Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPWC Minutes 2010-03-04 14441 TOWN OF ITHACA Public Works Committee March 4,2010 Present: Rich DePaolo,Chair; Bill Goodman; Susan Riha;Jim Weber;Mike Smith; Rich Schoch;and Creig Hebdon Guests: Diane Conneman and Al Carvel The meeting began at 10:00 a.m. The minutes from the December 1, 2009, meeting were approved with a few changes (typos). Hanshaw Road Jim Weber informed the Committee that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been received by Tompkins County. The County is having a public meeting (on March 16th). Susan Riha was concerned that the people affected by the sidewalk extension will not know about the plans to extend the sidewalk. It was pointed out that in 2006 the Town Board approved construction of a sidewalk from the Village of Cayuga Heights line to Salem Drive and they would be willing to extend the sidewalk from Salem Drive to Sapsucker Woods Road. If the sidewalk was extended, it would fit into Cornell University's Transportation Plan. Rich DePaolo feels that the residents should know that the Town is thinking about extending the sidewalk. Phase I (Village of Cayuga Heights line to Salem Drive) has been committed to and the funding is available. The Town Board approved $30,000 for the design of the extension. Swallowwart and Ditching Maintenance Swallowwart: Diane Conneman,Conservation Board member, informed the Committee that on South Hill at our tank site off Teton Court there is a lot of Swallowwart. The Town Board has requested the Conservation Board to work on getting rid of the Swallowwart. Rich Schoch informed the Committee that swallowwart can be found numerous placed in Town: West Hill Preserve and East Ithaca Preserve to name a few. _.t 44 Is ' Public Works Committee Minutes,March 4,2010 Page 2 To get rid of the plant, it needs to be cut in the spring (May) and again in the summer (July) and spraying herbicide (like Roundup) on it. These plants have to be cut by hand as they are close to the fencing and the site would be difficult to mow outside of the fence. Diane said that some high school kids have expressed a willingness to cut them down. The students could cut them in the spring. The Town would have to cut them in July, then the herbicide can be applied. Rich Schoch informed the Committee that about 10 years ago the Town Board decided they did not want herbicides used on Town property. We had three people who were certified to use herbicides. We have since lapsed the certifications. The Committee talked about getting someone from Cornell University,who has the certification,to apply the herbicide. Rich S. informed the Committee that you have to give 48 hours notice to use herbicides in Tompkins County. This tends to be hard to do because you shouldn't put herbicides on plants when it is going to rain or if it is too windy. Rich S. said that the Public Works staff is extremely busy in the summer mowing, etc. We mow inside the fence at that tank site about twice a year. Diane said that the students could do the spring cutting with the supervision of the Conservation Board's members. Diane said that if we contact Cornell University, the person to talk to is Todd Bittner, Director of Natural Areas. The Committee felt that the Town Board needs to be more involved. The Town Board has had discussions regarding Swallowwart at the June 2009 meeting. Nothing was finalized though. We should ask them if they want to have an employee certified to use herbicides. Rich S. asked Jim Weber to take it to the SAC meeting to go to a study session. Diane said that using volunteers can be helpful,but sometimes the time it takes to train volunteers is a problem and there can be significant turnover in volunteer groups. Ditching: Diane was concerned that with the new storm water management law that the Town was not complying when we clean out our ditches. The law says that ditches must be maintained with grass in them. It also says that grassy ditches will take precedence over culvert pipes. Jim explained that some people want culvert pipes instead of ditches,and there are some places where ditching is the right type of drainage and others where culvert pipes are best. Susan said that the value of the property is also an issue. It was pointed out that all the ditches that the Town cleans are hydroseeded. It is possible that the ditches that are not hydroseeded are cleaned by Tompkins County,as they have road within the Town that they maintain. The Town's J Public Works Committee Minutes,March 4,2010 Page 3 Public Works Department has owned and operated our own hydroseeder since the early 1990's. The Committee discussed that on Warren Road we did not have room in the right-of- way to put both a swale and the sidewalk,so the drainage is piping that will be under the walkway. We are putting in piping and drainage stone around it for additional drainage. Susan pointed out that Cornell University has a program that applies no piping. Jim explained that the criteria for deciding if an area should be ditched or piped include: The cost to maintain the