City Operations

CITY OPERATIONS Tuesday, October 7, 2025 – 6:35 p.m. Council Chambers – Olean Municipal Building Present: Members: Chairman Bennion, Vice Chairman Anastasia, Alderman Keary, Alderman Crawford, and Alderman McCall. Others: Alderman Forney; Alderman Robinson; Lens Martial, City Auditor; Brad Camp, Water and Sewer Superintendent, and Tiffany Taylor, Managerial Confidential Administrative Secretary. 1. Roll Call Alderman Bennion called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. and asked that the record show that all committee members were present. 2. Approval of Minutes of the Previous Committee Meeting (Tuesday, September 16, 2025) A motion to approve the minutes of the September 16, 2025 meeting was made by Alderman Bennion, seconded by Alderman McCall. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. 3. Unfinished Business a. Levee Reaccreditation Update Mr. Camp explained the City entered into a contract with the consultant in the middle of April, and the estimated time of the first phase was six months. He explained there have been some significant delays in sharing of information between the Army Corps of Engineers, the State, and the contractor. He explained there was a discussion about the shared information today so hopefully that is happening now. He explained we did have to file FOIL requests with the Army Corps of Engineers and have had to sign information sharing agreements among all parties involved. He explained it has been a pretty big hurdle to get all of the information for this phase. He explained he believes they will have a draft report to us by the end of the calendar year and he will contact them to confirm this. He explained once all of the information is received a preliminary report can be done to tell us where levee deficiencies are and where we stack up with the reaccreditation. Alderman Bennion asked if there is a deadline for this report to be completed. Mr. Camp explained there is not a deadline for this report. He explained we need to get the report to the State to show where the levee is deficient and where we need to get things up to spec to get up to accreditation. He explained the west side of the Olean Creek and West side of the Allegheny River we believe meet accreditation standards, but there are deficiencies on the east side. Alderman Bennion asked when the flood map changes and Mr. Camp explained the flood plain maps are out, and affect around 3,000 properties in the City. He explained we have to get the work done before the map is finalized, which he believes is in 2028. He explained right now we are getting identified to report to the State so hopefully they come through doing what they have to in order to get the levee under compliance. He explained when the work is done we can submit the data to the Army Corps of Engin3ers for another inspecti8on, and get resubmitted for reaccreditation. Alderman Bennion asked who pays for the construction work and Mr. Camp explained we are not sure yet. He explained everything he has seen would make sense that the State would pay for it, similar to the levee stabilization project recently done behind the treatment plant. He explained if they are doing that portion he is unsure why they would not do other portions. Alderman Bennion asked when we can have another update and Mr. Camp explained he should know more in December. b. Lead Line Initiative Update Mr. Camp explained there have been six door knocking campaigns and they have been in more than 1700 structures. He explained there are 15 known identified lead service lines that need to be replaced and many where a portion is unknown, whether on the City side to the curb stop or the curb stop to the meter. He explained there are 744 known non-lead service lines and 5,709 total service lines. He explained notifications will be sent out again, and some residents may be confused because their line in their home has already been checked and is not lead, but we are unsure what material our portion of the line is so a notification is still being sent to that property owner. He explained we have until 2027 or 2028 to complete the inventory and then we have to replace at least 10% of lead lines per year over a ten year period until all of the lines have been replaced, and by 2038 all lead will be out of our system. Alderman Bennion explained it was recently stated that State law requires property owners allow people onto their property to do this inspection, and Mr. Camp explained this has been one method used to identify the material of lines. Alderman Bennion explained his issue is the statement that State law requires the property owner allow someone into their property for this, and Mr. Camp explained it is actually City code that allows this. Alderman Bennion explained that is for water meters, not the service line. He explained they are there to look at the service line, not the water meter. He explained in addition, what was stated was this is a State law, not local code. He asked when we do a water inspection for replacement via a permit, if we note the materials used, and Mr. Camp explained we should. Alderman Bennion explained he was told that the DPW office staff have indicated they don’t know this information, an employee specifically stated they have only worked here for three years and did not know. He explained he asked for clarification from Mayor Aiello and was sent the ways to verify the type of line. He explained he is curious why City employees are stating State laws allow them into people’s homes and why they are not educated about permits. He explained employees need to be educated so they are not entering homes under false pretenses. Alderman Bennion asked what the next steps are and Mr. Camp explained once a year we need to notify residents who have a portion of their line that is unknown whether on their side or our side, and we need to notify them if they have lead or galvanized lines. Alderman Bennion asked how many more door knocking campaigns we have, and Mr. Camp 3explained he believes we are finished with that portion, which was federally funded. Alderman Bennion asked if we can get grants to replace lines. Mr. Camp explained we are doing this inventory to increase the chances of being able to obtain a grant for replacing lines. Alderman Keary asked if when construction is done, lines are being checked when the pavement is torn up and Mr. Camp explained unfortunately they are not. 4. New Referrals for Consideration None 5. Committee Reports None 6. Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made by Alderman Bennion, seconded by Alderman Anastasia. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at approximately 6:55 p.m.