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BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS PROCEEDINGS
CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK
Regular Meeting 4:00 p.m. April 14, 1993
PRESENT:
Mayor Nichols
Commissioners (6) - Reeves, Brandford, Smith, Tripp, Rusoff, Gerard
OTHERS PRESENT;
Superintendent of Public korks - Gray
Deputy City Controller - Thayer
Assistant Superintendent of Streets and Facilities - Ferrel
Senior Stenographer - Holcomb
Assistant Superintendent of Water and Sewer - Shimer
Common Council Liaison - Berg
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
Mayor Nichols led all present in the Pledge of Allegiance to the
U) American flag.
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MINUTES: J
Approval of Minutes of the March 10 1993 Board of Public Works
m Meeting
By Commissioner Rusoff: Seconded by Commissioner Tripp
'Q RESOLVED, That the Minutes of the March 10, 1993 Board of Public
Works meeting be approved as published.
Carried Unanimously
Approval of Minutes of the March 24 1993 Board of Public Works
Meeting
By Commissioner Rusoff: Seconded by Commissioner Reeves
RESOLVED, That the Minutes of the March 24, 1993 Board of Public
Works meeting be approved as published.
Carried Unanimously
ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO AGENDA:
Buildings Properties and Transit Items
Commissioner Rusoff requested the addition of Item 12E - Municipal
Pool Construction - Extension of Architect's Contract.
No Board member objected.
COMMUNICATIONS FROM MAYOR:
Retirement of Fire Chief
Mayor Nichols announced that he has received a letter from Fire
Chief Edward Olmstead stating his intention to retire from the City
of Ithaca Fire Department at the end of June after 26 years of
service.
At the request of the Mayor, Item 12C- Authorization and Agreement
for Ithaca Festival was moved ahead to this point in the meeting.
BUILDINGS. PROPERTIES AND TRANSIT ITEMS•
C. Authorization and Agreement for Ithaca Festival
By Commissioner Rusoff: Seconded by Commissioner Tripp
WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca and the Ithaca Festival are desirous of
entering into an agreement to cover the Festival events June 3
through June 6, 1993, and
WHEREAS, the Festival directors have met with City staff including
the Police Department, Fire Department and Department of Public
Works to review the details of the event, and
WHEREAS, the directors of the Ithaca Festival have met with the
Board of Public Works to request the use of specific areas and
services for the Ithaca Festival; now, therefore, be it
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April 14, 1993
RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works approves the agreement
with the Ithaca Festival for the following:
1. The closing of the 100 blocks of South Cayuga Street,
North Cayuga Street, and West State Street all day
Friday, June 4, and Saturday June 5.
2. The use of DeWitt Park on Saturday, June 5 for an art
exhibit and a small stage for quiet family entertainment.
3. Supplemental volunteer labor to be provided by the Ithaca
Festival for trash collection during all phases of the
Festival.
4. Additional items covered by the Agreement between the
City of Ithaca and the Ithaca Festival for 1993, said
Agreement outlines the details and expectations of both
parties including finances, and
be it further
RESOLVED, That the Mayor be authorized to sign the Agreement on
behalf of the City of Ithaca.
Mr. Craig Eagleson from Ithaca Festival, Inc., handed out copies of
a revised agreement with minor changes that has been approved by
Asst. City Attorney Kennedy.
Discussion followed regarding trash pick -up from the Festival.
A revised final agreement has been attached to the Minutes for the
Board members.
A vote on the resolution resulted as follows:
Carried Unanimously
REPORT OF COUNCIL LIAISON•
Strand Theater
Alderperson Berg reported that Council is negotiating with a
developer out of Syracuse for purchase of the Strand Theater.
Transit Budget
Alderperson Berg reported that he has spoken with the Controller's
Office to inquire about the implications to the public works
budget, specifically the transit budget of the agreement between
the City and the County for payment of services in lieu of
equitable payment for shared sales tax revenues. He stated that he
was told by the Deputy Controller that the potential relief to the
transit budget is in the area of $400,000. He thinks that at some
point the Board will want to discuss. how that is going to be
affecting our budget.
REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT:
Superintendent Gray reported to the Board on the following items:
water levels - Supt. Gray reported that he has spoken with the
Canal Division, which is now a part of the Thruway Authority, and
they told him that the discharge from the °lake has been increased
by a factor of 4 but Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake both discharge -to
the Seneca River and both lakes are very high and the Seneca River
is high and they are trying to do- a.balancing act between who gets
damaged. The Canal Division is Koping that they will be able to
drop the lake one and one -half inches a day, provided that we do
not get a lot more rain.
Supt. Gray stated that he believes the water levels are the highest
they have been since 1972.
