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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BPW-2017-09-11BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 4:50 p.m. September 11, 2017 PRESENT: Mayor Myrick Commissioners (4) – Greene, McCormick, Morache, Warden OTHERS PRESENT: Superintendent of Public Works – Thorne Assistant Superintendent of Water and Sewer – Whitney Director of Parking – Nagy Common Council Liaison – Fleming Executive Assistant – Servoss EXCUSED: Commissioner Jenkins City Attorney – Lavine Assistant Superintendent of Streets and Facilities – Benjamin Director of Engineering – Logue ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA: Supt. Thorne requested the addition of item 13B, a discussion about Common Council’s resolution to award funding to the Martin Luther King Jr. Street Corridor Project. Commissioner McCormick requested addition of item 14A regarding State Law Yield to Pedestrians signs. MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS: Mayor Myrick asked Supt. Thorne to pass on his thanks to Steve Nann , Building and Grounds Supervisor, for creating a system for having flags at the correct height at all city facilities. COMMUNICATIONS AND HEARINGS FROM PERSONS BEFORE THE BOARD: No members of the public appeared to address the Board. RESPONSE TO THE PUBLIC No response was necessary. REPORTS Council Liaison CC Liaison Fleming stated she had nothing to report other than what was already reported in the media. Board Liaisons Commissioner Greene reported that he joined the Parks Commission as the Board’s liaison. Superintendent and Staff Supt. Thorne reported the Forest Home Drive Project was moving along, with small change orders expected; street crews finished the Hudson Street intersection so crews would begin repairing bad utility patches, starting on State and Seneca Streets. Asst. Supt. Whitney reported that staff was busy closing out the water treatment plant project contract. He noted that it was a pleasure working with the contractors, and the operators were becoming familiar with the operations of the new plant. Water and Sewer crews were still on Albany Street to replacing mains dating to 1800s. He anticipated another three weeks of work. Director of Parking Nagy reported that revenues for August 2017 were $95k; as compared to August 2016, which were $98k. He stated that the pay machines were doing very well. He has received complaints from DeWitt Mall about contractors parking in front of the mall all day. He stated that tickets were issued, which seemed to have worked in getting the contractors to move to other parking areas. Board of Public Works Page 2 September 11, 2017 Regular Meeting Discussion followed on the floor regarding ticketing vehicles for remaining in the same location over two hours, and negotiating a reduction in the transaction fees with Parkmobile. ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNICATIONS: Approval of the April 10, 2017, and August 28, 2017, Board of Public Works Meeting Minutes - Resolution By Commissioner Warden: Seconded by Commissioner McCormick RESOLVED, That the minutes of the April 10, 2017, and August 28, 2017, Board of Public Works meeting be approved as written. Carried Unanimously CREEKS, BRIDGES, AND PARKS: Endorsement of a City of Ithaca Parks Logo – Resolution By Commissioner Greene: Seconded by Commissioner Warden WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca has over 20 parks and, due to insufficient or absent signage, many residents and visitors do not always recognize tha t they are in a City park, partaking of City services paid for by City taxpayers and maintained by City civil servants, and WHEREAS, the Parks Commission, in coordination with the City Forester, decided that in order to maintain an awareness of the City’s role in these integral green spaces, a City of Ithaca Parks brand should be created which would start with creating a parks logo, and WHEREAS, this identity would ensure that the storied park system and its role as public parkland is obvious to visitors amongst the new development initiated by partner “Friends” groups, and WHEREAS, The Parks Commission and City staff set about to make the development of a logo a truly local initiative and asked Professor Mike Mooney of Ithaca College to make it a project for his marketing class, and WHEREAS, The logo that was developed depicts a Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) leaf, a species that is native to this area but is also tolerant of a wide range of conditions, even urban environments and three Bur Oak trees are p lanted right outside of City Hall providing shade on the busy thoroughfare of East Green Street, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works endorses this logo as the official logo for the City of Ithaca Parks so that it could then be put on any signage, shirts, hats, websites, printed materials, vehicles, etc., providing the City of Ithaca Park system with a concrete identity, and instilling pride in those who work for it and play in it. Commissioner Greene stated that it was a nice logo, but after thinking about harmonization across all city departments, was this the right thing to do for all the departments? Mayor Myrick responded that the City wanted people to know they were in a park owned by the city, or the Commons built by the city. The current logo was the city seal, which depicted a building that no one alive has worked in, and very few had been to. Discussion followed on