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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BPW-2005-03-16BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Committee of the Whole Meeting 4:45 p.m. March 16, 2005 PRESENT: Mayor Peterson Commissioners (3) - Dotson, Chapman, Romanoff OTHERS PRESENT: Superintendent of Public Works - Gray Assistant Superintendent of Streets and Facilities - Ferrel Assistant Superintendent of Water and Sewer - Fabbroni DAC Liaison – Roberts Information Management Specialist - Myers Deputy Planning and Development Director – Cornish Alderperson Tomlan EXCUSED: Commissioners Schlather and Jenkins ADDITIONS TO OR DELETIONS FROM THE AGENDA: Commissioner Dotson requested the addition of an item to the agenda regarding a request from Alderperson Whitmore concerning downtown transportation demand management. No Board member objected. Commissioner Chapman requested the addition of a discussion item by the Board on endorsing the resolution that Common Council passed regarding traffic calming around the block of Beverly J. Martin School to the agenda. No Board member objected. Request for Expungement of Trash Violation – 305 East Lincoln Street Yvette DeBoer, property owner of 305 East Lincoln Street, addressed the Board to explain why she has requested expungement of the violation. She stated that she is the sole occupant of the house at 305 E. Lincoln Street and that she did not put out recycling and if she had, she would have picked it up within 24-hours. She conducted research and found that the name on the piece of mail that was discovered by the City belongs to the daughter of her neighbors who live at 304 East Lincoln Street. Discussion took place on the floor regarding whether or not an error could have been made. It was determined by the Board that an error had occurred and they would vote to expunge the bill at their next voting meeting scheduled for April 13, 2005. Power to Act: Approval of Proposed Adopt-A-Park Program - Resolution By Commissioner : Seconded by Commissioner WHEREAS, the members of the City of Ithaca Parks Commission (hereafter referred to as the Commission) have long been concerned with the steadily decreasing resources targeted for our city parks, and WHEREAS, the Commission recognizes the need to develop creative low cost solutions to assist the Department of Public Works in the maintenance and upkeep of our parks and natural areas, and WHEREAS, the Commission has prepared a Public Information Packet, an Application, an Adopt-A-Park Agreement, a Volunteer Agreement, a Volunteer Agreement For Minor Participants, Safety Recommendations, and a City of Ithaca Adopt-A-Park Brochure, which have been reviewed by the City Attorney’s office, and WHEREAS, on February 2, 2005, the Commission presented the same information to the Board of Public Works (BPW) for review and comment, and Board of Public Works – March 16, 2005 2 WHEREAS, Planning Staff, at the direction of the BPW, revised the information, and WHEREAS, on February 8, 2005, the Commission reviewed the revised document and accepted the revisions suggested by the BPW, and WHEREAS, on March 9, 2005, the BPW reviewed the revised documents; now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works adopts the City of Ithaca Adopt-a-Park program as presented in the attached documents. The Board discussed this item, as there was not a quorum for a vote. Alderperson Tomlan, Deputy Planning and Development Director Cornish, and Vice Chair for the Parks Commission Wilcox addressed the Board to explain the resolution. They stated that the Parks Commission approved the changes that the Board of Public Works requested and now the resolution is back before the Board for approval. Discussion followed on the floor with the Board asking the guests questions relating to the type, size, design, placement, and color of the signs that will be used to identify the adopter. The coordinator for this program will be the City Forester. Further discussion followed on the floor regarding some structural problems that parks currently have and how they might be repaired and how that work might be paid for. The Parks Commission has a wish list and they are also working on a sponsorship – donor program that would help pay for some of the repairs/improvements that should be made to the parks. DAC Liaison Roberts asked the Commission keep in mind accessibility issues and ADA requirements when making improvements. An example is the restrooms at Stewart Park which are not up to code. Deputy Planning and Development Director Cornish stated that the kick-off event for this program is scheduled for May 7th and the Parks Commission will work on media releases in the meantime. The representatives from the Commission asked to be informed when the Board votes on this item. Discussion followed on inviting the