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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Minutes 2020-07-27Study Session of the Ithaca Town Board Monday, July 27, 2020 AGENDA ZOOM Meeting ID 991 1230 1523 or call 929-436-2866 Added Item — Set a public hearing regarding Fire Protection Services contract with Village of Cayuga Heights/ VCH FD 1. Discuss CIP (Capital Improvement Plan) and Fleet Replacement Schedule — Public Works/Engineering 2. Discuss Cayuga Lake Watershed Projects 3. Discuss and consider Gateway Trail Funding 4. Discuss and consider adoption of Return to Work after Travel policy Added Item — Discuss and consider a recommendation to NYS DOT regarding the installation of No Parking signs along a portion of Rte. 34/East Shore Drive 5. Committee Reports a. P&O b. COC c. Planning d. Public Works e. Budget f. Ad Hoc Committees g. Other 6. Consent Agenda a. Approval of Minutes b. Town of Ithaca Abstract 7. Review of Correspondence TBS 2020-07-27 Pg. 1 Study Session of the Ithaca Town Board Monday, July 27, 2020 MINUTES ZOOM Meeting ID 991 1230 1523 or call 929-436-2866 Board Members Present: Rod Howe, Supervisor; Members Eric Levine, Rich DePaolo, Bill Goodman, Tee -Ann Hunter, Pat Leary and Pamela Bleiwas Staff Present: Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town; Judy Drake, Director of Human Resources; Marty Moseley, Director of Code Enforcement; Susan Ritter, Director of Planning; Paulette Rosa, Town Clerk; Joe Slater, Director of Public Works; Donna Shaw, Finance; and Dan Thaete, Director of Engineering Mr. Howe opened the meeting at 4:30 p.m. Added Item: Consider setting a public hearing regarding approving and authorizing a contract with the Village of Cayuga Heights for fire protection services Chief Tamborelle of the Village of Cayuga Heights Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tamborelle gave a brief overview of the station's operations. They are taking all precautions for COVID and have downsized the number of people we send out on a rescue call and everyone has been issued an N-95 and surgical masks and goggles. We are taking this seriously and have had no COVID cases. We are a volunteer force and we have a training class twice a year and we do have some interest and will proceed using social distancing and safety protocols. Our bunker program and membership is strong. He said they are rotating equipment through inspections and seem to be on track with getting the new truck early 2021. The old truck has been sold so we maybe out a ladder truck for about 6 weeks but will bump up our mutual aid calls so other stations are aware. Mr. Howe noted that he did have a 2019 report on calls with 514 incident counts with 193 in the Town varied from fire calls to rescue calls. He asked what 2020 has been like. Chief Tamborelle responded that the beginning of the year was average with 35-50 calls a month then with COVID it dropped significantly and has picked but up in June and July. Fire and EMS with EMS mainly which is the trend across the country, much more EMS than fire. Mr. Howe asked whether the bunker program is popular with college students and Chief Tamborelle said in the past it has been a real mix, but right now, most are college students. Mr. DePaolo asked if the vehicle and personnel that is dispatched depends on the type of call; fire equipment is kept in the station if it is an EMS call? TBS 2020-07-27 Pg. 2 Chief Tamborelle responded yes and explained that for EMS calls they have a Suburban as an EMS response vehicle that we use for those calls. He added that they are the only ALS (Advanced Life Support) rescue left in the region which means we can carry narcotics on the vehicle and responders are at the paramedic level. He said they run the rescue vehicle for EMS calls so we aren't taking the ladder and the engines out and they remain available for fire calls or MVA's (Motor Vehicle Accident) or trees down. Chief Tamborelle said they respond with apparatus appropriate to the call. An MVA gets an engine because they have the extrication equipment on them and to also block the scene to protect personnel. We also have two other response vehicles we use where appropriate. Mr. Goodman thanked the Chief for coming in and noted that the major change to the proposed contract is the removal of the North Campus Residential Expansion area where the dormitories are going to be from Cayuga Heights to the City Fire District. Chief. Tamborelle added that was done to avoid duplication of efforts and keys and so forth since the property straddles the municipal line. Mr. Howe stated that he is glad they have people willing to volunteer and Chief Tamborelle responded that he was concerned, but in this pandemic time, it seems people want to give back and support the community. Chief Tamborelle added that he is available at any time to give a tour of the station. Mr. Howe thanked the Chief for coming and hopes to make this a regular occurrence each year. Mr. Howe noted that the