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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPWC Minutes 2000-02-01 DIS .,_ C. o. ( )i. iy,./ l'''% Vail-if TOWN OF ITHACA i• � `�= HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT ''Ye 106 SEVEN MILE DRIVE, ITHACA. N.Y. 14850 PHONE(607)273-1656 Roads,Parks,Trails,Sewer, and Water FAX (607) 272-6076 Town of Ithaca Public Works Committee Meeting February 1, 2000, at 8:00 a.m. Town of Ithaca Highway Facility 1. Approval of Minutes. 2. Discuss the Safety Committee's Proposed Policy on Safety Toed Shoes. 3. Discuss the Town's Sidewalk Ordinance and the Sidewalks in the Town. 4. Update the Renwick Drive Bridge. 5. Review Plans for the Wycoff Road Water Project. 6. Discuss the Town's Property at the Pine Tree Water Tank. ghk pc: Mary Bryant, Sr. Typist Joan Lent Noteboom,Town Clerk Andrew Frost, Director of Zoning/Building Jonathan Kanter, Director of Planning DISPOSITION DA'E FINAL TOWN OF ITHACA Public Works Committee February 3, 2000 Highway Facility Present: David Klein; Chairperson, Cathy Valentino,Fred Noteboom, Dan Walker, Rich Schoch Guest: Judy Drake The meeting began at 8:10 a.m. There was a brief discussion regarding Renwick Drive Bridge. The people wanted more open space on the bridge parapet. Fred Noteboom said that he has been in touch with John Lampman. John felt that the cost to change the bridge appearance would cost more than the $16,000 change in the abutment design. Fred also expressed his concern about the high cost of the inspection fees. This project has not been bid out yet. Fred said that NYSEG plans to put in gas lines in the area. According to the plans, it looks as if the line will go right where the water line is. We will discuss this with NYSEG more. Safety-Toed Shoes Judy Drake explained that the Safety Committee has developed a policy for the Town of Ithaca employees to go by. The Town will require Highway workers, and some Town Hall workers, to wear safety-toed shoes. The Town would reimburse each Highway employee $100 a year towards the purchase of safety-toed shoes and the Town Hall employees$100 every other year towards the purchase of safety-toed shoes. The Personnel Committee is not happy with the policy. One of the Personnel Committee members cited that not all jobs warrant the need for safety-toed shoes. Fred expressed his concerns about"policing" which jobs need safety-toed shoes and which do not. This policy will go back to the Safety Committee. The Public Works Committee would like the policy to mandate the use of safety-toed shoes. The Public Works Committee suggested that the Town pays for the shoes—not just give the employees the money. It was decided that from the accounting aspect, it would be easier to give the employee$100 at a certain time of each year. Cathy Valentino felt that the Town should get the receipts from the employees' purchases so Public Works Committee Minutes Page 2 that we can monitor the costs of safety-toed shoes, along with verifying that they were purchased. There was a discussion regarding the type of shoe that would be needed. There would be no requirement on the style. The only requirement would be that it says OSHA approved. The Public Works Committee would like this added to the written policy. The Committee discussed that the Planning Department employees did not need to be included in this policy. Judy will take the Planning Department out of the policy. There was a discussion regarding if an employee had a problem wearing safety-toed shoe, how would the Town handle it. It was decided that the Town Board would have to review it case by case. Sidewalk Ordinance There was a general discussion regarding who would be responsible for replacement costs of sidewalks throughout the Town. The ordinance, as written, says that the Town Board will decide if the Town would pay for sidewalk repairs. There was a discussion regarding the difference between a walkway and a sidewalk. We believe that the difference is that a walkway is made of asphalt or oil and stone and the Town maintains them. A sidewalk is made of concrete and the Town does not maintain them. There was a discussion regarding the maintenance of the Winthrop Drive walkways. We may want to look into contracting this work out. At present, the school takes care of this, and they are not maintained while school is not in session. However, the Town is under more pressure to keep walkways open during winter weather. The Town should get a written agreement with the school to continue maintaining the Winthrop Drive walkways. It was decided that we should review and rewrite the sidewalk ordnance and the walkway ordnance to make them more consistent. This issue has been raised