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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-15-17 City Administration Committee AgendaIf 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 Controller’s Office at 607-274-6576 at least 48 hours before the meeting. CA Meeting City Administration Committee DATE: February 15, 2017 TIME: 6:00 p.m. LOCATION: 3rd Floor, City Hall, Council Chambers AGENDA ITEMS Item Voting Item? Presenter(s) Time Allotted Chair, Deb Mohlenhoff 1. Call To Order * Note: We will review the number of 15 Min* 1.1 Agenda Review No cards received at the beginning of each 1.2 Review and Approval of Minutes Yes meeting and adjust time if needed. Approval of January 2017 Minutes 1.3 Statements from the Public No 1.4 Statements from Employees No 1.5 Council Response No 2. Consent Items Yes 3. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy 3.1 City’s Official Newspaper – Discussion No Ari Lavine, City Attorney 10 Min 3.2 DPW – Reallocation Streets Supervisor Yes Mike Thorne, Supt of DPW 5 Min 3.3 DPW – Amendment to WTP Roster Yes Mike Thorne, Supt of DPW 5 Min 3.4 YB – Amendment to Roster Yes Liz Klohmann, YB Director 15 Min 4. Finance, Budget, and Appropriations 4.1 DPW – Approval of Engineering Assessment Yes Dan Cogan, Chief of Staff 20 Min of Alternatives to Reconnect Cornell Heights to City of Ithaca’ Water System 5. Committees Working Group No Deb Mohlenhoff 5 Min 6. 2018 Budget Schedule Discussion No All 5 min 7. Meeting Wrap-up All 5 Min 7.1 Announcements No 7.2 Next Meeting Date: March 15, 2017 7.3 Review Agenda Items for Next Meeting No 7.4 Adjourn Yes 7:40 p.m. Committee Charge: The CA committee will: Review financial and administrative issues pertaining to the City, along with items relating to the City of Ithaca workforce environment, intergovernmental relations and human resources. J:\DRedsicker\AGENDAS\City Admin Committee\2017\2-15 - Agenda.docx 2/15/17 3. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy .2 DPW - Reallocation of Position – Supervisor of Streets WHEREAS, the Supervisor of Streets requested a review of his position pursuant to the terms of the City Executive Association labor contract, and WHEREAS, the review determined that a permanent and material growth in the position’s responsibilities has occurred since the position was last evaluated in 1999, and WHEREAS, the Human Resources Department reviewed the point factor evaluation of the Supervisor of Streets position and determined that the growth in responsibilities merits an increased point factor rating, which results in the reallocation of the position to a higher salary grade, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the position of Supervisor of Streets be reallocated from Grade B to Grade A of the City Executive Association Compensation Plan, and be it further RESOLVED, That funding in the amount of $5,697.32 to cover this salary increase retroactive to December 15, 2016 shall be derived from various DPW accounts in A5111 Maintenance of Roads. J:\DRedsicker\AGENDAS\City Admin Committee\2017\2-15 - Agenda.docx 2/15/17 3. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy .3 DPW – Amendment to Roster – Water Treatment Plant WHEREAS, the Department of Public Works has $34,000 in the 2017 operating budget for additional staff at the Water Treatment Plant, and WHEREAS, during the preparation of the 2017 budget, there was discussion over use of the funds, either for an Assistant Chief Operator for half of the year, or for an Operator Trainee for the full year, and WHEREAS, the approved roster lists an Assistant Chief Operator, but the DPW has determined that there is a greater need for an Operator Trainee; now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Personnel Roster of the Department of Public Works shall be amended as follows: Add: One (1) Water Treatment Plant Operator Trainee Delete: One (1) Assistant Chief Water Treatment Plant Operator and be it further RESOLVED, That no funding changes are anticipated within the Department of Public Works budget. J:\DRedsicker\AGENDAS\City Admin Committee\2017\2-15 - Agenda.docx 2/15/17 3. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy .4 Youth Bureau - Amendment to 2017 Roster WHEREAS, the Youth Bureau leadership team has worked hard to draft a strategic plan that will address community needs and high quality services that are both efficient and valued by the community; and WHEREAS, the Youth Bureau requests amendments to the 2017 Roster in order to best meet its needs and support the vision, mission and goals; and WHEREAS, the Youth Bureau has been advised by and worked closely with the HR department throughout the planning process; and WHEREAS, the Civil Service Commission is currently reviewing two positions and formal adoption is anticipated at the February meeting; and WHEREAS, the maintenance and care needed for the YB building, Cass Park facilities and grounds continues to grow; and WHEREAS, as our community grows, the demand for services and programming at both facilities is increasing and in order to best manage and maintain vital facilities and grounds along with the corresponding programming; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Personnel Roster of the Youth Bureau shall be amended as follows: Add: One (1) Deputy Youth Bureau Director (40 hours) One (1) Recreation Program Assistant (35 hours) Delete: One (1) Recreation Facilities Director (40 hours) and, be it further RESOLVED, That the City Controller is hereby authorized to reallocate the funding between one (1) Recreation Program Administrator, two (2) Recreation Program Coordinator and one (1) Recreation Program Specialist positions, so that the two Recreation Program Coordinator positions are funded, and the Recreation Program Administrator and Recreation Program Specialist positions are not funded, and be it further RESOLVED, That this restructure does not require additional funds from the City and will allow us to optimize our resources and personnel to provide quality services to residents, both now and in the future. Ithaca Youth Bureau 1 James L. Gibbs Drive Ithaca, New York 14850 Phone: (607) 273-8364 Fax: (607) 273-2817 “Building a foundation for a lifetime.” To: City Administration Committee From: Liz Klohmann, Director Re: 2017 Roster Amendment Date: 2/15/17 Over the last few months the Youth Bureau leadership team has worked hard to draft a strategic plan that will address community needs and allow us to provide high quality services that are both efficient and valued by the community. In order to best meet the Youth Bureau needs and support our vision, mission and goals we are requesting amendments to the 2017 Roster. We have been advised by and worked closely with the HR department throughout the planning process. The Civil Service Commission is currently reviewing two positions and we anticipate formal adoption at the February meeting. The following changes are made within our approved 2017 budget. The maintenance and care needed for the YB building, Cass Park facilities and grounds continues to grow. As our community grows, the demand for services and programming at both facilities is increasing. In order to best manage and maintain vital facilities and grounds along with the corresponding programming we would like to un-fund the Cass Park Facility Director position and add 1 Deputy Director Position to our roster. This Deputy position will be responsible for the oversight and management of facilities both at Cass and the Youth Bureau. Additionally, the position will oversee programming at Cass Park and assume supervision of the YB maintenance and custodial staff. In the Recreation Department, we would like to un-fund the Recreation Program Administrator position the current employee will fill the vacant Recreation Program Coordinator position (35 hours). Also in the Recreation Department, we would like to un-fund the Recreation Program Specialist position and fund a Recreation Program Coordinator position (40). The current employee in the Specialist position will be promoted to the Recreation Coordinator position Lastly, we would like to add a Recreation Program Assistant position (35 hours) to our roster to support programs at both Cass Park and the Youth Bureau. To summarize: Delete Cass Park Facility Director Add Deputy Director Un-fund Recreation Program Administrator Un-fund Recreation Specialist (35 hours) Fund Recreation Program Coordinator (40 hours) Add Recreation Program Assistant (35 hours) This restructure does not require additional funds from the City and will allow us to optimize our resources and personnel to provide quality services to residents, both now and in the future. J:\DRedsicker\AGENDAS\City Admin Committee\2017\2-15 - Agenda.docx 2/15/17 4. Finance, Budget, and Appropriations .1 Approval of Engineering Assessment of Alternatives to Reconnect Cornell Heights to City of Ithaca’s Water System WHEREAS, the Cornell Heights neighborhood, roughly the area north of University Avenue, has been served by water supplied by the Cornell Water Filtration Plant since 1993, and WHEREAS, this arrangement was implemented at Cornell’s request to enable them to utilize for their own purposes the City’s water main running through campus, down East Avenue, which had supplied Cornell Heights up to that time, and WHEREAS, in the original letter of understanding, Cornell and the City agreed that the City would supply an equal volume of water to Cornell somewhere on their campus to offset the water supplied by Cornell; that there would be little to no financial