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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BPW-2018-08-21BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 6:05 p.m. August 21, 2018 PRESENT: Mayor Myrick Commissioners (5) – Blalock, Greene, Jenkins, Morache, Warden OTHERS PRESENT: City Attorney – Lavine Assistant Superintendent of Streets and Facilities – Benjamin Director of Engineering – Logue Director of Parking – Messmer Common Council Liaison – McGonigal Executive Assistant – Servoss EXCUSED: Commissioner McCormick Superintendent of Public Works – Thorne Assistant Superintendent of Water and Sewer – Whitney ADDITIONS TO OR DELETIONS FROM THE AGENDA: There were no additions to or deletions from the agenda. MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS: The Mayor had no communications at this time. COMMUNICATIONS AND HEARINGS FROM PERSONS BEFORE THE BOARD: Robert Stundtner, Spencer Road, addressed the Board regarding the collapse of the culvert at his property, reading a letter into the record: Board of Public Works Page 2 August 21, 2018 Regular Meeting Hector Chang, North Cayuga Street, addressed the Board regarding the recently installed Bike Corrals. He stated he works at Bike Walk Tompkins and is on the Mobility Accessibility and Transportation Commission. He explained that four bike corrals were installed on August 12th in locations approved by city staff and had heavy bike usage. In hind sight, Bike Walk Tompkins and the City should have worked with the businesses in Collegetown to designate appropriate bike corral locations. He was disappointed that the corrals were removed before they were tested. Daina Taimina, Spencer Street resident, addressed the Board regarding the East Spencer Street Reconstruction Project, noting that she had submitted an e-mail about the sidewalks along that street. She stated that it’s very good news to have the street reconstructed but was concerned about what would happen after the construction was done, noting that many of the houses still had 1940’s retaining wall and bad sidewalks. David Henderson, Spencer Street resident, addressed the Board regarding the East Spencer Street Reconstruction Project, noting tha t he could not walk on the sidewalk with his suitcase because sidewalk was in bad shape. He further noted that he had not received any response for he e-mailed letter. He requested that East Spencer Street be totally reconstructed, including the sidewalks. Jade Mirasol, Manager of Dos Amigos Taco Truck, addressed the Board regarding the mobile vending spot that was to be discussed later on the agenda. She explained that they continue to build the business throughout the school year, and was asked to move by a business that just opened. She noted the food truck had been at the location for three years and had become a Collegetown staple. Jan Lawless, Stone Quarry Road, addressed the Board regarding the bus station. She stated that she understood the need for bike corrals but expressed her opinion that bike riders do not adhere to the rules of the road. She further found out the intercity bus depot was going to be gone, and wanted to express her desire for another location to be identified. Ann Sullivan, Belle Sherman resident, addressed the Board regarding the Lime Bikes, noting that the parking locations that were used for the bike corrals were constantly used for vehicles. She would like to have a discussion about where to put the corrals. She requested that additional burden was not put on the Collegetown businesses. RESPONSE TO THE PUBLIC Mayor Myrick thanked everyone for addressing the Board. Re sponding to the concerns regarding the bus terminal, he stated that the current depot was owned and operated by a private company. The City didn’t have anything to do with the closure. The person running the bus terminal gave one month’s notice that they were going to retire. He further stated that he thought the Green Street bus stop was a pretty good location for a bus terminal, noting that it was in the center of the county, the busiest TCAT bus station, and fairly walkable for people to walk to hotels. Though there wasn’t enough shelter, and it was a busy street, there was a place to buy tickets and Coach and Shortline were working with Green Street Pharmacy to sell bus tickets. He further stated that the City was trying to figure out how to re-work Green Street to help people drop off passengers. Mayor Myrick asked Asst. Supt. Benjamin about Mr. Stundner’s culvert. Asst. Supt. Benjamin responded that the culvert needed a piece of pipe to fix the culvert, but he was unsure if there was a channel that was consistent all the way through the culvert. Typically, the City did not supply the culvert pipes for private driveways, but in this case would put in a new pipe, supplied by owner, if crews were working in the area. Mayor Myrick asked Commissioner Warden and Asst. Supt. Benjamin to meet at the property to assess the situation and come back to the Board with a recommendation. Both agreed. Mayor Myrick responded to the comments regarding the bike corrals, stating he thought the City had put a lot of thought into which dockless bikes to allow in the City, but did not put enough thought into the locations for the corrals. He asked Board for volunteers to assist the Mobility, Accessibility, and Transportation Commission on this