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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BPW-2012-02-06BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 4:45 p.m. February 6, 2012 PRESENT: Mayor Myrick Commissioners (6) - Jenkins, Darling, Morache, Leccese, 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 Alderperson McCollister EXCUSED: City Attorney - Lavine DAC Liaison – Roberts ADDITIONS TO OR DELETIONS FROM THE AGENDA: There were no additions to or deletions from the agenda. MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS: The Mayor had no communications. COMMUNICATIONS AND HEARINGS FROM PERSONS BEFORE THE BOARD: The following people addressed the Board in opposition to the placement of the new TCAT bus shelter on University Avenue: Margherita Fabrizio, City of Ithaca, and Don Rakow, Executive Director of Cornell University Plantations. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC: Supt. Gray announced that there would be an open house hosted by the Stewart Avenue design team on Monday, February 13, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. in Common Council Chambers. He invited anyone that could to attend the information session. REPORTS: Supt. Gray reported that staff is proceeding with a number of projects not normally able to be done this time of year due to the nice winter weather we’ve been experiencing. Asst. Supt. Benjamin reported that crews poured the footers for the Tea Pavilion at Stewart Park. Crews are also repairing pot holes with the asphalt recycling machine, and making repairs from Hurricane Irene to sediment traps. Asst. Supt. Whitney reported that there have been no water main breaks recently, which is great. Crews are working with staff from NYS Department of Transportation digging to repair/replace water/sewer mains on Third Street - because there is no frost in the ground anywhere. Supt. Gray reported that New York State Parks is hoping to get work done on the Black Diamond Trail by Cass Park, and crews from Streets and Facilities will be helping to create a road from the parking lot to the trail to assist in maintenance of it. He further reported that staff are working on the installation of the emergency generator at City Hall, various roofing projects, and preparing the bid for the Clinton Street bridge reconstruction as well as the lower Prospect Street reconstruction project. Mayor Myrick requested that a press release regarding the upcoming construction project for the reconstruction of the Clinton Street Bridge, and the lower portion of Prospect Street be created and released weekly to inform and remind the public of the project that will require significant detours for a long period of time. 2 February 6, 2012 APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Approval of the January 18, 2012 Regular Board of Public Works Meeting Minutes – Resolution By Commissioner Acharya: Seconded by Commissioner Goldsmith RESOLVED, That the minutes of the January 18, 2012 Regular Board of Public Works Meeting be approved as published. Ayes (4) Myrick, Goldsmith, Morache, Acharya Nays (0) Abstentions (2) Darling, Leccese Carried Approval of the January 25, 2012 Regular Board of Public Works Meeting Minutes - Resolution By Commissioner Acharya: Seconded by Commissioner Goldsmith RESOLVED, That the minutes of the January 25, 2012 Regular Board of Public Works Meeting be approved as published. Ayes (5) Myrick, Goldsmith, Darling, Acharya, Leccese Nays (0) Abstentions (1) Morache Carried HIGHWAYS, STREETS AND SIDEWALKS: Appeal of Sidewalk Assessment for 221 Cornell Street – Resolution By Commissioner Goldsmith: Seconded by Commissioner Acharya WHEREAS, Charles R. Strohman & Sheila M. Stone, owners of 221 Cornell Street, received a 2011 sidewalk assessment for sidewalk work completed adjacent to their property, and WHEREAS, Charles R. Strohman & Sheila M. Stone received sidewalk defect notices in 2009 and 2011, and communicated with staff before the work, and WHEREAS, Charles R. Strohman & Sheila M. Stone filed a written appeal on August 16, 2011, asking that the sidewalk assessment be recalculated and reduced, and WHEREAS, staff visited the site and reviewed information regarding the appeal, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board recognizes that City forces completed the sidewalk replacement work in accordance with City specifications, and be it further RESOLVED, That each protest reason was considered as shown in the Sidewalk Assessment Protest Summary for this address, and be it further RESOLVED, That the Board hereby revises the owner portion of the sidewalk assessment for 221 Cornell Street to bill the owner for 92 square feet x $11.71= $1,077.32 plus 25% = $1,346.65. Carried Unanimously WATER AND SEWER: Appeal of Water Bill for 329-31 West Seneca Street Unit 331 – Resolution By Commissioner Goldsmith: Seconded by Commissioner Morache WHEREAS, the water consumption at 331 West Seneca Street changed significantly in the last quarter of 2011 resulting in a bill which was four times larger than recent bills, and the property owner has requested an adjusted bill based on his belief that he should have been notified in a timely manner so that this large bill could have been avoided, and 3 February 6, 2012 WHEREAS, the City read the meter on November 3, 2011, discovered the high read and issued a letter to the property owner on November 7, 2011, suggesting that