exchange for the arrangement; that Cornell Heights water users would remain City customers and would continue to be billed by the City; and that Cornell water users would continue to be billed by Cornell, and WHEREAS, the City saw and continues to see some benefits from this arrangement, including higher water pressures in Cornell Heights, which provide better fire protection, and WHEREAS, the City supplied the West Campus area of Cornell for some period of time during the initial years of this arrangement, but the City’s water supply was deemed unacceptable to Cornell, and West Campus was switched back to Cornell’s water system in 1996, and WHEREAS, the City has been and remains willing to supply water to Cornell to offset the water supplied to Cornell Heights, but Cornell has heretofore not provided the City with an acceptable location for the delivery of water, and WHEREAS, the City has offered and remains willing to pay Cornell the marginal cost of producing that amount of water, since the City sees minor savings in chemical and electricity costs by not treating and pumping that volume of water, and WHEREAS, Cornell has instead requested that the City pay a rate based on their retail price for water, an unacceptably high rate which is approximately ten times higher than the City’s marginal cost of water, and WHEREAS, the original letter of understanding was never converted to a formal legal agreement, and WHEREAS, Cornell now wishes to pursue the option of switching Cornell Heights back to the City’s water system, but the original water main down East Avenue is no longer available, and therefore a new connection will have to be planned and constructed, and WHEREAS, the City is willing to help advance this option and has received from O’Brien and Gere a proposal to evaluate, for feasibility and cost, seven different alternatives for reconnecting Cornell Heights to the City’s water system, and J:\DRedsicker\AGENDAS\City Admin Committee\2017\2-15 - Agenda.docx 2/15/17 WHEREAS, this evaluation will cost $23,000, an amount the City is willing to pay, in partial recognition of the marginal water savings from not supplying Cornell with an offsetting amount of water since 1996, and WHEREAS, it is the City expectation that if an alternative for reconnecting Cornell Heights to the City’s water system can be agreed to and is eventually selected, the cost of design and construction of that connection will be borne primarily by Cornell; now therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby authorizes the expenditure in an amount not to exceed $23,000 to be derived from existing funds in Capital Reserve #16 Water Sources Development for the purposes of evaluating costs for the reconnection of Cornell Heights to the City’s water system. 333 West Washington Street, PO Box 4873 Syracuse, NY 13221-4873 p 315-956-6100 f 315-463-7554 OBG www.obg.com January 13, 2017 Mr. Michael J. Thorne, P.E. Superintendent of Public Works City of Ithaca Department of Public Works 108 E. Green Street, Room 203 Ithaca, NY 14850 RE: Cornell Heights Water Supply Study FILE: 1598/44681 Dear Michael: O’Brien & Gere Engineers, Inc. (OBG) is pleased to provide the City of Ithaca (City) with this proposal to evaluate alternatives to restore the City’s ability to supply water to the Cornell Heights Service Area. This proposal is based on our December 19, 2016 meeting. To facilitate your review, this proposal is organized as follows: Project Understanding Scope of Services Schedule Fee and Terms Clarifications and Assumptions PROJECT UNDERSTANDING Cornell University (Cornell) has produced the water delivered to City customers in the Cornell Heights Service Area since the early 1990’s based on an informal water exchange agreement. The agreement gave use to Cornell of the 12” water main along East Avenue, which the City had previously used to supply Cornell Heights. In the mid-1990s, new buildings were constructed on the Cornell campus which required higher water pressures than previously, pressures that could be supplied by Cornell’s system, but not the City’s system. This has created a water exchange imbalance for the past 20+ years. The imbalance has remained in place because modifications to the East Avenue water main by Cornell preclude the City from providing water to Cornell Heights, as was done prior to the water exchange agreement. In the interest in correcting the imbalance, the City of Ithaca has requested that OBG provide a proposal to complete a technical and cost feasibility evaluation of alternatives to either: Re-establish the City’s ability to supply water directly to the Cornell Heights Service Area, or Supply an equivalent volume of water for general use by Cornell or Bolton Point. OBG | THERE’S A WAY January 13, 2017 © 