issue. Dir. of Eng. Logue responded to the statements regarding the Spencer Street Reconstruction Project, stating that the current project included only about 200 feet of sidewalk, and thought the Hendersons were asking for the City to invest more into the replacement of sidewalks on Board of Public Works Page 3 August 21, 2018 Regular Meeting that street. Commissioner Warden responded that it seemed to be more than just replacing the sidewalk, but might be an infrastructure issue, along with a few other locations within the City. Mayor Myrick requested that Mr. Licitra provide an estimate of how much it might cost to finish the sidewalk on Spencer Street and possible ways to fund it. He thought Common Council might approve more funding due to the condition of the street. CC Liaison McGonigal agreed that the sidewalk and the steps going down to the street were in horrible condition. REPORTS Council Liaison CC Liaison McGonigal stated that the City dodged a bullet last Tuesday when Seneca and Schuyler Counties were flooded. The City should deal with the dredging as soon as possible to help prevent future flooding. If the flash floods had hit Tompkins County, there would be a lot of damage. Mayor Myrick responded that the dredging project was being held up by NYSDEC and their engineer and he was meeting with Barbara Lifton to get the project moving again. Dir. of Eng. Logue noted that the sediment management facility was on track to be built next year. Commissioner Morache wondered if the Stormwater Fee could be raised a little bit to help pay for things like this. Mayor Myrick agreed, but noted the lowest estimate for dredging was $30,000,000. He stated that it might be cheaper for everyone to pay a little more in fees, rather than everyone buying flood insurance. Board Liaisons Commissioner Blalock, Planning Board Liaison, reported on the Just Be Cause Center expansion request, stating that the Planning Board had asked the Board of Public Works to encourage the requestor to submit a sketch plan so the Planning Department could review the proposed project. He further reported that a new project on Gun Hill under review that included an accessible lookout over Ithaca Falls. However, there were concerns about providing additional parking for people to access the trail. Superintendent and Staff Asst. Supt. Benjamin reported that crews were repaving Cornell Street, Maple Grove Street, Hancock Street, and the 100 Block of Ithaca Road. Dir. of Eng. Logue reported that the Albany Street Reconstruction Project and the Spencer Road at Stone Quarry Road Project had begun, the Sidewalk Improvement District program had about three more weeks of work, and the wading pool installation was on schedule. BUILDINGS, PROPERTIES, REFUSE AND TRANSIT: Resolution to Name GIAC’s Wading Pool in Honor of William “Max” Maxwell By Commissioner Warden: Seconded by Commissioner Jenkins WHEREAS, GIAC is in the process of reconstructing its wading pool to expand capacity from 10 bathers to at least 25 bathers; and WHEREAS, the expansion of this pool has been a vision of William “Max” Maxwell; and WHEREAS, as pool supervisor for over 10 years, Max saw and reported to GIAC Administration that the size of the wading pool was woefully inadequate to serve the needs of the community and that it was not handicap accessible; and WHEREAS, the GIAC Administration finally responded to Max’s (and the community’s) concern and sought funding to expand the wading pool and make it ADA compliant; and WHEREAS, Max’s commitment to meeting this need resulted in him donating approximately 37-40% of the cost for reconstructing the wading pool; and WHEREAS, it is because of Max’s generosity that GIAC is able to afford to expand t he pool including him donating additional funding when the construction bids came in $200,000 over budget; and WHEREAS, GIAC Staff are profoundly grateful to Max for his commitment to GIAC, the families we serve, and especially the GIAC pools; and Board of Public Works Page 4 August 21, 2018 Regular Meeting WHEREAS, GIAC Staff and Administration feel that one small way of thanking Max for his generosity is to name the wading pool after him; now therefore be it RESOLVED, That GIAC Staff and Administration respectfully request that the Board of Public Works and City Council grant us permission to name the newly constructed GIAC wading pool, “MAX’s Wading Pool;” and be it further RESOLVED, That upon approval a visible plaque bearing the name “Max’s Wading Pool,” will be mounted in the wading pool area in an appropriately safe and public spot. Mayor Myrick noted that Mr. Maxwell was considered the “Mayor of the Pool.” A Vote on the Resolution Resulted as Follows: Carried Unanimously HIGHWAYS, STREETS AND SIDEWALKS: Request of Maria Pirro Revocable Trust Regarding Curb Cuts at 1006 West Seneca Street Russ Maines, Esq., Mr. Pirro, Mrs. Pirro and Shawn DelBrown joined the Board for the discussion of this topic. Mr. Pirro explained that when he met Mr. Del Brown at the site , he was shocked to learn the curb cut had been removed. Though the City spoke with the previous tenant, the owner was not notified. He stated it was crucial that the curb cut remain as an entrance from West State Street and would be happy with an entrance-only curb cut from West State Street. The potential new tenant was not interested in continuing with the lease if the curb