Minutes - 1999/08/09 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ensuing month, the repair has not been done, the bids have not come in as expected, and she has had some time to reflect on the situation. She stated she was not certain Mounds View was such a good place to live at present, and they would have to convince her. Mrs. Vigen stated Kay's Mechanical, out of Elk River, did the repair in December, on a referral from a City employee. She stated, in trusting the City employee she went ahead with the repair by this contractor. She stated that she had since learned that Kay's Mechanical is not licensed in Mounds View. She stated he does not have a general contractors license from the State Department of Commerce. She stated he did not apply for a digging permit. She stated that when he made the repair, City staff was present, however, did not inquire if he had obtained a permit. She stated that she had trusted City employees to send people who were reliable and responsible to do the repair. She stated, in retrospect, Kay's Mechanical indicated the entire line was bad and needed to be replaced, and that he had told her this at the time of the repair. She stated he did not. She stated if this had been an ethical contractor, the entire process could have been resolved originally, rather than resulting in the controversial situation they find themselves in at present. Mrs. Vigen stated another issue that has arisen in her mind, is the attitude towards solving this situation. She stated it does not appear to her that any long-term solution is being sought. She stated these homes were approximately 25 years old, and were only going to get older. She stated that she had wondered if the plan was to get rid of all the houses on that street. She stated hers was not the first repair, and as closely as she can ascertain, it was probably the twelfth on that block. She inquired how many more there would to be, and what the City would do about this situation. • Mrs. Vi en stated that a arentl there is word out amon lumbers in the Metro olitan area that g pP Y, g p p Mounds View was not the place to come and do work, that there is soil incompatibility with the type of tubing that is used, which leads to a breakdown of the pipes, and work can not be guaranteed or warranted. She stated there was also a high water table in Mounds View. She stated she was unable to obtain a private bid from any of the contractors she has contacted, and apparently the Director of Public Works Ulrich was having difficulty obtaining bids from contractors who are familiar with the area. Mayor Coughlin inquired what Mrs. Vigen would request of the City. Mrs. Vigen stated she was requesting that she not be held liable for this repair. She stated the Director of Public Works Ulrich had obtained two bids, one for $3,500, with a couple thousand dollars thrown in for water removal, and the other bid was $9,700. She suggested that there be some effort to consider this situation in the long term. She suggested that the City crew do this work, which would save the homeowners the dilemma and frustration of facing this situation. She stated this would provide that materials could be tested and tried to work with the soil conditions, the repairs would all be consistent and completed in a timely fashion. She explained that the water was currently running down the street. She stated, in the winter, that water rapidly turned to ice, and sanding crews had to be out, and it created a rather treacherous situation. • Mayor Coughlin requested Director of Public Works Ulrich provide his input in this regard. 10 C:\ADMIN\MINUTES\CC\8-09-99.CC