Parks Commission to a Board meeting to discuss their goals/successes on an annual basis and involve other boards and committees as well. Challenge Industries Letter Concerning Safety at Intersection of Seneca Way and East State Street Preliminary Review of Letter: Superintendent Gray informed the Board that he called NYSDOT and they gave him copies of 1996 correspondence for when the current signage was installed. The Director at the DOT office is reviewing possible actions and will be in contact with the city. He further stated that it would be helpful to collect information from this discussion to get an idea of the direction the Board wants to take in this matter. Discussion followed on the floor regarding delineating a right turning lane on the downhill side that notifies the driver further up the hill that intention to turn right must be made earlier and how that would impact the uphill traffic especially emergency vehicles when roads are slippery or at other busy times. DAC Liaison Roberts suggested working with staff from Challenge Industries to get a list of ideas in addition to what the Board comes up with. Further discussion followed on the floor regarding the use of crossing guards and the cost and training associated with that option. Other Traffic Calming Issues: Commissioner Dotson stated that beginning in February different advisory boards including the DAC and BPAC brought a list of intersections of concern that are not State routes to Superintendent Gray. Mayor Peterson stated that some of the intersections of concern are going to be taken care of under IURA CDBG grant monies and that Common Council would be voting on Board of Public Works – March 16, 2005 3 them at their April 6th meeting. She further stated that the educational part that BPAC is working on concerning traffic calming will be great. Commissioner Romanoff stated that the traffic calming that was installed at Dey Street is in need of repair already, there appears to be an unhappy relationship between the asphalt and the concrete. She further requested that traffic calming devices/materials be studied carefully before they are built, to save on costs. She also stated that color contrasts look great at installation, but they fade. Discussion followed on the floor regarding other crosswalks needing repair as well as the pros and cons of different materials/textures. Commissioner Chapman stated that he spoke with Historic Planner Chatterton and Neighborhood Planner Logue who are assuming that DPW crews will have time to install raised cross walks at Court Street this summer. Assistant Superintendent for Streets & Facilities Ferrel stated that he was not aware of this additional work, but that he will try to fit it into their schedule. Extensive discussion followed on the floor regarding the NYSEG coal tar removal project, and what expectations they have of the City. Mayor Peterson left the meeting at 6:00 p.m. Vice Chair Dotson chaired the remainder of the meeting. Assistant Superintendent for Water and Sewer Fabbroni informed the Board that they are planning to pump all the sewage at Plain and Court streets through NYSEG’s work. He suggested to NYSEG that they look into electric high volume pumps or high grade pumps so that they are set for the worst case scenario as NYSEG is expecting to dig down nine to ten feet. Commissioner Chapman stated that since NYSEG will be digging up the street and sidewalks, he assumes the City won’t bear the full cost of installing new traffic calming devices. Assistant Superintendent for Streets and Facilities Ferrel stated that the whole storm water system will need to be looked at as well and that the City does not have a problem doing the work, but that he needs to be informed up front about it. He stated that he would talk with Neighborhood Planner Logue about the work. Superintendent Gray explained to the Board that there is an additional issue which involves different departments/divisions of the city working on one project. The Planning Department was given $600,000 for traffic calming, $300,000 of which was for design. This has been a difficult task for Planning because bids have all been high. Discussion followed on the floor regarding how work can be redistributed from the Planning Department to the Engineering Department. The Planning Department has less experience in the construction of these projects, and the Engineering Department/DPW should be more involved in the planning and design aspect. One of the challenges is that in the last several years the Engineering staff has been reduced to 4 staff positions through past budget decisions, whereas the Planning Department including the IURA has 14 staff members. Interdepartmental communication must be improved in order for these types of projects to progress smoothly. DAC Liaison Roberts and Commissioner Dotson voiced