HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BPW-2015-06-22BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS PROCEEDINGS
CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK
Regular Meeting 4:45 p.m. June 22, 2015
PRESENT:
Mayor Myrick
Commissioners (5) - Greene, Goldsmith, Jenkins, Warden, Darling
OTHERS PRESENT:
Superintendent of Public Works - Thorne
Asst. Supt. for Streets & Facilities – Benjamin
Asst. Supt. for Water & Sewer - Whitney
Director of Engineering - West
Parking Director – Nagy
Information Management Specialist – Myers
Alderperson Fleming
Additions To Or Deletions From The Agenda:
None
Mayor's Communications:
The Mayor had no communications at this time for the Board.
Communications and Hearings from Persons Before the Board:
No one from the public appeared to address the Board
Reports:
Supt. Thorne reported that the kick-off meeting for the Recreational Water Committee was held
on June 19th. The committee needs to categorize and see what kind of inventory is available as
possible resources, and then map those out (i.e. – how many docks and their location).
Commissioner Goldsmith, who is on that committee, also noted that the county and state parks
are as enthusiastic as the City about the possibilities for recreational water activities. Members
of the committee accepted tasks to complete in between the monthly meetings.
CC Liaison Fleming reported that at the June 17, 2015 City Administration Committee meeting,
Jennifer Tavarez showed a presentation about applying for grants that would help establish
“Blue Way Trails” to make it clearer for the public about where vehicles can be in the water.
SJC Liaison Warden reported that the Ithaca Area Water Treatment Plant was producing 50%
of their own energy and expecting to go up from there in the future, which is pretty remarkable –
they hope to be at 100% soon. They are also working with NYSERDA because a lot of gas is
still being vented due to lack of storage. That means that they are not using the energy as fast
as it is being made, so one of their goals is to reduce that waste.
Commissioner Goldsmith questioned whether the City has entered into serious conversation
with Tompkins County, concerning the big chunk of land near the edge of the lake that will be
going to New York State Department of Transportation, concerning the use of the land there
and the possibility of making it available for public access forever. Mayor Myrick responded that
when the waterfront area was rezoned recently it requires that all things be 15’ to 20’ from the
water; which doesn’t necessarily guarantee public access. However, the Cayuga Waterfront
Trail is situated in the area and does provide public access.
Commissioner Goldsmith further questioned the status of the development that hasn't happened
yet at Johnson’s Boatyard. He wants to make sure that there will be public access from The
Haunt all the way around to the docks and maybe beyond. A requirement for a waterfront path
for the public was not included in the contract for the project.
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Mayor Myrick responded that he and Director of Engineering West would add that question to
the agenda for tomorrow’s planning meeting with staff.
Director of Engineering West reported that the damaged sidewalk along the Cascadilla Rim Trail
had been demolished, and fencing will go in shortly. There was only one bidder for the mill and
pave project for Cayuga Street; staff is still in the process of reviewing it. Today, the drilling rig
at the Marriott hotel construction site had a failure and tipped over into the Green Street garage
causing damage. Fortunately, no one was hurt, no damage to private property, and the damage
to the garage was minor, but will still need to be dealt with.
Asst. Supt. Benjamin reported that crews continue work on South Aurora Street. The curbs
have been reset and the storm water structure was installed above Pleasant Street to catch
water before it leaves the curb. Next, they will set up for the sidewalk work; they will not be
trying to make them accessible because of the pitch there, which is too steep to make safe and
compliant. The crew will then move to another corner intersection to make the storm water
situation better in an effort to prevent so much of it going down to Pleasant Street. The Town of
Newfield has requested the assistance of city crews and equipment to help them respond to
flooding damage caused by the heavy rains on June 14-15, 2015. The Town of Newfield
assisted the City with the 2014 ice jams so the city is reciprocating their assistance and
resources. That means the work on South Aurora Street is being delayed somewhat.
Asst. Supt. Benjamin further reported that Tompkins County has begun work to map out culverts
and outlets to streams in an effort to make them compliant with the New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation requirements. The City has already done a lot of that work so
the information will be shared with the County because it doesn't make sense to have them redo
the work, since the city has a lot of that data to share.
Asst. Supt. Whitney reported that on June 8th, crews responded to a report of a leak under the
railroad track on Cecile Malone Drive. The area contains a10" water main and Norfolk Railroad
will allow the City access in order to install valves on either side of the tracks to contain the leak.
The new water main project on Willard Way was completed, flushed and will be tied into the
new water services there in another week or so.
