Public Works & Facilities Commission

PUBLIC WORKS & FACILITIES COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018 TIME: 7:00 P.M. MUNICIPAL BUILDING ROOM 208 MIDDLETOWN CONNECTICUT Members Present: Councilman Carl. R. Chisem Councilman Sebastian Giuliano Councilman Gene Nocera Councilman Philip Pessina Absent: Councilman Thomas Serra Staff Present: William Russo, Director of Public Works Christopher M. Holden, P.E., Deputy Director of Public Works OTHERS: Allison Barrych, SignPro Brian Skonieczny, Cardinal Engineering Howard Reed, 6 Newtown Street John Hall, Complete Streets Committee Michael Harris, Energy Coordinator, City of Middletown Chair Chisem opened the Public Works & Facilities Commission meeting at 7:00 P.M. Chair Chisem requested a motion to approve the minutes dated May 16, 2018. Motion to approve the minutes was seconded and approved unanimously. Councilman Nocera made a motion to move SignPro to first under New Business on the agenda. Motion was seconded by Councilman Pessina and approved unanimously. Deputy Director Holden stated that he passed out a resolution for dedication of property for a sidewalk to the Commission. He would like to add this item to the agenda. A motion was made to move this as item 5j. Motion was seconded and approved unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: At this time, there is no public comment on agenda items. CORRESPONDENCE: Director Russo stated that there is no correspondence at this time. NEW BUSINESS: a. Public Hearing for Saybrook Road & Wall Street – Deputy Director Holden stated that the section of Saybrook Road from Stop and Shop and the whole East Main Street intersection going all the way up to the Tryon Street intersection. Over the years, it has been found that there is a lot of pedestrian traffic east of this area that leads down to the stores in the area. It is very dangerous to cross Saybrook Road. The road is in deteriorating shape so it needs to be redone. The sidewalk will be redone along with the street itself allowing for pedestrians to cross in a safe manner. The complexity of the intersections of East Main, Main Street and Saybrook Road are the cause of the delay in the project. Brian Skonieczny of Cardinal Engineering stated that as Deputy Director Holden said, this project initiated from it being listed as a priority in the Complete Streets master plan in 2013. He began by explaining the existing traffic patters on the two roadways. The East Main Street intersection, going westbound, there is a thru and a right turn lane, then a thru and a left turn lane. Going eastbound there is a thru lane and then a channelized right turn lane to continue on to East Main Street. On the short section between East Main Street and Wall Street there is two thru lanes but one is a combined thru and left turn lane; then there is the one eastbound lane. Between Wall Street and Stop and Shop, there is only one lane in each direction. Between Stop and Shop and Frisbie Street there is one lane in each direction with an exclusive left turn lane westbound into Stop and Shop. From Frisbie all the way to Tryon Street is one lane in each direction. There are no sidewalks on the job. The complete length of Wall Street will be completed which is currently one lane in each direction. At this point, the proposed design is to keep the existing lane arrangement for the intersection itself. The road will be widened on the south side and then restriped so that a five-foot bike lane can be accommodated on both sides of the roadway. From East Main Street to Wall Street, the existing lane arrangements will be maintained and then the road will be widened on the south side with an additional sidewalk on the north side. Again, the bike lanes will be added to each side of the street. From Wall Street to Stop and Shop, an additional lane going eastbound will be added so that there will be a thru lane, a thru combined right turn lane and two westbound lanes. Heading westbound From Stop and Shop to Frisbie Street, there will be a thru left lane and two lanes going eastbound. From Frisbie Street to Bow Lane, the existing pavement width will be maintained with the added two bike lanes which will be one lane in each direction, along with a sidewalk on the north side. From Bow Lane to Clew Drive, there will be a slight widening of the street from 30 feet to 32 feet with the addition of two bike lanes which will be one lane in each direction, along with a sidewalk on the north side. At Clew Drive, a crosswalk will be introduced along with switching the sidewalk to the south side of the street. There will be two added bike lanes which will be also one lane in each direction. The existing pavement width of 24 feet will be kept for Wall Street. In addition, there will be a 4-foot concrete sidewalk on the west side with a grass strip. In some rate, the improvements proposed for this job are milling and paving of both streets, addition of bike lanes on Saybrook Road, a 4-foot concrete sidewalk on one side of the street for both