April 14, 1993
The City sewers are currently flowing at about 3 times their
average daily rate. Normally the average is 7 million gallons a
day at the Treatment Plant. At this time the average is 20 million
gallons a day.
Supt. Gray stated that he believes there will be a lot of
additional damage to the Flood C6ntrol Channel because that ground
will have been saturated. The banks have been sloughing into the
Flood Control Channel for the last 20 years and this latest water
problem will compound than.
There will be a tremendous clean up expense in Stewart Park once
the lake recedes. All of the debris from all of the creeks have
washed into the lake and it all ends up at the park.
City Hall Duct Cleaning - This work is scheduled for the end of
April.
LO Tower Road - Nancy Oltz has been put on notice that Tower Road on
the Cornell Campus will be closed for approximately two years
because of work being done on the ILR School. She is in the
M process of working with Cornell to re -route bus routes3and work up
D new schedules.
.Q Commons Work - Should start back up approximately May 5, 1993.
Most of the work left to do is brick repair.
Municipal Pool - The contractor is back on site.
MHA and Sciencenter - A lot of time and effort has been spent down
in that area and both projects are proceeding.
Kline Road Sewer Project - Bids were received today for the Kline
Road Sewer Project. The bids ranged from $125,000 to $230,000.
Commissioner Reeves asked for a status report on a list of items
and Superintendent Gray responded as- follows:
Light on Hillview and Aurora - City Electrician Crandall is
working with the State on this matter. Supt. Gray has a meeting
with the DoT later in the month to review the location and to
receive any recommendations about how its final configuration will
add up. It is the City's intention to get the light installed and
operating as a fixed signal and then to modify that based on the
DoT's recommendations.
Crossing at South Aurora and State Street - Nothing has been done
yet regarding the striping at the crossing at South Aurora and
State Street.
Planning Consolidation - There have been' discussions with the
Planning Department but Supt. Gray stated he has not submitted the
work program that is needed to review the site plans.
Traffic Engineer Position - The position has been reviewed and
turned down once by the Vacancy Review Committee. The Mayor has
indicated that he would like it to proceed. Supt. Gray stated he
has a modified Traffic Engineer's job description in draft form on
his desk for review.
Commons Electrical Work - City Electrician Crandall has ordered
the equipment needed for this work. It is intended that this work
will be completed in time for the Ithaca Festival.
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April 14, 1993
REPORT OF ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF STREETS AND FACILITIES:
Assistant Superintend
following items: n et Ferrel reported to the Board on the
Flood Areas - The Golf Course and some of the fields at Cass Park
are flooded. The buses are not running into the TOPS Parking Lot
because of the depth of the water there. The biggest concern at
this time is on Giles Street. There is an 80 - 90 foot section of
bank that is eroding away very quickly. He stated that they have
closed the road and it probably will remain closed for 4 - 6 weeks
for repairs.
Street Cleaning - The highway crews have started the street
cleaning work for the season.
Arbor Day Celebration - The celebration will be in Thompson Park
this year on April 301th. It will be the kick -off of the Bare Root
Planting Project for this Spring.
Stewart Park Handicapped Accessibility - The project has started at
the Park. Crews are currently working on curb cuts and
accessibility to the drinking fountains.
"Carry In -Carry Out" Policy - Signs are being made for the "Carry
In -Carry Out" Policy at Stewart Park. They should be in place in
early May. There will be public notification of the policy.
Cass Park Rink - Asst. Supt. Ferrel reported that he has received
a letter from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation, who administers the grant for the repairs of the rink
at Cass Park. They are stating that there is zero money available
in 1993. Asst. Supt. Ferrel stated that he would like to fund
repairs to the rink for this year through a Capital Project.
Community Clean Up Program - On Saturday, April 24th, we will have
two separate community programs going on in the City. The
Collegetown Neighborhood Clean Up Program will start at 10 a.m.
They will bag trash and recyclables, there will be crews to pick
those up at 1:00 P.M. There will also be a group of approximately
50 -75 college student volunteers, that call themselves "The Green
Core ", that will be working to clean up the parks, the beach at
Stewart Park and the cemetery. Their efforts will be coordinated
by John Friedeborn, the City Forester.
On Sunday, April 25th, the Conservation Advisory Council has also
volunteered ro do beach clean up at Stewart Park.
REPORT OF ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF WATER AND SEWER:
Assistant Superintendent Shimer reported to the Board on the
following items:
Sewer Flows - The sewer flows through the weekend were in the area
of 20 million gallons a day. The facility has had to be staffed
twenty -four a days due to the high flows coming in.
Sanitary Sewer - Universitv and Stewart Avenues - Negotiations are
continuing with the contractor to try to. get the sanitary sewer
installed between University and Stewart Avenue.
