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Home My WebLink About07-23-12 Board of Public Works Meeting AgendaLola a log F-Al a Z [Q I LIN 4US] a, V *C111W_11 :A JAIIII, I A meeting of the Board of Public Works will be held on Monday, July 23, 2012, at 4:45 p.m. in Common Council Chambers — Third Floor, City Hall, 108 East Green Street, Ithaca, New York. 07-OM • Approval of Minutes 6.1 October 26, 2011 Regular Meeting Minutes 6.2 June 25, 2012 Regular Meeting Minutes 6.3 July • 2012 Regular Meeting Minutes 8. VOTING ITEMS 8.1 Buildings, Properties, Refuse and Transit 8.3 Parking and Traffic (5 min.) 8.5 Water and Sewer A. Appeal of Water Bill for Nate's Floral Estates — Resolution mvmmm�� 9.1 Request to Change Fall Creek Drive to One-Way Traffic 9.2 Loaves & Fishes Lot "D" Request 9.3 Budget Update 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 607-274-6570 at least 48 hours before the meeting. The Board of Public Works meets on the second, third and fourth Wednesdays of the months at 4:45 p.m. All meetings are voting meetings, opening with a public comment period. Meeting agendas are created from prior public input, Department operating, 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. W�! 111111111 8.5A Appeal of Water Bill for (date's Floral Estates — Resolution Some questions came up following the discussion of the Nate's Floral Estates water and sewer bill at the Board's meeting on July 9, 2012. 1 have written a resolution based on my understanding of the Board's discussion and my closing statement on that topic at the meeting. If you agree, then this resolution will stand as a record of the understanding that should result in the bill being paid. 9.1 Request to Chang-e Fall Creek Drive to One-Way TratVic A number • interesting legal questions come to my mind as I read the March letter from Lynn Truame, the City's Historic Preservation Planner. Since Cornell has its own legal department, am sure they •• n't need me to ponder their issues as they consider the Board's action. 1 am aware that if the Board had thought it could grant the property owner's request to have the City's guide rail removed, they would have done so. Both Cornell and the City were trying to 4eal with problems • the narrow street right-of-way and the unstable condition • the steep gorge wall at and near the intersection of Fall Creek Dive and Wyckoff Avenue. While I am not concerned about the volume or speed of traffic at that location, I have asked the Transportation Engineer to review the request and provide comments for the Board's review. The suggestion of going to one-way traffic at that location appears to have merit. I am not wild about putting pedestrian traffic on the outside of a curve without grade separation (an elevated sidewalk rather than a painted stripe) but there may be as many pedestrians as vehicles at that location. The location is narrow and portions of the existing stone wall which separates the pavement from the steep gorge have fallen into the gorge or are otherwise failing. While that wall was probably reasonable and acceptable in 1920, it would take far more time and expense than the department currently has available to install a modern replacement. Reducing the demands on the wall by placing traffic further from it is probably beneficial in the short term. In the long term I expect the neighborhood will be seeking a more "appropriate" solution for the guide rail. 9.2 Loaves & Fishes Lot "D" Request Loaves and Fishes is seeking permission to install a food garden plot on the land behind the Cayuga Garage, adjacent to Six Mile Creek. While this land belongs to the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA), they have given daily administration of it to the DPW until their development plans take over. I am told that an option to purchase that land is about to be exercised so this request may be moot. Please see the reference to "Cayuga Green Two" in the attached article from the front page of the July 18, 2012, Ithaca Journal. I will try to be better informed by our meeting. Page 2 9.3 Budget Update Ray, Erik, and I will provide comments on the budget we are preparing for 2013. As you know, we have been asked to provide a budget with a 10% reduction in personnel lines (largely salaries, hourly wages, overtime, part time and seasonal or intern wages) and a 1 % reduction in our other lines. Previously the motto was "do more with less," but after years of negative budgets, it has become "do less with less." While we get the first chance to construct the budgets, and to decide where savings, efficiencies, or pain will appear in the budget, it would be helpful if you could give some thought to where you would reduce the department's budget if it were your task. I am at the point of demanding (requesting ?) that we get rid of property, buildings, parks, or programs so that we can produce something we can call a sustainable budget. We have already cut things from our past or current proposed budget that we need to do our work. We own so much property, so many buildings, so much equipment, so many miles of water or sewer mains, that we can reduce spending on them and it takes years before most individuals can see that we are not maintaining what we own. By that time we are tens of millions of dollars behind and it is even more painful or impossible to catch back up. It appears first as excessive potholes, holes in bridge decks, numerous late night water main breaks, wrinkled paper on your desk from a roof leak, or unanswered complaints. We have seen all of these in the last decade. WU LEnV J. firm, P. E. Superi, tevOevut of Public Worlds Page 3 13:1111155TWFiMM, 7 - -=. rFI= WHEREAS, the owner of Nate's Floral Estates has requested that the late payment fees for their March water and sewer bill be waived because the owner had medical issues in April and had overlooked the bill until it was re-billed in May with interest added, and WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works, while