete by the end of April if we don’t run into any more unknowns.

The Town advertised and received ten (10) submittals of general contractors with their qualifications to pre-qualify them for submitting bids for the construction of the new building.  Seven (7) of the ten (10) general contractors have been qualified and selected to bid on the construction. Two contractors have dropped out but we still expect to receive five bids.The bid packages were available on March 6^th for them to submit bids for the construction. Bids were due on March 29^thbut the time was extended to April 12^th to enable the contractor to come up with the best cost. We have met with the Bank of America and they agreed to see how the bids are before concluding the loan. We’ve received word from FEMA that they have started the paperwork on our grant. The amount we expect is $372,789. We also have grant applications submitted to the State and Federal governments for $1,000,000 each. I don’t know what our chances are as it depends on the appropriation budgets. 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

April 2:   Public Hearing—5 P.M., Town Commission Meeting – 6:00 pm

             April 11:  Board of Adjustment – 8:30 am

May 5:  Town Commission Meeting – 6:00 pm