Water Line on Route 13 - The contractor for the Town of Ithaca is
mobilized and is going to begin installing the water line on Route
13 that will tie the City in with' the Town of Ithaca.
East Avenue/West Avenue Flow Testing - Flow testing is being done
on East Avenue /West Avenue on the campus for a possible water
service exchange with Cornell University.
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April 14, 1993
County Water Quality Bus Tour - Asst. Supt. Shimer has received a
letter from the Tompkins County Planning Department informing him
that there will a Water Quality Bus Tour on Saturday, April 17. If
anyone is interested in going, he asked that they give him a call.
Chemical Spill - Supt. Gray stated that he has spoken with the DEC
spill person. They are the ones-handling the contractor and the
people working at the watershed and they are comfortable with what
they-are doing for the clean up. He said that he has soken with
Therm and asked if they; were going to do any kind of p a public
release and they indicated that they thought that was a good idea
and they would speak with their attorney. As of yesterday they had
not come to an agreement with their attorney regarding a public
notice.
Discussion followed on the floor.
BUILDINGS
A. Ligh PROETIES AND TRNSIT ITEMS:
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Improvements at Cass Park Skating Rink
LO By Commissioner Rusoff: Seconded by Commissioner Tripp
(0 WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works has received ayd reviewed
a) recommendations from the Energy Commission on improvements for the
7 Cass Park Skating Rink; now, therefore, be it
m RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works approves of the proposed
Q improvements to the lighting at the rink (items 1 & 2 in the Energy
Commission memo dated April 6, 1993), and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Board requests B & A and Common Council
authorize the necessary capital project, initially estimated at
$30,000 for lighting change over, design and inspection, and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the Board directs staff to implement these
recommendations by June 30, 1993 in order to receive applicable
NYSEG rebates.
Discussion followed on the floor.
A vote on the resolution resulted as follows:
Carried Unanimously
B. Good Neighbor Day - C011egetown Clean up
During the annual Good Neighbor Day in Collegetown which is
scheduled for April 24, 1993, participants clean the debris from
streets and creeks. The Department of Public Works has assisted
the clean up by providing trash pick up in Collegetown on the day
of the clean up. The DPW has been requested to assist the
participants for this year's event.
Resolution
By Commissioner Rusoff: Seconded by Commissioner Tripp
WHEREAS, the annual Good Neighbor Day in Collegetown has requested
assistance with trash pick up from the Department of Public Works;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works has reviewed this request
and approves of the Department's support of the program as in past
years, and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Board urges the participants to separate
recyclables in order to reduce the cost of the trash disposal, and
be it further
RESOLVED, That similar requests in the future from this group as
well as others be considered on a case -by -case basis.
Carried Unanimously
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April 14, 1993
D. Repuest to Increase Court Facility Capital Project
In June 1992, a power outage on South Hill combined with the
failure of protective electrical equipment resulted in the
destruction of the police station HVAC condensing unit. The
estimated repairs to the 25 year old unit were $10,000 to $15,000.
The designer for the court facility recommended increasing size of
the new HVAC condenser for the Court to serve both buildings, get
the advantage of higher efficiency units and have new equipment.
The estimated cost is $20,000 to $30,000. The change order is
being requested now.
Resolution
By Commissioner Rusoff: Seconded by Commissioner Tripp
WHEREAS, the City is in the middle of a capital project for
construction of a new city court and renovations to the existing
police station, and
WHEREAS, the failure of an existing HVAC unit has resulted in an
unexpected cost of approximately $30,000. Replacement of the unit
would result in reduced maintenance and operations costs of
approximately $3,000 per year, and
WHEREAS, the project client committee and staff feel that the
expense is too large to take out of the contingency fund at this
point in the project; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works recommends that the
project authorization for the City Court Facility (CP 242) be
increased from $3.1 million to $3.13 million and requests the
Budget and Administration Committee and Common Council approve this
change.
Carried Unanimously
E. Municipal Pool Construction - Extension of Architect's Contract
By Commissioner Rusoff: Seconded by Commissioner Reeves
WHEREAS, the Board is aware of delays to the construction of the
Municipal Pool project, and
WHEREAS, the Board has reviewed the budget for the Municipal Pool
project with staff, and
WHEREAS, HOLT Architects had been retained to administer this
project during construction through October 1992, . and
WHEREAS, it is the Board's intention to make claims upon the
contractor for expenses incurred due to delays; now, therefore, be
it r
RESOLVED, That the Board requests the Budget and Administration
Committee approve the extension of HOLT's contract for construction
phase services. '
Discussion followed on the floor.
