HomeMy WebLinkAboutPWC Minutes 1996-05-23 .
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TOWN OF ITHACA
Public Works Committee Meeting Minutes
May 23 , 1996
Present : David Klein, Chairperson; Dan Walker; Rich Schoch; and
Fred Noteboom
The meeting began at 8 :25 a .m.
Update on Forest Home Bridge
Dan Walker indicated that Tompkins County has submitted the lowest
bid to the State for approval . Dan indicated that the work will
probably not be started until after Cornell University' s Reunion
Weekend, which is the first or second week in June . Dan also
indicated that there is still a concern about ordering and
receiving the steel for the bridge .
Dan said the contractor is R. DeVincentis . Dan also said that we
have worked with this company before in 1989 .
The Committee discussed the recent incident while repairing the
Upstream bridge .
David Klein then asked if the Town had written confirmation that
the Town' s portion of the contract will not exceed $40, 000 , and
Fred Noteboom said not yet .
David then asked about the Town' s work on Forest Home Drive,
extending the curbs, etc . Dan said that the design work is being
worked on. Fred said that he would like to talk to the contractor
to see how much they would charge to do the extra work, since our
work force is overloaded.
David then asked if the contractor who worked on the Judd Falls
project last year has been contacted to fix some minor repairs .
Dan said this had not been done yet .
Discussion on Northeast Drainage/Drainage Plan
Dan said that there have been several studies done about the
drainage in the Northeast .
Dan said that there are a few concerns he has regarding new
development . He is concerned about the Arrrowwood project, which
is a Cornell University project in the Village of Lansing. He
feels that the design work may be lacking concern for the radius
around the project , outside of the Village.
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Dan said that he is also concerned about BOCES' s project . Because
they are a state educational facility, they do not have to have
plans approved by the Town' s Planning Board. David asked if there
were any retention areas designed for this project, and Dan said
yes. David asked if there will be an impact on the rest of the
Northeast, and Dan said yes . David suggested writing a letter
voicing the Town' s concerns .
Fred said that the BOCES project may be a contributing factor for
the drainage problems.
David felt that another bad drainage area of the Northeast is at
Triphammer/Sheraton Drive. Dan indicated that there was not a
problem there until the State reconstructed Route 13 in that area.
Fred indicated that the reconstruction on Route 13 has also
impacted East Shore Drive.
Fred informed the Committee that there is a drainage problem in the
Briarwood, Maplewood area. Fred passed out a letter from a
resident in that area, explaining the problem. Fred said that some
of the problems with the Maplewood area may have been caused by
Lucente putting a ditch through from Briarwood Drive which drains
the whole Briarwood area.
David commented on the amount of debris (brush, grass clippings,
bricks, etc) in the ditches (in back of Winthrop Drive) , and that
there is no law governing the placement of the debris in the
ditches. Fred said that more and more drainage ways are looking
like that .
Dan indicated that the Engineering Department is working on a Town-
wide drainage summary, and then he will get together with Fred
to discuss the next steps . Dan also said that we are looking at a
great deal of money to fix the drainage system in the Northeast; he
will look into possible alternative funding (bonding, reserve,
etc. )
David asked about the Dewitt Retention Pond. Dan said we will be
opening the ditch above the pond and excavating about half the fill
in the output section. David asked if we had a drainage easement
for the stream to Brandywine Drive. Fred said that we did not but
we will be diverting less water towards Brandywine. Dan indicated
the pipe will be taken out along with a concrete structure, and
excavation area next to it, letting the flow go towards the pond.
Even so, easements should not be hard to get since there is such a
drainage problem there.
Fred said that we plan to have this project finished by the end of
June.
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David asked that we compile data and present it to the board as
soon as possible.
Discussion of Personnel
Dan supplied the Committee with a summary of the work to be
completed by the Town' s work force for the water and sewer
preventive maintenance. There is approximately 4, 000 hours of work
to be completed, which should be done each year. David asked if
there was any personnel available to do these projects . Fred said
no. Fred explained that each week Highway, Parks, and Engineering
personnel meet to discuss what projects will be worked on the next
week. More often that not, the water and sewer projects are
deferred because there is so much road work/maintenance to be done.
Fred explained that if we added personnel, there would be no real
budget changes, because water and sewer projects are budgeted for
but not usually used. David asked if summer help would alleviate
the problems. Fred said some, and that we will be employing three
summer workers this year.
Bottom line is we would like to employ two more full time employees
to work on road construction, water and sewer, and parks projects.