contract expired last year and no changes other than what was noted above are suggested. TB Resolution 2020 - 099: Setting a Public Hearing Re2ardin2 Authorizing the Town Board to enter into a 5 -Year Contract with the Village of Cayu2a Heights for services provided by the Village of Cayu2a Heights Fire Department Be it Resolved that the Town Board will hold a public hearing on August 10, 2020 at a meeting of the Town Board beginning at 5:30 p.m. regarding authorizing the Town Board to enter into a 5 -year contract with the Village of Cayuga Heights on Behalf of the Town of Ithaca Fire Protection District, which covers the Northeast portion of the Town outside the Village of Cayuga Heights, and is for the provision of Fire Protection Services, Hazardous Material Incident Services, and Emergency Medical First Response Services. All persons will have an opportunity to be heard concerning the proposed contract at that time. Moved: Rich DePaolo Seconded: Pamela Bleiwas Vote: ayes — DePaolo, Bleiwas, Hunter, Howe, Goodman, and Leary TBS 2020-07-27 Pg. 3 8. Discuss CIP (Capital Improvement Plan) and Fleet Replacement Schedule — Public Works/Engineering Mr. Thaete reviewed the spreadsheets. He noted that they had ranked and scored the water projects to include in the CII'. He added that 2021 is an important year with some fire flow issues to address with the Coddington Road Community Center taking shape and Cliff Street issues. Moving forward into 2022, we are going to be tackling more of the future development zones. Mr. Thaete said that there has been a lot of thought process put behind the water piece of the CIP and the sewer project is a constant item where we hire people to use cameras to inspect and document issues our system so we can address problems as we identify them. Mr. Thaete said the roads projects are a piece of the CIP that is a work in progress. We have been involving Mr. Slater and his crews and plan to do more core samples and put more thought and planning as to what we are doing and where and when. Mr. DePaolo asked if we are still adhering to the 1,500 gallon per minute fire flow standard that Mr. Weber established in order to determine priorities for projects moving forward? Mr. Thaete responded that that is one of the categories used in the matrix, but it is a smaller part. He said that they have had discussion with Mr. Mosely and the Chief Parsons about fire flow and how a blanket statement of 1,500 gallons psi is probably not a realistic way to approach the issue. Moving forward, our goal is to do more studies and analysis of our system and try and fine tune the standard in an effort to be fair amongst densities of areas and residential and commercial neighborhoods. Mr. DePaolo said he appreciates that there is not a one -size -fits -all solution being held to, and he looks forward to hearing how that all unfolds. Ms. Hunter asked if this now goes to the Budget Committee and Mr. Thaete said yes, that seems to be the process and Mr. Howe added that this is just an opportunity for the full board to see the overall picture before it goes to the Committee and then back to the full Board. Mr. Howe asked Mr. Slater to discuss the Fleet Replacement spreadsheet. Mr. Slater explained the rotation of the dump trucks and there is also a Kubota being replaced and a grasshopper that is on a biyearly rotation and a couple of trailers that are used to deliver equipment around town. Mr. Slater said he is still learning the process and next year he will have a better idea of asset inventory and replacement schedules. Ms. Hunter said she would also like to know the bonding projections and financing options for these after the Budget Committee reviews the CIP. TBS 2020-07-27 Pg. 4 9. Discuss Cayuga Lake Watershed Projects Mr. Howe explained that there are grant opportunities and he has been working with Mr. Goodman and Mr. Slater on identifying some possible projects to submit and asked Ms. Hunter to expound on that. Ms. Hunter explained that as part of the Waterfront Revitalization Project grant through the IO, we are gathering ideas for projects and creating a matrix to grade and prioritize the projects that will then be prepared for the municipalities to then submit. This year there are no grants, but the more ideas we have submitted the more we have ready and fully thought out and ready for funding applications as they become available. Ms. Hunter said that Mr. Goodman had a few ideas; one of them being the property behind Eddydale farms and another on the Babcock property. She added that she is working with staff and board members on developing projects with more ideas to be discussed at the August meeting. Mr. Goodman added that the County has put forth some funding opportunities to improve the water quality in the inlet area. The acreage we bought from the Eddy's has eroded and overflow happens frequently, and this might be a good project to put forth. There is also a group in Tompkins County now called Trees Up who are focused on planting more trees to combat greenhouse emissions. Mr. Howe said more information will be forthcoming, but he wanted to make sure the Board was comfortable with these being put forth as possibilities. 