Amending Resolution
By Commissioner Rusoff: Seconded by Commissioner Reeves
RESOLVED, That at the end of the Resolved.Clause another sentence
be added to read as follows:
"The cost of the extension may not exceed $7,000." +
Carried Unanimously
Main Motion as Amended
A vote on the Main Motion as Amended resulted as follows:
Carried Unanimously
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April 14, 1993
By Commissioner Rusoff: Seconded by Commissioner Tripp
RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works grant itself Power to Act
at the Committee of the Whole regarding the question of a possible
Capital Project for the Cass Park,ICe Rink.
Carried Unanimously
During recent renovations, the Boxing Ring canvas at GIAC was
damaged during asbestos removal in the building, An agreement
between the contractor and the city was made which provided
additional services from the contractor but not for the repair of
the canvas which he disputed damaging. GIAC is interested in
replacing the canvas to continue their program but budget
restraints do not allow it.
Resolution
Ln By Commissioner Reeves: Seconded by Commissioner Tripp
co WHEREAS, the GIAC Board requests and the Board of Public Works
M supports the replacement of the canvas, and s
mWHEREAS, neither the DPW nor GIAC budgets allow for the
.a replacement; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works recommends that B 6 A
transfer $675.00 from unrestricted contingency to A1626.435 for
replacement of the canvas.
Carried Unanimously
By Commissioner Reeves: Seconded by Commissioner Tripp
WHEREAS, the photocopier located on the second floor of City Hall
is five years old, is no longer under the manufacturer's warrantee,
has a service contract which is about to be renewed for $2,100. per
year, and the volume of copies exceeds its reliable capacity, and
WHEREAS, the Deputy City Controller is currently collecting
information to put out a comprehensive bid for several copiers,
covering initial cost, operating expenses, and annual maintenance
contracts, and
WHEREAS, the Superintendent's Office, the Office of the City
Engineer and the Personnel Office have received proposals for the
purchase of a new copier; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works recommends that $7,263.00
be transferred from unrestricted contingency to be divided equally
between A1430, A1440 and A1490 under line 225 (other equipment),
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the proposed purchase will only occur if recommended
by the Deputy Controller as part of his comprehensive purchase.
Carried Unanimously
ay commissioner Reeves: Seconded by Commissioner Tripp
WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works recognizes the quality, value
and productivity of up -to -date computer software, and
WHEREAS, it is the Board's and the department's responsibility to
be sure that all software used is authorized; now, therefore, be it
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April 14, 1993
RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works requests that the Budget
S Administration Committee fund $8,300 to purchase properly
authorized software as needed by department staff for current
operations.
Carried Unanimously
oy wnunissioner arandrord: Seconded by Commissioner Tripp
WHEREAS, Ms. Rose Brown of 711 North Aurora Street has requested
her Water and Sewer bill of $894.08 be expunged or modified to
reflect a senior discount, and
WHEREAS, the repair was made to replace an old water service and
was properly billed to the homeowner; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works denies Ms. Brown's request
to expunge or modify the bill.
Carried Unanimously
REPORT OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES:
Audit Report
By Commissioner Gerard: Seconded by Commissioner Tripp
RESOLVED, That bills listed on the following Abstract be approved
for payment:
Abstract #7
General Fund ............. ..............................$ 70,953.37
Water and Sewer Fund ..... ..............................$ 26,914.18
Joint Activity Fund ...... ...:..........................$ 18,020.84
CapitalProjects .................... ...................$356,963.78
Solid Waste .............. ..............................$ 14,098.14 ..
and be it further
RESOLVED, That bills receivable be approved.
Carried Unanimously
REPORT OF BOARD LIAISONS•
Bicycle Advisory Council
Commissioner Tripp urged Board members to attend the Bicycle
Advisory Council's presentation on Thursday on the new bicycle
plan.
Mini - Parking Committee
CommissionerrTripp reported that the Mini - Parking Committee will be
reporting to the Planning and Development Committee next week.
Parking Lot Sub - committee
Commissioner Rusoff reported that the' Parking Lot Sub - committee
toured the parking lots /garages this week.
Parks Commission
Commissioner Gerard reported that the Parks Commission has
expressed interest in looking at the triangle of Titus /South and
Fair, possibly for a park.
Common Council
Commissioner Reeves reported that the Common Council passed a
resolution in April regarding an increase in street permit fees.
Discussion followed on the floor.
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April 14, 1993
Ithaca Enercy Commission
Commissioner Reeves reported that the Energy Commission met on
April 6 and the Commission is working with Deputy Controller Thayer
to get the computer data base going in order to track the energy
consumption and the bills paid on all City properties.
ADJOURNMENT:
On a motion the meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
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Connie J. Holcomb Ben amin Nichols
Senior Stenographer Mayor
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