HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-31-11 Special Common Council Meeting Agenda
OFFICIAL NOTICE OF MEETING
A Special meeting of Common Council will be held on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at
5:30 p.m. in Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108 East Green Street, Ithaca. Your
attendance is requested
AGENDA
1. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS:
1.1 Capital Project Budget Presentation
1.2 Attorney's Office - Approval of Easement for Emerson Power Transmission Vent
Stack (Re: South Hill Remediation Project) - Resolution
2. NEW BUSINESS:
3. ADJOURNMENT
If you have a disability that will require special arrangements to be made in order for you
to fully participate in the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at 274-6570 at least 48
hours before the meeting.
______________________________
Julie Conley Holcomb, CMC
City Clerk
Dated: August 26, 2011
1. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS:
1.1 Capital Project Budget Presentation
1.2 Attorney’s Office - Approval of Easement for Emerson Power Transmission
Vent Stack (Re: South Hill Remediation Program) – Resolution
WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca is the purported owner of a triangular parcel of property
between East Spencer Street and Turner Place, at the northerly end of what is known
as Block 81 for tax map purposes; and
WHEREAS, a City of Ithaca sewer main is located beneath the surface of the above-
referenced parcel, in the southerly portion thereof; and
WHEREAS, in past decades, said sewer main apparently received contaminated
wastewater and/or solvents from the former Morse Chain and National Cash Register
facilities, and the Therm, Inc., facility, all of which are located uphill from this parcel; and
WHEREAS, said contamination apparently escaped from the sewer main along its route
and residues and/or vapors remain in the surrounding soil; and
WHEREAS, the Morse Chain property was subsequently acquired by Emerson Power
Transmission (EPT), and EPT has been identified by the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) as a responsible party, with regard to mitigation
of the contamination; and
WHEREAS, EPT has proposed to NYSDEC a mitigation program that is intended to
allow vapors to enter a passive-ventilation system along the route of a 300-foot-long
section of said sewer main, via a new, perforated pipe to be installed parallel to a new
sewer main, and to be vented through a 25-foot-tall stack to be located on the above-
referenced City-owned parcel (so as to not infringe upon the public sidewalk thereupon);
and
WHEREAS, EPT seeks a permanent easement and temporary easement from the City,
affecting said parcel, within which easements EPT would install, operate and maintain
the vent stack (including bollards or other protective elements); and
WHEREAS, any environmental review required for said mitigation program, including
the proposed vent stack, is the responsibility of the NYSDEC; and
WHEREAS, written comments on this request have been received from the City’s
Community Advisory Group (dated June 17. 2011); and
WHEREAS, a portion of the above-referenced parcel is currently developed with a
small, gravel-based parking area that is accessed via a curb cut to East Spencer Street,
which parking area apparently serves an adjacent residential property immediately to
the south (141 E. Spencer Street); and
WHEREAS, to date, the City has been unable confirm that the owner of 141 E. Spencer
Street has current permission from the City to encroach upon or use the City-owned
parcel for parking or other purposes, and, in any case, any such permission would
presumably be in the form of a license that can be revoked on short notice by the City;
and
WHEREAS, Chapter 170 (“Use of City Real Property”) of the City Code stipulates that
“the authority to convey a permanent easement across or involving City land is and shall
be vested in the Common Council, and no such easement shall be issued without the
Council’s approval;” and
WHEREAS, in a resolution approved on July 27, 2011, the City’s Board of Public Works
determined that the use of the subject City-owned parcel as requested by Emerson
Power Transmission, and the granting of a temporary and permanent easement
therefor, would serve a valuable public purpose and will not interfere with any other
essential public use of the parcel, now or in the foreseeable future, and recommended
that the Common Council grant such easements, subject to certain confirmation and
certain special conditions (as described in said resolution); now therefore be it
RESOLVED, That, subject to:
a. confirmation that any required environmental review associated with the vent
stack has been completed by NYSDEC,
b. confirmation that the City’s right to convey the requested easements is not
constrained by any existing, non-revocable property rights affecting the
proposed easement area, and
c. the City’s having legal authority to revoke any rights held by a third party
pursuant to a City-issued license or other permit, to exclusive use of the
relevant portion of the subject parcel, which authority the Mayor is hereby
authorized to exercise, as needed;
the Common Council hereby approves the request from EPT for temporary and
permanent easements across the City-owned parcel at the north end of Block 81, for
the purpose of constructing, maintaining and operating a vent stack as described
herein, and authorizes the Mayor, upon consultation with and the advice of the
Superintendent of Public Works and the City Attorney, to execute an easement
instrument that includes standard City provisions, as well as the following:
1. Consideration to be paid by EPT to the City in the amount of at
least $2,000 (for 100 square feet of permanent easement area);
2. EPT to indemnify and hold City harmless as to any injury or damages
claimed to arise as a result of the installation, existence, operation or
repair of the vent stack;
3. EPT shall secure any other permits required for installation of the vent
stack (including a building permit).