cut was removed. Mr. Del Brown addressed the Board to explain that he had been excited to lease the property and cater to the west end of the City with ethnic food. Discussion followed on the floor regarding the reasons for removing the curb cut, the method of notification of the change, and the anticipated affects of losing the entrance from West State Street. Discussion followed on the floor regarding the intent and determination of why the curb cut was to be removed. One of the most compelling reasons of the project was the area where Brindley Street, State Street, Pete’s driveway, and Seneca Street all came together. Dir. of Eng. Logue indicated that the intersection had 46 accidents in 3 years, which was 1,371% higher than the rest of the state in crashes at similar intersections. He stated the City wanted to improve conditions for pedestrians. He further explained the conversations he’d had with the business owners located along the corridor and stated that best practices seen in traffic engineering talked about taking driveways off main arterials and move them onto secondary roads. In an effort of trying to improve safety and traffic flow, it seemed to make sense to remove this driveway since there was another driveway immediately around the corner. Further discussion followed regarding truck access and the turn radius to get to the driveway on the secondary street. Commissioner Warden suggested that having a one-way entrance might be a good idea so that cars were not pulling out onto the main road. Mr. Pirro suggested extending his neighbor’s curb cut to his property. Mayor Myrick stated he was sympathetic to putting a small curb cut and making it one way. CC Liaison McGonigal agreed, but wanted the opening big enough for a truck to pull in. The new intersection would be much safer, but if trucks had to turn around into the cul-de-sac to deliver, the intersection would not be safer. Discussion followed on the floor regarding making a site visit, possible safety issues if trucks tried to enter the property by crossing West State Street, and the engineers drawing up new designs that include an entry-only curb cut vs. no curb cut on West State Street. City Attorney Lavine stated that, while the property owner and his attorney was present, now was a good time to confirm the following specific points: 1. Owner was willing to accept an entrance-only driveway and to put that in writing that would carry over to future owners, 2. The owner was prepared to cover the material costs to restore the curb cut, and Board of Public Works Page 5 August 21, 2018 Regular Meeting 3. He asked if the law suit filed by the property owner could be stayed since the court conference was scheduled prior to the next Board of Public Works meeting. Mr. Maines responded that he would contact the judge and arrange a stay of the suit. The Board agreed to wait to make any decisions until after more information was provided. Complaint and Information Letter about a Food Truck from Yassine Yajid, owner of Sweet Spot Commissioner Warden stated that staff and the Board spent a lot of time setting up the guidelines to encourage food trucks in the City, and he was reluctant to pull the rug out from under them. The new restaurant came in knowing that the food t ruck was parked in that location on Eddy Street. Mayor Myrick stated that the policy says “may be” relocated, and businesses bring more businesses. He suggested allowing the food truck to remain and keep an eye on the situation. Commissioner Greene noted that there had not been any other complaints, which said a lot. The owner of the Sweet Spot restaurant joined the Board for the discussion of this topic and explained that he spent a lot of money to open his business and he was not getting customers. A food truck can move; he cannot. Mayor Myrick responded that owners of food trucks also look at brick and mortar restaurants and wish they had things, like bathrooms, that the restaurant had. Protecting one from the other was a slippery slope. He recommended waiting and seeing if business picks up now that the students have returned to Collegetown. He suggested Sweet Spot take up the offer from Dos Amigos Taco Truck to not sell dessert tacos and see if the students switch at the last minute from going to his restaurant. He further suggested the restaurant owner contact Tom Knipe, the City’s Economic Development Director, and ask for a site visit and recommendations to increase business. Sweet Spot owner disagreed with the determination and complained that the food truck should not be within 200 feet of a restaurant. The Board disagreed. Bike Corrals in City Parking Spaces Commissioner Greene suggested focusing less on the perception of a mistake and work on solving the problem. Dir. of Eng. Logue explained that the Board had discussed the idea two meetings ago and had agreed with putting in the corrals. He noted that communication could have been better he took responsibility. He further explained that impacts may not have been gigantic, such as one chosen location in Collegetown was not a paid parking location. He stated he would discuss the issues with Supt. Thorne to understand the reasons why the corrals could not be placed behind the curb. There were at least two locations that were paid parking spaces and the Board should be conscious of the loss of revenue. Discussion followed