04-26-2006 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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MAYOR Bill Blesener COUNCIL Jim LaValle Rick Montour Barbara Allan John Keis 515 Little Canada Road, Little Canada, MN 55117-1600 ADMINISTRATOR (651) 766 -4029 / FAX: (651) 766 -4048 Joel R. Hanson www.ci.little- canada.mn.us MEMORANDUM To: Mayor Blesener & Members of City Council From: Bill Dircks, Public Works Superintendent Date: April 21, 2006 Re: Sewer Camera Purchase The City had its entire sanitary sewer system televised between 1996 and 1998. We now have those tapes as a baseline. However, the condition of sanitary sewer mains can change and it is important to be able to keep track of our system as it gets older. In 2002, the city entered into ajoint powers agreement with Vadnais Heights to purchase a small sanitary sewer service camera. This camera is designed for televising sewer laterals and does not work in large mains. A camera for sewer mains can be utilized in both sanitary and storm sewer mains. Each year we rely on the old tapes to determine if repairs are needed on streets that are being reconstructed. We have also relied on contractors to televise our lines for other situations such as potential I & I. Once the contractor has televised it usually takes approximately 4 weeks to get the finished tapes and reports back. If we had our own camera we could televise when we needed to rather than scheduling with a contractor, and have the information we needed instantaneously. The camera can also be invaluable during sewer backup situations. We would have the ability to televise the line and pinpoint the exact problem and determine the best method to free the blockage. In the past year we have contracted televising services on four different occasions. We have paid $3905 dollars for three of the jobs and the one bill we haven't received is anticipated to be over $1000. That is almost $5000 which is over half of the cost of the camera. Our costs would be labor plus the use of the Vactor and a pickup truck. The offset is the instant access and results we would have. I have included the quote from Flexible Pipe Tool Company for the price of the camera. We had a demonstration of the camera and thought it served our needs perfectly. It is used in combination with the jet machine on the Vactor. Flexible Pipe has also agreed to purchase our rodder which has been for sale for approximately 4 years. They have offered a trade in price of $4000. We could not get this deal from other camera distributors so others could not be as competitive on the price. We have determined that it would not be necessary to purchase the optional locator system for $2,528. Therefore, it is staff's recommendation that we trade in the rodder for $4000 and purchase the Sreco JERV -600 Jet Cam Video Inspection System for a price of $8250.56.