Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BPW-2012-01-18BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 4:45 p.m. January 18, 2012 PRESENT: Mayor Myrick Commissioners (6) - Jenkins, Wykstra, Morache, Warden, Goldsmith, Acharya OTHERS PRESENT: Superintendent of Public Works - Gray Assistant Superintendent of Streets and Facilities - Benjamin Assistant Superintendent of Water and Sewer – Whitney Common Council Liaison – Fleming Information Management Specialist - Myers EXCUSED: DAC Liaison – Roberts ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO AGENDA: Supt. Gray requested that item 9.1 entitled “Appeal of Sidewalk Assessment for 402 South Plain Street” be deleted from the agenda, and be placed on the February 13, 2012 Board of Public Works meeting agenda. No Board Member objected. MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS: The Mayor had no communications at this time. COMMUNICATIONS AND HEARINGS FROM PERSONS BEFORE THE BOARD: Felix Teitelbaum, City of Ithaca, addressed the Board regarding traffic calming and bike boulevards in the neighborhood of North and South Titus Avenue. RESPONSE TO THE PUBLIC: The Board requested that Mr. Teitelbaum e-mail his comments to Supt. Gray so that they can be shared with the Board. Supt. Gray explained the history of traffic calming in the City of Ithaca relating to the six point traffic plan, and the fact that traffic patterns have changed dramatically since that plan. He noted that some other changes may need to be addressed to improve traffic flow through neighborhoods. Commissioner Acharya requested that Mr. Teitelbaum seek neighborhood comments about his suggestions for traffic calming in this area. Mr. Teitelbaum responded that the neighborhood met with the City several years ago to discuss this topic, and suggestions were provided to City staff at that time. The Board would like staff to find those suggestions to share with them for future discussions of this topic, with the possibility of another neighborhood meeting with the City. It was noted that the fire department should be included in these discussions as well. REPORTS: The Board discussed their proposed new meeting schedule for remainder of year. Meetings will be held on the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Monday at 4:45 p.m. in Common Council Chambers. Commissioner Wykstra, as the BPW Liaison to the Natural Areas Commission (NAC), noted that the BPW liaison to the NAC is very important. The NAC meets on the 2nd Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the Second Floor conference room. There was a brief discussion of this, with the Mayor suggesting that the NAC move to perhaps a different day or later start time? 2 January 18, 2012 Asst. Supt. Benjamin reported that crews are working on the following projects: The foundation for the City’s salt storage building Pouring concrete for the small pavilion at Stewart Park Bank stabilization at the Mulholland Wildflower Preserve Asst. Supt. Whitney reported that there was a water/sewer main break recently on James L. Gibbs Drive, and that crews have been working on hydrant replacements because the weather has been so good. A brief discussion followed on the floor regarding construction projects taking place currently throughout the City by many different groups such as New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG), New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the City of Ithaca, and so on. It was felt that it would be helpful if construction signs noted who was responsible for the project, and provided a phone number for the public to use to call with questions or complaints. Supt. Gray reported that City staff met today with representatives from NYSEG, NYS Department of Transportation, Town of Ithaca, Tompkins County, Town Dryden, Town of Lansing, Cornell University, and TCAT to review and discuss the upcoming 2012 construction season in order to coordinate work wherever possible. Supt. Gray further reported that staff was working on the following projects: o Solar thermal project at Cass Park and the Youth Bureau o City Hall Generator o Hiring a surveyor to do work associated with the sale of surplus city property and swapping of property with New York State Department of Transportation o Clinton Street/Prospect Street bridge replacement project. The City recently got permission to send bids out for the project from the State. Work should begin late March or early April. o NYSEG is continuing coal tar removal on Esty Street APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Approval of the Minutes of the June 8, 2011, June 22, 2011, and December 28, 2011 Board of Public Works Meeting - Resolution By Commissioner Wykstra: Seconded by Commissioner Morache RESOLVED, That the minutes of the June 8, 2011, June 22, 2011, and December 28, 2011 Board of Public Works meeting be approved as published. Carried Unanimously ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNICATIONS: Amendment to Personnel Roster – DPW Streets & Facilities – Light Equipment Operator – Resolution By Commissioner Goldsmith: Seconded by Commissioner Acharya WHEREAS, the upgrade of a Maintenance Worker Position to a Light Equipment Operator Position will be funded from the current 2012 Department of Public Works budget, and WHEREAS, the Ithaca Civil Service Commission has classified the Light Equipment Operator position, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Personnel Roster of the Streets & Facilities Division of the Department of Public Works be amended as follow: Add: One (1) Light Equipment Operator And be it further 3 January 18, 2012 RESOLVED, That the Maintenance Worker position vacated due to the promotion of an employee to Light Equipment Operator shall remain on the Department of Public Works personnel roster in an unfunded capacity. Carried Unanimously BUILDINGS, PROPERTIES, REFUSE AND TRANSIT: Appeal of License Fee for 339 Elmira