the property be reviewed for the possibility of a leak, which appears to have resulted in two toilets being rebuilt, as well as a tour of the property by a representative of Water and Sewer at the request of the property owner, and WHEREAS, the mid-quarter meter tour by meter personnel did not indicate a problem and the review of meter data following the owner's complaint revealed high water consumption late in the quarter so the property owner had the meter consumption data a few days after the meter was read, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works has reviewed the request to modify the water and sewer bill covering the last quarter of 2011 at 331 West Seneca Street and denies the request based on its understanding that the water was consumed at that address and the resulting wastewater processed. Carried Unanimously Commissioner Jenkins arrived at 5:05 p.m. DISCUSSION ITEMS: Appeal of Sidewalk Assessment for 104 Worth Street: Mr. Roebal, property owner, joined the Board for the discussion of the appeal. He explained that the City notified him that he was responsible for the replacement of 4 slabs of sidewalk that were identified as needing replacement. All 4 had been marked “F” by the City. Mr. Roebal hired a contractor to replace 3 of the 4 slabs because he felt the 4th slab was in better condition than most sidewalks in the city. His contention is that what the City repaired on his property did not require repair. It was also unclear to him that the sidewalks marked with a “U” would require replacement as well, otherwise he would have repaired it as well. Asst. Supt. Benjamin reported that the owner received sidewalk defect notices dated July 6, 2007, and again on June 24, 2009 (after his own work) stating that his property was on the repair list and would remain so until the repair work was completed by the owner or the City. The letter also stated “all defective sidewalk found at this location at the time of the work will be replaced.” In addition, sidewalk defect letters state the City of Ithaca Code requires that sidewalk repairs made by the City of Ithaca be billed to the owner at cost plus 25%. A drawing with letter showed a total of 19 slabs identified as defective with 6 slabs classified as tree-damaged. The frequently asked questions attachment to the defect letter stated that “if City of Ithaca repairs your sidewalk, all condemnable and unsatisfactory conditions will be corrected. All work done was shown on drawings attached to both defect letters. The property owner had a meeting with sidewalk staff on July 30, 2007 and was given contact information for a variety of staff for a variety of issues related to sidewalks. If he had further questions or thought his sidewalk should be re-evaluated, he had information on how to do that. Mr. Roebal had recourse to dispute City evaluation of the remaining “F” slab or could have patched it as he was informed in the frequently asked questions attachment to both sidewalk defect notices. City sidewalk workers are typically directed to replace unsatisfactory blocks, unless those defects are corrected via grinding. City of Ithaca does not do patching. At this property, two slabs were removed from unsatisfactory condition via grinding, and the remaining slabs were replaced by the City of Ithaca. All slabs that were ground or replaced at this property were classified as condemnable or unsatisfactory on the maps attached to both defect letters. The owner was given no cost sidewalk replacement or repair valued at $1,107.74 in locations where tree roots shifted sidewalk slabs. Owner was billed for 177.5 square feet (7 slabs) and City of Ithaca covered the bill for 97 square feet (4 slabs). The 25% surcharge has been required by City Code since the late 1980’s. 4 February 6, 2012 Common Council Liaison to BPW Fleming spoke in support of Mr. Roebal’s appeal. She met with Mr. Roebal and visited his property as well. She feels he is being charged unfairly, that he was only given a short time to repair the sidewalk in question, and that there are other sidewalks in this area that are in much worse shape that need repair. Extensive discussion followed on the floor regarding the City’s sidewalk policy, how sidewalk work is prioritized, and notification to property owners of required sidewalk work and related charges. Supt. Gray explained that due to budget cuts in the past the City went 5 years without a sidewalk program. As a result, the City has a back-log of sidewalks that need repair or replacement. He stated that for the most part sidewalk work is done on a complaint basis or for legal reasons. He stated that there are better ways to operate a sidewalk program, but the City is doing the best it can with the resources it has. The Board acknowledged that the current sidewalk procedure needs improvement; however, the property owner was notified of the defective sidewalk, and the City did repair it. Therefore, the Board requested that staff prepare a resolution for their consideration at their meeting on February 13, 2012 that would deny the appeal. Mr. Roebal thanked the Board for their time and for their acknowledgement that change is needed in the current sidewalk program. Pedestrian Safety on North Cayuga Street: Supt. Gray explained that he thought the Board should be aware of the exchange of correspondence between Ithaca High School Principal and the city’s Transportation Engineer concerning