streets and new concrete curbing. The Stop and Shop existing signal will be upgraded to include pedestrian signal heads and exclusive pedestrian phasing for the crosswalk. Since there is a new crosswalk at Clew Drive, it will be an unsignalized intersection. They are going to introduce what is called a rectangular rapid flashing beacon. This is a florescent, solar powered pedestrian activated warning sign. There are rectangular type strobes that flash alternately, similar to how police cars flash. Typically, there is one on each side of the street in both directions. The site lines in this particular location are fairly good, however, they could add an advanced sign with flashers on it. In regards to widening the roads and adding sidewalks, all of the work will occur in the existing street right of way. Though, there may be some temporary rights required for grading. During construction, it is anticipated that traffic will be maintained in both directions. At times, there will be alternating one-way traffic.  The estimated costs for this project is 24 million dollars. It is anticipated that this project will go into construction phase in April of next year and be completed within one year. One of the Commissioners asked whether or not this project has been vetted with the Complete Streets Committee. Howard Reed, 6 Newtown Street, stated that this area had been identified by the committee as high priority by the Committee because of the relatively dense residential area east of Saybrook road, the commercial center and the location of Bielefield School. Aside from the obvious, there was a fatality in the area a couple of years ago which is a stark reminder of the safety issues in the area. The Committee strongly supports the departments design for the area and they feel that it will be a major improvement from a safety perspective. John Hall, Complete Streets Committee, spoke in regards to the development of the Master Plan. It was apparent very early on that Saybrook Road is a primary bicycle route for people coming into the City from the south and from Middlesex College and all of the residential areas connecting with the Stop and Shop center and downtown. Except for this section, the rest of Saybrook Road has very wide paved shoulders along with Main Street Extension. This is a major step to making bike lanes feasible along the entire length going east. The current conditions are just treacherous even though the fatality speaks for itself. The residents that live in this area and walk to Stop and Shop do not have a sidewalk and they do not have signalized crossing. John asked a question in regards to the issue of traffic velocity. He asked what the travel lane widths that are proposed in this redesign. Brian confirmed that for most of it is 11 feet. The section between Frisbie Street and Bow Lane where the pavement is fairly wide, they are trying to maintain the existing pavement so it will be a little wider through the short section. John stated that they are in favor of narrow travel lanes since the narrower the travel lane is, the slower the traffic will go. b. SignPro – Signage for Palmer Field – Allison Barrych of SignPro stated that this will be quick since Palmer Field is already in its finishing stages. She spoke with Director Russo in regards to where they will be putting the biography plaque for Bernie O’Rourke as well as Jim Bransfield. Given the field layout, they did find that there is some conduit piping that they would probably either need to move or relocate in order to put the sign above the windows. To avoid any conflict, they are going to look to put it to the left of the entrance door. This will allow for the 24”x24” sign since the width of this area is 52” so there is substantial room right and left so that it wouldn’t be too close to either side. It would include a photo of choice as well as his biography for the press box which would be affixed to the side of the shed to the left of the door. Director Russo stated that they also talked about the space between the glass and the roof similar to what was discussed with Pat Kidney field with Ed Collins. Allison confirmed that that is where the conduit would be in the way. Director Russo left it up to the Commission of whether or not they want to put the sign above the widows or to the left of the entrance door. He also left it up to the Commission whether or not they would like to do the same thing on the football side with the press box as well. The press boxes will be named: “Jim & Dana Bransfield Memorial Press Boxes.” The colors of the signs will be black and orange. Director Russo stated the reason he would like this approved tonight is that on July 15, 2018, the Legion is doing ‘Fan Appreciation Day’ which is when the press boxes will be dedicated. A final layout will be emailed to the Commission so they can take a look at the sign beforehand.  