area,the time it will take to maintain, the initial cost, and the run off of the ditch or pipe. The bottom line is time and money. He informed the Committee that ditches are designed by analysis of the type of slope and the flow of water;putting in a culvert pipe will increase the speed of the flow. When a subdivision is put in, the developer must know the flows that are coming into the subdivision and what is going out to decide which type of drainage is put in. Rich D. asked if there is any data on the cost of putting in a piped culvert versus open grassy ditches. Jim said that maintenance is about the same cost for pipes or ditches. One would have to factor in that different types of equipment are needed to clean open grassy ditches and piped culverts. Susan said she would contact Cornell University to see if they have any information on this. The Committee discussed that residents are able to mow their ditches and then we come in a clean out the ditch,making it so residents can no longer mow their ditch. Town Hall Roof Jim pointed out that there are a number of other problems with the building that will need to be addressed. The cinder blocks will need to be repointed,the parking lot needs to be repaved, etc. Jim said that the original study on the building indicated that there where problems that needed to be addressed and that it was a high maintenance building. It seems that the Town had only so much money and that was spent on as many of the items as possible. Jim indicated that there is no preventive maintenance plan. Jim explained that there are three different types of roofs on Town Hall. One is metal and should have been replaced when staff moved to this building. Jim said that all three roofs need to be replaced. Jim said that if you repair one,it affects the others. It is 4 v Public Works Committee Minutes,March 4,2010 Page 4 also not good to walk around on the roof as this will deteriorate the surfaces faster. Al Carvil talked about GASB45,where as the Town has to account for all infrastructures in the Town. Al said that we are supposed to have a reserve fund,but nothing has been set up. A reserve needs to be set up. A separate reserve should be set up for equipment. There has been no study regarding the Town Hall structure since 1998. Susan suggested that we put together a 10-year Capital Plan for all the buildings. She felt that the Town should make sure the major repairs were done to keep the building maintained. Some of the problem is that the study from 1998 said that replacing the whole roof would cost approximately$180,000—that figure is more like $300,000 today. Jim said that we need to have a design for a new roof done,even if we don't replace it now. The design should be done in a way that if the Town decided to put solar panels on at a later date,the roof would be ready for them. The panels would be for heat only. We have no money to replace the roof, so we would have to borrow the money. This Committee felt that this is an introduction to the Town's infrastructure needs. We will continue to talk about this. Summerhill Walkway Lighting Petition The Town received a petition in the fall to have lighting put along the walkway between East Hill Plaza and the senior living home. There are 11 signatures on the petition. The walkway that they want lights on is approximately 175 feet. Rich S. said that the walkway was deeded to the Town in the early 1980s. We do not maintain the walkway in the winter,Conifer Realty does as property manager at the senior housing. There are power poles in the area,but the Town would have to pay to get the electric to the walkway. If there is not a lighting district there, the Town would have to pay for the electricity. Jim said the cost to put in the lights would be approximately$5,000,and NYSEG only supports certain types of lighting. It was pointed out that the Town does have street lights at the intersections and that we do not have lights on any other trail/walkway. The Committee discussed putting in pedestrian lighting, which is smaller. They could be placed 50 feet from each other. Rich pointed out that the light poles would have to be high enough for a plow to fit under them. I Public Works Committee Minutes,March 4,2010 Page 5 Mike Smith reminded the Committee that the Town has a local law regarding lighting. It was suggested that we talk to Conifer Realty to see if they want to put lighting along the walkway at their expense. Some Committee members would like to see the area at night as there is some light coming from the existing East Hill Plaza parking lot light poles. The Committee discussed the fact that the walkway is not getting plowed until we contact Conifer Realty. This is because they have new staff. We have had to contact them several times this winter. Susan felt that since we don't have lighting on any other walkways,the Town should not put it on this walkway. The Committee agreed. We will let Herb,Town Supervisor, know what this Committee wants. Public Works Shed Jim explained that the Public Works Department purchased a new lift for the mechanic's