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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReport of Public Works 4/1/2002 to 4/31/2002 (2)Village of Cupp Eaghts MARCHAM HALL 836 HANSHAW ROAD Telephone ITHACA, N.Y. 14850 607. 257.1238 Office Hours 9 A.M. - 4 P.M. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS TO: BOARD OF TRUSTEES FROM: Brent A. Cross, Superintendent of Public Works PERIOD: 4/1/02 through 4/30/02 REPORT BY DEPARTMENT: A. VILLAGE ENGINEER - 1. PUBLIC WORKS a. Street System: We have notified NYSEG of the list of streets that we plan to pave this Summer and they have some old low pressure gas mains that need to be replaced in some of those locations. Therefore, they have requested that we delay our work schedule until later in the summer to allow them time to get their gas mains replaced. In the meantime, the DPW will do all of the preparation work such as drainage and water /sewer valves. . Cornell University has acknowledged an ongoing problem with ROW damage along Cayuga Park Road caused by vehicles (cars and delivery trucks) going to social events at their President's house at 511 Cayuga Heights Road. In response to concerns expressed by the Village Board in the past, they are requesting permission to develop a plan to rebuild the sidewalk and grass strip with a subsurface reinforcement. This could result in a win -win situation where they could continue to have a successful social event schedule, and the Village would not have to deal with enforcing them to clean -up after every event. Unless there is a major objection, I will instruct them to proceed with their development of an engineering plan for this project, which we will be able to review for approval at a future date. This does not commit the Village to accepting the plan until we are satisfied that it will work as intended. Uwe Reichenbach has withdrawn his request to name his private drive as Tyler Court, but still needs to have a formal street number assigned to his property. Since his driveway has frontage on Tyler Road, he has requested that he be assigned 2 Tyler Road. b. Storm Water System: The DPW has typically used a "ditching bucket" on a backhoe to cleaning ditches. Unfortunately the result is a very sharp /deep "U" shape that is not very attractive and not very easy to establish new grass growth. We have had some complaints about this in the past, and found that we have to go back and do additional work to repair erosion damage caused by this shape. Therefore, we are researching equipment that will allow us to leave a ditch with a softer shape that will be more likely to re -grow, grass, and will look much better to the property owners. Another aspect of this type of work is the limited success that we have had using regular grass seed and straw covering. The more modern technique is the use of hydro seed. This is a process that blends the seeds with a fibrous media (sometimes shredded newspaper) and fertilizers into a water based mixture that is spread over the ground under pressure. Once the mixture dries out, the. result is an interwoven mat that is much more resistant to wind and rain. c. Water System: We have been repairing a number of valves in the street that Bolton Point has identified as needing attention. d. Sewer System: no report e. Solid Waste: Garbage collected for this month was tons. f. Equipment: DPW Fuel Consumption for this month: Gas = 369.50 gallons Diesel= 524.30 gallons g. Buildings and Grounds: We have started looking at materials for the new fence that will be installed along the Pleasant Grove Lane side of the DPW site. Our initial intention was to use a natural wood material, but have recently reconsidered materials that would be more durable and less annual maintenance. Samples will be presented at the next Public Works Committee meeting. h. Waste Water Treatment Plant: NYS SPDES Report for this month: Daily avg, flow was 1.629 mgd Max, avg. flow was 2.543 mgd w/ 1 permit exception(s) for fecal coliform due to a chlorine pump malfunction. The Intermunicipal Sewer Committee continues to meet on every other Thursday, with good progress in some topic areas, and not so good progress in others. The Village was recently requested to provide a response to a recently produced Engineer Report that indicates that the Village would be recognized as having 0.31 mgd of excess capacity. This means that as any municipality expands their service area-(i.e. Town of Lansing), the Village could sell some of that excess capacity to generate a one -time revenue. There are still a number of questions that have not been addressed that will affect the ability of the Village Trustees to evaluate the eventual proposal. I have attached a copy of a memo that was submitted to the ISC to try to get answers to some of these important issues. i. Personnel: As report last month, Ed Quick was schedule to have surgery on his back with hopes of recovery and return to duty. Unfortunately, moments before going under anesthesia, they discovered that he has a complication with his heart and had to abort the procedure. Since there is no expectation of Ed returning to work in the near future and Ralph Newhart has been temporarily appointed to his position, Ralph's position remains open. Mike Newhart, who has successfully obtained his CDL, has requested to be temporarily appointed to fill the vacant MEO position. Based on an improved performance review, 1 recommend that the Village offer that temporary appointment. I will have a draft resolution to present at the Trustee meeting. It has come to our attention that the new Teamster contract does not include the $100 eye care reimbursement that was health benefit previous offer to all employees including the DPW. The Teamster Business Agent has inquired about this issue, which I offer to look into. The PWC has reviewed this issue and believes that this is a significant amount of "goodwill" that could be gained for a relatively small expense (maybe as little as $200 /year). j. Safety: PERMA has been to the DPW to provide refresher training on confined space entry and hazardous materials. 2. Planning Board Reviews: a. Site Plan Approval: JJ's Cafe has requested to expand their space and seating capacity. See the attached report for the details. b. Subdivision Approval: none 3. Ithaca/Tompkins County Transportation Council — a. Planning Committee: no report b. Initial Project Proposals: none c. NYSDOT Projects: none B. ZONING OFFICER - (see attached report for Zoning Permit Activity) 1. ZBA Actions: none 2. Zoning Enforcement Actions: C. BUILDING COMMISSIONER - (see attached report for Building Permit Activity)