10. Discuss and consider Gateway Trail Funding Mr. Howe noted that this is the increase in the Town's portion by $57k to meet the shortfall in the proposed changes to the project to address concerns. Ms. Ritter added that this is an estimate but allows us to submit to the DOT and once we get their approval, we can go out to bid and get an accurate amount and come back to the Town Board for final approval of any additional funds. Mr. DePaolo asked if the Town is responsible for all monetary overruns then and Ms. Ritter responded that there is a set amount from the State and Federal and we cannot go back and ask for more if the bid(s) come in over. TB Resolution 2020 - 100: Increase in Town contribution for construction for the Gateway Trail proiect (PIN 375452) Whereas, due to difficulties obtaining permission for an easement from Home Depot for the trailhead connection into their parking lot, an alternative plan has been proposed to end the TBS 2020-07-27 Pg. 5 Gateway Trail approximately 700 feet further to a point where it will meet the future Black Diamond Trail, which will require additional funding for construction; and Whereas, the current engineering estimate provided by Fisher Associates for the construction portion of the entire project is $392,986; and Whereas, NYS Department of Transportation has identified a shortfall of approximately $57,000 from the original project budget; and Whereas, the Town of Ithaca is responsible for the additional $57,000 as part of the local contribution for construction; now therefore be it Resolved, that the Town Board approves an additional $57,000 for the construction portion of the Gateway Trail project, to be allocated from A7110.526 (Gateway Trail). Moved: Rich DePaolo Seconded: Eric Levine Vote: ayes — Hunter, Levine, Leary, Howe, Goodman, Bleiwas and DePaolo 11. Discuss and consider adoption of Return to Work after Travel policy Mr. Howe explained that the Personnel Committee discussed this and there were some changes sent after that discussion with the addition of "voluntary" and "The Town Supervisor has the discretion to allow the return to work in person sooner than 14 days upon consideration of the circumstances of the individuals travel, provided that the individual is tested after their return to NYS and the test result is negative." Mr. Howe explained that this is coming up because we know of employees that are planning travel and this is a hybrid between the Governor's Executive order and what the County is saying. We wanted a policy that relates to our own employees. Mr. DePaolo said he had two questions; what is "voluntary" and what isn't and also, strictly speaking, the virus doesn't care whether travel is voluntary or not so whether you are traveling compulsory or voluntary would seem the same precautions should be taken either ways, so, first of all, what constitutes the two. Mr. Howe said we are not going to require anyone to go to any of these states and that is why we ended up focusing on someone choosing to go on vacation or not. We didn't even think about compulsory. Mr. DePaolo said there are circumstances that come up in people's lives that more or less make travel mandatory. He said suppose there is a death in the family, I wouldn't consider that voluntary travel. That is something you kind of have to go to. He said he didn't know if we need the word "voluntary" because there is no indication that it applies only to what the Town is or isn't requiring somebody to do but is more a general term that is being applied. He added that TBS 2020-07-27 Pg. 6 it wouldn't change his comfort level knowing that somebody's travel was mandatory vs voluntary; I just want to know where they were and whether they are healthy. Mr. DePaolo also questioned the requirement about a person not having a fever and are people going to be responsible for monitoring their own temperature or are we going to do them? Ms. Drake responded that we have self-monitoring and have thermometers available at every location now and this would be the same. Mr. DePaolo asked if there has been compliance with that or have people been out of state and not informed you. How do we know? Ms. Drake said she thinks our employees know that we have been giving and supportive enough so that if something came up, she thinks that they would be honest. TB Resolution 2020 - 101: Approval of Return to Work Following Out of State Travel - Due to COVID -19 Policy Whereas, the State of New York has successfully slowed the transmission of COVID-19 but many risks remain; and Whereas, the State of New York has gone from having the highest infection rate to one of the lowest in the country and is actively taking measures to contain the continued spread of COVID- 19; and Whereas, certain other states are experiencing an