Road (Old Salvation Army site) - Resolution By Commissioner Acharya: Seconded by Commissioner Goldsmith WHEREAS, the owner of 339 Elmira Road, Mr. Uotila, has appealed the license fee charged for use of City property abutting the aforementioned property, and WHEREAS, the owner has suspended use of City property abutting the aforementioned property since demolition of the building located on the property, and WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works deferred construction of public sidewalks in 2000 at 339 Elmira Road in deference to imminent development at the site, and WHEREAS, there has been no further development of the site at 339 Elmira Road, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That Mr. Uotila’s appeal be granted and the license fee for 2011 for use of City property be expunged, and be it further RESOLVED, That Board of Public Works direct, based on the process and procedure of 2000, the construction of sidewalk across the frontage of 339 Elmira Road. Carried Unanimously Appeal of License Fee for 210 Hancock Street (Old P&C Store) - Resolution By Commissioner Morache: Seconded by Commissioner Goldsmith WHEREAS, the owner of 210 Hancock Street, Tony Petito, has appealed the license fee charged for use of City property abutting the aforementioned property, and WHEREAS, the owner of 210 Hancock Street has suspended use of City property abutting the aforementioned property during renovations of the building located on the property by removing all encroachments in the right of way, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That Mr. Petito’s appeal be granted and the license fee for 2011 for use of City property be expunged, and be it further RESOLVED, That Public Works staff re-visit the site prior to the end of 2012 or upon completion of renovations of 210 Hancock Street to determine if any City property is being used for these improvements and a new license agreement and fee shall be enacted and paid. Commissioner Warden recused himself from voting on this due to a conflict of interest. A Vote on the Resolution Resulted as Follows: Ayes (6) Morache, Acharya, Jenkins, Goldsmith, Wykstra, Myrick Nays (0) Abstentions (1) Warden Carried Appeal of License Fee for 344 Elmira Road (Garcia’s Restaurant) - Resolution By Commissioner Acharya: Seconded by Commissioner Goldsmith WHEREAS, the owner of 344 Elmira Road (Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant), Marty McElwee, has appealed the license fee charged for use of City property abutting the aforementioned property, and 4 January 18, 2012 WHEREAS, the owner continues to use City property abutting the aforementioned property for parking and access to the tenant’s business, and WHEREAS, field measurements of the amount of paved parking area located within the City right of way and exclusive of the driveway area are consistent with the area assessed, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That Mr. McElwee’s appeal be denied and the license fee for use of City property be imposed, and be it further RESOLVED, That Board of Public Works directs the Superintendent of Public Works to review the Public Works need for continued City ownership of the right of way abutting 344 Elmira Road which is currently used by the licensee and report findings to the Board at its next meeting. Carried Unanimously HIGHWAYS, STREETS AND SIDEWALKS: Appeal of Sidewalk Assessment for 105-107 Elmwood Avenue - Resolution By Commissioner Goldsmith: Seconded by Commissioner Warden WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works has reviewed the protest of the property owner of 105-107 Elmwood Avenue concerning the city's bill for replacing sidewalk at that address following a series of sidewalk defect notices, and WHEREAS, the sidewalk was replaced following the city's procedures for sidewalk replacement following the property owner's failure to take actions which would resolve the sidewalk notice, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works hereby denies the property owner's protest of the outstanding bill. Carried Unanimously Appeal of Sidewalk Assessment for 401 Columbia Street - Resolution By Commissioner Warden: Seconded by Commissioner Acharya WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works has reviewed the protest of the property owners of 401 Columbia Street who purchased the property in the fall of 2005 after the sidewalk repairs were completed, and WHEREAS, the new owners claim that they were not made aware of any liability or outstanding bills concerning the sidewalk at the time of purchase, and WHEREAS, the City has instituted a process that now places a notice of sidewalk liabilities (either outstanding inspections or actual bills) on the tax search for properties, but that procedure was not in place at the time of the owners’ purchase of the land so they had no way of knowing the liability existed, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works hereby expunges the bill issued to the new owners for sidewalk work completed at 401 Columbia Street in 2005. Carried Unanimously DISCUSSION ITEMS (30 min.) Appeal of Sidewalk Assessment for 402 South Plain Street This item was removed from the agenda, and will be placed on the February 13, 2012 Board of Public Works meeting agenda. There was extensive discussion regarding the City’s past and present sidewalk policy. It is not clear whose responsibility tree damage to sidewalks falls to. It would be helpful to have clear, simple statements that go to property owners regarding what the city needs to have them do when damaged sidewalks are found on their property. Mayor Myrick requested that a “Sidewalk Policy” discussion be added to a future agenda of the Board. 