* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. OKAY. [00:00:01] ALRIGHT. WELCOME TO THE SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL [ CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Bill Wells] MEETING. THE MEETING IS CALLED ORDER. I'D LIKE TO ASK THE CITY CLERK TO CALL THE ROLE SHE'S HERE. APOLOGIES. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ORTIZ IS ABSENT. ALL OTHERS ARE PRESENT. UH, PLEASE JOIN ME AND RECITE OF THE PLEDGE AND REMAIN STANDING FOR A BRIEF MOMENT OF SILENCE. MR. MAYOR, WE CAN DISPENSE WITH THAT IF YOU'D LIKE SINCE IT'S NOT REQUIRED AS PART OF THE OPENING MEETING SINCE WE ALREADY OPENED IT ITSELF. WE HAVE DONE IT. THANK YOU. JUST REMEMBER WHEN YOU WRITE YOUR CARDS AND LETTERS, IT WAS HIM THAT SUGGESTED THIS. NOT ME. OKAY. UM, SO THE MEETING'S OPEN. YOU YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO THE OTHER MEETING NOW? MR. MAYOR? I, MR. MAYOR, I'D RECOMMEND WE RECESS THIS EMERGENCY MEETING AND RETURN BACK TO THE REGULAR MEETING. OKAY. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO RECESS THIS MEETING AND RETURN TO THE PREVIOUS MEETING. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND PLEASE VOTE. MOTION CARRIES BY UNANIMOUS VOTE OF THOSE PRESENT. OKAY. NOW WE ARE MIDDLE OF ANOTHER MEETING AND I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO REOPEN THAT MEETING. SECOND, PLEASE VOTE. MOTION CARRIES BY UNANIMOUS OF THOSE PRESENT. ALRIGHT. UM, SO WE CALL [1. Declaration of Emergency for Sewer Main Repairs; Authorization to Waive Bidding RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council: Adopts the next Resolution, in order, to establish a Declaration of Emergency and determine that the public interest and necessity require the immediate expenditure of public money to safeguard life, health, or property as required by the Public Contract Code section 22050; and Approves $700,000 for repairs in Wastewater Operations to cover the cost of the emergency work.] A SPECIAL MEETING FOR A DECLARATION OF EMERGENCIES. THE STAFF WILL TELL US ALL ABOUT THIS. MR. MAYOR, WE WON'T TAKE A LOT OF TIME ON THIS, BUT, UH, JUST FOR BACKGROUND, THERE'S TWO WAYS IN WHICH A CITY CAN DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. ONE IS THE CITY MANAGER HAS THE AUTHORITY TO DECLARE THE EMERGENCY, BUT THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE RATIFIED WITHIN SEVEN DAYS. I WAS READY TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY YESTERDAY OR TODAY, BUT IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE TO THEN CALL YOU BACK IN, IN THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS TO, TO RATIFY THAT. SO WE HELD IT OFF UNTIL THIS MOMENT TO DO THIS TODAY. UM, THERE, UH, OUR PUBLIC WORK DIRECTOR DAVE RICHARDS, WILL TELL YOU ABOUT A SINKHOLE THAT'S FORMED AND WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO HOW TO FIX THAT QUICKLY. 'CAUSE THERE IS SOME POTENTIAL DAMAGE TO A HOME IF WE DON'T ADDRESS IT SOONER THAN LATER. SO WITH THAT, MR. RICHARDS, GOOD AFTERNOON MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. I'LL MAKE THIS PRETTY QUICK. UM, VERY INFORMAL, UH, PRESENTATION. BUT, UH, WE FIRST RECEIVED, UH, REPORTS OF A SINK HOLE AT 8 4 2 BROCKTON STREET ON MARCH 17TH. UM, ABOUT 10:00 AM THE SINK HOLE, AS YOU'LL SEE HERE, UM, IS ACTUALLY THREE FEET, UH, WIDE, UH, OR THREE FEET BY FOUR FEET WIDE AND FIVE FEET DEEP. UM, THAT CONCRETE THAT YOU SEE IN THE PICTURE IS NEAR TO THE HOUSE, SO IT'S ABOUT FIVE FEET AWAY FROM THE HOUSE. UM, WE WERE