Allison brought up one more concern of where to put the Bernie O’Rourke plaque. Director Russo stated that to the right of the home plate side will be Bill Pomfret and the back side will be Bernie O’Rourke where the football is coming off of the building. A motion was made to approve of these signs. Motion was seconded and approved unanimously. c. SignPro – Advertisement Sign for Harbor Park – Allison stated that she was unaware that this item would be on the agenda and that she does not have all of the information with her for the advertisement sign for Harbor Park. d. LED Streetlight Conversion Project– Michael Harris, Energy Coordinator for the City of Middletown, stated that he is here to ask for support and approval for City wide conversion of streetlights to LED technology which is a high efficiency technology. Financially, it is a project that pencils out very strongly and produces savings from day one. The back story is that he did not understand that there would be the capacity to bond for this project so he went looking for alternatives. Michael identified another way to do this project called lighting as a service. This is where the City would basically buy the light that comes out of the streetlight. The vendor would own the equipment and then there would be a service term of 5-7 years which would roughly coincide the time it would take for them to recoup their investment in which the ownership of the lights would revert back to us. The cost and the savings of that project were basically the same as what it would cost to bond the project outright and install and own the lights from the start. Michael stated that he was able to present this project to the Mayor and to the Finance Department. After some discussion, the Mayor suggested that it would be best to put this out to referendum to the residents of Middletown to get their approval of this expenditure. It is a project of about 1.9 million dollars; there is about five hundred thousand dollars in energy efficiency fund rebates that come through utility. The net would be about 1.4 – 1.5 million dollars. However, the payback on this is strong at about three hundred thousand dollars per year in savings. If we were to go with the lighting as a service, money will be saved from the start. If it is bonded, which is the recommended way, money will still be saved in terms of cash flow for a period of a ten-year bond and then all of the savings would accrue because the bond will be paid off. Based on the feedback from the Mayor’s office and the Finance Department, Michael stated that he is here for the support of this Commission so that he can present it back to the Finance and Government Commission and to the Common Council. From there, it will move it along into a referendum and then to an RFP process where we would have a competitive bid to select the best provider and also put the bond package together. Councilman Nocera mentioned maybe having the funds for this project be included in a road bond. Deputy Director Holden stated that the only problem he can see with that is if the City isn’t willing to take on the full road bond, then this would get tabled for another year or so. Director Russo stated that not enough money is left for a project of this extent. It was discussed that partial payment can be done through road bond money. If the City is considering a road bond, this should be added to them and as long as it is worded in such a way where streetlights can be replaced anywhere, not just on the main roads, it will work out. Michael mentioned a few details that he feels are important that should be considered. He would like to complete the LED conversion throughout the City in one fell swoop to get the advantage of the economy scale and have them properly designed, installed, maintained and warrantied. The  financial nature of this project is different than fixing a road. From the day this project is implemented, it improves the financial conditions of the City because of the savings accrued. This entire project will be completed within 6 months or less. Deputy Director Holden stated that it is very important to complete this project. He suggested that any motion would be to approve the streetlights and whether it is combined with a road bond, if the road bond does go forward, or if its independent if there is no road bond. Director Russo stated that if this Commission endorses going forward with the road bond for the November election, the lighting along with the placement of the rebate money should be included. The rebate money would be an investment based on the language back into the lighting system. Michael stated that there has been work done to improve the language so that it could be recycled into more. In this case, if all of the streetlights in the City are converted, then the rebate money may want to be used to pay the bond down rather than to recycle it. The full amount will have to be bonded for the purchase then, typically, there will be some in-term financing to cover the period before the rebate comes in. Michael asked for approval on this project so that he can take the step to the Finance and Government Commission. If this