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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-09-11 Board of Public Works Meeting AgendaBOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS OFFICIAL NOTICE OF REGULAR MEETING A meeting of the Board of Public Works will be held on Wednesday, March 9, 2011, at 4:45 p.m. in Common Council Chambers - Third Floor, City Hall, 108 East Green Street, Ithaca, New York. Agenda 1. Additions or Deletions to Agenda (Items 1-5: 75 min.) 2. Mayor’s Communications 3. Communications and Hearings from Persons before the Board 3.1 Public Hearing: Possible Removal of the Wood Street and South Street Traffic Diverters at 5:00 p.m. 4. Response to Public 5. Reports Special Committees of the Board Council Liaison Board Liaisons Superintendent and Staff Other Department Heads 6. Approval of Minutes (10 min.) 6.1 November 10, 2010, Board of Public Works Meeting Minutes – Resolution 6.2 February 16, 2011, Board of Public Works Meeting Minutes – Resolution 7. Administration and Communications 8. VOTING ITEMS 8.1 Buildings, Properties, Refuse, and Transit (10 min) 8.1 Request for Awning at 215 Dryden Road – Resolution 8.2 Highways, Streets, and Sidewalks 8.3 Parking and Traffic 8.4 Creeks, Bridges, and Parks (25 min.) 8.4A Fees for Use of City Real Property – Draft Resolutions 8.4B Approval in Concept to the Installation of Fencing around Auburn Park – Resolution 8.5 Water and Sewer 9. DISCUSSION ITEMS Page 2 10. New Business 11. Adjournment If you have a disability that will require special arrangements to be made in order for you to fully participate in the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at 274-6570 at least 48 hours before the meeting. The Board of Public Works meets on the second, third and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 4:45 p.m. All meetings are voting meetings, which opens with a public comment period. Meeting agendas are created from prior public input, Department operating and planning issues, and requests made to the Superintendent. The Board reserves the right to limit verbal comments to three minutes and to request written comments on lengthy or complex issues. This information may then be used to create committee agendas, with the speaker or author invited to attend. Page 3 Notes for BPW Agenda, March 9, 2011 3.1 Public Hearing: Possible Removal of the Wood Street and South Street Traffic Diverters at 5:00 p.m. The Board has scheduled this hearing to hear public comment on this single topic. Some of the collected information on this topic has been provided in prior agendas, including a record of a prior hearing, I believe. While it is not vital that you be familiar with all the material in order to hear from the public, it will be useful as you try to make a decision about the diverters. I also expect that some people will make comments that you should not be bound by history, but only by current needs/desires of the neighborhood, while others may start by telling you what they believe was agreed to long ago. While there will be a chance to respond to the public immediately following the hearing, this is not a discussion or decision item on the current agenda. 8.1 Request for Awning at 215 Dryden Road – Resolution The resolution is written to approve the awning request. This is simply based on a long history with similar installations, as adapted to our new city code. 8.4A Fees for Use of City Real Property – Draft Resolutions I have drafted two resolutions based on my current understanding of the two situations as outlined in the drafts. I took some liberty in trying to get the Cass Park dock lottery going early so it would work for any party looking for use of the docks, and provide the highest return to the City. I would appreciate a review and comments on the proposed fee. While I am sure that Common Council will have its own discussion, I would like our recommendation to be as complete and reasonable as possible. We may be creating this "market" so it is hard to determine "fair market value." The apparent cost provides a background for the discussion. 8.4B Approval in Concept to the Installation of Fencing around Auburn Park – Resolution I have inserted the same resolution that was previously provided. The director of the Drop-In Center has been invited to attend the meeting, which in retrospect was probably cruel. I should have thought about the public hearing first and rescheduled this item. W.J. Gray, P.E. Superintendent of Public Works March 4, 2011 Page 4 8.1 Request for Awning at 215 Dryden Road – Resolution WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works has received a request for an awning for a business at 215 Dryden Road which involves an encroachment for that awning to project over the sidewalk along the south side of Dryden Road, and WHEREAS, awnings are permitted under Section 170-13.B of the City Municipal Code for “Use of City Real Property” but require a license under Section 170-5.F issued upon approval of the Board, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works hereby authorizes the Mayor, upon consultation with the Building Commissioner, Superintendent and City Attorney, to execute an agreement/license allowing the requested encroachment, revocable upon 90 days’ written notice by the City in the event that the encroached upon land is required for any City purpose, and containing the