ABLE TO FILL THAT TO KIND OF, UH, ALLEVIATE THE IMMEDIATE DAMAGE. BUT THE CAUSE OF THE ACTUAL SINKHOLE IS, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS RED CIRCLE, IT'S UM, IT'S A FAILURE IN THE CITY'S 24 INCH, UM, UH, STORM WATER PIPE THAT RUNS THROUGH THE PROPERTY CONVEYS WATER FROM THE STREET TO THE, UM, BACK OF THE PROPERTY WHERE THERE'S A NATURAL WATER CONVEYANCE SYSTEM. SO WE DID VIDEO THE, UM, THE PIPE TO CHECK IT OUT AND SEE IF WE COULD, WHAT OUR OPTIONS WERE. THAT'S A PIECE OF METAL STICKING UP. AND THEN BEHIND IT YOU'LL SEE THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF DISTANCE OF UM, WHAT IS ACTUALLY JUST MISSING BOTTOM OF THE PIPE. THE WAY SINK HOLES AND PIPES WORK IS IF THERE'S A HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PIPE AS THE WATER RUNS OVER THE PIPE OR OVER THE, THE DIRT. IT SUCKS MORE DIRT AND SUCKS MORE DIRT AND THAT'S WHAT CAUSES THE SINKHOLE. SO WE'VE EVALUATED A FEW OPTIONS. UM, WE COULD HAVE ASKED GRAHAM TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY BACK ON, UM, THE 17TH WHEN THIS OCCURRED. BUT, UM, THE PRICES THAT WERE COMING IN INITIALLY WERE, WERE HIGH AND WE WANTED TO EVALUATE KIND OF OUR OPTIONS AS LONG AS WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY SIGNIFICANT RAIN IN THE FORECAST. UM, SO ONE OF 'EM BEING TO, UH, DIRECTIONAL BORE, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID UNDER THE I EIGHT FREEWAY, THAT'S THE IEST OPTION. UM, ANOTHER WOULD BE TO PIPE BURST, WHICH IS TO DRAG A PIPE THAT'S SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE EXISTING PIPE THROUGH AND, UM, CREATE A NEW PIPE. UM, THE THIRD OPTION WOULD BE TO TRENCH AND REPLACE. AND THE FOURTH OPTION WOULD BE TO LINE THE PIPE LINING'S NOT AN OPTION JUST GIVEN THE INTEGRITY OF THE PIPE THAT YOU WERE LOOKING AT THERE. UM, AND SO TRENCHING IS ACTUALLY COMING BACK A LITTLE CHEAPER. I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE ABOUT 400,000, UM, MUCH CHEAPER THAN THE DIRECTIONAL BORING, WHICH IS ABOUT 700. SO WITH THAT, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DECLARE [00:05:01] AN EMERGENCY PER THE RESOLUTION AS PRESENTED. AND I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. ANY QUESTIONS FOR DAVID? WELL COUNSEL, BEFORE YOU ASK QUESTIONS, REMEMBER THERE IS A MODIFIED RESOLUTION, SO THAT WOULD BE THE RESOLUTION THAT WE'D HAVE YOU CONSIDER THAT'S ON YOUR DAIS. YEAH. YOU MENTIONED ONE OF THE OPTIONS WAS A PIPE LARGER THAN THE EXISTING PIPE. IS THERE AN OPTION THAT YOU CAN USE A PIPE SMALLER THAN THE EXISTING PIPE AND JUST PUT IT INSIDE OF THAT PIPE? I THINK THERE ARE OPTIONS TO THAT EFFECT. UM, PART OF THE CHALLENGE IS WHEN WE VIDEOTAPED THE, UM, THE EXISTING CONDITION, WE FOUND BLOCKAGES AND PIPE FAILURE AT BOTH ENDS OF THE PIPE, THE SEGMENT OF PIPE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. SO WE REALLY DON'T HAVE KNOWN CONDITIONS. UM, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE OPTIONS, UM, WOULD BE TO ACTUALLY JUST REPLACE THE PIPE. AND THAT'S ACTUALLY, TURNS OUT IT LOOKS LIKE IT MAY BE THE CHEAPER OPTION AND WE'LL KNOW IN A DAY OR TWO. OKAY. ENGINEERING WISE, I'LL LEAVE IT UP TO YOU. I THINK COMMON SENSE IS CAN YOU JUST STICK SOMETHING INSIDE OF THAT AND THEN BE DONE WITH IT. BUT I'LL LEAVE THAT TO THE ENGINEERS TO DECIDE WHETHER THAT'S A VIABLE OPTION. YEP. AND WE'RE LOOKING TO HIRE THE RIGHT ENGINEER TO DO THAT FOR US. MICHELLE, GO AHEAD. UM, WE SAW THAT THE HOLE WAS VERY CLOSE TO THE HOUSE. UM, IS THERE ANY DANGER WITH THE STRUCTURE