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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPWC Minutes 1997-01-23 DISPOSITION DATE . *4( Town of Ithaca Public Works Committee Meeting January 23, 1997, 8:00 a.m. Town of Ithaca Highway Facility 1. Approval of Minutes (December 1996) David 2. Discussion on Parks and Trails Fred a. Iacovelli Park Construction b. Chase Lane Sidewalk District c. Chase Trail d. Dog Parks 3. Discussion of Equipment Replacements Fred 4. Discussion of Water and Sewer Repair Work Dan & Fred 5. Discussion of Northeast Drainage Dan 6. Tour of Annex Building (Highway Facility) Fred ghk pc: Mary Bryant, Administrative Secretary Joan Lent Noteboom, Town Clerk Andrew Frost, Director of Zoning/Building Jonathan Kanter, Director of Planning Enc: Attachment to Public Works Committee Agenda 2a. Iacovelli Park Construction This parcel is broken into eight parcels. The first request would be to make it one parcel on the tax maps. This would give a clearer picture of the Park. We will be meeting with David Bowisby to see if we can work out an easement agreement with him from the end of Pennsylvania Avenue to the park. This will service two purposes. One would be access to the park site without putting our vehicles on South Hill Trail. The other purpose would be to provide a more convenient turnaround for our plow truck. 2b. Chase Lane Sidewalk The Highway Department has been told originally that this walkway was to be the neighborhood's responsibility and would be maintained by them. It is now our understanding that this wasn't the case and that the Town is supposed to take care of the walkway. We have talked to Mark Spiro (longtime neighborhood resident) who believes a usable walkway would be appreciated, even if we had to develop a sidewalk district to fund it. We will be contacting John Sig to see if a neighborhood association meeting is scheduled at which time this issue could be discussed. The type of surface would have to be decided upon, either the original stone dirt or improved to a six foot wide blacktop sidewalk such as we are accustomed to building elsewhere in Town. 2c. Chase Trail/Hospice Trail The Highway Department would like to begin construction of this trail this year. Certain alignment issues have to be decided such as the Town's purchase of a part of the vacant building lot on Marcy Court from Mr. Boris Simpkin who purchased the land from Ed Hallburg. Also,the former model home on Saunders Road is now occupied and the owners have encroached on the Town's trail property so we need to establish our presence there. Some additional drainage issues along Whitetail Drive could possibly be addressed in the design of our trail which will also serve as an access to our sewer line in the vicinity. 2d. Dog Parks. Dog Waste/Park and Trail Garbage Several related problems need to be discussed regarding maintenance of our parks and trails and the increased conflict between dogs and their owners and other users of the facilities. Enforcement of our dog leash law, creation of a dog waste/cleanup ordinance and the • enactment of a"carry in-carry out" garbage policy are being recommended by the Highway staff. We have had discussions with the City of Ithaca and State Parks staff regarding their experience with similar problems at their facilities. The gist of which seems to be a continuing battle with public attitude and whose responsibility it is to pick up after people using the public spaces we provide. Attachment to Public Works Committee Agenda Page 2 4. The Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission (Bolton Point) met on January 9, 1997. At that meeting they discussed the bids to contract out services for the repair of water main breaks. The low bidder was Cortland Paving. Cathy Valentino and Shirley Raffensperger were not present at that meeting, although Dan Walker was present and tried to persuade them that this contractor would probably not provide adequate services. The Town of Ithaca has had some experiences dealing with this contractor, and we have had a lot of problems getting them to do the work to our specifications. Our work team has reviewed and discussed this dilemma with Cathy. At this point in time, we feel that the Town of Ithaca Highway crews will have to be ready to respond to any water emergencies that occur within the Town of Ithaca. This led to discussions of staffing and equipment needs. We took a quick look at our manpower needs. The real critical time will be in the winter when most water breaks occur. We do not feel we need any additional people at this time: the two additional people we added in 1996 gave us some extra leeway with our labor force. We need three people to do an off-road water break (where most occur) and five people for an on-road water breaks. The two additional staff