regarding the locations, how the locations were chosen by Bike Walk Tompkins and City staff , and the loss of revenues from the paid parking locations that were taken up by a corral. It depended on the business as to whether they wanted bike parking vs. car parking. Mayor Myrick suggested that the Board should ask Engineering to work with the Mobility, Accessibility and Transportation Commission to determine appropriate locations for the bike corrals. He further stated the he would not personally rule out removing on-street parking spaces. Jennifer Dotson joined the Board and stated that Bike Walk Tompkins worked with bike share companies they felt would work well in Ithaca. Lime Bike donated for the equipment for the bike corrals, but the corrals should have room for other bikes, not just Lime Bikes. She further stated that the Carshare parking spaces had been chosen in collaboration with City staff. She explained Bike Walk Tompkins was already talking with City Attorney about donating the corral equipment to the City. An MOU exists with Lime Bike acknowledging the business, but it could be modified. Commissioner Warden noted the Lime Bike was a private company making a decent profit. Mayor Myrick suggested asking the Mobility, Accessibility and Transportation Commission to develop a plan that would work with the public. Commissioner Greene suggested the issue Board of Public Works Page 6 August 21, 2018 Regular Meeting should be reviewed by the Planning Board as well. He further suggested that Bike Walk Tompkins and City staff determine a short-term solution. He expressed his concern that if the topic was opened up for the public, it would take many months and nothing would happen. Dir. of Eng. Logue responded that there may be locations within the City that weren’t creating revenue that could be used first. Updated 2019 Sidewalk Improvement District Work Plan Dir. of Eng. Logue explained that the only change from last month’s meeting was for District 5, and the Hector Street project was added. On the summary sheet, the 5% money that had been used for street repairs had been removed. The Board generally agreed with the work plan for 2019. WATER AND SEWER: Denial of Appeal of Water Bill for 228 Wood Street – Resolution By Commissioner Morache: Seconded by Commissioner Warden WHEREAS, the Owner of the property and water account at 228 Wood Street requests the March and June 2018 billings be adjusted since she did not receive timely notice of her plumbing leak from the City, and WHEREAS, the Owner states that she had rented her house out to grad students who did not inform her of the leak, and WHEREAS, the water meter read of March 1st 2018 was unusually high and the meter reading system registered a leak alarm prompting a leak letter to be sent by the Chamberlain’s Office dated March 8th to the Owner of the account, and WHEREAS, the Owner received the leak notice postmarked March 13th on March 20th and called a plumber who repaired the leak on March 21st, and WHEREAS, the City provides Customers with notification of higher than normal water consumption as a courtesy, as efficiently as possible, however the City is under no obligation to do so, and WHEREAS, City of Ithaca Code Section § 348-22. Meters. J. States that “All water passing through a meter will be charged for, whether used or wasted,” now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Owner is responsible for the higher than normal bills, and be it further RESOLVED, That any balance of these remaining on the current water bill not be subject to late fees or interest until 30-days beyond of the date of this Resolution. Owner may also at her option contact the City of Ithaca Chamberlains Office to arrange an extended repayment plan for the amount of the billings over and above the historical normal billings for these two quarterly periods. Carried Unanimously Appeal of Sewer Use Billing for GreenStar Co-op at 700 West Buffalo Street Chris Kale, treasurer for Greenstar’s Board, joined the Board to discuss this topic. Commissioner Warden stated that the policy was that if the water was used, it is owed. Typically, the procedure was the contractor obtained a permit, which then gets communicated with the Chamberlain’s office who takes care of the billing. He was unsure how the sewer bill was missed but not the water bill for four years. Mr. Kale noted that Greenstar handled many bills and this issue was missed by staff. Mr. Kale explained that Greenstar had finally decided to expand the business, and there were concerns that they may not be able to afford the expansion, let alone the sewer bills. The error that the City made would affect the next 20 years. Mayor Myrick responded that he thought a repayment plan could be set up over a 10-15-year timeframe in this case. Mr. Kale expressed his appreciation. Commissioner Jenkins expressed her opinion that because it was the City’s mistake, she agreed with splitting the costs down the middle. Mayor Myrick moved to ask Asst. Supt. Whitney to find out if this was a unique situation. If it was not, he suggested the Chamberlain’s office work with Greenstar to set up a long-term payment plan without penalties. The Board agreed. Board of Public Works Page 7 August 21, 2018 Regular Meeting ADJOURNMENT: On a motion, the meeting adjourned at 8:44 p.m. Kathrin D. Servoss Svante L. Myrick Executive Assistant Mayor