because of the Town's plan to reconstruct Renwick Heights Road and there is a sidewalk on it. The sidewalk section from Renwick Drive to East Shore Drive should continue to be maintained,but it is felt that we do not need the upper portion of that sidewalk. It appears there is little, if any, usage of this section. The Town Highway Department solicited comments from the Renwick Heights residents regarding the sidewalk. There was a mixed reaction to the sidewalk being kept and who should pay for it. A 5-foot wide sidewalk (about 1,200 feet) would cost approximately $18,000 to build. The Highway Department has scheduled a meeting Public Works Committee Minutes Page 3 on February 29, 2000,with the residents regarding the road construction (including the sidewalk) on Renwick Heights Road. This lead to a discussion of the poor parking arrangement on the road and that possibly the Town would like to look into putting larger shoulders and no sidewalk. Cathy Valentino agreed that better shoulders,instead of a sidewalk, should be explored. This would allow for more parking and could still be used for pedestrians. Fred said that he would recommend a 20' asphalt lane with a 5' or 6' gravel shoulder. Wycoff Road Water Line Construction Dan Walker indicated that it would cost approximately $100,000 for the construction of 1,600 feet of water line. He said that the final plans will be finished soon, and will be presented to the Town Board in February. Dan indicated that he has"speced out" a brick building with a peaked roof for the meter building. It was decided that the Town should request the Village of Cayuga Height to pass a resolution regarding the work on Wycoff Road and the building to be built, since the building would be in the Village of Cayuga Heights. Property at Pine Tree Water Tank Fred informed the Committee that the Town does not own a piece of property (which we use) between Regency Lane and the Water Tank. The Baldwins own this land. Fred would like to have a formal right-of-way established during negotiations with the Baldwins regarding the Pew frail system. This would be part of that system. Town currently maintains this property. Need to put this on the March agenda. The Committee reviewed the Storm Water Drainage Projects that we will be working on in 2000. They are: Park Lane,Tareyton Drive,Simsbury Drive and the other side of Christopher Circle. E. King Road Fred has been investigating this property for some time now and has discovered that New York State did turn that section of E. King Road over to Tompkins County, but it was never turned over to the Town of Ithaca. Fred has informed the County that we will not fix anything on that section of road, unless it is the Town of Ithaca's. Update on the New Town Hall Need to put this on the agenda each time. Public Works Committee Minutes Page 4 Dan explained that there have been two change orders so far. The first one was for plumbing. We needed to have eight new valves, with a cost of$100 each. The other change was that the air handlers needed to be removed. This cost was for$2,800. It was decided that the Town Board should authorize Dan to be able to approve any changes that will not cost more than$5,000. Dan said that the plumbing and vents are almost completely done. The Post Office contractor will start on Monday (February 7, 2000) to remove the asbestos. Dan said that we had a pre-construction meeting on February 6, 2000, and will continue to meet every Wednesday for a job meeting. Dan has updated the master schedule. Cathy is hoping to occupy the building starting in mid-May. She said that the Town needs to decide on the furniture so it can be available when we are ready to move in. There was a discussion regarding the grand opening celebration: The state police have offered to provide us with a color guard for this. Miscellaneous Cathy asked if Fred had talked to the resident on Saranac Way regarding the agreement the Town Board has with them to fix their driveway. Fred said yes and that the letter states that we will match the texture but there will still be a seam. Cathy would like to have this on the next agenda to discuss a written policy on handling this type of problem in the future. Cathy received a letter from the Town of Dryden. Fred indicated that the Town of Ithaca would not be involved in this endeavor. Cathy also received a letter from a person regarding the speed limit on Route 13. The person indicated that there was no sign indicating a speed zone ahead. There is a sign there and this is also a State road. Fred will write a letter back to him about this. Cathy indicated that it would be nice to have a light on the ramp near Boynton Middle School. Meeting was adjourned at 9:50 a.m.