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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BPW-2007-12-12BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Committee of the Whole Meeting 4:45 p.m. December 12, 2007 PRESENT: Vice Chair – Commissioner Jenkins Commissioners (4) - Chapman, Schlather, Tripp, Wykstra OTHERS PRESENT: City Attorney - Hoffman Superintendent of Public Works - Gray Assistant Superintendent of Streets and Facilities - Ferrel Assistant Superintendent of Water and Sewer – Whitney Common Council Liaison – Coles Information Management Specialist - Myers EXCUSED: Mayor Peterson DAC Liaison – Roberts ADDITIONS TO OR DELETIONS FROM THE AGENDA: Common Council Liaison Coles requested that the discussion on the Wood Street diverter be moved up in the agenda because a member from the public was here for that item. No Board member objected. Johnson Controls Superintendent Gray explained to the Board that Johnson Controls has worked with staff from the Water and Sewer Division to develop a proposal to upgrade the City’s water meters and meter reading system. The system is used to collect the water use figures that are the basis for billing over $8 million annually. The accuracy of those meters is important. Staff has developed ways to improve customer service with automated reading and a related leak detection device. Chris Kalwara, Account Executive for Johnson Controls, made a presentation to the Board on Phase 2 of the Energy Performance Contract for Water Meters, Automated Meter Reading, and Leak Detection. Commissioner Schlather arrived at the meeting at 5:03 p.m. Asst. Superintendent for Water and Sewer Whitney explained that the City applied for and received a grant in the amount of $48,000 for this project, but the meters need to be installed by June of 2008 in order to receive the grant monies. He explained that the new system would alert staff of new leaks before they get big which would be a huge savings in terms of the amount of water loss and repair costs. He further explained that the new equipment would monitor sounds in the system that would alert staff to precise locations of leaks with ongoing monitoring. He stated that the monitors use a GPS system for locating problems or leaks in the system and would be mounted to garbage trucks which are out on all the City streets each week to collect garbage. The monitors, mounted on the trucks, would be sensitive enough to alert staff to any potential problems in any part of the City in a timely manner, which would help to conserve our water resources. Mr. Kalwara’s presentation included the following: Goals of the City of Ithaca Improvement in Customer Service Early Leak Detection Elimination of Estimated Bills Issuance of Accurate Bills Enable Landlord Requests for Special Reads Capture of billable revenue resulting from inaccurate meters Lower operational and maintenance costs Reduction in unaccounted for water usage 2 December 12, 2007 Minimization of damage and liability from leaks Project Development Approach Document meter accuracy Replace only those meters that fail accuracy test, and cannot be repaired Prevent meter failure Project Scope Large meter replacement with Automatic Meter Reader (AMR) system installation Large Meter AMR System Retrofit Small Meter replacement with AMR Small Meter AMR retrofit AMR Drive-By System all hardware, software, interface to the existing billing system, and training City Wide Leak Detection System Ongoing (3 years) water utility performance, consulting services, large meter accuracy guarantee, testing Large meter replacement with AMR system installation replacement of 22 meters, isolation valves meters not previously tested to be tested to determine accuracy Large meter AMR system retrofit meters that passed AWWA testing or that Johnson Controls has repaired and passed test (20) Remove existing registers, install new registers and connect to Master meter transmitters Johnson Controls responsible for repairing any damaged meter vaults, sidewalks, curb stops, roadways, replacing isolation valves Project Benefits NYS Local Government Records Management Grant: $48,000 (system must be installed by the end of June 2008) Mutually agreed to billable usage increases: $79,398 per year City has earmarked $116,243 for project Billable usage based on 2007 rates (water and sewer) Project Results In Customer Service Improvements Eliminates safety hazards Accurate meter reads Reduced system losses Financial benefit totaling $226,199 annually Installation within six months Ongoing large meter testing/repair services Third party financing does not impact City’s debt capacity Superintendent Gray stated that if the Board agreed, he would proceed with writing a resolution that would authorize the start of a capital project. Commissioner Tripp stated that she would like to hear from satisfied customers of Johnson Controls who have had similar systems installed about their experience before the Board makes a decision. Superintendent Gray stated that he would work with the Board to establish a time frame for implementation of this project. Wood Street Traffic Diverter Superintendent Gray explained that the traffic diverters and speed bumps in this neighborhood (both Wood Street and South Street) were installed as part of the immediate mitigation measures for traffic calming while the City was contemplating major developments in the Southwest. A traffic plan was developed which was designed to facilitate traffic movements in an organized pattern and once it was fully implemented, the temporary devices were scheduled to be removed. That traffic plan has never been implemented. A change in the City’s administration changed the City’s approach to traffic management and Southwest development. 