Public Services Committee Minutes

 

September 18, 2006

 

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Fogt at 7:00 p.m.

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:  Dan Fogt, Ed Pleasant, Mark Reams

 

OTHERS PRESENT:  Phil Roush, Kathy House

 

AGENDA:

 

1.     Replacement of heating/cooling unit for City Hall.

 

Ms. House stated there is one unit in City Hall that still needs to be replaced.  This unit serves the downstairs hallway, the Courtroom and the Court offices.  Have had multiple issues with it lately.  Ms. Davies and Mr. Stillings fear that it will fail when most needed.  Ms. House has been asked to either appropriate money for replacement now in anticipation of it happening or working it into next year’s budget.  Finance Committee felt it best to appropriate the money now so it will be available when it fails.  The quote is for $16,737 but would like to ask for an additional $2,000 to change out some controllers.  No quote has been received for those, but feel $2,000 would cover the controllers.  The quote includes full unit replacement, not just the condensers.  It was agreed to appropriate the money, and timing for replacement is at the discretion of Administration. Finance Committee, Dave Burke and Dan Fogt, and Public Services Committee agreed to sponsor.

 

2.     East side traffic

 

Mr. Fogt mentioned a letter from Ms. House to Susan Kirkland of the Ohio Rail Development Commission dated August 25, 2006.  No response has been received to date.  If no response was received within the next week, Administration will give her a call.  Also, Mr. Roush will contact DLZ to see when they plan to publish the final of the traffic study.  Mr. Reams questioned the option of making E. Fifth Street one-lane, east bound only, as a temporary way of relieving traffic pressures off of Delaware Avenue. That option would help Five Points.  Mr. Fogt felt customers or business owners would not like that option because they would have to go clear to Coleman’s Crossing and come back. Mr. Pleasant would like to pursue the above option.  Mr. Roush will talk to DLZ about the one-way east bound option. 

 

Once DLZ had determined the railroad crossing should be closed, they did not address the last two or three goals in the study.  Mr. Fogt asked if those goals were going to be addressed in the final copy.  Mr. Roush stated he hoped so, especially after the last meeting.  Mr. Fogt commented that he didn’t feel the City got their $25,000 worth from the study.  Mr. Fogt wants to see the railroad crossing open. He confirmed with Administration that concrete panels will be put on the railroad.  Response was yes, when CSX comes back to town.  They have tentative plans to return in October. 

 

Mr. Roush proposed starting at London and 9th and provide a connector from that area all the way to the east side so that the traffic coming up London Avenue that wants to go east doesn’t have to wind its way through town on Fifth Street.  Ms. House said she would go a step further than that, from London Avenue all the way back to Milford Avenue. Mr. Roush said we need to look at extending 9th Street through to Columbus Avenue then connecting it into the Fifth Street area then going across the road.  Mr. Fogt noted an earlier plan called for going from the corner of Maple and Collins at Nestles, go from there, straighten that zag out to get to the stoplight at the hospital. Go from Collins to the hospital rather than Milford Avenue.  He sees more value in making Collins to the hospital a direct route.

 

Mr. Pleasant said we need to pursue all of the long-range options.  By having three lanes now with the turn lane, what is Administration’s experience with going to four lanes and not having turn lanes, but turning in the second lane that’s on your side?  Mr. Roush said it’s a wider three lane pavement.  The question is, is four lanes enough or should there be five?  Mr. Roush said odd number lanes seem to work better.

 

Mr. Fogt stated Professional Parkway should eventually connect to Columbus Avenue.

 

3.     Rt. 31/Maple Street traffic/pedestrian patterns & safety

 

Ms. House said since school has started, she’s received a lot of questions/concerns about the volume of traffic on Rt. 31 and over the overpass onto Maple Street getting into the schools.  Also have heard issues about there not being sufficient sidewalks for the kids in Taylor addition and the other nearby addition (name unknown).  The proper place to cross is the traffic light at Amrine Mill, but there are no sidewalks between those houses and Amrine Mill.  The Police Chief pulled the accident reports in that area, and there have been a number of accidents.  Quail Hollow and N. Maple Street intersection -10 accidents; Amrine Mill and N. Maple – 18 accidents.  Numbers have decreased since 2004 at those two intersections.  Elwood and N. Maple – 8 accidents; Taylor and N. Maple – 5 accidents and the block in between Quail Hollow and Amrine Mill – 12 accidents. 

