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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BPW-2019-04-16BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 6:02 p.m. April 16, 2019 Ithaca Central Fire Station PRESENT: Mayor Myrick Commissioners (5) – Blalock, Greene, Jenkins, Morache, Warden OTHERS PRESENT: Superintendent of Public Works – Thorne Assistant Superintendent of Water and Sewer – Whitney Assistant Superintendent of Streets and Facilities – Benjamin Director of Parking – Messmer Common Council Liaison – McGonigal Executive Assistant – Servoss EXCUSED: Commissioner McCormick City Attorney – Lavine Director of Engineering – Logue ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA: Supt. Thorne explained that the conference room was available until 7:00 p.m. MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS: Mayor Myrick explained that a security staff shortage as to the reason meeting was moved from City Hall to the Ithaca Central Fire Station Conference Room . COMMUNICATIONS AND HEARINGS FROM PERSONS BEFORE THE BOARD: Brigid Hubberman, representing Children’s Reading Connections, addressed the Board and explained that an effort was under way in the community to celebrate the power of words. Through this effort, words were being put up in storefronts, on the Harold Square tower crane, etc. Tonight she was asking permission to put words up on the Seneca Garage. She noted that 9,000 copies of the book, “The Word Collector” by Peter H. Reynolds, would be handed out to children during this initiative, and she’d like to put a word installation above the bus stop overhang on the Seneca Garage prior to the event scheduled for April 27, 2019. RESPONSE TO THE PUBLIC Commissioner Warden responded that the main issue was making sure installations are put up safely to ensure nothing falls on pedestrians. Supt. Thorne stated the City usually requested a drawing with dimensions showing exactly where the installation would be placed. Commissioner Warden suggested authorizing the Supt. Thorne to make an administrative decision regarding the request, due to the time constraint of needing the banner installed prior to April 27, 2019. The Board agreed. REPORTS Superintendent and Staff Supt. Thorne reported that the City received ten statements of qualification in response to the Request for Qualifications for a Parking Consultant to complete a Comprehensive Parking Study. A team of eleven is reviewing the statements and should have a recommendation by the end of May. Asst. Supt. Whitney reported staff received bids for the annual pipes and materials contract, and he was currently staffing up with internal promotions and onboarding seasonal hires by the end of April. Another round of advertisements will be placed in May. Asst. Supt. Benjamin reported he was also promoting internally and advertising for new positions. He further stated staff was working on Valley Road; parks crews were grinding stumps; and the local asphalt plants were opening now, which would enable the use of hot patch to fill potholes. Board of Public Works Page 2 April 16, 2019 Regular Meeting Mayor Myrick asked about opening Cayuga Street, which was closed due to the emergency replacement of mains. Asst. Supt. Whitney responded that the water mains were replaced and crews should be done within next 7-10 days with replacing the sewer mains. Asst. Supt. Benjamin’s crews would install the storm sewers and repaving directly after water and sewer crews were done. ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNICATIONS: Approval of the March 19, 2019 Board of Public Works Meeting Minutes – Resolution By Commissioner Jenkins: Seconded by Commissioner Warden RESOLVED, That the minutes of the March 19, 2019, Board of Public Works meeting be approved as proposed. Carried Unanimously HIGHWAYS, STREETS AND SIDEWALKS: Request for Road Name Change and Street Addressing – Resolution By Commissioner Jenkins: Seconded by Commissioner Warden WHEREAS, in accordance with the City Code, Section 342-2, “No person shall assign any name to any new street without first submitting the proposed name to the Board of Public Works for its approval,” and WHEREAS, Cornell University is planning the North Campus Residential Expansion project and the plans call for interrupting Sisson Place and placing a building where the roadway was, and WHEREAS, in order to reduce confusion about a non -continuous Sisson Place (east and west portions with a building in the middle), Cornell University has requested to rename a por tion of Sisson Place within the City, as shown on the attached map, to Northcross Road, which would be continuous with Northcross Road, now, therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works approves the request of Cornell University to rename the abovementioned portion of Sisson Place to Northcross Road, and be it further RESOLVED, That this segment of Northcross Road (the eastern portion that was Sisson Place) shall be considered the 100 block of Northcross Road. Carried Unanimously Appeal of Snow Removal Bill for 309 North Albany Street Jeff Bercuvitz, property owner, joined the Board for the discussion of this topic. Asst. Supt. Benjamin explained that the Daily Observation Chart showed when snow fell during the month. Mr. Bercuvitz replied that the sidewalk had been shoveled two days prior and explained that he and his neighbors help each other out with shoveling and salting the sidewalks on their block, but he was the only one to receive a fee/ticket, even though several other neighbors had the same amount of snow on their sidewalk. He remembered that i t had snowed a dusting within the prior 24 hours, but the law states sidewalk needed to be shoveled after 24 hours. He noted that he was very conscientious about sidewalk clearing and suggested modification of the law to charge repeat offenders. Discussion followed on the floor regarding complaints that are made about uncleared or icy sidewalks, the fact that it costs the City more to clear the sidewalk and fine the property owners due to the paperwork and reporting requirements. He also noted that Mr. Bercuvitz’s neighbors were on the violation list. Mayor Myrick responded that the law was punitive and arbitrary, and has caused problems in the past. Commissioner Warden stated that, since Mr. Bercuvitz made the effort to come to the meeting and explain the situation, which carried a lot of weight, so he was inclined to waive the fine. He further stated that there wouldn’t be any way to re-write the law to be fair and perfect. Commissioner Warden expressed support for approving the appeal. Additionally, Commissioner Garrick expressed support for waiving the fine, as long as the