Public Works & Facilities Commission

PUBLIC WORKS & FACILITIES COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY May 8, 2024 TIME: 6:30 P.M. Via WebEX.com MIDDLETOWN CONNECTICUT Members Present: Councilman Gene Nocera Councilman Tony Gennaro Councilwoman Leslie Spatola Councilman Grady Faulkner Staff Present: Howard Weissberg, P.E., Acting Director of Public Works Rohan Manning- Chief Management Analyst Public: Tim Hollister, Tyler Eckstrom, Dan Penney, Debbie More, Ed McKeon, Jenn Greenberg The meeting was called to order by Councilman Nocera at 6:30 p.m. Minutes approved unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: Tim Hollister-of 1000 Chamberlain Hill Road. Looking for more updates on the road. Stated that the road is impassable now, and you have to go in to oncoming traffic in order to avoid potholes. Mr. Hollister expressed frustration that nothing has been done. Tyler Eckstrom-Expressed thanks on looking in to rebuild of Pameacha Pond Dam and expressed enthusiasm on its progress. Dan Penney-Commented on adding comments regarding items not on the agenda being added to the end of the meeting. Questions regarding Smith Park and whether there will be sensory equipment included. Expressed concerns regarding Chamberlain Hill Road and the damage that has been done to the road, along with the basins being clogged by stone being washed down by water on road. Requested update on Pameacha Pond Dam status and whether inspections have been done, and are in compliance with state regulations. Ed McKeon and Debbie More were experiencing technical issues and unable to speak at the meeting. Ed logged out and came back on. Councilman Ed McKeon-spoke regarding noise ordinance and stated that he would be happy to discuss further at later meetings as well as question regarding whether or not a representative from DOT will be at the May 23 public hearing. Councilman Nocera asked for a motion to amend the agenda and include the noise ordinance, Councilman Gennaro moved to amend the agenda and Councilwoman Spatola seconded. Acting Director Weissberg discussed working with DOT regarding nighttime work and requested public notification regarding overnight work and its necessity, as well as limiting the amount of overnight noise where possible. CORRESPONDENCE: none submitted NEW BUSINESS: a. City Hall discussion- Acting Director Weissberg thanked everyone who attended the special council meeting held at 225-237 Main Street which is a potential location of City Hall. Discussion regarding possible options for City Hall. Acting Director Weissberg has been meeting with internal staff on time frame and working with commissions in order to make it to referendum. Present to Public Works Commission at May meeting and Commission can decide whether to present to council in June, and presentations to Central Business District, Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Business District and then to Economic Development and Finance and Government in July, another common council meeting in August which would allow it to be placed on referendum, meeting the 60 day deadline to be a November 5th referendum. Acting Director Weissberg posed the question to the Committee regarding the direction, Councilmen Gennaro stated that he is not ready to make a decision, Councilwoman Spatola said there needs to be more communication, Councilman Nocera stated that they are trying to get the budget passed and it has been a tremendous amount of work, so he is not ready to move it to council yet, and there should be time at the next meeting for a presentation. Acting Director Weissberg expressed concern that if decisions are not made soon then there will not be enough time to get it on to referendum and make it through all of the committees. Councilman Faulkner asked about Department heads feedback and Acting Director Weissberg updated the committee on current concerns regarding the current City Hall, as well as possible alternate locations. Councilman Nocera requested Landmark to present at the next meeting as well as Questions for Directors. Discussion regarding parking strategies. Debbie More-was able to connect and spoke about the litter issue, specifically in the area of Country Club Road and Miner Street. Ms. More expressed a desire to organize a clean-up, and wanted to know if there has been talk regarding a solution. Acting Director Weissberg discussed working with Jonah Center regarding an adopt-a-street program and community clean-up program. Ms. More asked about the possibility of putting large stones in an area where people frequently pull over and sit so that they will not sit there and then throw litter; Acting Director Weissberg will speak to the PD about this. Ms. More asked for ways to help and Acting Director Weissberg stated that he will give her contact information for the Jonah Center. Councilman Nocera added that there have been other complaints about litter in the community and that there are other areas in the community that people are interested in starting an organized group and it will be added to the agenda. OLD BUSINESS: a. Smith Park Playground –Acting Director Weissberg stated that they have a Quote, Plans and Contract Mechanism, and a question into purchasing because the creative would like to add the bonding as an addition to the contract and they are in the process of creating a Purchase Order. Acting Director Weissberg has asked for more details on every one of the features as well as cut sheets. Councilman Nocera stated that it is a beautiful design and he is hoping that kids will be on it by mid-summer. b. Westfield Safety Concerns- Acting Director Weissberg stated that Country Club has been striped with 6in. wide, white edge lines, 11 feet apart, essentially creating travel lanes which had never been done on Country Club road. Ridge road from Main Street Ext. up to Russel was also done and residents have expressed feeling safer because traffic is slower. Acting Director Weissberg stated that as soon as more staffing is available there will be intersection warning signs at all of the major crossing on Country Club Road. Acting Director Weissberg informed the committee that he sent DOT A third email confirming that the “No through Trucks” prohibition is valid from Meriden all the way