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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-09-17 Board of Public Works Meeting Agenda- DATE: January 9, 2017 BPW Meeting TIME: 4:45 pm LOCATION: 3rd Floor, Board of Public Works City Hall, Council Chambers 108 E. Green St., Ithaca AGENDA ITEMS Time Topic Voting? Presenter(s) Allowed 1. Call to Order/Agenda Review No Mayor Myrick 5 min. 2. Administration & Communications A. Election of Board of Public Works Chair and Vice Chair for 2017 — Resolution B. Board of Public Works Meeting Procedures C. Approval of Minutes 1) December 12, 2016 D. 2017 Meeting Calendar - FYI 3. Mayor's Communications 4. Communications and Hearings from Persons Before the Board 5. Response to the Public 6. Reports A. Special Committees of the Board B. Council Liaison C. Board Liaisons D. Superintendent and Staff Yes Mayor Myrick 5 min. No Com. Darling 10 min. Yes Mayor Myrick 5 min. No Mayor Myrick 5 min. No Mayor Myrick No Public 5 min. No Commissioners No Various 5 min. 7. Buildings, Properties, Refuse & Transit A. Resolution in Support of Coltivare Sidewalk Yes Supt. Thorne 5 min. Awning Per the Board's discussion on December 12, 2016, a resolution is provided for consideration. 8. Highways, Streets & Sidewalks 9. Parking & Traffic 10. Creeks, Bridges & Parks 11. Water & Sewer 12. Discussion Items A. Cayuga Waterfront Trail Winter Maintenance No Rick Manning 10 min. This trail is not typically maintained in the winter by City crews. A complaint about that has been brought to our attention. The Parks Commission will be discussing this topic at their meeting on January 10, 2017. 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 607-274-6570 at least 48 hours before the meetina. The Board of Public Works meets on the second and fourth Mondays at 4:45 p.m. All meetings are voting meetings, opening with a public comment period. Meeting agendas are created from prior public input, Department operating, planning issues, and requests made to the Superintendent. The Board reserves the right to limit verbal comments to three minutes and to request written comments on lengthy or complex issues, This information may then be used to create committee agendas, with the speaker or author invited to attend. is Award of a Professional Services Contract to Fisher Associates for the Elmira Road Overlay and Signal Replacement Project — Proposed Resolution No Dir. of Eng. Services Logue Enclosed is a memo from Tim Logue explaining the project. Time Allowed 10 min. C. Proposal for a Temporary Community Alter in No Senior Planner 10 min. DeWitt Park Megan Wilson Your Art Club has submitted a proposal for a temporary alter in DeWitt Parkin February. The Public Arts Commission has discussed the proposal and provided a recommendation for the Board's consideration. 13. New Business 14. Adjournment No Yes Page 2 of 4 City of Ithaca Board of Public Works Some Suggested Organizational Guidelines for Bi-weekly Meetings: Greetings BPW, I think that it would be useful for the BPW to review the following information to remind ourselves of our role in City government and to be able to share this information with the public. I suggest that we review this information and formulate some guidelines for our meetings and agree that this is how we would like to conduct business during the coming year. We should revisit these guidelines each year, at our first meeting of the new year to review, revise and recommit to these guidelines. All too often we assume that Commissioners or the public are aware of our roles and functions, and find out during Public Comment or during an appeal, just how much we don't know. We can consider reminding ourselves during this organizational meeting things like the Goldsmith Rule, how we handle appeals of bills for City Services. Thank you, Mark Statement of Organizational Values Vision We strive to make Ithaca a model community; a great place to create, dream, live, learn, work, and play. Mission We deliver high quality services to preserve and enhance the well-being of our community. Values For those we employ and those we serve People We believe that: o Diversity should be celebrated through inclusion o Each person should be respected, developed, supported and valued o People are our greatest asset Relationships We believe in: o Interdepartmental collaboration 0 Responsiveness o Sharing knowledge and expertise o Teamwork Excellent Results We believe in: o Celebrating success o Continuous improvement o Creativity o Quality service o Streamlined processes Mission + Values + Resources = Excellent Results Diversity Statement The City of Ithaca is committed to a work environment and community governance that values and supports diversity and inclusion. Collectively we will strive to learn about diversity; educate city employees, members of boards and committees and other volunteers; and promote acceptance of the differences of others within our workforce and our community. Our goal is to strengthen the city's work environment, our government, and our ability to serve our constituents. In order to accomplish these goals, we will: o Actively seek employees and volunteers with diverse backgrounds. o Develop and maintain a work environment that supports and nurtures every individual throughout his or her tenure with the city. o Continue to develop laws, policies, and procedures governing our workforce and the City of Ithaca that are mindful and inclusive of our diverse community Meetings Regular meetings are held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 4:45 p.m. in Common Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, City