usual terms and conditions; and be it further RESOLVED, That this license shall be subject to an application fee of $200 and $50 renewal fee per year, per the “Schedule of Application, Renewal and Annual Use Fees for the Use of Real Property Owned by the City,” based upon all the circumstances. Page 5 8.4A Fees for Use of City Real Property – Boat Slips at Cass Park – Draft Resolution WHEREAS, the City has recently installed two fixed docks in Cass Park to serve human powered craft, and WHEREAS, the City ran an experiment in 2010 to test the demand for transient dock space by allowing the reserved use of one fixed dock, leaving the second fixed dock as well as a floating dock to serve the daily demand, with the apparent result that this approach is sufficient to meet current demand to launch and retrieve human powered craft, and WHEREAS, the City wishes to comply with a State Audit Report which directed the City to obtain fair rental value for its leases to use City Real Property, but recognizes that determining the fair value of this particular commodity is very difficult to determine because most human powered craft goes home with the user, and WHEREAS, staff has advised that an annual capital cost for these docks is estimated as follows:  Construction Cost: $70,000  Useful Life: 20 years  Salvage at 20 years: $20,000 (pile foundation)  Capital Maintenance: $5,000 @ years 8 & 16  Cost for two docks (capital only): $70,000 - $20,000 + 2 @ $5,000 20 years = $3,000/year  Cost per dock face: $3,000/4 = $750/year And WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works believes that only individuals or groups with very large human powered craft which are not easily launched would be interested in the reserved use, making the market very small and difficult to gauge or develop, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works recommends to Common Council a first year dock fee of $400 for each of the two dock faces being made available under this program for 2011, and be it further RESOLVED, That because of the late date, the Board directs staff to establish by publishing a lottery for these reserved dock spaces and to issue the documents using the recommended fee of $400 per dock face, with a return date of April 4, 2011, and a tentative draw date of April 7, 2011, with the understanding that the value of a seasonal reserved dock space drops as the season starts, and be it further RESOLVED, That the Board recommends that Common Council adopt the 2011 lottery as established, or establish one of their own. Fees for Use of City Real Property – Boat Slips at Newman Golf Course – Draft Resolution Page 6 WHEREAS, the City has received a legal opinion that the Newman Golf Course is part of the City’s parkland holdings, contiguous with Stewart and Cass Parks, and WHEREAS, the City is endeavoring to comply with a State Audit Report which directed the City to obtain fair rental value for its leases, licenses and other agreements to use the City’s real property, as now outlined in Chapter 170 of the Municipal Code, “Use of City Real Property,” and WHEREAS, an appraisal completed for the City in the winter of 2010/2011 has determined a ground rent of $350 per slip per season for boat slips on Pier Road, along Cayuga Inlet, and WHEREAS, the City has had long-standing agreements for those boat slips which will change initially due to the appraisal, but also due to the conversion of the status of Newman Golf Course to parkland, if the City accepts the legal opinion, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That staff has or will notify the affected parties of the pending changes in the ground rent which will impact the 2011 agreement, as well as other potential changes for 2012 following the City’s review of the status of Newman Golf Course, and be it further RESOLVED, That staff is directed to create a briefing on the legal opinion so that the Board of Public Works can make a recommendation to Common Council on the status of Newman Golf Course, as well as the potential impacts of the determination to change or maintain its current status. Page 7 8.4B Approval in Concept to the Installation of Fencing around Auburn Park – Resolution WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works has received a request for additional fencing along the perimeter of Auburn Park from the Drop-In Children's Center, but forwarded through the Parks Commission, and WHEREAS, the Parks Commission provided a resolution of support for the additional fencing, provided that it followed a modified design containing three large strategically placed openings as shown in a drawing attached to their resolution dated January 11, 2011, and WHEREAS, the Board recognizes that support for additional fencing may not be universal in the larger Fall Creek neighborhood, but understands that fencing is reversible in that it is not an expensive or complex installation, and that the Drop-In Center is still interested in providing play areas closer to the center itself, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works hereby approves in concept the installation of additional fencing at Auburn Park by the Drop-In Children's Center, and directs staff to review shop drawings for the proposed installation submitted by the Drop-In Center for conformance with the Parks Commission’s resolution prior to providing written approval of the installation.