Loading...
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parking lot but that due to disagreements between city administration and the school administration that privilege had been revoked and since then GIAC employees have been competing for on-street parking spaces with School employees, residents, and commuters who park and walk to work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