increased spread of COVID-19; and Whereas, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo issued Executive Order No. 205 on June 24, 2020 directing the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health ("Commissioner") to issue a travel advisory stating, in relevant part, that all travelers entering New York from a state with a positive test rate for COVID-19 higher than 10 per 100,000 residents, or higher than a 10% test positivity rate, over a seven day rolling average, will be required to quarantine for a period of 14 calendar days consistent with Department of Health regulations for quarantine (the "Quarantine Order"); and Whereas, it is anticipated that during the pendency of the Quarantine Order, Town employees may elect to voluntarily travel to a state that is included in said order for reasons unrelated to his or her employment with the Town and thereafter return to New York; and Whereas, the Quarantine Order authorizes the Commissioner to issue additional protocols for essential workers, or for other extraordinary circumstances, when a quarantine is not possible, provided such measures continue to safeguard the public health; and TBS 2020-07-27 Pg. 7 Whereas, notwithstanding the foregoing, it is the opinion of the Town Board that whether or not an employee is "essential" cannot outweigh the need to protect those employees who have not traveled to a state that is subject to the Quarantine Order from the heightened risk of infection; and Whereas, the Town Board must balance the health and safety concerns of all Town employees with the rights of those employees who elect to travel to states subject to the Quarantine Order; now, therefore, be it Resolved, the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby establishes the following policy with respect to non -work related voluntary travel to a state listed on the Quarantine Order by all Town employees and officials: 1. Any Town employee or official who voluntarily travels to a state listed on the New York State Department of Health website as being subject to Governor Cuomo's Quarantine Order No. 205 must self-report to their supervisor of such travel and, shall not be permitted to return to work in person at Town premises or other assigned job locations until fourteen (14) calendar days after the employee or official returns to the State of New York and self - quarantines. The Town Supervisor has the discretion to allow a return to work in person sooner than 14 days upon consideration of the circumstances of the individual's travel, provided that the individual is tested for COVID-19 after their return to New York State and the test result is negative. 2. If, upon returning to New York from a Quarantine Order state, the employee or official is able to work remotely, as determined in the discretion of his or her Department Head, said employee or official will be paid for the number of hours worked during each business day that said employee is required to self -quarantine. 3. If the employee or official is unable to work remotely during the required fourteen 14 calendar day self -quarantine period, said employee or official will not be paid any wages by the Town, but an employee may elect to utilize all available accrued paid leave time to continue receiving a paycheck during said period. 4. The employee or official must be asymptomatic with no fever and provide a negative test result, upon return to work following the self -quarantine period. 5. This policy shall remain in effect for the duration of Executive Order No. 205 issued by Governor Cuomo. Moved: Pamela Bleiwas Seconded: Eric Levine Vote: ayes — Bleiwas, Levine, Leary, Hunter, Howe, DePaolo, and Goodman TBS 2020-07-27 Pg. 8 Added Item: Mr. Howe noted that this came from concerns discussed previously about the park and the meeting with the Sailing Center and the Sheriff's. The suggestion was that we work with the State DOT to request "no parking signs" on East Shore Drive in that area. Mr. Slater noted that the DOT suggested a slight change from the map distributed because the guiderail is tight in one area and signs are not needed so it would be essentially from the Cayuga Heights Treatment Plant to 1022 East Shore Dr. Ms. Rosa added that she drafted the resolution using examples of previous no parking request resolutions which she then sent to Mr. Buck at DOT and he called and made adjustments to the map and said the Safety Division would give an opinion on the request. The Board can determine here which one they prefer; seasonal, hours or full 24/7/365 and they will then review it and give an opinion and possible authorization for the signs. Discussion followed on the options listed and Mr. Slater said he is in favor of full no parking. There was some discussion about moving the problem of parking down the road, but the park does close basically at sunset and the demand after hours is not really the issue or problem. The Board decided that full No Parking signs with no time of day or seasonal