needed would be for traffic control. We need ten people to maintain the snow plow operation. We employ 18 people. Normally Gene,Fred, and Rich Schoch do not go out to plow unless there is an emergency. The need for more staff has not yet been fully assessed, though. We will continue to review this throughout 1997. The summer months allow us to shift our forces as needed to carry out whatever priorities we are working on--roads,parks, trails, water or sewer. We presently have the equipment to do this extra work, although an additional backhoe is one major piece of equipment that we feel we will need in the near future. During 1996, we started to see some additional equipment needs. When we started working on water and sewer projects we ended up renting a backhoe because we were using the Town's backhoe on other projects. We will need to replace our old air compressor. Some of the additional smaller pieces we can replace through our present budget process. ghk 1DDISPOSITION DATE PI N TOWN OF ITHACA Public Works Committee Meeting Minutes January 23, 1997 Present: David Klein, Chairperson; Fred Noteboom; Dan Walker; Ed Conley; Cathy Valentino; and Rich Schoch Guests: Jonathan Kanter and Gene Redman The meeting began at 8:05 a.m. The December minutes were approved as written. Discussion on Parks and Trails a. Iacovelli Park Construction. Fred indicated that there was little more, then what was attached to the agenda, to report on the Iacovelli Park construction. There was a discussion on making the parcel one tax parcel instead of eight. There is no action needed by the Town Board for this, the Town Supervisor needs to sign and send it to the County. There was a discussion on the acquisition of an easement from David Bowlsby. Mr. Bowlsby is willing to grant the Town an easement. The Town will have to have a boundary survey completed for the easement. The money for the survey will come from a B or DB fund account. After this survey is in hand, it will have to be reviewed by the Town Board. Currently, there is no construction slated. b. Chase Lane Sidewalk. Fred indicated that he has had discussions with John Sig and Mark Spiro (Chase Lane residents) regarding the sidewalk on Chase Lane. They both felt that a sidewalk district would be a good idea. Mr. Sig will present it to the neighborhood association. Rich Schoch indicated that there is a 70-foot right-of-way there but there is a question as to who will maintain the sidewalk. There is some confusion about this since Phase II of the project will not be completed. Jonathan Kanter reminded the Committee that there is a Town resident considering donating (to the Town) 10 to 15 acres of wet lands in that area. Ed Conley asked if the Town would be responsible for snow removal, and Rich said no. Cathy Valentino asked if this sidewalk would be connected to any other trail. Rich said it would be connected to the Chase Pond/Hospice trail. Ed then asked how a sidewalk district works. Dan Walker said it works much like a lighting district. Public Works Committee Minutes Page 2 There was a discussion regarding the difference between a foot path and a sidewalk and a trail for commuters versus recreational purposes. There was also a discussion on the surface to be used on this sidewalk. Ed indicated that the neighborhood was reluctant to have paved paths because of the use of skates, skate boards, etc. Jonathan indicated that this sidewalk is part of the Parks and Open Space Plan. There was some discussion on the current maintenance of trails throughout Town and the equipment used. We use snow blowers, hand shovels, plows, and salt. Some trails are considered recreational so they are not plowed or salted. Cathy then asked if there was a distinction between a recreational trail and a walking trail. The availability of linking a walkway into Ithaca College was discussed. It was felt that Ithaca College would not be likely to participate because of liability issues. The discussion revolved back to the Chase Lane sidewalk. David Klein read the Planning Board resolution dated October 18, 1988, regarding the sidewalk, and it was decided that some research was needed to see if the original acceptance conditions were met. We will also have to check the deed restrictions. This discussion will continue at the next meeting. c. Chase Trail/Hospice Trail. Fred indicated before this project can be started, we need to look at some drainage issues. There is no place for the water to go down Whitetail Drive and some residents feel water is draining from Ridgecrest Road to this development. David Klein asked if the developer will help alleviate some of yhe drainage problems. Fred said probably, but he would not put up any money for it. Fred also indicated that when this trail is built, the drainage will be reviewed and revised. Again, Ed indicated