Hall, 108 E. Green Street, Ithaca, NY 14850. Agendas & Minutes Agendas are available prior to the meetings. Minutes are available following approval. f Overview & Duties Policies and procedures for the Department of Public Works are set and revised by the Board of Public Works, which consists of 6 city residents that are appointed by the Mayor. The Superintendent of Public Works reports to the Board of Public Works. The Board of Public Works has authority over the following items subject to the direction and review of Common Council: o Water, except that it shall not in any manner fluoridate the water. o Sewers and Drains. o Streets and Sidewalks. o Creeks and Bridges. o Street lighting. o Parks. o Cemeteries. o Garbage. o Public Buildings and Property. o Parking Management. If you have a topic that requires discussion with the Board of Public Works, please send all pertinent information to the Superintendent via email or postal mail explaining the item for discussion and exactly what action you would like the Board to take. Please be very specific and detailed in your description. The more information the Board has prior to the meeting, the quicker they will be able to make a decision. More information on the Board of Public Works http://ecode360.com/8385642 Members o Mayor Svante L. Myrick, Chair o Claudia Jenkins, Vice -Chair Term expires: December 31, 2017 o Jonathan Greene Term expires: December 31, 2016 o Mark Darling Term expires: December 31, 2016 o David Warden Term expires: December 31, 2017 o Marshall MacCormick Term expires: December 31, 2018 o Donna Fleming, Common Council Liaison o Larry Roberts, DAC Liaison PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW, ARTICLE 7 OPEN MEETINGS LAW (http://ecode360.com/8386550): §100. Legislative declaration. It is essential to the maintenance of a democratic society that the public business be performed in an open and public manner and that the citizens of this state be fully aware of and able to observe the performance of public officials and attend and listen to the deliberations and decisions that go into the making of public policy. The people must be able to remain informed if they are to retain control over those who are their public servants. It is the only climate under which the commonweal will prosper and enable the governmental process to operate for the benefit of those who created it. §103.Open meetings and executive sessions. (a) Every meeting of a public body shall be open to the general public, except that an executive session of such body may be called and business transacted thereat in accordance with section one hundred five of this article. (b) Public bodies shall make or cause to be made all reasonable efforts to ensure that meetings are held in facilities that permit barrier -free physical access to the physically handicapped, as defined in subdivision five of section fifty of the public buildings law. (c) A public body that uses videoconferencing to conduct its meetings shall provide an opportunity to attend, listen and observe at any site at which a member participates. (d) Public bodies shall make or cause to be made all reasonable efforts to ensure that meetings are held in an appropriate facility which can adequately accommodate members of the public who wish to attend such meetings. 1. Any meeting of a public body that is open to the public shall be open to being photographed, broadcast, webcast, or otherwise recorded and/or transmitted by audio or video means. As used herein the term "broadcast" shall also include the transmission of signals by cable. 2. A public body may adopt rules, consistent with recommendations from the committee on open government, reasonably governing the location of equipment and personnel used to photograph, broadcast, webcast, or otherwise record a meeting so as to conduct its proceedings in an orderly manner. Such rules shall be conspicuously posted during meetings and written copies shall be provided upon request to those in attendance. (e) Agency records available to the public pursuant to article six of this chapter, as well as any proposed resolution, law, rule, regulation, policy or any amendment thereto, that is scheduled to be the subject of discussion by a public body during an open meeting shall be made available, upon request therefor, to the extent practicable as determined by the agency or the department, prior to or at the meeting during which the records will be discussed. Copies of such records may be made available for a reasonable fee, determined in the same manner as provided therefor in article six of this chapter. If the agency in which a public body functions maintains a regularly and routinely updated website and utilizes a high speed internet connection, such records shall be posted on the website to the extent practicable as determined by the agency or the department, prior to the meeting. An agency may, but shall not be required to, expend additional moneys to implement the provisions of this subdivision. (f) Open meetings of an agency shall be, to the extent practicable and within available funds, broadcast to the public and maintained as records of the agency. If the agency maintains a website and utilizes a high speed internet connection, such open meeting shall be, to the extent practicable and within available funds, streamed on such website in real-time, and posted on such website within and for a reasonable time after the meeting. For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "agency" shall mean only a state department, board, bureau, division, council or office and any public corporation the majority of whose members are appointed by the governor. §105. Conduct of executive sessions. 