delineation is the preference to request from the State. TB Resolution 2020 - 102: Recommendation to the New York State Department of Transportation concerning installation of No Parking signs on a portion of East Shore Dr/Rte. 34 Whereas, the Town of Ithaca is concerned about the proliferation of cars parked on the side of the road along East Shore Dr./Rte. 34 near the Merrill Family Sailing Center and the adjacent small Town Park in the summer months, and Whereas the Town has installed numerous signs indicating that swimming is not allowed at the park; these signs are routinely defaced and/or removed by the public, and Whereas the Town Board can empathize with the public's desire to access the waterfront, nevertheless, NYS prohibits swimming in areas not served by a lifeguard, among other requirements, and Whereas the public continues to flock to the Town Park, parking on both sides of the road for quite a long stretch, and causing concerns regarding safety issues while walking to the park, and Whereas the Town has discussed these concerns at various Public Works Committees and Town Board meetings, met onsite with the Tompkins County Sheriff and representatives of the Sailing Center and tried various ways of addressing the issue, now, therefore, be it TBS 2020-07-27 Pg. 9 Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby recommends to the New York State Department of Transportation that they prohibit parking on both sides of road between 951 and 1062 East Shore Drive (Route 34), and post signs indicating same. Moved: Bill Goodman Seconded: Eric Levine Vote: ayes — Goodman, Levine, Howe, Leary, Hunter, DePaolo and Bleiwas 12. Committee Reports a. P&O — Ms. Bleiwas reported that they discussed the Travel policy as discussed and also discussed a one-time change to the vacation buy-back policy increasing it to 80 hours due to some people that may not have the ability to use vacation time; also looking at a remote work policy recognizing that there are times when it may be helpful and/or necessary; reviewing longevity policy and possible changes. Upcoming items are the review of the Emergency Management Plan and discussing establishing a Flag Policy and reviewing the Post Office lease. b. COC — Mr. Goodman reported that the two big items have been the telecommunications law revisions which has kind of been consumed by the 5G issue. He added that they did not meet last month to wait for the community forum and the 91h Court decision about a lawsuit brought by some municipalities about it. So we are in a holding pattern. Mr. Goodman said the other item is the changes in the Code regarding building code inspections and permit issues and bringing our Code into conformance with the State Code. Those should be finished in August and then on to the full Board. c. Planning — Mr. DePaolo reported that they discussed issues with setbacks for attached and detached ADU's and approved the suggested changes which will come to the Board; also talked about EcoVillage that would like to build a scaled down camping/glamping facility that is currently not allowed in their PDZ. Questions on lighting and whether it is for EcoVillage or open to the public and we will get those answers and continue discussing that; talked about the idea of allowing food trucks on Town properties under certain conditions, but that was preliminary in nature; also discussed changes that might be needed regarding swimming pools and the required fences. d. Public Works — Ms. Hunter reported that the Board has talked about most of what the committee discussed but they also looked at the request for a speed hump on Pennsylvania Ave and Ms. Rosa added that we have not received a petition on that yet although we did respond to the original person that that would be needed. She added that after we received a second letter asking for the speed humps, she did a compilation of owners and number of residences on the road for informational purposes on how many would be affected. Also talked about the Welsh house and waiting on demolition costs and she added that she talked about access to swimming which she thinks warrants a conversation. TBS 2020-07-27 Pg. 10 e. Budget — Mr. Levine said that department budgets are due the end of the month and will be discussed at the next meeting. Mr. Solvig said they have received the budget worksheets and he and Ms. Shaw are working on them and the tax cap calculations. He added that we also received a call today that the State will be auditing the Courts this year. The audit will be done remotely. f. Ad Hoc Committees Ag Committee — meeting tomorrow night Short Term Rental — meeting tomorrow at 4p.m. focusing on what we want to do around contracting with the company about tracking and additional data or enforcement beyond what the City/County are thinking. Parks Recreation and Trails — took a tour and just gathering information Economic Development — nothing to report on at this point Green New Deal Town Team — meeting monthly and looking at a