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | 2 I:\Ithaca-C.1598\BD\44681 Cornell Heights Water Supply Study\Cornell Heights Water Supply Study Final Proposal.docx Important secondary goals will be to identify alternatives to address the lower water pressure that would result from switching Cornell Heights from the Cornell system back to the City’s East Hill pressure zone and to improve the ability for the City and Cornell to exchange water in the event of a drought or water emergency. OBG will prepare a letter report, which will include a conceptual pipeline route description and figure for each alternative and a summary of known unique features that would drive the cost of implementation. The conceptual pipeline route evaluations will be based on existing available mapping only and will not involve subsurface investigations or field inspections. Cost estimates will be prepared based on the conceptual routing with the objective of providing sufficient detail for preliminary planning and comparing alternatives. The alternatives selected for evaluation include: Alternative One – This alternative will include the construction of a new 12” water main beginning at the intersection of College Ave. and Oak Ave. and generally following the route of the original City pipeline along East Ave., terminating with a connection to the Cornell Heights Service Area at Thurston Ave. Alternative Two – This alternative will include the construction of a new 12” water main beginning at the intersection of College Ave. and Oak Ave., following College Ave. to Campus Rd., then crossing the area known as the Libe Slope near West Ave., and terminating with a connection to the Cornell Heights Service Area at Thurston Ave. The crossing of the Libe Slope area will be priced based on the use of directional drilling to install the pipeline. Alterative Three – This alternative would include the construction of a new 12” water main beginning at the intersection of Dryden Rd. and Eddy Street and generally following Stewart Ave., and terminating with a connection to the Cornell Heights Service Area near the intersection of Highland Ave. and Thurston Ave. Alternative Four – This alternative is a hybrid of Alternatives Two and Three and will include the construction of a new 12” water main beginning at the intersection of College Ave. and Oak Ave., following Central Ave. to Campus Rd. to Stewart Ave., and terminating with a connection to the Cornell Heights Service Area near the intersection of Highland Ave. and Thurston Ave. Alternative Five – This alternative is a hybrid of Alternatives Two and Three and will include the construction of a new 12” water main beginning at the intersection of Dryden Rd. and Eddy Street and following Stewart Ave. to Campus Rd., then crossing the Libe slope near West Ave. and terminating with a connection to the Cornell Heights Service Area at Thurston Ave. The crossing of the Libe Slope area will be priced based on the use of directional drilling to install the pipeline. Alternative Six – This alternative will be based on a three-way water exchange whereby Cornell would continue to supply water to the City’s customers in Cornell Heights (estimated to be 120,000 gallons per day), Bolton Point would supply an equivalent amount to Cornell through the existing North Campus connection, and the City would supply an equal amount to Bolton Point through the existing Oakwood Lane Pumping Station. Alternative Seven – This alternative will be based on a three-way water exchange whereby Cornell would continue to supply water to the City’s customers in Cornell Heights (estimated to be 120,000 gallons per day), Bolton Point would supply an equivalent amount to Cornell through the existing north campus connection and the City would supply an equal amount to Bolton Point through the City’s existing interconnection building on Water Street. This alternative would require the construction of a new pressure reducing station in the Bolton Point transmission main between the Pine Tree control valve and the City’s interconnection building to reduce the pressure gradient in the T-Main to match the gradient in the City’s East Ithaca Service Area and Cornell’s Zone 1. OBG | THERE’S A WAY January 13, 2017 © 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | 3 I:\Ithaca-C.1598\BD\44681 Cornell Heights Water Supply Study\Cornell Heights Water Supply Study Final Proposal.docx In addition to the delivery alternatives described above, OBG will evaluate two alternatives for addressing the lower water pressure that will result in Cornell Heights once this service area is switched back to the City’s East Hill pressure zone: Alternative A - This alternative will include replacement of the aging 12” water mains along Dryden Rd./Maple Ave. and replacement of the Maple Ave. ground