 

Ms. House stated Rt. 31 does not belong to the City; it belongs to ODOT.  City has no control beyond Echo Drive, including an additional light at Creekview and Rt. 31. 

 

In 1998, Council resolved that there needs to be sidewalks along both sides of the roadway where the City is responsible from Quail Hollow Drive.  Mr. Reams said there is a petition process to have sidewalks put in and that’s the process that was followed, and Council passed a resolution to direct the property owners to install their sidewalks.  It was not enforced.  Mr. Roush stated the previous City engineer had a plan drawn that showed Maple Street as four lanes.  Part of that plan indicated in order to put sidewalks, particularly on the east side, you would have to fill in the lots with some material to build it up high enough for sidewalks.  That was part of the issue. 

 

Ms. House wanted these calls/issues to be on the record.  The City has checked and there are no easy solutions to any of these issues.  There was a suggestion for a light or crosswalk at Quail Hollow Drive across to Taylor addition.  It was noted that would be too close to the interchange.  Another suggestion, which will be costly, is to put some type of pedestrian underpass under Maple Street.  It would benefit the City to enforce what was passed in 1998 as far as sidewalks is concerned.  Mr. Reams felt the most difficult issue would be Fritz’s property because of the expense involved on that particular property, for him to bring in a bunch of fill dirt, compact it and then put in a sidewalk.  It doesn’t seem fair to him.  He thought it would be fair for the City to do that part.  The owner could be responsible for the other section in front of his house.  Mr. Roush stated over a period of time, the City could have fill dirt put in there, then the owner could put sidewalk on top of that.  Mr. Reams noted another potential snag.  One of the property owners had a concern because they had just put in a sign that was in or along the right-of-way.

 

4.     Update – Reservoir

 

Mr. Roush met with BBC&M who did the reservoir part of the design.  The City is considering splitting the reservoir and moving ahead with the permits to get that approved, and the mussel relocation and the Corp of Engineer’s issue while working on doing a constructability review for the rest of the project, the water lines and the pump station.  An RFP was just sent out last week.  Those are due by next Tuesday. 

 

Mr. Reams asked about the cost of squaring it up and doing the wetland reclamation elsewhere and the cost of gaining that additional capacity and doing the reclamation versus the cost of giving up that capacity.  There may have been an environmental issue.  Mr. Roush will get an answer. 

 

          Update – Water Plans

 

In the process of doing a demonstration study for EPA to show that we can upgrade our filters at a higher gallon per minute square foot.  This will give us an additional one million gallons per day capacity at the existing plant, which will extend the useful life of that for a few more years.  We’re very close to getting approval from EPA to start that.  Mr. McCreary will have to keep a record of operating one filter at that rate for a 30-day period, once every three months, three times for the next year.  Once we show we can do that, then we can upgrade the plant for a longer period of time.  Have discussed with Finance Committee the rates that will have to accompany that.  Rates were only set for one year.  Propose using the rates as set in the Water Master Plan for the next two years.  Mr. Roush said the additional million gallons per day will be sufficient to take care of the growth for the next three or four years.  The City treats a lot more wastewater than they sell water. 

 

Ms. House said the process of acquiring easements for the water line to run from the dam and the pump station to the water plant has been started. 

 

5.     2006 Goals

 

b.  Continue working on the Town Run.  Ms. House still trying to determine ownership.  The Uptown Renewal Team has their eye on the Town Run.

 

g.     Explore a comprehensive impact fee.  Still need to get traffic counts, but can’t start until Rt. 4 and Rt. 31 are completed.  Also Milford Center bridge needs to reopen. 

 

Meeting adjourned at 7:53 p.m.