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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPWC Minutes 1996-02-22 DISPOSITION DATE CO A/ d4;e Town of Ithaca Public Works Committee Meeting February 22 , 1996, 8 : 00 a.m. Town of Ithaca Highway/Parks Facility • 1 . Approval of Minutes David 2 . Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Update Fred 3 . Discussion of Judd Falls Road Closure Fred 4 . Discussion of Community Services Fred 5 . Discussion of Highway/Parks Work Plan Fred/Rich 6 . Forest Home Bridge Update Fred/Dan ghk pc : Mary Bryant, Administrative Secretary Joan Lent Noteboom, Town Clerk Jon Kanter, Director of Planning Andrew Frost, Director of Building and Zoning (DISPOSITION DATE TOWN OF ITHACA CA Public Works Committee Meeting Minutes February 22 , 1996 Present : David Klein, Chairperson; Dan Walker; Cathy Valentino; Rich Schoch; and Fred Noteboom Guest : Jonathan Kanter and Mary Russell The meeting began at 8 : 00 a.m. There was a discussion regarding the upcoming newsletter and its contents . Basically it will discuss the new Town Hall . It was discussed that the Town should think about putting out a newsletter quarterly instead of semi-annually. The minutes from January 25, 1996, were approved as written. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Update Fred Noteboom informed the Committee that on Friday, February 16 , 1996, representatives from FEMA and SEMO came to look at damages to the Town roads, etc . They will be back today at 10 : 00 a.m. to discuss further, Sand Bank Road. Fred said that it looks like there will not be as much monetary help as we had expected. He explained the breakdown as such: Federal funds equal 75 percent, State funds equal 12 . 5 percent and the local match is 12 . 5 percent . When figuring the costs, their rates for equipment, labor, etc . are different from our actual costs . Fred also discussed with the Committee that Gail Kroll is working extra time to prepare all the records that need to be submitted. Fred said we will have to do a budget transfer into the personal account to cover these expenses . He would also like to know what the Highway fund balance is . Fred explained that the areas that have been "targeted" so far for reimbursement are : Hackberry/Coy Glen area, 112 West Haven Road, Sharlene Drive and Park Lane, and Sand Bank. We can also submit records for the town-wide clean up efforts . There are other areas and the inspections are not finished yet . David Klein asked how the program works . Fred said at this point, they do a survey of damage and then figure out the costs to repair. Cathy Valentino was concerned that we do not know the amount of reimbursement . Public Works Committee Minutes Page 2 Judd Falls Road Closure Jonathan Kanter said that there will be a meeting regarding this between Cornell and the Town of Ithaca on March 13, 1996 at 3 :00 p.m. in the Town Hall Board Room. He also indicated that he received an E-Mail from Ellen Harrison regarding the correspondence sent to Bill Wendt from the State . Cathy said that there may not be a problem closing this area, except she was concerned that Cornell University needed to continue their policy on the roads being open to the public. Fred indicated that the Town could trade Campus Road and Tower Road for closing Judd Falls Road. Dan said that we shouldn' t abandon that section of Judd Falls Road, which would make it a dead end, unless there is an assurance from Cornell that the road will remain open to the public. Fred supported this . Fred also indicated that the shoulders and guide rails are in poor shape. Dan said that if this portion of Judd Falls Road was closed, it would increase the traffic on the Upstream bridge. The discussion revolved into a discussion on the Northeast Connector, which has been tabled at the present time. There was a discussion regarding the traffic flow through Cornell University due to parking lots, etc . Jonathan indicated there are two key volume places in the northeast : Route 13 and from Lansing. David asked if Ellen Harrison and John Woolf are representing the Town at the March 11 meeting. Jonathan said yes . Cathy suggested Fred be at the meeting too. Community Services Fred explained that this is part of the services the Tompkins County Probation Department offers. Fred said that these services are free and the Town has no liabilities for the workers. Fred indicated that Les Goehner, Work Project Supervisor, would come and talk to the Board regarding their program. Fred will set this up. Cathy asked how the Town uses these services. Fred said that presently the workers shovel paths and bridges, have painted fire hydrants, put up delineators on the fire hydrants, etc. Mary Russell asked if the people who work for Community Services are from the local Jail. Some of the workers are, and some are not . David felt this was a good idea. He would like find out the amount of savings (to the Town) this makes . Fred said these services allow us to catch up on some of our smaller projects. Public Works Committee Minutes Page 3 Highway/Parks Work Plan Fred informed the Committee that we are not sure of what will be the Highway/Parks work plan. This is due to the flooding and pending funding from FEMA. David asked if the Highway/Parks Department had prioritized its work. Fred said yes, but we may have to revisit it . Fred indicated that some of the work at the Dewitt Pond will be funded through FEMA. David asked what work needed to be done there. Fred said we need to direct the water into the pond not bypassing it . This is a priority for this year. David asked what other projects are on the work plan. Rich Schoch said that we will be conforming to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for parks and trails and completing the annex/workshop. Cathy asked if we have good storage for the voting machines. Dan said no; he would like to see them stored in Town Hall. Mary asked if the Highway/Parks Work Plan included a study on the South Hill Trail safety. Rich said we needed to work on this. He also indicated that we will be putting another application of sand on the trail . Rich feels that the YCC can help this year, as they are scheduled to work for the Town this year. David asked when the plan will be complete, Fred said hopefully March 4, 1996, Board Meeting. Update on Forest Home Bridge Dan indicated that there were no changes since the last meeting. The plans have been submitted to the State. David asked when will the project be bid out . Dan said hopefully in March; awarded in May; and work started in June . Dan will discuss this further with John Lampman. Dan also discussed the work the Town would like to do on Forest Home Drive while the bridge is being rebuilt . David asked if the Town has designed this work. Dan said no, he wanted to talk to the Forest Home Association (FHA) first. The ideas have been presented to the FHA, but no details. Mary asked if the changes make provisions for pedestrians and bikers . Dan said yes, that the walkway (on the bridge) is scheduled to be four feet . Dan also said that the design of the gutters and curbs will make it safer for pedestrians . Public Works Committee Minutes Page 4 Miscellaneous Mary asked the Committee to discuss the Water and Sewer Benefit Districts . Dan explained how the formula is set up for these districts . Mary said she was most interested in changes to the benefits for farmers . Dan said the formula is based on the road frontage. David asked how many farmers this affects. Dan said that the Eddydale Farm and the Earlybird farms are the only ones affected. Dan indicated that the Town will be reviewing all tax parcels soon. It was discussed that the vineyard on Route 79 is not in an agriculture zone. Jonathan discussed that in the past, properties that were served with water and sewer automatically became zoned R- 15 . Jonathan informed the Committee of the City' s proposal to purchase land on Six Mile Creek for park land. The discussion evolved into a discussion regarding Water benefits in the Cayuga Heights area. Some residents are paying Cayuga Heights and the Town of Ithaca for a water benefit. This will be reviewed this year. Cathy suggested that a topic for the Newsletter might be reading tax bills . Dan said that with the GIS system, we can produce electronic tax parcels . David asked what the monies collected from Water and Sewer Benefits were for. Dan indicated that it was for the debt services, not the current costs. Jonathan suggested making the formula to adjust for areas of future big development. Mary said we should work on the low density areas too. There was a discussion on growth opportunities within the Town of Ithaca. Mary suggested we target horse, sheep and vineyard farmers . The Water and Sewer Benefits will be discussed as an agenda item at the March meeting. Meeting was adjourned at 9 :45 a.m. ghk