City Operations

CITY OPERATIONS Tuesday, August 12, 2025 – 6:30 p.m. Council Chambers – Olean Municipal Building Present: Members: Chairman Bennion, Vice Chairman Anastasia, Alderman Crawford, Alderman Robinson, and Alderman McCall. Others: Alderman Forney; Mayor William Aiello; Lens Martial, City Auditor; Eric Maurouard, Fire Chief; James Sprague, Director of Public Works; Brad Camp, Water and Sewer Superintendent; Tiffany Taylor, Managerial Confidential Administrative Secretary, and Michiko McElfresh, Mayor’s Secretary. 1. Roll Call Alderman Bennion called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and asked that the record show that all committee members were present. 2. Approval of Minutes of the Previous Committee Meeting (Tuesday, July 22, 2025) A motion to approve the minutes of the July 22, 2025 committee meeting was made by Alderman Bennion, seconded by Alderman Anastasia. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. 3. Unfinished Business a. Salt Shed Director Sprague explained he has contacted four different consultants and will be getting specific proposals from them this Thursday to design a foundation for the salt shed. He explained there were some red flags, which were detailed in the memo he distributed to the Council. He explained we are unsure if the current inventory of barrier blocks will work as a foundation. He explained we do need to get something done so a building permit can be pulled before the end of the year. He explained we will have plans after Thursday and he will be able to come back to the Council with more information at the next meeting. Alderman McCall explained she appreciates receiving the memos ahead of time for review prior to the meeting. b. Motorized Vehicles on City Sidewalks Ms. Taylor explained Ms. Marshall has spoken with Capt. Blovsky and found that all motorized vehicles, electric and gas-powered, are not allowed on the sidewalk according to New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law. Alderman Robinson explained he believes we need to put something into the City Code that mimics the State law and then tighten it up as the City sees fit. Alderman McCall agreed that this should be referenced in our Code. Alderman Robinson explained we need to raise awareness for Police Officers when they are driving on their routes to cite people on a daily basis. He explained people are driving reckless and weaving in and out of traffic, and last week when someone was hit they were not wearing a helmet. He explained we need to address this. He explained we have some individuals being safe and following the rules but we need to put an emphasis on safety for those who don’t. Alderman McCall explained we need to look at enforcement of them on the road and explained they need to abide by the same laws as vehicles on the road. Alderman Crawford asked where we stand on enforcement and explained Mayor Aiello had indicated he would be speaking with the Police Department regarding this. Mayor Aiello explained he did speak with Capt. Blovsky, who is in charge of the department, and memos were put out to enforce this. He explained some tickets have been issued. Alderman Crawford explained it goes back to the enforcement aspect and asked once a month to see a summary of what is happening and what the results are. Mayor Aiello explained people need to realize that they need to follow the rules of the road the same as vehicles do and explained he will have another conversation with the Police Department regarding this. Alderman Bennion asked if we can put this out for one month to get a report from the Police Department before we make any Coed changes, and Alderman Robinson explained we can do that and in the meantime he will look into the New York State laws to see what we can tighten more. 4. New Referrals for Consideration a. Visibility and Sight Lines for Divided Streets Alderman Bennion explained he had an email conversation about sight lines with pedestrians and explained sight lines are supposed to be clear between 32 and 96 inches. He explained he knows North Union Street looks great but some hanging baskets are close the sidewalks and it’s not illuminated well, so there is a safety issue. He asked if there is a plan to take care of this. Mayor Aiello explained he drove the street with Director Sprague after he spoke with Alderman Bennion and explained they do have some ideas. Director Sprague explained there is some pruning that can be done in the short-term, but beyond that he has been looking at the street layout and stopping sight distances to the crosswalks and explained he is looking at a copy of the design plan from where North Union Street was reconstructed. He explained he believes it is about 1800 linear feet from Union to Main and stopping sight distances for a 30 mile per hour speed limit are 300 liner feet. He explained he has reached out to some of his contacts in consulting engineers to see if there is guidance in this type of area so he can investigate more. He explained in the short term we need to prune some trees so they are 8 feet above the street level which will be an improvement. He explained he has met with the beautification committee and is pleased to report they are on board with fixing any safety issues on the street and are willing to work with the City if any adjustments need to be made. He explained right now we are trying to figure out how far back from the sidewalk we need to have the 3 foot to 8 foot clear space to have a safe sight distance for motorists. Alderman Bennion asked if we can come back to this and explained he feels we need to clear six feet back from the crossing to be able to see a pedestrian. He noted pruning the younger trees up to 8 feet might look funny. Alderman Anastasia asked if the lights on the street could be made brighter and Director Sprague explained he does not know if the ones on North Union Street are adjustable or not. 5. Committee Reports None 6. Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made by Alderman Bennion, seconded by Alderman McCall. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at approximately 6:45 p.m.