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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPWC Minutes 2014-03-18 TOWN OF ITHACA PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE March 18, 2014, 9:00 a.m. Public Works Facility Present: Herb Engman, Rich DePaolo, Rod Howe, Rich Schoch, Wayne Sincebaugh, Mike Smith, Mike Solvig, Bruce Bates and Paulette Terwilliger. Guest: Jim Merod 1. Approval of Minutes Minutes of February 24, 2014 were approved without change. 2. Member Comments/Concerns -- Consider modifications to agenda Added discussion items: Christopher Tank Project, Coddington Road Water Main Project, Sewage Flows VCH and IAWTP, Water Metering Town of Ulysses, and South Hill Recreation Way fence mural. 3. Scoreboard Proposal for Valentino Field (Ithaca Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth Baseball) Jim Merod from the Babe Ruth League gave an overview stating that the club would like to move to the next level and install and maintain a manually operated scoreboard. This would allow the league to secure more tournaments and be taken seriously as a team and league. The proposed scoreboard would be hunter green in the old style reminiscent of Fenway Park with numbers being changed manually. Discussion followed regarding liability issues, usage by other groups, variances and maintenance. Mr. Merod addressed these by saying that the sign could be put 4-6 feet back from the fence for safety as well as having it at a height that an adult would be able to change the numbers without the need for a catwalk, although they thought it would be nice to have siblings be able to do it. He stated that other groups are welcome to use the numbers; they would be kept in a lock box and PW could have the key. Parking has not seemed to be an issue with other events and the additional competitions would still be two teams so it is not anticipated to be a problem. Graffiti has been an issue in some places and they will accept full responsibility for maintenance and repainting whenever necessary. Mr. Merod summarized by saying that they are very serious about the league and they want to take it to the next level and up their play and attract teams and a scoreboard is an outward way of showing we are serious. They want input from the Town on what we would like and they will do whatever is necessary to move forward. The Committee was in favor of the scoreboard in concept and recommended that the attorney for the town be consulted on liability issues, contract or MOU changes be drafted and that Mr. Merod work with Mike Smith to forward the proposal on to the Planning Board and the Zoning Board for possible variances. 4. Pine Tree Preserve Management Plan Update 1 Herb Engman reported that the donors submitted a management plan that they are financing to clear out invasive species, to improve the overall health of the forest, to improve the nature trails through the parcel and the like. They need to get approval from the Finger Lakes Land Trust as outlined in the conservation easement and some changes have been suggested to their proposal but it should be approved soon. The donors would like to start implementing the recommendations of the management plan and at some point the Town will probably lend assistance; they have donated funds for that purpose. Rich Schoch stated that the Town does do tree removal and forest management at many of our parks and trails. There is also the possibility of a community garden within the preserve in the future. 5. Brandywine Drainage Issues Creig Hebdon reported on issues that have started with this drainage system that was developed in the 50’s. A drainage system with a slight diversion split was installed to handle 90% of the water with 10% continuing through the backyards as a babbling brook type of flow. The swales and ditches for that effect have since filled in and the choices are to get rid of that diversion and send the whole flow through the system or to go in and dig out and maintain the diversion. Creig will check with our attorney on the legality of the existing easement language and whether we would be required to keep the diversion or we can simply block it to remediate the problems. The Committee was in favor of blocking the diversion as it was an aesthetic feature that has seen the end of its lifespan and would cost money to repair. 6. Capital Improvement Plan Review Creig Hebdon reported that they would like to increase the amount by $150K to do sewer pipe bursting; pipe bursting is a technique where the old pipe is “burst” while at the same time a new pipe is dragged through at the same time to replace the old. This process is much less invasive to the residents’ yards. The proposal for this year is to do from Pine Tree Road to Park Lane along Slaterville Road and the reason for the bigger area is that most of the costs associated with the process are set up, getting the equipment there, so the more we can do at once the cheaper it is per foot. The Committee had no objections and moved the recommendation to the Town Board. 7. Fleet Replacement Plan Review Wayne Sincebaugh reported that they would like to add a dump truck at approximately $85K to the water maintenance fleet for efficiency. They have found that over the last two years, the single axle dump trucks have been increasingly used for snow removal and that means when there is a water main break a lot of time is wasted waiting for the single remaining truck to return from trips to dump what is put in it etc. Also, the truck they would like to get is lighter and will decrease cave-ins, etc. There was some discussion on what the ** and *** meant on the spreadsheet. The ** means the plan is to buy a used vehicle and the *** means that the vehicle is a “handed down” vehicle such as the supervisors’ vehicles every 4 -5 years which are added to the rotation replacing older vehicles that fall off the active list. 2 Rich DePaolo asked if the bottom line was that we would then not be spending the $100K in 2015 and Mr. Sincebaugh responded that was correct. The Committee recommended moving the allocation to the Town Board. Mr. Sincebaugh addressed the compact loader listed. Public Works would like to standardize this loader as a Bobcat because we have $100-$150K worth of attachments that are particular to Bobcats. The Committee recommended moving the standardization to the Town Board for approval. Other topics 1. Coddington Road Water Improvement Project Creig Hebdon reported that we have received Comptroller’s approval and the next step is to get easements from the affected residents. The ROW is prescriptive for “road uses” and water and sewer do not fall under that. Discussion followed with various options being discussed should somebody not want to give us an easement, but Mr. Hebdon stated that we are replacing in the same exact location. Mr. DePaolo noted that the County may have secured rights to the properties in preparation for their work and we could ask them about those. Mr. Hebdon responded that he would check into that. 2. Christopher Circle Tank Creig Hebdon reported that we cannot tear down the current tank and then put up the new because there would be too long of a break in service to the area. They are proposing erecting the new tank and then tearing down the old. This also starts implementing the recent study we had done on the Northeast Water Service. The top of the new tank will not be higher than the existing tank and will be about 50 feet away from the old tank. 3. Village of Cayuga Heights Sewer Mr. Engman reported that a group met to discuss the current agreement that diverts sewer flow which was done when the Village thought they would have a lot more growth in the area. This did not happen and now they feel they are losing money and need to reassess. There will be financial implications for the Town but details aren’t worked out yet. 4. Ulysses Water Mr. Engman reported that a group met on this also; they are using more water than we are sending them and we don’t know how that can happen. They also have an issue with THM’s because chlorine is used to kill bacteria in the water and then the water stays in their tanks too long. They are talking about an agitator or getting more water from Trumansburg Tank. 5. South Hill Recreation Way Mr. Engman reported that Ms. Olds had contacted him about her fence off of Hudson Street at the entrance of the trail; there is a lot of graffiti on it and she would like to have a mural painted on it. 3 The Committee had no problem with this. Mr. Engman will let her know that the Town has no issue with doing this but it actually is not in the Town and she would have to work with the City. 6. Gateway Trail rd Mike Smith reported that there will be a meeting on April 3 regarding the progress of the Trail. 7. Your Trails and Parks th Mr. Howe reported that there will be a meeting on April 29 from 6:30PM – 8:30PM to promote our parks, trails and preserves and to discuss volunteer opportunities for adopting a park and to recognize those that have adopted and/or maintained our parks and open spaces in the past. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:30 AM. 4