safety on North Cayuga Street near the school. This will take some time to unfold as staff collects traffic data in the area in question. A brief discussion followed regarding the Board’s concern for student safety in this area. It was also noted that there is a TCAT bus stop located in the area as well, and that signage is needed to indicate that this is a school zone. New TCAT Bus Shelter on University Avenue: Supt. Gray explained that the installation of a TCAT bus shelter for a heavily used stop at the intersection of Linn, Court and University Streets resulted in an extensive exchange of e-mail and opinions being expressed. He stated that Engineering Technician, Kent Johnson, explained to the Board (mid-January) the fairly detailed process the TCAT shelter request had followed, the neighbors (including Cornell Plantations) wrote again to express their continued concerns. Margherita Fabrizio presented the concerns to the TCAT Board at their January meeting, but it was not discussed. The neighborhood would be happy if the shelter was removed and the City's process for review upgraded. Supt. Gray further noted the he is not aware of any movement at this time to remove the shelter originating in the City's offices or at TCAT. He encouraged Board members to visit the site prior to discussing this item. Traffic Issues in the South of the Creek Neighborhood: Supt. Gray explained that the issue of traffic "South of the Creek" was raised by a resident at the Board's meeting on January 18, 2012. He was expecting a copy of the statement read to the Board, but ended up speaking to Transportation Engineer, Tim Logue, about the concerns that had been raised. Supt. Gray further noted that the City is aware that traffic is down substantially from historical values, current neighbors may be seeing what appears to be an increase following the removal of the diverters. The City will need to do traffic counts once weather allows to gauge the current traffic volumes. While the Planning concept expressed in the late 1990s was to share the traffic in all neighborhoods rather than redirect the traffic with items like diverters, it was felt that the proposed development on Route 13 was dramatic enough to warrant temporary measures south of the creek until the "six point plan" could be implemented. 5 February 6, 2012 He stated that he believes the data collected this Spring will show that the changes were successful. He also doubts that some of the current residents will be satisfied because they did not live through the deal making but moved in later. A brief discussion followed on the floor regarding the history of traffic patterns, what does the City want to do going forward to control traffic in neighborhoods, and responding to residents concerns. Supt. Gray noted that any discussions about proposed changes will need to include the fire department so that access for emergency vehicles will maintained. Appeal of Sidewalk Assessment for 309 West Green Street: This item was discussed at a previous meeting, the Board would like a resolution written in support of staff’s recommendation. Appeal of Sidewalk Assessment for 307 North Albany Street: Stephen and Amanda Kempf, property owners, joined the Board for discussion of this topic. Mrs. Kempf stated that a tax search was conducted at the time of the sale of the property, and the sidewalk assessment was not listed. She provided copies of that tax search signed by the City Chamberlain for the Board’s information. Discussion followed on the floor regarding how the process for reporting pending sidewalk assessments has been changed so that the City Chamberlain’s office has the information earlier in the process. The Board felt that the Kempf’s were not responsible for this assessment, and that the City should pursue, if it is able, billing the previous property owner for the sidewalk assessment. Staff will prepare a resolution reflecting that for the Board’s agenda on February 13, 2012. NEW BUSINESS: Discussion followed on the floor regarding budgetary issues and public safety issues related to the City’s current sidewalk policies and procedures for repair. The program needs to be revamped and notices rewritten. Commissioner Morache volunteered to participate in a sidewalk sub-committee of the Board to review concerns raised by the Board. Commissioner Goldsmith volunteered to serve as well. They requested that information from the previous sidewalk sub- committee be forwarded to them to refer to as they go forward with the work. Mayor Myrick stated that the sub-committee should review notification process, how sidewalks are chosen for repair, and how to streamline the process. He also asked that the sub- committee provide an update/status report to the Board in one month. Commissioner Goldsmith would also like to review the safety/legal/budgetary constraints for the sidewalk program as well as setting up some sort of triage system to respond to complaints or sidewalks that need repair. Commissioner Acharya also asked if staff could provide statistics regarding the number of sidewalk defects letters sent out and the number of appeals that are received as a result. New Commissioners Mark Darling and Jeanne Leccese were welcome and provided a little background information on themselves to the Board. ADJOURNMENT: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m. Sarah L. Myers Svante L. Myrick Information Management Specialist Mayor