5 January 18, 2012 Board members would like to see the work and recommendations from the previous sidewalk subcommittee as it moves forward with future discussions of sidewalk policy. Board members also recommended that a sidewalk policy include language that if a certain percentage of sidewalk has failed that the City of Ithaca reserves the right to fail remaining portion of sidewalk. It was felt that it would be cheaper to replace an entire sidewalk rather than square by square. Appeal of Sidewalk Assessment for 512 North Plain Street The Board recommended that a resolution be prepared for their meeting on 1/25/12 to follow the recommendations provided that shows the City will not pay the additional amount for tree damage and that the City will reimburse or delete the 25% surcharge. Appeal of Sidewalk Assessment for 205 Utica Street The Board recommended that a resolution be prepared for their meeting on 1/25/12 to follow the recommendations provided. Appeal of Sidewalk Assessment for 221 Cornell Street The drawing provided for this sidewalk showed a larger sidewalk, which would equal a larger bill. It could not be determined from the information provided to the Board why more of the sidewalk wasn’t required to be repaired. Ray Benjamin will investigate details further, visit site and provide information to the Board as to why only a portion of the sidewalk was required to be repaired. Bicycle Boulevards/Neighborhood Greenways – Update Transportation Engineer Logue provided the following information to update the Board on Bicycle Boulevards/Neighborhood Greenways: Since the Board’s last discussion in early November, staff has focused primarily on two things: further development on the proposed routes & treatments, and outreach to potentially affected city departments and neighborhoods. Routes & Treatments While no final decision has been made, staff is getting more and more comfortable with the concept of using Tioga Street and Plain Street as the main backbones of the greenways system. We have spent some time looking at treatments along the streets and are settling into the idea that as far as traffic calming devices, we would focus on the use of speed tables as the primary strategy. Though we have gotten some mixed feedback on the idea, we are also interested in the idea of partial closures for motor vehicles in a few select locations in order to keep traffic volumes at the levels that make a bicycle boulevard family friendly. At this point, we think this would have minor impacts on traffic diversion and motorist convenience. The three locations we are considering for this kind of treatment are: 1) the northbound leg of N. Tioga Street at Court Street; 2) the northbound leg of N. Plain Street at Seneca Street; and 3) the southbound leg of S. Plain Street at Green Street. This treatment would allow bicyclists to proceed through, but not motor vehicles. Emergency vehicles could get through it if need be. We are also looking at different concepts for the intersection of S. Plain Street and W. Clinton Street because this can be a difficult intersection to cross. Outreach In late November, we attended a webinar on “Increasing Bicycling in Low-Income Communities.” Though the subject was interesting, the greater benefit was the discussion afterward with staff from Way2Go, the Multi-Cultural Resource Center, the Ithaca Tompkins County Transportation Council, and County Human Services that followed. We talked about how to do further outreach into our community to find synergies with other community initiatives, to expand access to bicycles and safety equipment (helmets, lights, etc.), and to build on education, encouragement and other activities. We are considering a big community meeting toward the end of the winter, perhaps at the Southside Community Center. 6 January 18, 2012 On December 15th, we attended a Fall Creek Neighborhood Association meeting to discuss the concepts and potential details of the bike boulevard plan. There were a number of cyclists in attendance and we had a very interesting discussion. Overall, there was a fair amount of support for the concept. There was some concern about how to treat the last two blocks of Tioga Street approaching the Commons so as to ensure that they are bike friendly. There was a bit of a mixed reaction to the concept of diverting motor vehicle traffic on Tioga Street heading north of Court St, but overall the reaction was favorable. Also, in December, we began discussions with other City departments, including the Fire Department, Streets & Facilities, and very favorable discussions with the Police Department. We have not finished these discussions and will continue with them over the next month or so. At this point, our intent is to continue to work on the intersection plans in January and February. We will then hold a neighborhood meeting as noted above toward the end of the winter. After that, we would like to present the draft plan to the Board and work toward approval. Currently, there are no funds and no schedule for construction or implementation, but we would like to have a plan in place by late spring so that we can anticipate the capital project request process, a potential federal-aid Transportation Enhancement Program grant application, or even a new project for a Transportation Improvement Program update through the Ithaca- Tompkins County Transportation Council. Discussion on what ideas are left over from the recommendations provided by the consultant the City hired to review what traffic calming measures could be implemented in various parts of the City. Some of the recommendations were implemented at the roundabout at Plain St., raised intersections, and the traffic circle at Albany St. Supt. Gray stated that traffic and speed counts have been done of these areas, but not analyzed. Commissioner Goldsmith requested that the Floral Avenue/State Street bridge intersection be placed on the agenda for the 1/25 meeting regarding improving pedestrian safety/access at that intersection. ADJOURNMENT: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m. Sarah L. Myers Svante L. Myrick Information Management Specialist Mayor