sympathetic to any property owner's individual issues, notes that Nate's Floral Estates has been late and paid penalties before, and the Board recognizes that bills issued are for goods and services received months before the bill is issued, consequently the Board has a policy of not waiving late fees unless there is a dispute concerning the bill that is the result of a mechanical or human error, or from some procedural or clerical error, originating with City staff, and the property owner has raised the issue prior to the due date of the bill, and WHEREAS, the Board believes that to waive fees for any reason other than one centered in City staff or equipment would make collecting the City's bills difficult, inconsistent, and costly, and WHEREAS, the Water and Sewer division has pointed out that the owners of Nate's Floral Estates has a long history of working with the division to provide pipeline easements and construction access over their property in a heavily populated commercial district, saving the division many hours of administrative work, many thousands of dollars in land agreements, and months of schedule time, and has suggested that they would like to pay the penalties on this bill in recognition of that history of cooperation, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works denies the request to expunge late fees and requests that Water and Sewer work with the property owner to see that the bill is paid in full, and be it further RESOLVED, That the Board wishes to thank the Weiner family for their years of cooperation and assistance with the Water and Sewer group as they sought to maintain and improve the water and sewer service to the southwest portion of the City. Page 4 108 East Green Street 3rd Floor Ithaca, New York 14850-5690 DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT JOANN CORNlS14,DBNECTOR OF PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT PHYllISA8.[eSARNO\ DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Telephone: Planning & Development -607-274'6550 Community DnvelopmmmolODA-607-274-6559 Email. dgmuudeo@cityofithucu,mrg Email: hmng@cdv*fithuuu.org Fax: 607-274-6558 Fax: 607-274-5558 Bill Gray Superintendent of Public Works City ofIthaca 1O8E. Green Street Ithaca, NY 14850 At the regularly scheduled Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission (ILPC)meeting on March 13, 2012, the Commission reviewed an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness ("C. of A.") from - Cornell University for completion of the uhahn-| of Fall Creek Drive. The C.ofA^ was denied, os the Commission found the proposed fence inthat particular location to be incompatible with the massing, size, scale, and materials of the stone retaining wall /an original landscape feature in the Cornell Heights Historic District), and that its installation would result in a severe negative impact on the view shed from this historic overlook. During consideration of the proposal the issue of pedestrian safety was discussed at length, since Cornell's stated goal in installing the fence was to improve pedestrian safety, and because this is an area where no sidewalks exist, but which attracts a high volume of pedestrian traffic. As part ofthis discussion, the idea of altering the use of the road was raised — you may recall this was also raised at the |LPC meeting |n September 2O11. On behalf of the |LPC,|um now writing 10 request that the Department of Public Works and the Board of Public Works investigate options to reduce vehicular traffic on this stretch of Fall Creek Drive, inaneffort to improve pedestrian safety and alleviate the perceived need for additional physical barriers along the gorge in this particular location. Currently, Fall Creek Drive is open to two-way traffic and bnot posted with any weight limits. ideas for improving safety |n this area, raised last September and at the March 13 th meeting, Include making the street one-way (runnin8uohiU) andusin8thenoadvvidththmtthisvvou!dheeuptncreateapedesthan path or sidewalk along the gorge side wf the road, and limiting the allowable vehicular traffic to cars and light trucks. The ILPC acknowledges traffic safety is not its area of expertise, but from a layman's perspective these two changes seem to be ones that would greatly reduce the likelihood of pedestrian/vehicle conflicts, as well as the risks posed by forcing pedestrians off the road toward the edge of the gorge. Together, these changes might reduce the perceived need for the controversial fence, as well aSthe guard rail, which you will recall was the subject oƒ strong opposition from the neighbors and which the ILPC has stated they find to be incompatible with the historic character of this unique location. The neighbors |n attendance wtthe September 2D11 and March 2012|LPC meetings were wholly in favor of these changes to the use of the road; but, certainly, other property owners who were not in attendance would be affected bv these changes aswell. | assume that when such changes are considered, property owners along the affected street are notified and included |n the planning process. Given the amount of neighborhood interest in this area that was evident at the recent ILPC meetings, I would strongly encourage you to work with area residents to identify acceptable solutions. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Sinkero z L C. Tr �uame Historic Preservation Planner (on behalf of the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission) cc. I Board of Public Works "An Equal Opportunity Employer with commitment to workforce diversification," a c L vim- °vt m° +�cc CO ^b.0 flL. v -0aoo C(N�� tit ' 'cj E 75 CL m Prot �' w v art7S E 5v a Qi m �-C a� as aacs v Y o C) y. a) ,� � m � s.+ p n y.Ca� +v tU.v op� ��p a,�Urc1�x 'ate cc CU CA O v� U SA SJr ` aA 8 O O a N C p Sp cn O >1 p O �a U a•� a) a O p .�.` `� v d row e Q 4 C s G� ti a �•nd Liter d ro CL E 0 Y- N c i In H sSS U a" cc : to to w ,� � - �. a) as a-+ 0