3 December 12, 2007 He asked staff to review the traffic diverters and speed humps on Wood Street, and make a recommendation as to their future. Traffic Engineer Logue visited the area, collected data, and has recommended the removal of the old diverters at the intersections of Fair Street with Wood Street and South Street mostly on the basis that they are unnecessary and unsightly. The semi-diverter at Fair and Wood Street also restricts turning movements into the relocated Titus Towers II driveway. He further recommended keeping the mid-block speed humps in place. Traffic Engineer Logue’s recommendation stated that if the Board of Public Works continued to support the goal of discouraging vehicular traffic on Wood Street and South streets that the existing signs posted on the semi-diverters stating “No Thru Traffic: Except Emergency Vehicles” should remain. However, it is clear that motorists at the intersections have no qualms about crossing over the diagonal bumps. Due to the capacity improvements at the edge of the neighborhood (along Route 13 and West Spencer Street), and based on observations and traffic counts, it does not seem that there is a significant volume of cut-through traffic and motorists have found alternate routes. These streets see fairly average volumes of traffic for residential streets in the City. The recommendation further explained that if the Board desires to retain the semi- diverters on Fair Street for some reason, the recommendation would be to remove the existing signage and replace it with object marker signage. The existing signs are not obeyed and are not enforceable. The boxes of rocks are not well delineated with reflective markings for nighttime visibility, so he recommends that they not be retained. If the Board desires to replace the semi-diverters with some sort of traffic calming, it should be noted that a few years ago there was a good deal of outreach from the Planning Department and a few traffic calming concepts were considered acceptable by attending residents. Since that time, the southwest area has largely built out and the abovementioned road projects were completed. The fears of overwhelming traffic in the neighborhood have not played out and so there has been less interest in traffic calming. Traffic Engineer Logue recommended that the semi-diverters be removed and that traffic volumes and speeds be monitored in the Spring. After that a decision can be made regarding whether replacement traffic calming is warranted. He further recommended that there doesn’t seem to be any reason to remove the mid-block speed humps on the two streets because they help to moderate speeds along a three-block stretch and seem to be in fairly good condition. The signage could perhaps be touched up a bit by adding location arrows and visibility could be improved by pruning a few trees. Rick Grossman, Wood Street resident, was invited by the Board to participate in the discussion of this item. He explained that he is a 20 year resident of the Wood Street area and that he is aware of the different traffic calming measures that the City has implemented throughout the City. He is concerned that the recommendation from the City’s Traffic Engineer was given to the Board before it was given to the neighborhood and that the neighborhood should be given a chance to respond to the recommendation before the Board takes any action on it. He further stated that it would be remiss to remove the diverters and then see if traffic calming is needed in the neighborhood. He explained that due process is needed with involvement of the whole neighborhood because this would have a significant impact on it. He also requested that the Board give the neighborhood an opportunity to respond to the recommendations from the Traffic Engineer and thanked the Board for the opportunity to speak to them on this topic. Commissioner Schlather stated that the neighborhood should be consulted and given the opportunity to discuss the recommendations at length. He further stated that he was contacted by the Chair of the Board of Fire Commissioners regarding the diverters on Wood Street to see if the Board could perhaps make a recommendation to replace the diverters with something a little less dramatic to protect the fire trucks as they go through that area to respond to various calls. The Chair of the Board of Fire Commissioners indicated that their Board would make a written recommendation to the Board of Public Works regarding this item. 4 December 12, 2007 Common Council Liaison Coles thanked Commissioner Schlather for his comments. She explained that the reason the residents of the neighborhood were not sent an e- mail about this topic was because after the initial discussion by the Board on this topic she was going to contact the neighborhood for their input as well. She stated that both she and Rick Grossman respect Traffic Engineer Logue very much and they both feel that there are sufficiently good reasons why this item should come back to the Board after the neighborhood has had an opportunity to provide their input. She further stated that if the traffic diverters were removed, there