HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BPW-2007-05-23BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS PROCEEDINGS
CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK
Special Committee of the Whole Meeting 5:00 p.m. May 23, 2007
PRESENT:
Commissioners (5) - Chapman, Jenkins, Schlather, Tripp, Wykstra
OTHERS PRESENT:
Superintendent of Public Works – Gray
City Attorney – Hoffman
Common Council Liaison – Coles
Traffic Systems Engineer – Logue
City Engineer – West
Engineering Technician – Johnson
Deputy Directory of Planning and Development – Cornish
GIAC Director – Fort
EXCUSED:
Mayor Peterson
Commissioner Dotson
DAC Liaison - Roberts
Executive Assistant – Grunder
ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA
City Attorney Hoffman requested that the Board add discussion about a request for
encroachment agreement from the owners of 506 Cliff Street.
REQUEST FOR ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT – 506 CLIFF STREET
City Attorney Hoffman stated that the stairs of the property at 506 Cliff Street extend into
the City right-of-way. He requested that the Board grant themselves power-to-act at its
next meeting to consider an encroachment agreement.
Resolution
By Commissioner Tripp: Seconded by Commissioner Wykstra
RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works grants itself power to act at its meeting of
June 6, 2007, in order to consider the requested encroachment agreement for the
property at 506 Cliff Street.
Carried Unanimously
GIAC’S PROPOSED ON-STREET PARKING
Traffic Systems Engineer Logue reported to the Board on the request made by GIAC to
designate 15 on-street parking spaces on Albany Street and West Court Street for GIAC
employees. He explained several options that have been developed to accommodate
this request should the Board wish to further explore it. He stated that legislation was
recently discovered that would allow the City to legally designate on-street parking for
government employees near the facility they work in.
GIAC Director Fort stated that GIAC is the only City facility that does not provide parking
for its employees. She further stated that during a previous administration employees
had been allowed to park in the Ithaca City School District parking lot but that due to
disagreements between city administration and the school administration that privilege
had been revoked and since then GIAC employees have been competing for on-street
parking spaces with School employees, residents, and commuters who park and walk to
work downtown. She reported that the employees have filed a grievance through their
union regarding the lack of parking and the contract term which states the city will make
a good faith effort to provide parking near the place of employment for its employees.
Discussion followed on the floor regarding the possible arrangement of parking spaces
on West Court Street and Albany Street and the impact each scenario might have on
residents and traffic. Discussion also occurred on how close the parking spaces need to
Board of Public Works – May 23, 2007 - Page 2
be to the facility. Staff indicated that their desire was to keep the spaces limited to the
GIAC property fronts on West Court and Albany Streets.
Commissioner Schlather stated that he would prefer if the parking spaces were limited
to West Court Street in order to avoid impacts on residents who need to use the two
hour parking spaces in front of their properties throughout the day.
Commissioner Jenkins arrived at 5:20 pm.
City Attorney Hoffman left the meeting at 5:25 pm.
Motion to Schedule a Special Meeting of the Board of Public Works – Resolution
By Commissioner Schlather: Seconded by Commissioner Tripp
RESOLVED, That the Board shall hold a special meeting on June 6, 2007 4:45 pm to
discuss the designation of on-street parking for GIAC employees and any other
resolution that may come before them.
Carried Unanimously
100 BLOCK NORTH AURORA STREET RECONSTRUCTION
Traffic Systems Engineer Logue reported to the Board on 3 options that have been
developed for possible changes to the 100 block of North Aurora Street in response to
requests by businesses on that block. He stated that there have been three main
concerns in drafting these options; curb alignments, outdoor dining space and tree
grates.
City Engineer West explained that the current curb alignments, the changes that are
being proposed and the impact on businesses, traffic flow, bicycles, and vehicles. He
reported that while there is interest in creating a shared roadway, it would not be
advisable to create a designated bicycle lane due to the dangers for cyclists wanting to
turn left onto Seneca Street at the end of the block.
Discussion followed on the floor regarding the alternatives, cost estimates, and how to
fund these expenses if the project were undertaken.
Commissioner Schlather expressed concern over the need for short-term parking for the
restaurants.
City Engineer West stated that the short-term parking needs have not been met for
years and there is little the City could do to meet those needs in the allotted space.