4. Footprint for permanent easement not to exceed approximately 100
square feet, to be located as close as possible to the southeast corner of
the City-owned parcel, and not to interfere in any way with use of the
existing public sidewalk in said vicinity;
5. Height of vent stack not to exceed 25 feet;
6. EPT to be solely responsible for all costs associated with the vent stack;
7. Operation of the passive-ventilation system will not be altered without City
consent;
8. Appearance and exact location of vent stack to be subject to expedited
site plan review;
9. EPT to maintain a schedule of quarterly indoor air quality and soil testing,
within ___ feet of the vent stack, with reports to be submitted thereafter to
the City;
10. EPT to provide City with timely copies of any performance reports EPT is
required by NYSDEC to file, regarding the passive-ventilation system;
11. Stipulation that easement holder maintain vent stack in good repair and
safe condition, and that it designate a contact person to handle any
complaints about noise or needed maintenance;
12. To maintain easement, EPT must submit to City, on or by every 10-year
anniversary of the execution of this easement, a summary report of
system performance and statement of continuing need. Failure to submit
such report/statement within 6 months of said anniversary shall constitute
grounds for revocation of the easement by the City;
13. Easement will terminate if EPT removes the vent stack and does not
replace it, or if EPT ceases to maintain it; and
14. Upon termination of the easement for any reason, EPT shall be
responsible, at its sole cost, for removal of vent stack, in-ground
foundation elements (not including the 300’ perforated pipe), and any
other above-ground elements of the passive-ventilation system, and for
restoration of the affected area.
Amending Resolution
RESOLVED, That condition #9 of the Resolution be amended as follows:
“9. In order to determine whether this mitigation program does not increase risk of
neighborhood exposure to contaminants and is effective in achieving its objective to
“mitigate impacts to public health resulting from existing, or the potential for, soil vapor
intrusion into the indoor air of buildings within OU No. 3” (OU No. 3 Record of Decision,
Oct 2010, Section 6), and pursuant to the recommendations put forward by the New
York State Assembly Committee on Environmental Conservation Vapor Intrusion of
Toxic Chemicals: An Emerging Public Health Concern, dated January 2006, which
recommendations resulted from testimony provided by Ithaca residents and specialists
to the Committee at the Public Hearing held here on April 21, 2005, EPT to agree to:
a. Work with City Planning staff and neighborhood residents to address stack
construction issues related to aesthetics, material durability, and height (particularly
relative to nearby homes and their porches and air intakes).
b. To the extent practical, coordinate the sewer replacement work with NYSEG’s
gas line replacement project so as to minimize street excavation and disruption. Ensure
that NYSEG is aware: (1) that the sewer venting system shall not be disturbed, (2) that
homes along East Spencer Street have subslab mitigation systems, (3) that excavations
for new gas transmission laterals should not disturb foundations of homes, and (4) that
any new penetrations through foundation walls need to be appropriately sealed.
c. Continue EPT’s offer to install mitigation systems in any unmitigated structure
in the OU No. 3 area where standard indoor-air tests show TCE is present at or above
0.8 ug/m3 (if requested by the property owner); this level has been used as the basis for
mitigating homes.
d. Offer to conduct indoor air testing in structures with OU No.3 where physical
changes to the foundation (such as cracks or integrity of foundations) occur as a result
of natural conditions and an evaluation of such condition is conducted by a WSP
professional engineer licensed in the State of New York and a determination is made
that such testing is warranted. Any such testing shall be conducted in the heating
season only, provided access is granted by the property owner.
e. Review building permit applications within the OU-3 area that involve structural
and/or foundation work or changes (which applications the City agrees to send to EPT
and DEC) and, with the assistance of a WSP professional engineer licensed in the State
of New York, evaluate whether such structural and or foundation work or changes
present a potential vapor intrusion issue to the structure. Continue the commitment to
offer mitigation (or to repair existing mitigation systems) where potential problems are
identified by the WSP professional engineer.
f. Measure VOC emissions at the passive sewer vent and disclose the sampling
results to the City in a timely manner (within 60 days after final results are received).
Post-construction testing frequency of the passive vent stack will be weekly for the first
month, monthly for the next two months, then quarterly for the remainder of the first
year. There will be a total of 8 sampling events in the first year. Thereafter, passive
vent sampling will be conducted semiannually until all eight constituents of concern for
the site are below 1 ug/m3 or fall below background levels. In the event sampling
results indicate an issue, based on the NYSDOH air model, EPT will coordinate with the
DEC and DOH on the next steps, including DEC-approved controls.
g. Submit EPT’s proposed Site Management Plan (as required by the DEC) to
the City, concurrently with the Remedial Action Report (also required by the DEC,
roughly 8 weeks after construction of this measure). “