spreadsheet of a lot of different initiatives that have come from past reports. Identifying a number of things we could potentially look at such as a Green Fleet policy, Rentricity, and more. We did tour Town Hall with representatives from Taitum and we might do another evaluation that wouldn't cost us anything. Bicentennial — we want everyone to get involved and there will be a number of ways to become involved g. Other — Mr. Howe reported that he and Ms. Shaw had a conference call with State reps about COVID reimbursements, but the threshold is $3,300 and we will see if we meet that. Mr. Howe noted that we are experimenting with meetings via YouTube and he asked whether the board would like that for both meetings of the board or just for the regular meeting. Discussion followed and although all meetings and committee meetings are public meetings, historically the Study Session has been more informal. The board was in favor of doing YouTube as much as possible and Mr. Howe noted that we are still working out kinks and we need the large screen so more to come on this. Mr. Howe noted that Cornell and their student reps have offered to come to a meeting and answer questions from the board. Discussion followed and the board decided to accept the invitation and schedule an appearance. Mr. Slater reported that Mr. O'Shea has reached out to our HVAC system company about increasing the filter system. COVID seems to say a minimum MERV 13 and greater and TBS 2020-07-27 Pg. 11 ours are 10. The issue is that in order to increase the rating, duct work might need an upgrade. More to come. Mr. Moseley reported that the Codes Department is working with Laserfische and posting some digital applications and we set up a computer station at Town Hall and can assist anyone who needs it. Mr. Moseley also reported that in the course of looking at programs to track short term rentals, he met with Municity to look at their product at which point they indicated that our current system will no longer be supported in 2022. What that means is that if Microsoft does an update to the system, it may not work for us which impacts everyone. He has been meeting with vendors with Ms. Carrier-Titti and Mr. Little and the new system will have to interface with Laserfische. He added that he has put $98k in next year's budget but that is an estimate. Some companies are putting together proposals and trials of working with Laserfische and he has been calling other municipalities about their experiences with different platforms. The good side of the issue is they will be cloud based and no backups will be needed like happens now and once there are a few narrowed down, they will schedule a meeting with the management team as a next step. 13. Consent Agenda TB Resolution 2020 - 103: Adopt Consent Agenda Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approves and/or adopts the following Consent Agenda items: a. Approval of Town Board Minutes b. Approval of Town of Ithaca Abstract Moved: Rich DePaolo Seconded: Tee -Ann Hunter Vote: ayes — DePaolo, Hunter, Howe, Goodman, Bleiwas, Levine and Leary TB Resolution 2020 - 103a: Approval of Minutes Resolved, that the Town Board hereby approves the draft minutes of July 13, 2020 as submitted with non -substantial corrections suggested and approved by the Board made. TB Resolution 2020 - 103b: Town of Ithaca Abstract No. 14 for FY -2020 Whereas the following numbered vouchers have been presented to the Ithaca Town Board for approval of payment and audited by said Board, now therefore be it Resolved that the governing Town Board hereby authorizes the payment of said vouchers in total for the amounts indicated. TBS 2020-07-27 Pg. 12 VOUCHER NOS. 748-823 General Fund Town Wide 46,296,55 General Fund Part -Town 3,899.89 Highway Fund Town Wide DA 61123 Highway Fund Part Town DB 89,604.62 NA'ater Fund 330,329.99 Sewer Fund 9,507.70 State Route 96b Sidewalk — H7 20,546:99 PWFRenovations Pro 6,8 94.09 .ect—H22 Risk Retention Fund 1,335.00 Fire Protection Fund 283,868.93, Forest Home Lighting District 145,16 Glenside Lighting District 63,42 Renwick Heights Lighting District 72.58 Eastwood Commons Lighting District 162.66 Clover Lane Lighting District 18,61 Winner's Circle Lighting District 65,75 Burleigh Drive Lighting District 63.10 West Haven Road Lighting District 185.16 Coddington Road Lighting District 1 10.74 TOTAL 793,783.17 14. Review of Correspondence Ms. Rosa noted that The Backlot has submitted a request for a 30 -day waiver on the waiting Z-1 period for a liquor license and an increase in the number of temporary liquor licenses above the minimum. She needs the Board to cornment in favor or not. The Backlot is run by Serendipity Catering at 950 Danby Rd where they are planning on doing outdoor movies and tile social distancing is done by large 8' foot hula hoops. The Board was fine with both requests. Adjourn Meeting was adjourned upon motion and a second at 6:30 p.ni. Submitted by Paulette Rosa. Town Clerk TBS 2020-07-27 N. 13