OR THE INTEGRITY OF THE HOME, THE FOUNDATION OR ANYTHING? NOT AT THE CURRENT MOMENT. WE ACTUALLY BACKFILLED THAT HOLE AND COMPACTED THE HOLE AND SO, UM, WATER WILL CONTINUE TO FLOW THROUGH THAT PIPE IF IT RAINS. UM, SO THE REAL IMMEDIATE, UM, HAZARD, I GUESS IS IF IT GOES UNADDRESSED ANY, ANY FURTHER. AND SO THE HOLE'S BEEN BACKFILLED NEUTRALIZED. THE NEXT UH, CONCERN BECOMES REPAIRING THAT PIPE BEFORE SIGNIFICANT RAINS. SO THAT PIPE TAKES RAINWATER OUT FROM THE STREET OKAY. TO THE BACK. SO AS LONG AS WE HAVE NO RAIN, WE SHOULD BE GOOD. WE BACKFILL THE HOLE TO, UH, SECURE THE INTEGRITY OF THE FOUNDATION. UM, AND WHAT IS OUR LIABILITY? HAVE WE LOOKED AT THE, UM, RADAR? HAVE WE LOOKED AT THE WEATHER FOR THE NEXT WEEK, WEEK AND A HALF? YEAH. I MEAN, THERE'S NOTHING SIGNIFICANT AND, BUT THAT'S THE URGENCY OF COMING TO YOU TODAY IS OKAY, MAKE A DECISIVE, UM, DECISION AND MOVE FORWARD WITH THE REPAIR. AND I'M JUST, I'M ASKING THESE QUESTIONS JUST OUTTA CURIOSITY. I I THINK THIS IS WONDERFUL. SURE. UM, AND UM, HOW LONG DOES IT, HOW LONG IS IT GONNA TAKE TO DO THE JOB? I MEAN, ONCE WE DETERMINE THE METHOD AND THE CONTRACTOR, IT'LL BE NEXT DAY MOBILIZATION. IT WOULD BE OUR INTENTION AND THEN, UM, TO HAVE IT DONE AS, AS QUICK AS THE CONTRACTOR CAN FINISH THE WORK LIKELY WITHIN A WEEK. AND DO WE HAVE, UH, AN ALTERNATE PLAN IN CASE WE DO GET A DELUGE IN THE MIDST OF THE PROGRAM, IN THE MIDST OF THE, IN THE MIDST OF THE PROJECT THAT COULD, UM, JEOPARDIZE THE INTEGRITY OF THE STRUCTURE, MOVING THE PEOPLE OUT, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. YOU KNOW, CASCADING DOWN IN PROBLEMS. I MEAN, IF THERE WAS ANY RISK OF A SIGNIFICANT STORM EVENT, WE WOULD LIKELY ON THE OPERATION SIDE OF THINGS, EVALUATE WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE. IT MIGHT BE HIGH LINING WATER, UM, FROM THAT, UH, LOCATION TO ANOTHER LOCATION. UM, YEAH, IT'S JUST WATER STILL FLOWS THROUGH THE PIPE AS WELL. SO, UM, WE WOULD JUST HAVE TO KIND OF GO IF THAT WERE TO HAPPEN. CAN WE JUST, CAN WE PUT ANOTHER PIPE TO DIVERT THE WATER? THAT'S WHAT HIGHLIGHTING MEANS. SO WE WOULD ACTUALLY TAKE THE WATER, DIVERT IT THROUGH ANOTHER PIPE TO ANOTHER STORM DRAIN. OKAY. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANT. AND IT MAY REQUIRE A PUMP, BUT YEAH, THERE'S A WAY YEAH. THAT WE CAN DIVERT THAT WATER IF, IF THERE WAS A UNEXPECTED STORM IN THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS. I LEARNED SOMETHING NEW TODAY. I CAN DO THAT. . WELL, I THANK YOU. I NOTICED THAT THERE'S A 35% CHANCE THAT RAIN IN 10 DAYS. SO START GETTING ON. OKAY. UM, I, THERE IS, UH, I GUESS I SHOULD TALK TO YOU AFTER THE MEETING. THERE IS A CONTRACTOR WHO WAS INVOLVED IN SIMILAR WORK OUT OF THE EAST COUNTY ADVANCED WATER PURIFICATION WHO WALKED AWAY FROM THE JOB. WANNA MAKE SURE THEY'RE NOT IN THE RUNNING FOR THIS. OKAY. SO YOU'RE ASKING FOR 700,000 AUTHORITY, YOU THINK IT'S GONNA COST 400,000? SOUNDS GOOD. RIGHT. OKAY. SO YOU NEED A, A MOTION THAT GIVES YOU AUTHORITY FOR THE DOLLAR AMOUNT. A, A MOTION FOR THE RESOLUTION, WHICH INCLUDES A DOLLAR AMOUNT. YEAH. AT THIS TIME, YES. UM, ANY MORE DISCUSSION OR I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE. SECOND, PLEASE VOTE. [00:10:01] MOTION CARRIES BY UNANIMOUS VOTE OF THOSE PRESENT. THANKS DAVE. APPRECIATE IT. THIS BRINGS US TO THE ADJOURNMENT, THE JOINT SPECIAL MEETING OF THE EL ALCOHOL AND CITY COUNCIL AND EL CAJON HOUSING AUTHORITY HELD THIS 25TH DAY OF MARCH, 2025 IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.