storage tank with an elevated tank having a high operating level of 984 feet. This evaluation will assume that the tank will either be replaced in its current location or on adjacent land acquired from Cornell University. The limits of the pipeline replacement along Dryden Rd./Maple Ave. will be from Eddy Street to the Maple Ave. Tank, excluding the recently replaced section between College Ave. and Linden Ave. A section of 12” water main on College Ave., from Dryden Road to Oak Ave., and a bi-directional billing meter will also be included to facilitate direct water exchanges between the City and Cornell water distribution systems. Alternative B – This alternative recognizes that Cornell Heights was adequately served by the lower water pressure from the City’s East Hill pressure zone prior to the water exchange agreement. It also recognizes that modifications will be required to fire sprinkler systems installed in buildings after Cornell began providing higher pressure water to Cornell Heights. This alternative will identify the number of fire suppression systems that will need to be modified, and an approximate cost to modify an average system. SCOPE OF SERVICES OBG will review the digital utility mapping provided by the City to develop conceptual pipeline routing for each alternative as well as a conceptual site plan for the proposed Maple Ave. elevated storage tank. OBG will use the mapping provided to identify major cost drivers such as existing utility congestion, bridge crossings, traffic control, etc. OBG will develop conceptual level cost estimates based on the proposed routing to provide sufficient detail for preliminary planning purposes and comparing alternatives. Estimates will use a combination of construction costs from similar City projects as well as input from vendors and contractors. OBG will prepare draft and final versions of a letter report. The report will include a conceptual pipeline route description and figure for each alternative, conceptual cost estimates, and recommendations for the next steps needed for the implementation of the preferred alternative. Meetings: » OBG will conduct a meeting with project stakeholder’s and City staff to review the conceptual pipeline routes and discuss major cost drivers and key implementation considerations. This meeting will be held prior to issuing the draft report. » OBG will present the findings of the evaluation and draft report and discuss next steps to the Board of Public Works and discuss the next steps towards the implementation of an alternative. The report will be finalized based on consolidated comments received from the City after this meeting. SCHEDULE This proposal is being submitted for discussion at the February 15th City Administration Committee meeting and authorization at the March 1 City Council meeting. OBG proposes to complete its evaluation and be prepared to present our findings and draft report to the Board of Public Works within six weeks of authorization. OBG | THERE’S A WAY January 13, 2017 © 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | 4 I:\Ithaca-C.1598\BD\44681 Cornell Heights Water Supply Study\Cornell Heights Water Supply Study Final Proposal.docx FEE AND TERMS OBG will perform the services described in this proposal for a not-to-exceed fee of $23,000. Services will be invoiced at Salary Cost times a multiplier of 2.3 consistent with other office based services we have performed for the City. CLARIFICATIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS This proposal does not include an assessment of distribution system water quality. Cornell has indicated that long-term distribution system water quality issues including corrosion control and disinfection byproducts will need to be evaluated prior to the implementation of an alternative. Cost estimates will be limited to construction related costs and will not include costs associated with land acquisitions, agency and regulatory approvals, engineering support, etc. The City will supply an estimate of the number of existing buildings requiring fire suppression system upgrades and the estimated average cost per building for use in the evaluation of alternatives. If this proposal is acceptable, please countersign and return a copy of the proposal to signify acceptance and serve as authorization for OBG to proceed. We appreciate the opportunity to provide engineering services to the City of Ithaca. Should you have questions regarding this proposal, please contact me at (315) 956-6471 or via email at Rick.Gell@obg.com. Very truly yours, O’BRIEN & GERE ENGINEERS, INC. Richard E. Gell, P.E. Senior Managing Engineer cc: Erik Whitney, P.E. Robert C. Ganley, P.E. I:\Ithaca-C.1598\BD\44681 Cornell Heights Water Supply Study\Cornell Heights Water Supply Study Final Proposal.docx