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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BPW-2019-01-15BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 6:07 p.m. January 15, 2019 PRESENT: Mayor Myrick Commissioners (5) – Blalock, Jenkins, McCormick, Morache, Warden OTHERS PRESENT: Superintendent of Public Works – Thorne Assistant Superintendent of Water and Sewer – Whitney Director of Parking – Messmer Common Council Liaison – McGonigal Executive Assistant – Servoss EXCUSED: Commissioner - Greene City Attorney – Lavine Director of Engineering – Logue Assistant Superintendent of Streets and Facilities – Benjamin ADDITIONS TO OR DELETIONS FROM THE AGENDA: There were no additions to or deletions from the agenda. MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS: The Mayor had no communications at this time. COMMUNICATIONS AND HEARINGS FROM PERSONS BEFORE THE BOARD: Ann Sullivan and Nick Salvatore, City of Ithaca, addressed the Board regarding the RPPS hardship request at 304 Mitchell Street. The residents have a hardship of their own making. The house was purchased in August, and rented to the Cornell Wrestling Team. Since determining the zoning laws were not being complied with, the owner has transferred ownership of the property to two members of the team. There are seven people living in the house, and currently have five vehicles, which is agains t zoning. Ms. Sullivan requested that the Board not grant the hardship request. Mr. Salvatore noted that the neighbors cannot believe anything the residents say. Commissioner Warden arrived at 6:20 p.m. RESPONSE TO THE PUBLIC No response was provided. PARKING AND TRAFFIC: Resolution to Grant Hardship for 304 and 304A Mitchell Street for the Residential Parking Permit System By Commissioner Morache: Seconded by Commissioner Jenkins WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works (BPW) has promulgated regulations, a dopted June 9, 2004, for implementation of the Residential Parking Permit System (RPPS), which was established by Common Council on May 6, 1998 after an act of the New York State Legislature, and WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 260-4 of the City Code and in accordance with the BPW regulations, the BPW may grant hardship requests, and WHEREAS, 304 Mitchell Street is on a street within the residential Parking Permit Zone without on-street parking and is within the R-1 zoning designation; therefore allowing up to two permits per single family dwelling, now, therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works hereby grants the residents of 304 and 304A Mitchell Street to purchase permits for the Residential Parking Permit Systems, in accordance with the above-mentioned regulations. Board of Public Works Page 2 January 15, 2019 Regular Meeting Mayor Myrick stated that it was his understanding the building already had four parking spaces, and a hardship request was usually approved for people with disabilities or delivery vehicles. He did not see a reason to approve the hardship request since the property already had four parking spaces. Commissioner Morache agreed. Commissioner McCormick noted that this was the only hardship request that ever received public comment, which said a lot. RESOLUTION By Commissioner McCormick: Seconded by Commissioner Morache RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works agrees to waive the “Goldsmith Rule” to allow a vote the same night this topic is discussed. Carried Unanimously A Vote on the Main Resolution Resulted as Follows: Failed Unanimously REPORTS Council Liaison CC Liaison McGonigal ask when/if the traffic lights would be turned on at the bottom of Hector Street at Floral Avenue. Supt. Thorne responded that the lights were supposed to be turned on in November. Discussion followed on the floor regarding concerns that drivers on Floral Avenue would not allow vehicles from Elm Street onto Floral Avenue if they had a green light. Supt. Thorne suggested following through with the traffic lights to see how things go. The Board agreed. Board Liaisons Commissioner McCormick announced that a multimodal transportation event would be held at the library in the coming months. He further commended Transportation Engineer Eric Hathaway for changing the light at the intersection of Plain and Court Streets to a four-way stop. Commissioner Blalock, Liaison to the Planning and Economic Development Board, reported that last month’s meeting lasted a long time due to the Board finding no negative environmental impacts for the North Campus Housing Project. It was a very emotionally charged meeting. He further reported that a second Board meeting would be held in the last week of January to complete the environmental review of the Chainworks Project. Superintendent and Staff Asst. Supt. Whitney reported that the 300 block of North Albany Street had a water leak; water services were installed on Linden Avenue and the 100 block of North Titus Street; and crews replaced a faulty hydrant. He further stated staff was in the process of hiring new crews for this summer. Dir. of Parking Messmer arrived at 6:26 p.m. Supt. Thorne reported that Streets & Facilities crews were still cleaning up stormwater from the storm in December, which caused a lot of flooding, specifically in Cass Park and at the Hangar Theatre. He was working on a game plan for hiring new crews for both Water & Sewer and Streets & Facilities, including strategizing how to onboard up to 12 new crew members. He further reported he was still trying to get NYSEG to move on the street light purchase and to repair the street lights (over 100 lights) that were out. He believed NYSEG was dragging out the purchase as long as they could because that would give them more time to charge the City for street light maintenance. Commissioner Warden asked if there was any leverage to send a message of NYSEG? Supt. Thorne responded that he would be sending notification that indicated the City would back charge NYSEG for breach of contract because they had not repaired the street lights, which the City was currently paying them $200,000 annually for maintenance of the stree t lights. He noted that NYSEG was not cooperative or as easy to work with as they used to be. Dir. of Parking Messmer reported that staff was working on replacing equipment in the Green Street Garage, and the equipment replacement for the other two garages were complete. He further stated that he drafted the Request for Qualifications for the Comprehensive Parking Study and was close to advertising. Board of Public Works Page 3 January 15, 2019 Regular Meeting Commissioner Morache asked if there had been any thought about installing public electric vehicle charging stations for on-street parking spaces. Dir. of Parking Messmer responded that it hadn’t been thought about yet. Commissioner Morache believed it would be a good idea to look into installing charging stations in residential areas to encourage people to move away from gas powered vehicles. ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNICATIONS: City of Ithaca’s Sexual Harassment Policy Mayor Myrick explained the City’s new sexual harassment policy. HIGHWAYS, STREETS AND SIDEWALKS: Hudson Street/Hillview Place Intersection Evaluation Supt. Thorne explained that the intent was to provide the report this month, and then the Board could discuss it at next month’s meeting. He noted the recommendations listed on page 6 of the report. Commissioner Warden asked about the recommendation to change the speed limit, noting that years ago, a request was denied because the speed limit was a state mandate. Commissioner McCormick responded that in this case the speed limit could be changed due to the proximity to the elementary school. Supt. Thorne further responded that a blanket speed limit change was not allowed through state law, but individual streets could be designated as slower speed limits. Mayor Myrick suggested the Mobility, Accessibility and Transportation Commission (MATCom) could start a discussion about changing the speed limit city-wide to 25 mph. Commissioner Morache asked if the lower speed limit could be tied to housing density, such as the higher the density, the lower the speed limit. Mayor Myrick stated that was an interesting concept, and maybe the conversation could begin at MATCom. South Aurora Street Sidewalk Alignment – Resolution By Commissioner Rob: Seconded by Commissioner Warden WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca Common Council passed a resolution on November 7, 2018 allocating up to $386,583 of NYS administered Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) for the South Aurora St. Sidewalk Extension; and WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works completed the Environmental Review for this project on May 15, 2018 which resulted in findings that the project will result in no significant impact on the environment and issuance of no negative declaration; and WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works discussed the South Aurora St. Project at the December 18, 2018 and the Engineering staff recommendations were presented to proceed with new sidewalk construction on the east side of the street in 2019; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works approves that a continuous sidewalk be constructed along the east side of South Aurora Street, and if funds are available, also the west side; under the supervision and direction of the Superintendent of Public Works. Discussion followed on the floor regarding the Board’s choice of which side the sidewalk should be installed and that the sidewalk would be a little away from the roadside. Commissioner McCormick noted that part of the reason the Board chose to install this sidewalk on the east side of South Aurora was to encourage the Chainworks developer to build sidewalks on the west side. A Vote on the Resolution Resulted as Follows: Carried Unanimously Resolution to Grant Hardship for 304 and 304A Mitchell Street for the Residential Parking Permit System Dir. of Parking Messmer followed up on this conversation, explaining that he had done some research and found that 304 Mitchell Street was eligible for one Residential Parking Permit for Delaware Avenue. The resolution voted on earlier in the meeting was not necessary. Dir. of Parking Messmer proposed a discussion to change the City Code so that if a property owner was granted an exemption for the Residential Parking Permit System, that exemption could be attached to the property, not the owner. If the property was sold, the new property owner would also receive the exemption. Board of Public Works Page 4 January 15, 2019 Regular Meeting CC Liaison McGonigal stated that this particular request should be looked at more closely. The property already had room for four off-street parking spaces. Dir. of Parking Messmer responded that it doesn’t matter how many parking spaces a property currently had; exemptions were related to which street the house faced. Mayor Myrick explained that the neighbors had found that the residents of this property were not following the zoning laws, and the Board felt they should not be granted the permit for Delaware Avenue. Supt. Thorne suggested the Board leave the decision as the Board had voted, Dir. of Parking Messmer should contact the City’s Zoning Office to determine whether the rules were being followed, and provide the Board with more detailed information for the next meeting. The Board agreed. WATER AND SEWER: 221 South Geneva Street Water Account Resolution By Commissioner Warden: Seconded by Commissioner Morache WHEREAS, the Owner of the property and water account at 221 South Geneva Street requests that the penalty be removed from the water bill dated 9/20/18, due 10/22/18, and WHEREAS, the Owner states that the New York State Homes and Community Renewal Office in New York City signed the payment authorization on 10/15/18 and the signed authorization was mailed and received by McGraw House via mail after business hours on 10/22/18. The bill was paid in person 10/23/18, one (1) day late, and WHEREAS, McGraw House is a non-profit community service with a good record of timely payment of their water and sewer bills, and WHEREAS, their payment was one (1) day late, most likely because of processing time in another layer of Government administration, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the 5% penalty of $935.34 is to be removed from their account for this one particular occurrence. Carried Unanimously Appeal of Water and Sewer Bills from Tiny Timbers, LLC Commissioner Morache recused himself from this discussion due to a conflict of interest. Mayor Myrick explained the appeal, noting that the owner stated he was unaware he would be responsible for the installation of water and sewer service. Commissioner Warden responded that it had been City policy forever that property owners were responsible for new installations, and the owner should have known about it. Asst. Supt. Whitney noted that his working supervisor always told the property owners of their responsibility to pay. Commissioner McCormick stated he would approve a payment plan without penalties if the owner was open to it. CC Liaison McGonigal agreed that the property owner should be responsible for the installation costs, though he was not surprised to receive this appeal. Asst. Supt. Whitney agreed to provide a resolution to deny the appeal for the next Board meeting. ADJOURNMENT: On a motion, the meeting adjourned at 7:11 p.m. Kathrin D. Servoss Svante L. Myrick Executive Assistant Mayor