He further reported that the department has been responding to an unusual amount of calls for
new water and sewer services so he predicts that it will be a very busy summer for that type of
work. Crews also responded on June 12th, to two water leaks at the old Salvation Army store on
Elmira Road as well as one off East State Street at Dunmore Place. At this point, the
department has not be able to complete a lot of the planned summer projects due to the high
number of water main breaks and requests for new services.
Director of Parking Nagy reported that the new pay machines are being tested to make sure
credit cards work well. The handheld devices will be reprogrammed as well to make sure they
receive the proper information in a timely fashion (i.e. if payment is made at one pay station,
and the time is checked from another machine that the information between the two will be
shared instantaneously). The agreement is in place with Park Mobile for the smart phone app,
and should be ready to go by July 15th. The signs and key fobs for the pay stations have been
ordered, and they hope to begin using them on July 6th.
Supt. Thorne reported that, in addition to city crews assisting the Town of Newfield, that NYSEG
crews that were working on the South Aurora Street project have also been pulled to assist
Newfield, so the completion of that project will be delayed. He and staff going through the
requests for capital projects trying to figure out how much money will be needed and what work
the City can afford for 2016 budgets. He is also reviewing to make sure the Department of
Public Works stays within its approved budget for 2015.
Mayor Myrick noted that requests for capital projects total $26 million at this point; the City can
afford between $2-4 million. That means the Board of Public Works will need to assist staff in
determining what projects absolutely have to be done in 2016.
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Commissioner Goldsmith asked whether or not the City issues any sort of statement for the
public about how much higher costs will go in the future because of the current lack of money to
take care of infrastructure capital projects? He feels that it is important for the public to be
aware and understand the consequences of delayed projects and the reasons that they are
delayed.
Supt. Thorne responded that staff are working with an intern this summer to conduct a
evaluation of its roads and pavement using an algorithm program to help determine future costs
for deferring the cost of maintenance to repair its infrastructure.
Commissioner Goldsmith questioned whether staff had any new information about the Brindley
Street bridge project. The last information provided to the Board related to the condition of the
foundation, and some other considerations that needed review. He wondered when this topic
would come back to the Board for further review and discussion.
Director of Engineering West responded that the city is not ready to move onto the design
phase for the Brindley Street bridge project. City staff are in the process of negotiating prices
with the consultant and trying to determine if there is extra funding from New York State
available. He noted that the project does need to move ahead or risk losing the funding. A
target date for work to begin on the project would be the summer of 2017. He stated that the
city was able to shift money from one project to another but not for the cost of the design work
for the project.
Mayor Myrick stated that the City is also discussing funding with New York State Department of
Transportation about possible funding sources for the project.
Water & Sewer:
207 Giles Street Water Service Installation Billing Adjustment - Miscellaneous Billing
Invoice #18656 - Resolution
By Commissioner Goldsmith: Seconded by Commissioner Jenkins
WHEREAS, in April 2014, the owners of 207 Giles Street were incorrectly informed by the
Water & Sewer Division of the City Department of Public Works that their existing water service
from the main to the curb box was copper; and
WHEREAS, on Thursday April 29, 2015, the contractor and plumber the owners had hired to
replace their water service from the curb valve box to the house discovered that the water
service line in the road was lead; and
WHEREAS, a City crew was not available to replace the lead service from the main to the curb
valve box until Monday, May 4, 2015; and
WHEREAS, had the owner and their plumber known in advance that the service in the road was
lead, they would have coordinated with the City to replace it before the service from the curb to
the house was replaced; and
WHEREAS, the miss-coordination of the work did indeed cause the owners of 207 Giles Street
to incur additional cost; and
WHEREAS, the additional costs billed by the plumber, M&M Plumbing, was $176.00; and
WHEREAS, the additional costs billed by the excavator Carson Groundworks was $467.77; and
WHEREAS, the invoice from the City Department of Public Works Water & Sewer Division for a
new water service from the main to the curb valve is $2,534.97; and
WHEREAS, Water Department staff recommends to the Superintendent and Board of Public
Works that the bill for the work done by the City for the new water service from the main to the
curb be reduced by the amount of these additional costs incurred by the Owner, a total of
$643.77; now, therefore be it
Board of Public Works Meeting Minutes June 22, 2015
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RESOLVED, That the $2,534.97 City of Ithaca billing (invoice #18656) for the installation of the
new water service in the street be reduced by $643.77 to $1,891.20; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works authorizes the City of Ithaca Chamberlain to make
arrangements with the owners for payment of this bill without penalty.
Carried Unanimously
Discussion Items:
Appeal of Water/Sewer Installation Bill for 292 Westwood Knoll - Resolution
The Board discussed this resolution at their last meeting on June 8, 2015. At that meeting,
there was some dispute about who did what work where.