should be some traffic-calming device already in place to keep traffic through that area low. Discussion followed on the floor regarding the current pattern of traffic flow through the neighborhood to Wegmans, Cecil A. Malone Drive, and the southwest area, the recommendations from Traffic Engineer Logue and what other traffic calming measures could be implemented in this area. Superintendent Gray stated that his view of traffic calming is different and the City felt that the traffic load had to be shared between Albany and Plain Streets. He further explained why the City installed speed humps in this area and that there isn’t agreement on what should be done here. Commissioner Chapman stated that he highly respects Traffic Engineer Logue’s work and abilities and noted that he is very community oriented. This item was brought before the Board by Traffic Engineer Logue as a “heads-up”. The Board would not proceed with a decision of such importance without the input from the residents in the neighborhood. There are other reasons why the diverters need to be looked at, such as speed issues, enforcement issues, and public use of the street. He explained that there are better ways to accommodate what the community wants and the City needs in this instance. The Board requested that this item come back to them for review and consideration, in February 2008, after the neighborhood has had an opportunity to review the recommendations and provide input. Franklin Marketplace Superintendent Gray explained to the Board that the owner of the Franklin Plaza, located at 423-435 Franklin Street (intersection of Route 13 and Third Street), expressed an interest earlier in the year on working with the City to clean up and landscape a small patch of land bordering her building and Route 13. Currently the land is being used as storage for DPW equipment. She has made three requests:  Removal of the DPW equipment  Landscaping  Installation of curb, curb cuts and sidewalks Superintendent Gray stated that as the City’s industrial operation (Water and Sewer) has gotten more sophisticated neighbors (mutual housing for community garden, service center for wastewater plant, Franklin Marketplace for strip mall), it has tried to be a good community member and upgrade its appearance and operations. The City is about to build a new cold storage building and can do other things to improve its appearance but it will always be an industrial operation. This is a topic that staff would like the Board’s views on. Commissioner Chapman stated that the Board should keep in mind other long-term business owners in the area along the waterfront and just because the City has been there for a long time doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s best use of the land. There may be a better place for the City’s commercial facilities. Commissioner Schlather stated that it may take time to move city facilities, if that is how the City decides to proceed, but that in the meantime there are places where communities co-exist with industry uses and also provide inviting shopping areas. The City should consider what it could do to clean up its area and develop it more into an urban landscape that would make it more attractive since that area also includes the Farmer’s Market and the Sciencenter. 5 December 12, 2007 Assist. Supt. for Water & Sewer Whitney explained that he has been working with City Planner Nicholas, City Forester Hillman, City Traffic Engineer Logue, to develop a capital project for this area which would include the installation of trees, open up the island area by Buzz Coffee and the Wine Store, and the installation of a grassy area. The Planning Department is also involved in the planning for the development of this area to improve its appearance as an entrance to the City. Asst. Supt. for Streets & Facilities reminded the Board that there is also a third party involved in review and approval of these proposed plans and that is the New York State Department of Transportation. Supt. Gray explained that it would benefit the City and the private property owner in this area to make efforts to co-exist, as it would save the City money by not having to re- locate, provide a quicker response time because the facility would stay within city limits, and community involvement in the area would be increased. Asst. Supt. for Water & Sewer Whitney stated that the owner of the property making the request to the City has been involved in preliminary discussions about the proposed capital project and their tenants have also been made aware of the City’s plans. Commissioner Schlather stated that the City should personally reach out to the owner of the Franklin Plaza, Dewi Rainey, to assure her involvement with this project. Common Council Liaison Coles stated that she would personally contact Ms. Rainey. Uniform Sidewalk Assessments – 100 Block N. Aurora Street Sidewalk assessments were developed for properties on the 100 block of North Aurora Street. Bills will be sent and a public hearing scheduled for the voting meeting in January 2008. Mini Traffic Circle at South Plain and Center Streets This item was not discussed at the meeting. Stone Quarry Road Right Turns This item was not discussed at the meeting. Pete’s Grocery Parking Lot This item was not discussed. ADJOURNMENT On a motion the meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m. Sarah L. Myers Carolyn K. Peterson Information Management Specialist Mayor