shop. There is no room in the shop now. We have designed a mobile shed and will have to take the design to the Building Department. There have been some questions regarding the anchors needed. We have applied for a building permit. Northeast Drainage Jim noted that the Town needs to starting thinking about all areas in the Town as there are becoming more and more drainage issues in other areas of the Town. Susan said the older section of the Northeast was not built with new development in mind. The new Brairwood,Phase I was allowed to drain into the older area causing problems. Creig said that both the older section of the Northeast and Briarwood, Phase I were reviewed and passed using the standards at the time. Susan has concerned about the driveway pipes, as there was no good answer as to what size of pipe to put under the driveways. Creig said that the Town will replace the pipes if the home owner supplies the pipe. Each driveway is looked at so the appropriate size pipe is put in. Creig Hebdon said that when Briarwood,Phase I was approved, the drainage system was approved like the Salem Drive area drainage. There was also no thought as to the flow rate at that time. Jim pointed out that if the Town tries to get the developer to address the problems in Phase I along with Phase II building,the developer won't be able to do that. Public Works Committee Minutes,March 4,2010 Page 6 There was a discussion on how changes to the drainage system will impact the County's pipes on Hanshaw Road. When Briarwood, Phase I was developed, the residents wanted closed ditches. We now know that may not have been the best drainage system. Loader Replacement Jim informed the Committee that we have a loader that was bought in 1993 and has 11,000 hours on it. This loader should have been replaced two years ago. The transmission has broken. It would cost approximately$36,000 to have it repaired and approximately$8,000 to $10,000 for rental during the repair period. This would mean we would spend between$75,000 and $100,000 to repair the loader. We would only get about another year out of it due to the amount of hours on it. Jim explained that we can get a smaller loader (that will still fit our needs) for approximately$150,000. Al indicated that there is some money that can be used for the purchase. Rich D. asked if this will impact the 2010 budget. Al said that in that account,we did not spend all of last year's money and the highway tax will help. It should not impact the budget. Jim indicated that he will be working with Al to set up a reserve fund for equipment. This purchase would have to go before the Town Board. The Committee moved to have the purchase sent to the Budget Committee before going to the Town Board. Jim said, as a side note, that during the last major storm we had eight vehicles break down;two of which were broken transmissions. The loader transmission broke before the last storm. Public Works Capital Projects Plan Jim explained that the Public Works staff has been working on revising our 10-year capital projects plan. We would like to move ahead with the projects planned for 2010. They are: Remington Road PRV;Forest Home Traffic Calming,Phase I;Ridgecrest Water Tank; and Hungerford Hill Pump Station and Water Line. We need the pump station at Hungerford Hill Road because the capacity of the Pine Tree Road tank is only 5 feet. Public Works Committee Minutes,March 4,2010 Page 7 The cost for the Forest Home Traffic Calming is$414,000. The majority of that will come from 1'IPS. We will have to pay for it first and then be reimbursed. Cornell University will be contributing$58,000 and the Town of Ithaca will be contributing $64,000. The remaining$292,000 would come from TIPS. Al explained that the Town will have to get a bond anticipation note for temporary borrowing. Al said that we need to have a public hearing regarding the note,but a referendum is not needed. Al explained that,presently,the Town has good credit so we can get a low interest rate for bonding. The Committee asked if the money for the Remington Road pump station is a part of the capital project East Shore Drive Water Main. The money is accounted for in that project. Ulysses Pump Station Jim said that we will be meeting with the Town of Ulysses Town Board on Friday. There is an agreement in place, although there has been some mistrust. The Town of Ulysses has not been paying all their bills. We need to make the Town of Ulysses believe our figures or change the agreement. The pump station changes would cost approximately$120,000. The Town of Ulysses has short paid their invoice by a total of about$45,000. Herb may present options for this issue to the Town Board. Forest Home Traffic Calming Susan suggested that the people who drive through Forest Home should be notified of the work that is going to be done. Jim said that we are moving along with Phase I and that we had a meeting with the community to make sure we are in agreement. Questions relative to Phase II scope and timing will need additional discussion. The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m.