1. Upon a majority vote of its total membership, taken in an open meeting pursuant to a motion identifying the general area or areas of the subject or subjects to be considered, a public body may conduct an executive session for the below enumerated purposes only, provided, however, that no action by formal vote shall be taken to appropriate public moneys: a. matters which will imperil the public safety if disclosed; b. any matter which may disclose the identity of a law enforcement agent or informer; c. information relating to current or future investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense which would imperil effective law enforcement if disclosed, d. discussions regarding proposed, pending or current litigation; e. collective negotiations pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law; f. the medical, financial, credit or employment history of a particular person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal or removal of a particular person or corporation; g. the preparation, grading or administration of examinations; and h. the proposed acquisition, sale or lease of real property or the proposed acquisition of securities, or sale or exchange of securities held by such public body, but only when publicity would substantially affect the value thereof. 2. Attendance at an executive session shall be permitted to any member of the public body and any other persons authorized by the public body. Helpful Document http://www.dos.nv.gov/lg/publications/conducting public meetings and public hearings pdf It does not require the public body to offer the public an opportunity to be heard. The right to participate (that is, to speak) at a meeting may be limited to the members of the public body itself. A public body may, however, permit public participation and may provide rules for speakers to follow at meetings.7 Review Ground Rules — Members should each review the ground rules needed to run the meeting.21 The board's rules of procedure (if there are any) should be checked and the procedures required therein should be followed during the meeting. Business will flow faster and more smoothly when all participants are familiar with the rules. (Which we ought to be articulating more clearly and more often.) Common Council Rules of Procedure — Revised July 2, 2014 II. Order of Business (6) Petitions and Hearings of Persons Before Council Persons not members of Common Council shall be accorded the privilege of the floor and be permitted to speak for three minutes in regards to matters within the scope of the powers of Common Council. All persons speaking before Council will observe the Rules of Order posted in Common Council Chambers (See Section III (v) As follows: All members of the public who attend meetings of any City board, commission or committee, including public meetings of Common Council, shall act in accordance with the following Rules of Order (as posted in Common Council Chambers): 1) Where public comment is scheduled on the meeting agenda, any member of the public may address the Mayor, Common Council, or a Council Committee in regards to matters within the scope of the powers of Common Council for up to three minutes. 2) Any person may address Common Council or a standing committee of Common Council for up to three minutes during the "Petitions and Hearings of Persons Before Council" or "Public Comment" portion of an official meeting. A speaker will be notified by a timekeeper when her/his time has ended. Neither the Chair, the Mayor, nor any majority vote of the entire body may extend the speaker's limit. A person may address the body at any point after the "Petitions and Hearings of Persons Before Council" or "Public Comment" portion of the meeting upon invitation by, or permission from, the Mayor, the Chair of the committee or by a majority vote of the body. The provisions of this subsection shall apply to spokespersons, designated per Section II (6)(a), with the exception that the time limit afforded such persons shall be either five or seven minutes, depending on the size of the group the spokesperson represents. 3) Any person who shall desire to speak at a meeting of Common Council, or a Council Committee shall fill out a card stating her or his name, street address, municipality of residence, and the topic upon which they will comment. Any spokesperson, appointed pursuant to Section II (6)(a), who shall desire to speak at a meeting of Common Council, or a Council Committee shall fill out a form stating her or his name, the name, if any, of the group she or he represents, the names of those persons that the spokesperson is designated to represent, and the topic upon which they will comment. If a person identifies himself or herself as a member of such a group, he or she may not exercise the individual right to address council or committee at the same meeting. In completing this card or form each speaker will be affirming that they have read and understand the posted Rules of Conduct. Upon speaking, each person shall verbally state their name, the municipality in which they reside, and the name of the group they represent, if any, for the record. 4) Members of the public addressing the Mayor, Common Council, or a Council Committee shall do so in an orderly manner. 5) No person shall shout, use foul language, throw or slam anything or engage in any other form of disruptive behavior. 