Commission decides it is more efficient to bond them together then it is fine. It was discussed that this item be brought to Finance and Government Commission. Councilman Giuliano and Michael Harris will be there to explain the process and to identify the streets. A motion was made to approve of this project and send it to the Finance and Government Commission as part of a road bond package to go on the November ballet. Motion was seconded and approved unanimously. e. 2018 Road Bond – This item was covered amidst the discussion of the LED streetlight conversion project, item 5d. f. Middlesex Sensory Playground/Garden – Director Russo stated that Councilman Pessina brought this item to him asking if it can be placed on the agenda. Councilman Pessina stated that he received a letter from the Parent Leadership Alumni of Youth Services had asked him if they could get some sort of sign recognition for Butternut Hollow sensory park. They would like a sign that thanks the Parent Leadership Voices for Families, Class of 2016. Councilman Pessina made a motion that this sign be made for the Parent Leadership Voices for Families Class of 2016. Director Russo will reach out to SignPro to have them complete a sign for approval at the next Commission meeting. Motion was seconded and approved unanimously. g. 2018 Fishin’ Factory 3 CT Carp Open Tournament – Director Russo stated that he needs permission for the fishermen to stay in Harbor Park past sunset. Motion was made to approve of the 2018 Fishin’ Factory 3 CT Carp Open Tournament to take place past sunset. Motion was seconded and approved unanimously. h. Funding for Environmental Study at 66 Thomas Street – Director Russo stated that this building will become available. It has been looked at for Public Safety, but as he was advised by the General Counsel’s office, before the property is purchased, they recommended that an environmental study  is completed. Working with all of the firms in town, $5,000.00 is available for an environmental study. If all parties are interested, that piece of property can be purchased using road bond money which was already pre-approved. A motion was made to approve of the funding for the environmental study at 66 Thomas Street. Motion was seconded and approved unanimously. i. Resolution Approving Transfer of Funds for Palmer Field – Director Russo stated that it is known that the back building at Palmer Field has many ADA needs along with other issues that have surfaced. He stated that since the Palmer Field project has come so far, he does not want to leave that building in the conditions that it is in. Councilman Nocera stated that this issue absolutely needs to be addressed. The rooftop area and other interior issues are in horrible condition. A motion was made to approve of the transfer of funds for Palmer Field. Motion was seconded and approved unanimously. j. Resolution for Dedication of Property – Deputy Director Holden stated that this resolution is for the ongoing project for Ridge Road, East Ridge Road and Ryan Street. The Department has been trying for some time to get an easement from a gentleman in the vicinity. When a property is purchased, legally it is owned up to the middle of the road. The road right of way allows the City to be able to maintain and keep the road in effect. In this case, the City will be adding to that right of way by 437 feet. The critical point is to install sidewalks for children walking to Farm Hill School since there are currently no existing sidewalks in that specific area without having to go on the road. This will go before the Council to accept this. It was recommended by the Legal Department to go this route. A motion was made to approve of the resolution for dedication of property for sidewalks in the area of Farm Hill School. Motion was seconded and approved unanimously. OLD BUSINESS: a. May 2018 Public Works Overtime Report – The Public Works & Facilities Commission reviewed their May 2018 Public Works Overtime Report. b. May 2018 Building Permits – The Public Works & Facilities Commission reviewed their May 2018 Building Permits. The total for building permits currently stands at $917,963.74 out of the total projected amount of $550,000.00. OTHER: a. May 2018 Monthly Report – Highway Division – The Public Works & Facilities Commission reviewed their May 2018 monthly reports for the Highway Division. Ridge Road, East Ridge Road and Ryan Street were completed. The crews will move to Millbrook Road next. CSO has started on Old Mill Road which will be a large job. b. May 2018 Overtime Report – Parks Division – At this time, there was no Overtime Report for the month of May 2018 available to review for the Parks Division. Most of the overtime in the Parks Division is spent on little league tournaments and games. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS: As there was no further discussion, a motion was made to end the meeting. Motion was seconded and approved unanimously. The Public Works & Facilities Commission meeting adjourned at 8:25 P.M.