the floor regarding whether the city should undergo a branding city- wide. CC Liaison Fleming responded that ideally, yes, but it’s not a priority and this resolution should not be held up until the time was ideal. Supt. Thorne agreed and stated that the City Attorneys were not quite sure who was in charge of authorizing the use of logos , Common Council or the Board of Public Works, so the resolution was written to state the Board endorsed the use of the logo. If Common Council had to approve it, the Board would not need to rewrite their resolution. Commissioner Warded noted that there were several other logos already in existence, such as for the Department of Public Works, Ithaca Youth Bureau, GIAC, Ithaca Police and Fire Departments. The city may want to get working on an overall logo at some point, but it was not a priority. A Vote on the Resolution Resulted as Follows: Carried Unanimously Board of Public Works Page 3 September 11, 2017 Regular Meeting Endorsement of a Nature Play Area at Wood Street Park – Resolution By Commissioner McCormick: Seconded by Commissioner Morache WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca recognizes it is important to provide opportunities to have creative and collaborative play for children of all ages and their families in our City parks, and WHEREAS, an unstructured nature play area utilizing natural material such as soil, mulch, sand and stumps has seen a rise in popularity in parks around the country, and WHEREAS, the local playground designer, Rusty Keeler, has proposed the creation of a small, nature play area in the wooded part of Wood Street Park adjacent to the current playground area, using materials from existing City stock piles of woodchips, stumps, and tree branches cut into “tree cookies” which could be installed at no cost aside from minimal city staff time delivering the materials, and WHEREAS, all wood play element specifications would follow safety guidelines with regular safety inspection by City staff and residents. In addition, nearby residents have pledged to contribute to regular maintenance of the area, and WHEREAS, a sign describing the purpose and basic guidelines for use of the area will also be designed by Rusty Keeler, and WHEREAS, the Parks Commission is in support of this addition to Wood Street Park, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works endorses the use of City staff time to aid in the installation of the project for a trial period with the understanding that this play area could be removed by the City at a later date if the upkeep is more than City staff and residents can manage or there are some currently unforeseen issues that can not sufficiently be managed regarding the use or maintenance of the Nature Play Area. Carried Unanimously WATER AND SEWER: Appeal of Water Bill for 142 South Aurora Street Joe Daley, owner, joined the Board, and stated that because there wasn’t a quorum at the first discussion on August 14, 2017, he asked to provide details regarding his appeal. No Board member objected. He stated that the high bills coincided exactly with the installation of a new meter, and the bills decreased when the technician checked the meter earlier this year. He is convinced that there was an issue with the meter, and the technician, knowingly or not, fixed the issue when he checked the meter in January. Discussion followed on the floor regarding the meter zeroing out on a continuous basis, the building housing 8 studio apartments, compared the bills to a large restaurant, average daily flow during the highest flow was 2-3 gallons per minute, the highest recorded flow was at 6 gallons per minute. A running toilet or a running faucet would have been found. Dave stated he has never seen a meter bottoming out like this meter did. Further discussion followed on the floor regarding water flow, decreased usage over a period of time, how the electronic meters work, whether the meter was malfunctioning since its 2015 installation, and the meter not being activated with the Chamberlain’s Office until September 2016 which caused estimated bills until the October 2016 bill. Mayor Myrick stated that the part he found compelling was that the electronic and physical meters matched and a tenant could have run a faucet all day long to cause the type of usage listed on the bills. Commissioner Morache stated he needed some type of definitive proof; if that was not possible, the City should provide some sort of relief. Mayor Myrick agreed. Mr. Daley requested that the Board be provided a copy of his water bill. Mayor Myrick responded that staff would take one last shot at finding conclusive evidence regarding the usage. Board of Public Works Page 4 September 11, 2017 Regular Meeting DISCUSSION ITEMS: Request for Designated Parking Spaces for Scheduled Blood Drives from the Red Cross Dir. of Parking Nagy explained the request for two designated parking spaces for exclusive use by the Red Cross during blood drives. He recommended that the parking spots be regular metered spaces, rather than short term or loading zones. The Board generally agreed to approve the request. CC Liaison Fleming suggested that the City should take credit for providing parking by requiring the Red Cross note such on any advertisement. Common Council’s award of funding for the Martin Luther King Jr. Street Corridor Project Commissioner McCormick explained that Common Council had added an amendment to the resolution regarding the Martin Luther King Jr. Street Corridor