6) No member of the public shall approach Common Council members, the Mayor or City staff seated at the Council table, except as detailed in Section III, v. 7, or upon request of the Chair or a majority of the body. 7) Speakers shall give any written materials to the City Clerk or City staff for distribution to Common Council and Committee members. Common Council Rules of Procedure Revised July 2, 2014 8) If a member of the public fails to follow the Rules of Order, the Chair shall ask the member of the public to take her or his seat or, if seated, the Chair shall ask the member of the public to cease any behavior in violation of the Rules of Order. 9) If a member of the public fails to sit down after being asked, or continues with outbursts or other behavior prohibited by these Rules of Order while in the audience, the Chair shall ask the member of the public to leave the room. 10) If a member of the public fails to leave the room after being asked or continues with other behavior prohibited by the Rules of Order, the member of the public will be subject to arrest on the charge of Obstructing Governmental Administration. 7A. Resolution in Support of Coltivare Sidewalk Awnin WHEREAS, Colitvare Restaurant located on the Northeast corner of N. Clinton and S. Cayuga Streets is requesting an awning and sign which will project onto the eastern sidewalk of S. Cayuga Street, as shown in the attached renderings, and WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works discussed the proposed awning and sign at the December 12, 2016 BPW meeting, and is supportive of the sign so long as the support columns do not impact snow removal operations or pedestrian flow, suggesting that the support columns_ line up with the center of the adjacent street tree trunks, and WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works recommends that the Planning Board review the proposal for final approval, therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works supports the proposed awning and signage subject to placement of the support columns in line with adjacent street tree trunks, and be it further RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works recommends that the Planning Board review the proposal in context with design guidelines or standards for these type of installations. Page 3 of 4 12B. Award of a Professional Services Contract to Fisher Associates for the Elmira Road Overlay and Signal Replacement Project — Proposed Resolution WHEREAS, professional services proposals were received on August 10, 2016 for the Elmira Road Overlay and Signal Replacement project (CP 832, PIN 375592), and WHEREAS, staff has reviewed the eight proposals received and made recommendations for award, and WHEREAS, engineering studies and designs are a Type II action requiring no further review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act and the City Environmental Quality Review Ordinance, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Board of Public Works hereby awards the professional services contract for the Elmira Road Overlay and Signal Replacement project (CP 832, PIN 375592) to Fisher Associates, of Rochester, New York, for an amount not to exceed $210,000, and be it further, RESOLVED, That the Superintendent of Public Works for the City of Ithaca be hereby authorized to enter into said contracts under the usual terms and conditions. Page 4 of 4 CITY OF ITHACA 108 East Green Street. Suite 202 Ithaca, New York 14850-5690 OFFICE OF T1IE MY ENGINEER Telephone: 607/274-6530 Fax: 607/274-6587 To: Board of Public Works From: Tim Logue, Director of Engineering Date: January 5, 2017 Re: Contract Award for Professional Services Elmira Road Overlay and Signal Replacement, (CP# 832) Please find enclosed a proposed resolution to award a professional services contract to Fisher Associates for the Elmira Road Overlay and Signal Replacement Project, (PIN 375592). The project will look to rehabilitate the pavement on the City -owned portion of Route 13 (Elmira Road) and reconstruct the two traffic signals we own, at Spencer Road and Commercial Avenue. The design portion of the project will be 80% of reimbursed by federal funds, 8% of reimbursed by state funds, and 12% of covered by the City of Ithaca. The construction portion will receive 80% in federal funds, but I don t know yet how much state funding will be made available to cover the non-federal share; typically it is 15% of project costs and the City covers 5%. The project was advertised to 15 pre -qualified firms and we received 8 proposals. A three person staff group (Eric, Eduardo and myself) selected Fisher Associates based on their expression of interest and qualifications. I have worked with Fisher to define a task list (scope of services) and the fee for the project. I am comfortable with what we have worked out and am ready to recommend that you award the contract to Fisher Associates in an amount not to exceed $210,000. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the contract or about the consultant selection process. You can reach me directly at 274-6535 or . Thank you. "An with commitment to workforce diversification." 