Connolly Ltr 4_12_2001City Manager's Office
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4864
(319) 589-4110
April 12, 2001
Senator Mike Connolly
3458 Daniels
Dubuque, IA 52001
Dear Senator Connolly,
I am writing to address the serious concerns the City of Dubuque has with House
File 324, a bill now eligible for debate in the Senate. This legislation severely
interferes with the City's ability to perform highway, bridge or culvert work with
day labor. Whether intended or not, this bill reduces local control of local money
and resources, adds layers of unnecessary bureaucracy, and decreases a city's
responsiveness to its residents.
Initially an Iowa Department of Transportation bill, House File 324 has become a
vehicle for other interests. If passed, the proposed legislation would have
widespread and sweeping impact on the way the City of Dubuque -- and cities
across Iowa -- perform daily street maintenance and operations. In discussions
with our Public Works department, several key issues were identified in this bill as
damaging to cities.
In Dubuque, we have experienced remarkable success with our asphalt overlay
program, which utilizes the City's day labor. With our terrain, aggressive snow
removal policy and daily wear-and-tear, keeping Dubuque streets well-maintained
poses many challenges. Yet, in an 11-year period, the City will redo 50 percent of
its streets. By making street improvements a priority, we have been innovative in
responding to citizen concerns about street deterioration. The City purchased a
paver machine, enabling crews to react quickly and efficiently when problem areas
are identified.
House File 324 could wipe out our success by requiring a cumbersome bidding
process. It not only adds to the number of projects that must be let for bid by
establishing a maximum $50,000 limit for in-house repair, it includes language that
once bid, could prolong the process by requiring additional negotiations before any
work could begin (Page 5.2-15). Additionally, the bill requires significant increases
Service People Integrity
Responsibility Innovation Teamwork
in the amount of paperwork by requiring detailed cost accounting of all instances of
day labor, public or private contracts for construction, reconstruction or
improvement to a DOT advisory committee (Page 5.30 to Page 6.8).
The City of Dubuque's Operations and Maintenance Department has identified
specific street improvement areas that are threatened by the passage of this bill.
Our curb repairs and ramps (representing $200,000 annually), concrete street
repairs (representing $200,000 annually), and asphalt overlays (representing
$500,000 annually) would be jeopardized. Also, our Engineering Department has
concerns with its emergency repair projects.
Finally, this legislation takes street projects out of the hands of the crews that
perform the work, the managers who prioritize the projects, the Mayor and City
Council who direct funding to a City's locally funded street program, and replaces
those decisions with broad-based state regulation. House File 324 ties the hands of
local government while working against the best interests of the City of Dubuque
and our residents.
We appreciate the support you have demonstrated in the past on behalf of the City
of Dubuque and hope we can count on your advocacy in the future.
Sincerely,
Michael C. Van Milligen
City Manager
CC:
Mayor Terry Duggan
Dubuque City Council
Tom Bredeweg, Iowa League of Cities
Don Vogt, Operations and Maintenance Dept.
Mike Koch, Public Works
Senator Mike Connolly
3458 Daniels
Dubuque, IA 52001
Senator Tom Flynn
21367 Girl Scout Road
Epworth, IA 52045
Representative Para Jochum
2368 Jackson Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
Representative Paul Scherrman
P.O. Box 309
Farley, IA 52046-0309
Representative Robert Osterhaus
216 Austin
Maquoketa, IA 52046-0309
Representative Pat Murphy
155 N. Grandview Avenue
Dubuque, IA 52001