Supt. Gray stressed that this matter is time sensitive due to the status of the current
construction on the block and the South Aurora Street Bridge. He further stated that a
decision must be made soon in order to insure time to complete the project this year.
Alderperson Coles left the meeting at 6:00 pm.
The Board expressed their support for the Proposed Alignment 1, which removes
parking and widens the sidewalks along the southern half of the east curb and the
middle half of the west curb, and that they would be comfortable with the City presenting
this option to the public for input. The Board expressed that they would only seriously
consider approval of this option if the merchants directly benefiting from the increase in
outdoor dining space were to contribute to the costs of the project.
DRAFT SCOPING DOCUMENT- POWER-TO-ACT RESOLUTION
Commissioner Schlather expressed his concern over the removal of references to the
30ft dam in the revised draft of the scooping document. He stated that he believes it is
very important to include the dam in the scoping document for many reasons including
the fact that it will need to be maintained and that there are costs associated with that
regardless of what option the City chooses. He further voiced his support for the
watershed being protected as a watershed even if the City goes with the purchase
option, indicating that the land use concerns should remain the document.
Board of Public Works – May 23, 2007 - Page 3
Deputy Directory of Planning and Development Cornish responded that while
Commissioner Schlather’s concerns are valid they are not essential as part of the
SEQR review. She stated that any non-essential (not relevant or environmentally
significant) items can be listed in the scope and not included in the SEQR review
providing that the final adopted scope provides an explanation why the issues were not
addressed in the SEQR process. She further stated that the dam’s importance can be
acknowledged but it may not require the same review as the other items in the scope.
Discussion followed on the floor regarding changes made to the scoping document at
the last meeting, and the desire to maintain the watershed as a natural area if the City
goes with the purchase option.
The Board discussed Mayor Peterson’s concerns expressed in the memo handed out
by City Attorney Hoffman at the start of the meeting.
The Board agreed that they did not share in her concerns over maintenance and repair
of the existing water main or the redundancy within the Bolton Point System and agreed
not to change the scoping document to reflect these concerns.
Discussion followed on the floor regarding the need for public input as soon as possible
on this item. Gell, O’Brien and Gere, indicated that if the scoping document was
accepted tonight it would be ready for publication in a few days and public comment
could be received as early as a week after the publication and distribution of the
document.
The Board requested that a public information meeting be set up for the week of June
17, 2006.
Adoption of Draft Scoping Document
By Commissioner Tripp; Seconded by Commissioner Wykstra
WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works is currently reviewing a proposed Draft Scoping
Document for its use as it proceeds with the environmental review of the City of Ithaca
Water Supply Project, and
WHEREAS, the Board feels that the Draft Scoping Document reasonably represents its
current understanding of the environmental review required by the two options being
considered and feels that it will benefit from input by involved agencies and the public
as the Board considers any changes required to make the Draft Scoping Document
complete and final; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works adopts the revised version of the Draft
Scoping Document dated May 23, 2007 for its use in undertaking the agency and public
scoping efforts required to produce and eventually adopt the Final Scoping Document.
Carried Unanimously
HIGH WATER BILL AT 321 HECTOR STREET
Supt. Gray reported that the owner discovered the home had been broken into and the
charges were a result of the vandalism that occurred.
The Board agreed that since the charges were incurred due to vandalism they should
be covered under any standard homeowners insurance policy. The Board noted that
they would take action at their next meeting to deny the appeal.
BICYCLE, MOPED, AND MOTORCYCLE GARAGE PARKING
Supt. Gray reported that the entrance and exit gates for the Seneca Street garage have
been shortened so that a motorcycle may exit even if the equipment does not respond.
He reported that the option of a designated motorcycle entrance to the garage had been
explored but was deemed too difficult to do, due to the shape of the garage entrance.
He reported on the options for bicycle, moped and motorcycle parking that have been
drafted.
Board of Public Works – May 23, 2007 - Page 4
The option most favored by the Board and staff is one in which one handicapped
parking space is transferred to the north side of the garage and the old space, just south
of the entrance, would be turned into parking for mopeds or motorcycles while bicycle
parking is maintained on the north side.
Discussion followed on the floor regarding the alternatives. The Board agreed that it
would be too difficult to choose an alternative without input from bike riders as to how
feasible the alternatives really are.
ADJOURNMENT:
On a motion the meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m.
Jessica Myers Jill Tripp
Department of Public Works Intern Acting Vice Chair