0 CITY OF ITHACA 108 E. Green St. — Third Floor Ithaca, NY 14850-5690 DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING, BUILDING, ZONING, & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Division of Planning & Economic Development JOANN CORNISH, DIRECTOR OF PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT PHYLLISA DESARNO, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Telephone: Planning &. Development — 607-274-6550 Community DevelopmentllURA — 607-274-6559 Email: dgrunder@cityofithaca.org Email: iura@cityofithaca.org TO: Board of Public Works FROM: Megan Wilson, Senior Planner DATE: January 5, 2017 RE: Proposal for a Temporary Community Alter in DeWitt Park In December 2016, Christina Coleman and Charity Burger of Your Art Club submitted a proposal for a temporary community altar to be installed in DeWitt Park during the month of February. The proposed project would allow members of the community to place meaningful objects on the altar for the duration of the installation. The Public Art Commission (PAC) discussed the proposal at its meeting on December 22nd. Because the proposal is for a temporary installation, the PAC did not provide a recommendation but did offer the following comments and questions: • Who is responsible for monitoring or curating the altar for inappropriate contributions? How often? The PAC and the Downtown Ithaca Alliance have found that community contributions to public art projects need close monitoring. Offensive or hurtful materials or language must be quickly removed. • What will be the size and design of the altar? In all other projects, artists must submit a design, including scale, before approvals are given. • Will the altar be of a size and design that will allow people to sleep within it? • Who will be responsible for clean up and removal of the altar? When will this occur? • How will the project be publicized? • Some PAC members were concerned about the religious meaning of the term "altar". The Parks Commission's December meeting was cancelled due to a lack of quorum. The Commission will be discussing the proposal at its meeting on Tuesday, January 10tE'. The written proposal was distributed to members for comments in advance of the meeting. Few comments have been submitted, but one member suggested that input should be obtained from the veterans group that has adopted the park. Public Works and Planning staff are not supportive of the installation due to likely vandalism, the collection of garbage, and loose items being blown around the park. The Parks Commission's recommendation will be sent to the Board following the January 10`' meeting. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at 274-6560 or Art Club, a local art organization founded in February 2015, strengthens bonds within the community by creating spaces where people can be expressive, playful and creative. Art Club brings the community together in the form of art events, art parties, curated exhibits and community based art projects. Art Club aims to ignite, explore and celebrate the creative essence in each of us through open, inclusive, diverse, judgement -free, thoughtful, conscientious, eco-groovy, no-fee/low-fee events. See our past projects at www. We would like to attain a permit to place a community altar in DeWitt Park. "A Community Altar" Art Club wishes to create a space for the community to gather, reflect and remember, both at the individual and collective level. The space will not have any religious affiliation and is intended to be inclusive of all, regardless of belief. We will invite people to place a meaningful object on the altar alongside the rest of the community's contributions. We believe the gesture will mean something unique to each participant, which is our intention given the non -religious orientation of this event. We're using the word "altar" because it's a universally understood convention that denotes reverence, and as such, is an appropriate medium to encourage participants to join in the vulnerable act of sharing something personal at the collective level. The altar will be freestanding and made from sturdy wood. The dimensions will be roughly 34" wide, 56" long and 51" high. We are referencing roadside altars and personal altars such as the images shown below for a visual jumping place as we shape our structure. • jw :.- 7. -dmlwL- - • The location of this project is key to its success. We chose DeWitt Park for its centrality. It was Ithaca's original public square (called the `Town Square' in fact, before it was renamed in honor of Simeon DeWitt.) Also, because it is already a sacred space of communal reverie given that it contains sPVPrAl war memorials. And has been visited by seminal unifying leaders such as Frederick Douglas and Dr. Martin Luther King. "DeWitt Park in the center of Ithaca is what I would call a sacred public space, that is, a special place used in various ways by many people and regarded as something that belongs to us all." -Carol Kammen, Guest Columnist, Ithaca Journal August 15,2014 We are aiming to leave the altar in place for one month, from mid -February to mid -March, when morale is somewhat low due to the long ebb of our winters, but with that said, our time frame is flexible. We will be tending to .the altar while it is up at least twice a week and also documenting the project, watching the evolution of its collage of layers. How we understand the projects effect on public space: - We understand Dewitt is a quiet park and do not believe this project would cause noise pollution. - We do not foresee litter or vandalism as the public predominantly respects public art. - We will not be facilitating a public event or meeting at the structure. We understand it is taking place in inclement weather conditions and will be affected. - We would like to place the structure on the open grass and thus will not interfere with park trees, memorials, sidewalks, etc. In tending to the space we will be aware of safety issues and do our best to keep the altar clean and safe. - We do not foresee needing any extra help from the city to maintain the space. (i.e. police, trash service, etc.)