An example would be to have "teams" set up to work on water
projects for a certain amount of time, sewer projects other times,
road work, and parks at other times .
Dan also indicated that at present, we have technical staff working
on water breaks, etc. Dan also indicated that to contract out
these project would cost about twice as much as hiring personnel .
David asked if there would be on-going work for new employees .
Fred and Dan said yes, since road work can not be done through the
whole year--winter months you can not pave, etc.
Fred indicated that we did not want to divide the forces into
different departments, citing the example that Parks work load is
smaller in the winter, consequently they help Highway or Water and
Sewer.
David asked if the positions had been budgeted for in 1996 . Dan
said in a way, since the work is budgeted for in the Water and
Sewer accounts, but the work rarely gets done. Dan indicated that
if there was a shortage of money for personnel, we would be able to
complete budget transfers instead of using the general fund.
The Public Works Committee recommends the request of two full time
employees to the Town Board, and the staff should have this ready
for the June Board Meeting.
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Public Works Committee Minutes Page 4
FEMA Update
Gail Kroll handed out a summary of the FEMA (Federal Emergency
Management Assistance) program. There was a discussion on the
summary sheet which lead to the question of how the money is being
tracked. Fred indicated that separate accounts were set up for
expenditures and revenues, then money was taken from the Highway
reserve fund to cover expenses until monies were received from
FEMA.
David asked what regular maintenance work will not get done because
of the FEMA projects . Fred said hopefully it will all get done, we
have a very motivated work force.
Ithaca Area Waste Water Treatment Facility
Dan put this on the agenda to inform the Committee of the funding
for this project . The Town' s share of the project will be
approximately $270, 000 . The City will be bonding their portion.
This allows the Town an option of asking the City to bond the.
Town' s share along with them, and repaying the City or there is a
possibility of using the reserve fund and paying that back. Dan
said there is 1 .4 million in the reserve fund. We are still
waiting for information on the interest on the Town' s share of the
reserve.
Chase Farm Trail
Dan informed the Committee that currently the easements for the
Chase Farm Trail would go in a section that a large amount of
clearing would have to be done, and Ed Hallberg will be selling the
rest of his lots soon. There is a lot that would better serve the
Town for the trail site. It is assessed at $22, 000 . Dan would
like to recommend that the Town buy that site for the development
of the trail .
David said that an appraisal needs to be completed and then it
should be presented to the Board, hopefully at the June meeting.
Post Office Site for Town Hall
Dan informed the Committee that Cathy and Dan meet with the Post
Office officials regarding the plans for the Downtown Post Office
site for the new Town Hall . Ed Gatch indicated that the Post
Office would not be able to function in the amount of space
proposed, although it was discussed earlier and that amount of
space would have been adequate. The Town will be writing a letter
informing the Post Office that we will not pursue the project if
the Town cannot have the amount of space proposed--we need the
proposed amount of space.
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Culvert Pipe Replacement in the Town
Cathy asked that this be discussed at this meeting. Fred handed
out the Culvert Pipe policy, which we are in the process of
revising. There were many suggestions that will be incorporated in
the policy.
David asked Fred what is his current policy. Fred said that he
goes to look at the problem to identify it, then explains the
options to the resident . The options are : The Town will replace
the pipe if the resident purchases the pipe and material or the
resident can have a private contractor replace the pipe . If a
contractor does the work, they must submit a Road Cut Permit to the
Highway/Parks Department . This costs $300, but is returned after
the Highway Superintendent inspects the work. Fred indicated that
the resident would'be responsible for any asphalt or headwalls that
were taken out by the Town to replace the pipe.
It was discussed that there have been an abundance of calls from
residents regarding their culvert-pipes . Some-of the residents are
very anxious to get the work done, which is hard for the Town staff
since there is so much work to be done and it keeps raining. Fred
indicated that some residents are asked by the Town if certain work
can be done, they say no, then a heavy rain fall hits, and then the
resident wants the work done.
David said that consistency needs to be exercised in the
replacement of culvert pipes. David indicated that the policy
should explain extenuating circumstances in it, such as Brandywine
Drive, where the Town is performing (and paying for) this work.
Rich Schoch asked if the policy can require residents to use PVC
pipe instead of corrugated metal pipe, which lasts longer. Dan
indicated that PVC pipe has less resistance, which is better. He
indicated that a 12" PVC pipe can hold as much water as a 15"
corrugated metal pipe.
David asked that the policy be revised and returned to the
Committee.
The meeting was adjourned at 10 : 00 a.m.
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