Mobility, Accessibility, and Transportation Commission would be discussing the sidewalk clearing law. CC Liaison McGonigal disagreed with the suggestion that the City take over snow clearing for all sidewalks, stating that it was very difficult, and would increase staffing and salt costs. Board of Public Works Page 3 April 16, 2019 Regular Meeting Resolution By Commissioner Warden: Seconded by Mayor Myrick RESOLVED, that the Appeal of the Snow Removal Bill for 309 North Albany Street is hereby granted. Carried Unanimously 9C. Requests to Close Streets on a Recurring Basis Applicant Rusty Keeler joined the Board for the discussion of this topic. Mayor Myrick explained the requests to close two streets, and noted there would be more than just one event. Mr. Keeler explained exactly what the requests were, when the street blocks would be closed, and for what purpose. Mayor Myrick expressed support for approving the first request to close the street near Conway Park because that block was not traveled much. Supt. Thorne noted that South Titus Avenue did get quite a bit of traffic, so he wanted to run that request by the Fire and Police Chiefs. Discussion followed on the floor regarding restricting traffic on South Titus Avenue. Commissioner Warden responded that he would not have an issue with closing that street because it seemed the street was not meant for through traffic. Mayor Myrick moved that the Board give conditional, revocable approval of both requests pending approval from the Fire and Police Departments. He noted the City would have a right to revoke the permit at any point. Mr. Keeler explained that the neighbors agreed to rotate responsibility for putting up and taking down the yellow barricades. Discussion followed on the floor regarding ensuring the area was posted to ensure drivers knew the street was closed, and ensuring the barricades were supervised to ensure drivers did not drive around them. Asst. Supt. Benjamin expressed concern that this may be the start of more requests to close streets regularly. Commissioner Greene compared this request with street blocks that were closed in New York City, and stated this would be a good experience and it’s good to try things like this. The Board generally agreed with the conditional approval and that a resolution would be voted on at next meeting. WATER AND SEWER: Declaration of Lead Agency Status for the Environmental Review of the IAWWTP Emergency Outfalls for Ice Jam Response– Resolution By Commissioner Greene: Seconded by Commissioner Morache WHEREAS, the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) and the City of Ithaca Environmental Quality Review Ordinance (CEQR), Section 176 of the City Code, require that a lead agency be established for conducting environmental review of projects in accordance with local and state environmental law, and WHEREAS, State Law specifies that for actions governed by local environmental review, the lead agency shall be that local agency which has primary responsibility for approving and funding or carrying out the action, and WHEREAS, SEQR and CEQR both provide for an uncoordinated review for “Unlisted” projects that involve more than one agency, and WHEREAS, the proposed construction of the IAWWTP emergency outfalls is an “Unlisted” action under SEQR and is an “Unlisted” action under CEQR; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca Board of Public Works does hereby declare itself lead agency for the environmental review of the IAWWTP Emergency Outfalls for Ice Jam Response. Carried Unanimously Board of Public Works Page 4 April 16, 2019 Regular Meeting Environmental Review for the IAWWTP Emergency Outfalls for Ice Jam Response – Resolution By Commissioner Morache: Seconded by Commissioner Warden WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works has declared itself to be the lead agency for the environmental review for a project (“the Project”) entitled “IAWWTP Emergency Outfalls for Ice Jam Response” in accordance with Section 176 of the Ithaca City Code (CEQR) and in accordance with Article 8 of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law (SEQR), and WHEREAS, the Project will include the construction of permanent piping to three emergency outfalls located on Cascadilla Creek and three emergency outfalls located on Fall Creek for the sole purpose of releasing treated wastewater effluent from the IAWWTP at various locations along the two creeks during ice jam conditions to melt the ice in the creeks and prevent localized flooding, and WHEREAS, the Project is an Unlisted action according to CEQR and an Unlisted Action according to SEQR, and WHEREAS, a Short Environmental Assessment Form was prepared by staff for CEQR and for SEQR, and WHEREAS, on April 16, 2019, the Board of Public Works declared itself lead agenc y for an uncoordinated environmental review for CEQR/SEQR, and WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works, acting as lead agency, has, on April 16, 2019, reviewed and accepted as complete the Short Environmental Assessment Forms Part I and Part II prepared by staff, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Public Works determines that the project to construct six emergency outfalls from the IAWWTP for the purpose of melting ice jams in Cascadilla and Fall Creeks will result in no significant negative environmental impact and that a Negative Declaration for purposes of Article 8 of the NYS Environmental Conservation Law be filed in accordance with the provisions of Part 617 of the State Environmental Quality Review Act and that a Negative Declaration for purposes of Section 176 of the City Code be filed in accordance with the City Environmental Quality Review Ordinance. Supt. Thorne explained that a large meeting was held with representatives from Environmental Protection Agency and NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation in 2018, when they were given a tour and the City explained exactly what the City wanted to do. In response, NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation stated they wouldn’t allow the permanent pipes until the City changed its SPDES Permit. A Vote on the Resolution Resulted as Follows: Carried Unanimously Appeal of Water Bill for 112 West Jay Street Asst. Supt. Whitney explained the bill Ms. Wold received, noting that the bills includes fixed costs and consumption costs. Discussion followed on the floor regarding minimum charges and the cost paid by residents for the ability to have water when they needed it. The Board agreed to deny the appeal. ADJOURNMENT: On a motion, the meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m. Kathrin D. Servoss Svante L. Myrick Executive Assistant Mayor