concern that issues raised by the DAC and BPAC cannot be addressed due to the current staffing shortage in the Engineering Department. Commissioner Romanoff stated that these are important issues and need to be discussed in more depth at a future meeting concerning the imbalance in departments, and infrastructure problems. She requested that this item be put on the agenda for a future meeting. Preliminary Review of Fall Creek Flooding Costs: As time was limited, the Board agreed that this item should be brought back to their April 6th meeting for discussion. Superintendent Gray stated that he is collecting additional information to provide to the Board for their April 6th meeting so that a request for reimbursement can be voted on at the April 13th meeting. Board of Public Works – March 16, 2005 4 New Business: Commissioner Dotson informed the Board that Alderperson Whitmore had asked if she would serve on a sub-committee of the Community Services Committee on transportation issues in the downtown. She asked if there was any other Board member interested in serving; the Board members thanked Commissioner Dotson for agreeing to serve on this committee. New Traffic Signal Installation: Expanded Discussion of Concerns raised at 3/9/05 Meeting: Commissioner Dotson stated that David Henderson, Chair of BPAC and the Pedestrian Awareness Committee had come to the meeting hoping to be able to address the Board with concerns raised by those bodies, but since there was no public speaking, he left and gave her their comments to present to the Board. One of the concerns is about the pedestrian signals on the traffic signals. DAC Liaison Roberts distributed a copy of a letter to former Traffic Engineer, Dan Cole, and a resolution from the DAC regarding the traffic signals. He stated that Mr. Cole had come to one of the DAC meetings to talk about this issue, as none of the new traffic signals, i.e. Clinton Street/Green Street are audible, and they are required to be audible cross walks. Also, several new traffic signals are difficult to use because they are not placed in relation to the curb, so a person has to go up to them to hit the button and then come back to the curb. Commissioner Dotson stated that the BPAC and Pedestrian Awareness committees had the same concern and wondered if there was a simple way to make buttons more accessible. There is also a serious concern about the phasing of the signals. Commissioner Chapman stated that there are serious problems with the location of buttons, and tactile surfaces not being put back in place when curb cuts are done. The City is required to provide tactile surfaces per ADA guidelines. He further stated that audible warnings are a necessary and integral part of downtown at all intersections. The audible signal at Cayuga Street and Green Street is installed contrary to current guidelines and there are guidelines that installers can refer to on proper operation. Superintendent Gray stated that sidewalk bids have gone out and that the DPW staff has purchased a stamp pad for use in creating tactile surfaces. He stated that he is not familiar with the law on audible signals, but noted that he has received complaints from neighbors that don’t like the noise. Commissioner Chapman stated that the guidelines are very specific and that he has a copy of them if people are interested in reviewing them. Commissioner Dotson stated that there are several issues at hand. One of them is the question of whether the City is in compliance at different intersections, and if not, what DPW will do to correct the problems. Discussion followed on the floor regarding audible signals and their requirements, such as the need for them to be in English and intelligible. The Board requested that Superintendent Gray come back to them at a later meeting with requested information. They need to read up on ADA guidelines and requirements as well. Commissioner Chapman will forward information to Superintendent Gray on ADA requirements, and offered the suggestion that the new traffic engineer be thoroughly trained and knowledgeable in ADA requirements and guidelines because it is complicated. DAC Liaison Roberts stated that part of what needs to be clearly understood regarding noise complaints from audible signals is that disabled people cannot depend on wants of others for their safety. Commissioner Dotson stated that she would prefer that BPAC and the DAC be included for input during project design than having to deal with complaints after projects are built. DAC Liaison Roberts stated that John Ives at the Fingerlakes Independence Center should be utilized as an excellent resource on ADA requirements. Board of Public Works – March 16, 2005 5 ADJOURNMENT: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 6:50 p.m. Sarah L. Myers Carolyn K. Peterson Information Management Specialist Mayor