Public Works & Facilities Commission

PUBLIC WORKS & FACILITIES COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY September 14, 2022 TIME: 6:30 P.M. Via WebEX.com MIDDLETOWN CONNECTICUT Members Present: Councilman Gene Nocera Councilman Darnell Ford Councilman Phil Pessina Councilman Edward McKeon Councilman Mike Marino Staff Present: Christopher M. Holden, P.E., Director of Public Works Rohan Manning, Acting Deputy Director of Public Works Cathy Lechowicz, Director of Recreation Mike Doherty- SLR Public: Kristen Rzasa The meeting was called to order by Councilman Nocera at 6:31 p.m. Councilman Pessina moved to approve the Meeting Minutes dated August 10, 2022. Councilman McKeon seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: Kristen Rzasa is in attendance regarding a potential dog park in the City. She wanted to put it on the record that there is opposition to Marzalek Park being the choice for the potential dog park. She states that there is no parking. There are only 2-3 spots. The residents in that area already are not happy about that park. There is a portion of the parcel that the park is near that is private property. The road is very skinny and two cars can barely get by so parking on the street wouldn’t be an option. The parcel that is cleared is only half an acre. Cromwell’s park is 1 acre. Rocky Hill’s park is 1.5 acres. The Rocky Hill Park has a very large parking lot. Rocky Hill on a good day will have a total of 60 dogs. The population of Rocky Hill is about half of that of Middletown. There are also concerns about the Coginchaug River regarding river pollution, environmental issues and their well system. She stated that using funds to explore the possibility of this parcel would be a waste of money given the information shared. As there were no other members of the public present, public comment was closed. CORRESPONDENCE: None NEW BUSINESS: a) EBC CT Solid Waste Management Conference-Meeting to explore what is going on in CT and what new technologies are available. Councilman Pessina made a motion to approve and Councilman Marino seconded it. Councilman Pessina asked if the two EBC new business points are truly two different events. Director Holden stated yes, they are different seminars. It passed unanimously. b) EBC CT Solid Waste Management Webinar- Director Holden stated that it is regarding sustainability and how to work with and reduce our solid waste. Councilman McKeon made a motion to approve and Councilman Marino seconded it. It passed unanimously. c) Tree Wardens’ Fall Workshop-Director Holden stated that Tree Wardens need to have so many CEU’s. This specific training is on wood decay. Councilman Pessina asked if the two Tree Wardens Workshops are different. Director Holden stated that yes, they are separate programs. He will be attending one and Rick Romano will be attending the other. Councilman made a motion to approve. Councilman McKeon seconded it. It passed unanimously. d) Tree Wardens’ Workshop- Director Holden stated this provides updated information for Tree Wardens. Councilman McKeon made a motion to approve, Councilman Pessina seconded the motion. It passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS: a. Monarca Drive – The engineering group has started evaluating the road to see if it matches our standards (drainage, streetlights, sidewalks, curbing, etc). Depth of pavement and subbase will be done as will checking the width of the road. This item will remain on the agenda for next month. Councilman Pessina asked if this evaluation will be completed by the October meeting. Director Holden stated that is the hope. b. Hauler Registration and Bulk Waste- The summary is mostly complete by will be sent out over the next day or two. Director Holden would like it to be tabled until the October meeting so it can be discussed in depth. c. Leaf Collection- Director Holden stated that there will be a four (4) week effort staring early November. The city is broken up into 5 sections. Each section will have a machine running for two weeks. There will be a second round in each of the section. What was done in the past isn’t efficient or sustainable. As we are trying to make this more efficient and it will be the first use of using this model our office will be flexible. There will be another update at the October meeting. The hope is that this will free up crews to be able to do other important work before the winter. d. Dog Park Update- Director Holden stated that Marzalek park does have some challenges to it and that it would be good to take a step back and look to other options within the City. The effort will be continued. Councilman Nocera shared that the 21st Century Parks bond that was approved in 2017 by our voters was for $34 million to be spent over an 8-10 year period. Some amazing work has been done including Pat Kidney Sports Complex, Macdonough School playground was completely redone and little league fields were updated. Special approval was made by council for Farm Hill’s playground. Butternut Park was completely redone. Trails on Long Lane and Long Hill Rd, renovations were made to portions of Harbor Park. Palmer Field was completely redone as was Spear Park. Amazing work has been done in the last 5-6 years that has overseen this entire plan. He stated we are now at the point of final planning and projects. The dog park is now in the planning state and the commission needs to be careful to phase it in as they can’t add too much to the debt service that the City is already paying for. Vets Pool and Splash Pad just broke ground. The Riverfront redevelopment may come to ask for money from the 21 st Century Parks bond. The point is that there are many projects on the radar and they must be prioritized and planned for. Councilman Nocera suggested a building committee for Vets Pool & Splash Pad. Other options will need to be explored for the dog park. Councilman Nocera stated that in 2017 an appropriation was made by the Council for $70,000 towards a dog park. e. Recreation Center Update – Director Holden stated the project is moving along well. We are getting close to the end of the project and only a few months away. We are keeping a close eye on the budget. Director Lechowicz shared that the replacement of the pool flooring is happening which was a significant change for the project. Recreation is slated to be done by the end of November/ beginning of December. Planning is happening for a January 2023 opening to the public. f. Veterans Pool and Splash Pad Update – Director Christopher Holden reported that the ground breaking happened and that a lot of utility work is being done. Mike Doherty stated that again, a lot of utility work is being done in addition to excavation of the pool. October and November will be very busy in terms of site work for the pool work. Work will be ramped up over the next few months for not only the pool but for the splash pad as well. Hoping that the weather cooperated and that by the end of November seeing the pool shell, connections to the pool and the bases for each element of the splash pad set. May 2023 is the date to have it open to the public. The building is completely gutted. Work has already started on the roof structure. The building will be worked on from September through November. g. Fencing and Scoreboard – Atlas has ordered their materials. We don’t have a specific timeline but they are working as soon as possible. Councilman Pessina asked if the portion of the field that needed to be leveled off would be. Councilman Nocera stated yes, it’s on the radar. Additional New Business: none OTHER: Reported on by Christopher Holden a. August 2022 Monthly Report - Highway Division- Overtime has been used for road projects. Director Holden said that it’s more efficient for our crews to add time on at the end of their day to complete road projects and that crews have been brought in on Saturdays to topsoil and seed. It takes up a lot of room on the road and this plan has helped to alleviate issues with traffic. b. August 2022 Monthly Report - Parks Division – There have been many activities over the summer that has kept the Parks Department very busy. c. August 2022 Public Works Overtime Report- no questions d. August 2022 Building Permits – Permit fees have amounted to $135,000 so far. There are several major Wesleyan projects that are ongoing. Councilman Pessina questioned if Wesleyan pays permit fees for the second science building that is being put up. Director Holden stated that yes, they pay their permit fees in full. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS: None Adjourn – As there were no further questions the meeting adjourned at 7:12 p.m.