Asst. Supt. Whitney provided an explanation for the Board about what staff found where, when
they visited the property recently. He stated that the owner should not have had their contractor
patching the road without a street permit from the City. He noted that the property contains a
new house. He further reported that the City only put a cold patch down on the street, and he
has not discussed staff findings with the property owner at this point.
Mayor Myrick requested that Asst. Supt. Whitney have someone take pictures of the cold patch
to go along with a resolution to deny the request which would be on the agenda for the Board’s
next meeting.
Appeal of Water Bill for 214 Elmira Road - Account #4900299202 - Proposed Resolution
(Finger Lakes ReUse has purchased 214 Elmira Road and is requesting a reduction in
their quarterly water bill.)
WHEREAS, on February 27, 2014 the Finger Lakes ReUse, Inc. took ownership of the water
service at 214 Elmira Road; and
WHEREAS, the building at 214 Elmira Road (former BOCES School) had a 2-inch meter and a
corresponding minimum billing of 112-HCF or $1,184.96 per 2014 quarter; and
WHEREAS, at the request of Finger Lakes ReUse and after a review by the City Plumbing
Inspector the 2-inch water meter was replaced with a 1-inch water meter on September 5, 2014,
the corresponding minimum bill for a 1-inch meter is 32-HCF or $338.56 per quarter; and
WHEREAS, the total metered water usage for 214 Elmira Road during the time frame between
February 27, 2014 and September 5, 2014 was 4-HCF; and
WHEREAS, the Owners are requesting relief for the two quarters in 2014 where the water billing
was based on the 2-inch meter minimum; and
WHEREAS, the difference between the minimum billing for a 2-inch and a 1-inch meter is 112-
HCF – 32-HCF = 80-HCF or ($1,184.96 – $338.56 = $846.40/quarter), for two quarters totaling
$1,692.80; and
WHEREAS, the owners have been paying the minimum bill each quarter all along; and
WHEREAS, the 4-inch fire service line was not listed on the account, the bill for the 4-inch fire
service line at the facility is $48/quarter and has not been billed for the last 6 quarters totaling
$288.00; and
WHEREAS, Water Department Staff recommends to the Board of Public Works, based on the
minimal actual metered consumption, that a practical and equitable resolution to the matter
would be to refund the $1,692.80 difference between the 1-inch and 2-inch meter minimum bills
less the $288.00 billing for the 4-inch fire service line, for a total refund of $1,404.80; now,
therefore be it
Board of Public Works Meeting Minutes June 22, 2015
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RESOLVED, That the billing for the 2-quarters in 2014 at the 2-inch water meter minimum
quarterly rate of $1,184.96 be reduced to the 1-inch water meter minimum quarterly rate of
$338.56 for a refund of $1,692.80 on the minimum charges for water and sewer consumption;
and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the refund be reduced by the amount of the $48/quarter for the 4-inch fire
service line from February 27, 2014 an amount to date of $288.00. $1,692.80 - $288.00 =
$1,404.80. For a total refund of $1,404.80
Mayor Myrick noted that the ReUse Center would like to move down to a 1-inch fire line for
which, if they had it would result in a lower water bill. Asst. Supt. Whitney reported that the City
did switch to a 1-inch, and their use is still way below previous readings. In addition, apparently
they don't have the fire suppression system hooked up inside, so similar to the Commons
project, it won’t be activated for cost until it is used.
A brief discussion followed on the floor with the Board requesting the following changes to the
resolution in the last Whereas Clause and the first two Resolved Clauses:
“WHEREAS, Water Department Staff recommends to the Board of Public Works, based on the
minimal actual metered consumption, that a practical and equitable resolution to the matter
would be to refund the $1,692.80 difference between minimum bills; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the billing for the 2-quarters in 2014 at the 2-inch water meter minimum
quarterly rate of $1,692.80 be reduced to the 1-inch water meter minimum quarterly rate of
$338.56 for a refund of $1,692.80 on the minimum charges for water and sewer consumption;
and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the refund be reduced by the amount of the $48/quarter for the 4-inch fire
service line, and starts getting billed from February 27, 2014 an amount to date of $288.00.
$1,692.80 - $288.00 = $1,404.80 when the fire line is activated. For a total refund of $1,404.80”
The revised resolution will be on the Board’s July 13, 2015 meeting agenda.
Adjournment:
On a motion the meeting adjourned at 5:19 p.m.
______________________________ __________________________
Sarah L. Myers, Svante L. Myrick,
Information Mgt. Specialist Mayor