through Country Club; once it is they will work with Meriden and post signs on both ends of the road. Councilman Gennaro stated that he drove the roads and noticed that it has made a big difference. c. Chamberlain Hill Rd Update- Councilman Nocera and Acting Director Weissberg drove the road last week, and a week prior to that Acting Director Weissberg and Public works leaders walked the road from top to bottom and checked out every one of the issues. The project has been broken in to segments, including: 400 feet of piping replaced, catch basins being replaced, and contacting Eversource about putting in a swale. Acting Director Weissberg stated that once they get the water issue addressed- which will hopefully be before July-they’re are going to do hot in place treatment, as well as hot in place recycling. Acting Director Weissberg stated that the goal is to stabilize the area, both from a drainage and paving perspective by the end of this year. Councilman Nocera congratulated Acting Director Weissberg and PW staff on the tremendous amount of work on this project. d. Saybrook Road Update-Acting Director Weissberg stated that the on call contractor will be working on some of the rougher areas, including, southbound lanes from Clue to Tryon and Northbound lanes from Clue to Bow Ln. as well as some curbing while they are there as well. Longer term they are working with Cardinal Engineering to get plans finalized and hope to get the project to bid by late summer/early fall. e. 455/465 Middlefield Street Concerns- Acting Director Weissberg stated that forming a task force still seems to be the best way to go, and discussions are in the works. Acting Director stated that this is an issue above PW and he would appreciate feedback on what the best course of action will be. Councilman Nocera stated that as chair he will contact the mayor and work to get something in place for the next meeting. f. Sanitation Update- Acting Director Weissberg provided an update on new trash cans being placed downtown, which will be done in mid-June as well as the Save As You Throw (SAYT) program. Acting Director Weissberg stated that staff is evaluating the SAYT program and looking at 5 or 6 key criteria regarding the financial viability of the program, the waste reduction benefits, labor cost, logistics, political implications and whether this has any ability to move beyond the sanitation district. Councilwoman Spatola asked about public feedback. Councilman Gennaro asked if the department is getting complaints regarding the program. g. West Lake Park-Acting Director Weissberg stated that there is a draft RFP, but until there is staff available that can address what comes with an RFP and fielding questions related to that this is being put on hold at least for a couple of months. h. Pameacha Pond- Acting Director stated that there was a meeting with Tata & Howard, dam experts, for an assessment and the inspector stated it appears to be functioning well. Acting Director Weissberg stated that Tata & Howard discussed looking at the Dam’s current classification which would help reduce some costs associated with rebuilding. Acting Director Weissberg also met with BL Engineers, who are the designers of the original dam, and asked for a proposal for an assessment of dam conditions including a cost benefit analysis of all options. Councilman Faulkner asked for an update about the Columbus statue and there was some discussion about the plan for the statue and Councilman Nocera stated that he will look into it. i. Route 9 Update-Acting Director Weissberg stated that there was a CEPA Scoping meeting held at Wesleyan University 2 weeks prior as they had previously done at the City. Acting Director Weissberg asked what is expected at the next meeting on 5/23. Councilman Nocera stated that the expectations are that it will be a community meeting and the meeting is not just for DOT. Acting Director Weissberg expressed that he has spoken to DOT and the goal is not just to minimize the impact on Middletown, but to utilize the project for the betterment of Middletown. j. Dog Park- Dog Park meeting was postponed due to City Hall walkthrough. Acting Director Weissberg posed the question of whether or not the committee would like the item to remain on the agenda, there have been a couple of viable sites identified, and a group of citizens put in a lot of time and effort, so he would like to make sure that there is some resolution for that effort. Councilman Nocera stated that the dog park was not a part of the parks bond, so there is no money allocated. Acting Director Weissberg stated that a lot of dog parks are funded by fundraisers. Councilman Gennaro stated that he is not in support of the idea and we need to set our priorities where they need to be when people are complaining constantly about the budget and taxes. The committee agreed that they will put this aside and re-visit it at a later time. OTHER: Reported on by Howard Weissberg a. April 2024 Monthly Report Highway – Acting Director Weissberg stated that paving has started and the bulk of paving this year will be hot in place recycling-there was work done on Plumb Road. There is a bid out right now, and he can send out a list of planned paved roads to the committee. Acting Director Weissberg updated the committee on the current process for road bonds and working to come up with a more efficient strategy. Discussion regarding average lifespan of a road and road maintenance. Acting Director Weissberg informed the committee that he will be getting a full pavement inventory presented to him from data engineers that will provide pavement strategies that will be most cost effective ways to manage the city. b. April 2024 Monthly Report Parks – Parks is in full swing, one of the challenges is that due to staffing issues they have to share coverage of night duties c. April 2024 Public Works Overtime Report- Parks closing and opening for night games, landfill, Highway has been backfilling a lot of curbing on weekends. d. April 2024 Building Permits – no report given, but totals were shared in the packet for review. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS: none Adjourn – Councilman Gennaro moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:32, Councilman Faulkner seconded.