that asked the Board of Public Works to reconsider the mid-block crossing east of the bridge over the flood control channel. Common Council would have to approve the Board’s recommendation. Discussion followed on the floor regarding the timing of the traffic lights for pedestrians. It was noted that the cost of the installation of the mid-block crossing was estimated at $75,000. Supt. Thorne expressed concern that mischievous youth might be compelled to press the button and keep walking just to see the light turn red. Commissioner McCormick noted that Common Council had three main concerns: 1. Traffic backup He explained that Dir. of Eng. Logue had addressed the timing issue related to the traffic backup concern, noting that even if a youth pushed the button out of fun, the light would not change until it fit in time with the other traffic lights. If that timing doesn’t work, it could be adjusted. The third option would be a flashing yellow light, at which vehicles would not be required to stop, but it would notify drivers that there was a crosswalk. 2. No new pedestrians being introduced at that intersection Related to the third concern that was brought up by CC McGonigal, Commissioner McCormick explained that there has been re-zoning of that waterfront area and if there is more housing expected in the area, there will be more pedestrians in that area, especially if an extension of the Cayuga Waterfront Trail is going to be built across the Brindley Street Bridge , which is almost exactly where the mid-block crossing would be. 3. Cost of installation Regarding the concern about costs, the City would be responsible for 20% of the cost of installation, but if the light was not installed during the construction project and chose to install a traffic light after the main project was completed, the City would be responsible for 100% of the cost. Commissioner Morache responded that once the bike lanes were installed, more cyclists would be in the area, and more pedestrians will want to walk through that area rather than drive because they will feel more was being done to keep them safe. Discussion followed on the floor regarding changing the dynamics of the road, the plan to install a pedestrian walkway across the existing Brindley Street Bridge, having to install curbcuts if the pedestrian crossing was moved to be more in line with the pedestrian bridge, and reducing the length of the two lanes of vehicular traffic depending on where the crossing was installed. Mayor Myrick asked for more information regarding projected costs, and a recommendation from the transportation engineers. The next agenda would include the plan, along with maps for this project. NEW BUSINESS: Yield to Pedestrians Signs Commissioner McCormick explained that a concerned citizen whose son was in a bad vehicle vs. bicycle accident had taken it upon himself to put up State Law: Yield to Pedestrians signs at various locations throughout the City. The City gave him notice that the signs would be Board of Public Works Page 5 September 11, 2017 Regular Meeting removed. He asked why the signs needed to removed immediately and whether this could be an opportunity to learn whether this type of effort addresses public concerns about respecting pedestrian crossings. Supt. Thorne responded that he asked that the signs be removed because he did not want non-traffic engineers to install signs wherever they feel like. The signs were not reflective and not state approved. If the citizen had worked with the transportation engineers, he would not have an issue. The signs cannot be on stop signs, th ey need to be reflective and the correct size. Mayor Myrick noted that people don’t look out for pedestrians, they won’t look for a sign. Commissioner Warden mentioned that Lake Placid had a lot of crosswalks, and that when there was a culture of seeing pedestrians, people would stop. If the City could do it right, it would be great. If it became a norm, more people would begin stopping at crosswalks. Commissioner Greene noted that residents in the Belle Sherman neighborhood put up lawn signs for vehicles to slow down. Maybe residents could do a public service campaign to get people to slow down for pedestrians. Supt. Thorne responded that he wanted a transportation engineer to look at the locations especially when signs make people feel safe in an unsafe location. No one in Public Works would have an issue if a resident put a lawn sign in the tree lawn that stated “Yield to Pedestrians.” Discussion followed on the floor regarding the possibility of leaving the unofficial signs for a pilot period to see if they worked, replacing the unofficial signs with official signs in the pr oper locations, and developing a strategic traffic calming program throughout the city. Mayor Myrick requested that Supt. Thorne report back to the Board on the plan for purchasing official signs, how many were needed, and the cost of installation. Supt. Thorne agreed and noted that the yard signs in the Belle Sherman neighborhood were effective, even though they were not an official sign. Commissioner McCormick expressed his opinion that the City should not discourage residents from having signs that indicate state laws. Commissioner Greene suggested that the City could purchase some semi-permanent signs and distribute them to residents in strategic locations. ADJOURNMENT: On a motion, the meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m. Kathrin D. Servoss Svante L. Myrick Executive Assistant Mayor