Public Works Committee

FITCHBURG CITY CLERK October 28, 2021 Oct 29 2021 10:55 am Public Works Committee Meeting Minutes A meeting of the Public Works Committee was held on Tuesday, October 26, 2021, in person at 700 Main Street in the Legislative Building, at 5:00 PM. The video is available from FATV here: https://videoplayer.telvue.com/player/yycCAZPb0NN3zj2o5qio- YFMNC43NjCG/playlists/3129/media/677668?sequenceNumber=2&autostart=true&showtabss earch=true Committee Members Present: Councilors Marisa Fleming (chair), Sam Squailia, Thomas Hughes; Councilor Paul Beauchemin arrived late. Acting Commissioner Nicholas Erickson Superintendent Gary Withington Committee Members Absent: Councilor Andrew Couture Other Participants: Councilors Bernie Schultz (virtual), Andrew Van Hazinga, Resident Jay Johnson 1) Vote to approve minutes from previous meeting (7/27/21): Councilor Squailia motioned to approve minutes, Councilor Hughes seconded the motion. Minutes were approved unanimously. 2) DPW Updates: None discussed. 3) Action was taken as follows on NEW petitions: a) 167-21. Councilor Bernie Schultz, petitioned for Tom Caputi, 52 Warren Street, to install a berm in order to alleviate water erosion on the road and property. (REFERRED from City Council on July 23, 2021) Discussion: Superintendent Withington visited the property and agrees a berm is needed. Motion to approve by Councilor Squailia, seconded by Councilor Hughes. Recommendation: The Committee voted 3-0 that the petition be APPROVED. b) 168-21. Councilor Andrew Van Hazinga, on behalf of Kristine Schneider, petitioned to repair the sidewalk in front of 99 Pleasant Street. (REFERRED from City Council on August 31, 2021) Discussion: Councilor Van Hazinga spoke on the petition. The sidewalk is in disrepair and is in the area of Longsjo School and Ms. Schneider was hurt. Councilor Squailia asked which section of Pleasant Street this was in. Councilor Van Hazinga clarified the actual area. Councilor Hughes made a motion to approve, seconded by Councilor Squailia. Recommendation: The Committee voted 3-0 that the petition be APPROVED. Councilor Beauchemin arrived.  c) 175-21. Councilors Marisa Fleming and Tom Hughes to rename Union Street, located in Ward 5B to Adrian Ford Way. (REFERRED from City Council on September 23, 2021) Discussion: Acting Commissioner Erickson explained that changing the street name is not an issue to DPW but could be a major issue to anyone living on the street as they will have to change their address on everything. Councilor Hughes asked if the City could look into putting a new name plate on top of the street sign so residents did not have to change their addresses. Councilor Squailia stated she would be concerned for the residents on the street for the reasons stated by Commissioner Erickson that changing the street name would cause issues. Councilor Hughes stated there are only a few residences on the street that would be impacted. Councilor Fleming agreed that adding signage on top of the street sign made sense and would not inconvenience residents. A motion was made by Councilor Squailia to amend the petition to read “co-name Union Street located in Ward 5B to include Adrian Ford Way”. Motion was seconded by Councilor Hughes. Motion to amend passed 4-0. Motion to approve amended petition made by Councilor Squailia and seconded by Councilor Beauchemin. Recommendation: The Committee voted 4-0 that the amended petition be APPROVED. d) 183-21. Councilors Sam Squailia & Andrew Couture to replace asphalt berm and add apron to alleviate water erosion occurring at 25 Mayland St as detailed below and shown in attached diagrams. (REFERRED from City Council October 5, 2021) Discussion: Jay Johnson was present and spoke to the petition and explained he lives at the property with his daughter and grand-daughter. He has been working with the City for 2 years and the erosion is getting worse with time. Superintendent Withington stated that the work should be done at this location. Councilor Beauchemin asked if the DPW was going to go back to doing berm and apron repairs as the previous Commissioner referred to City code requiring petitioners pay 50% for berms or aprons. Acting Commissioner Erickson stated that he was not aware of the wording in any document that stated the payment of repairs was to be split but he will research. Commissioner Erickson explained that going forward repairs will be looked at on a case by case basis and the preferred method for repairs will be determined by site conditions. Councilor Beauchemin made a motion to accept. Councilor Fleming stated that she would never vote to have a resident pay 50% for a repair. Commissioner Erickson will read the City code and any other documentation provided by former Commissioner Bosonetto regarding cost sharing. Motion seconded by Councilor Squailia. Recommendation: The Committee voted 4-0 that the petition be APPROVED. e) 184-21. Councilor Andrew Van Hazinga on behalf of Laurie Brown to repair the sidewalk in front of 11 Nutting Street. (REFERRED from City Council October 5, 2021) Discussion: Councilor Van Hazinga spoke on the petition explaining the current condition of the sidewalk and presented photos. Councilor Squailia asked about the specific location of the sidewalk. Councilor Beauchemin asked about old petitions for sidewalk repairs that have not been completed. Commissioner Erickson explained that DPW would look into old petitions that have not been completed and make sure they are on the repair list. Councilor Squailia made a motion to approve, seconded by Councilor Hughes. Recommendation: The Committee voted 4-0 that the petition be APPROVED. 4) Action was taken as follows on HELD petitions:  f) 089-20. Councilor Bernie Schultz and resident Alex Freeman to remove the “No Turn on Red” sign at the intersection of John T. Cetrino Memorial Drive and Water Street. (HELD on the 10/28/20 meeting and the 1/26/21 meeting and the 7/27/21 meeting). (Amended the spelling of Cetrino at the January 2021 meeting). Discussion: Councilor Schultz spoke with Commissioner Erickson prior to the meeting regarding the petition. DPW will look at having one of our traffic consultants do a traffic study closer to the end of the fiscal year dependent upon remaining budgeted funds. Commissioner Erickson will see if it is something we can do in house or if we need to hire a consultant. Officer Boudreau from the traffic division is against doing anything until a traffic study is completed. Councilor Beauchemin asked about the impact to people that live on Boyle Ct. Councilor Schultz explained that is part of the need for the traffic study. Councilor Squailia explained that the petition has already been discussed by the Public Safety Committee who referred it to Public Works Committee. A motion to hold the petition until a traffic study was completed was made and seconded by Councilor Squailia. Recommendation: The committee voted 4-0 that the petition be HELD until a traffic study could be completed. g) 135-21. Councilor Marisa Fleming, petitioned to install a barrier at 113 Summit Street to mitigate property damage caused by driver error at this dangerous corner. (HELD at the 7/27/21 meeting). Discussion: Councilor Squailia explained that former Commissioner Bosonetto was going to look into the street being turned into a one way and also work with Google and other GPS sites to see if we could direct truck traffic another route. Councilor Beauchemin explained that he thought the fence that was damaged isn’t installed according to City code. Commissioner Erickson stated we should look into adding in a sign to exclude tractor trailer trucks from traveling that route. Councilor Squailia asked how this would impact the businesses and asked if the fence is actually installed according to code. Commissioner Erickson stated that the building department would need to make a determination on the location of the fence and that there are other routes large trucks could use to get to the businesses. Councilor Squailia suggested that the homeowner could look into installing a bollard or boulder on her private property closer to her house where she was afraid someone might drive into her house as the City cannot install a barrier on her private property. Commissioner Erickson suggested DPW work with the Police Department on proper signage alerting to the dangerous corner. Councilor Squailia motioned to amend the petition as noted to add signage, seconded by Councilors Hughes and Beauchemin. Recommendation: The committee voted 4-0 to APPROVE the amended petition.