that the neighborhood is concerned about the surface on this trail. Fred indicated that we are looking into a wood chip surface for part of the trail. David asked about the encroachment on Saunders Road part of the trail. Rich indicated that it is only a wood pile, etc., but that we need to establish our presence and boundaries. Rich did indicate that the trail will be about 30 feet from the house's deck. Cathy indicated that the Planning, Engineering and Highway Departments will have to work together to get this project moving along. Planning has to plan the trail, gets land rights, and complete a draft layout, and Engineering will have to approve the layout, so that the Highway Department can start building the trail this summer. This trail is part of the Town's 1997 work plan. • Public Works Committee Minutes Page 3 The trail plan will have to be presented to the Planning Board and the Town Board. An update on the progress will be presented at the next Public Works Committee Meeting. d. Dog Parks. Rich handed out a memo to each member of the Committee, which outlined some of the problems the Town is facing with regards the dogs in parks and on trails. There are Town laws regarding leashing and cleaning up after dogs, but no effective way to enforce these laws. Cathy suggested calling the SPCA regarding enforcement. She also suggested putting an article in the newsletter regarding the laws and what is expected of the residents with dogs. Rich indicated that we are putting display maps on the South Hill Trail which will display a map of the trail. There is room for other messages, and we will put the laws on this board. There will be more discussion on this at the next meeting. Discussion of Equipment Replacements Fred supplied the Committee with a list of equipment replacements and purchase for 1997. Fred informed the Committee that there was enough money budgeted in 1997 for all of the purchase, which includes the sale of equipment at an auction in September. It was discussed that most of the purchases will be from the State Bid. David asked about the Badger settlement. Fred said that it was approved at the January Town Board Meeting, and that we will be trading in the 1996 Badger for a 1997 Badger and paying $8,500 from the Capital Reserve. The purchases indicated on the hand out were approved by the Public Works Committee. Discussion of Water and Sewer Repair Work Attached to the agenda was notation regarding Bolton Point's choice of a private contractor to make repairs to broken water mains. The Town of Ithaca has had several bad experiences with this vendor due to the quality of their work and is not pleased to work with them. David asked if the Town has to use this vendor, and Dan said no, that we do have other resources. At the present time, the Town forces are a backup for Bolton Point. Cathy indicated that although staff and equipment needs have to be further assessed, we will be monitoring the costs to the Town. There was concern about adding staff because of the work load. It was felt that we should try to do the work using existing forces until we decide how to best utilize additional staff. David asked about the specifications for the water main breaks and if the contract had been signed yet. The contract was signed. David asked if we should be doing our own emergency repair work and bidding out other work. Cathy feels that we are moving towards being the first responders to water breaks. There are still some assessments that,need to be made. • Public Works Committee Minutes Page 4 It was indicated that the sewer breaks or backups are not always as time consuming or destructive. We are still looking into the allocations of crews and equipment. Fred reminded the Committee that this summer we rented a backhoe because the need existed for more excavation equipment. Cathy felt that we need to assess work skills more closely when hiring staff. David asked if the work crews continue to work, after being called in early, until their normal work day is done. Fred said yes. Dan indicated that, at present, Bolton Point assesses the emergency and then call the Town if need be. Discussion of Northeast Drainage Dan said that we will be setting up a meeting time for a public discussion on the drainage in the Northeast for either February 25 or 26 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Dan will confirm the time as soon as possible. It will be at the DeWitt Middle School. It was decided that an ad in the newspaper should be taken out along with putting it on the radio. We have put together a list of residents in the Northeast to contact about this meeting also. Cathy will talk to the Mayor of Cayuga Heights and Dan will talk to Brent Cross, Engineer for Cayuga Heights. The meeting adjourned to a tour of the Highway annex facility at 9:55 a.m. ghk