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HomeMy Public PortalAbout11-12-1998 I q1 BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND,INDIANA,NOVEMBER 12,1998 The Board of Public Works and Safety of the City of Richmond,Indiana,met at 5 p.m.Thursday, November 12, 1998,in the Community Room in the Municipal Building. Chairperson Bob Goodwin presided with Robin Henry,Bruce Metzger and Assistant City Attorney Steve Rabe in attendance.The following business was conducted: APPROVAL OF MINUTES There were no minutes to approve. • CLAIMS FOR PAYMENT A. Claims for payment submitted by the City Controller's office were read by Henry who reported they totaled$31,095.59 and moved for approval,second by Metzger and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. BID OPENINGS A. Two bids received for South G Street and South J Street were opened.Henry read the bid by Bolin Construction for curb work at South J and 24th Street and South G and 23`d Street, which was for$700.Metzger read the bid by Mike DeLucio&Son for installing approximately 35 feet of curb at South 24th and J Street for$490.Chairperson Goodwin gave the bids to City Engineer Bob Wiwi for recommendation and awarding at a later date. REQUESTS A. Fire Chief Mike Allen requested approval of the Board to enter one in-service unit of the Richmond Fire Department in the annual Christmas Parade and possibly the antique fire engine.Metzger moved to approve,second by Henry and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. B. Chief Allen also brought before the Board a request for retirement made by Bill Russell who began his tour of duty with the Richmond Fire Department November 3, 1978.He said he served most of his career at Fire Station No.4 and mentioned that in July 1998,Russell,along with the other crew members were recognized for the rescue of an elderly woman from a smoke-filled residence at 4031/2 South 12th Street.Henry moved to approve,second by Metzger and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. C. The promotion of Jared Rudy to probationary engineer for six months was also requested by Chief Allen.Metzger moved to approve,second by Henry and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. D. Captain Truitt reported that a request had been received from Linda Molina at Olde Richmond Inn containing several parking changes in the immediate area of their business.The first,she said,is to extend the yellow curbing on South B in the 400 block an additional 14 feet six inches from the existing yellow curbing at the northwest corner of the intersection of South 5th and B;the second is to remove the"Loading Zone"sign from the 200 block of South 5th on the east side of the street in front of the Olde Richmond Inn;and the third is to sign the two existing handicapped spaces on the Find Center lot.She said the two markings have faded and these spaces are needed to comply with the minimum ADA requirement for a lot size of 72 spaces.She said the Street Department will place and remove the signage but the Olde Richmond Inn personnel will take care of the curb painting. Board of Works Minutes Cont'd November 12, 1998 Page 2 CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 A. Chairperson Goodwin requested a change order to the contract that the City has presently with, Ball State University on the comprehensive plan.He said the original contract was for $15,000 and as a result of several re-writes which have extended beyond the original contract the university is asking for a 20 percent increase which is the maximum allowed by law.He recommended approval of the request,stating that the money is available to pay the extra amount.Henry so moved,second by Metzger and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. AWARD OF BIDS A. Henry read the first bid for landscaping at Fire Station No.5 which was made by Rose City Nursery in the amount of$2,195;Metzger read the bid by Ivan Foust Nursery for$3,599.50; Henry read the bid by Brower Gaar Nursery in Cambridge City for$4,395.30;and Metzger read the bid by Pleasant View Nursery for$3,483.Chairperson Goodwin said all would be taken under advisement and awarded at a later date. B. Two bids were received for painting the basement at Fire Station No. 1.Henry read the first made by Charles Robbins Painting of Richmond which was for$1,305 and Metzger read the second made by Russell Painting Co.for$1,200.Chairperson Goodwin said both would be taken under advisement and awarded at a later date. C. Henry read the lone bid received for the Charles House roof renovation,which was made by Blackmoore&Buckner of Indianapolis and was for$12,130. Chairperson Goodwin said that bid,too,would be taken under advisement and awarded at a later date. OLD BUSINESS A. Chairperson Goodwin explained that several people were at this meeting at the invitation of the Board to discuss the petition and request of the residents in the Fairview Neighborhood Association for a four-way stop at Sheridan and North West J Street. Charles Bizarro,who resides at 418 North West I and is president of the Fairview Neighborhood Association,explained that one of the problems is that in the southeast and northeast corners of North West J Street are two buildings,which have been there for a number of years,and are located directly on the sidewalk.He said these tend to obstruct the vision of a driver of a vehicle traveling west.In answer to a question by Chairperson Goodwin as to how this intersection relates to others,Bizarro said that to his knowledge there is no other area with this type of safety hazard.Alluding to the report given by Captain Truitt, Bizarro said factory employees at a certain time of day are in a hurry and since there is only one four-way stop sign on North West L and Sheridan Street,this gives the potential for the individual in a hurry to get home to drive faster than they should. Bing Welch,Councilmember of the Fifth District,said he feels peak traffic periods at that intersection should be taken into consideration.He cited several problems he has had driving within that area and spoke about the lack of visibility.He said he feels there is definitely a problem at that intersection and agrees with Bizarro that common sense should be used.He added that two additional stop signs would cost very little and would slow down or stop the traffic,acting as a traffic control and should tend to increase the safety. )L1 Cl Board of Works Minutes Cont'd November 12, 1998 Page 3 Henry asked Captain Truitt if she does counts on cross streets during the traffic studies. She answered that the hourly average was 65 cars westbound on North West J Street and 55 cars eastbound,adding that the survey is done during the peak eight-hour time. Councilmember Welch mentioned the four-way stop sign,which is new at Liberty Avenue, stating that he felt that would not have the amount of traffic that exists at Sheridan and North West J Street.Captain Truitt responded that that intersection on Liberty Avenue had an accident history of five or more accidents in the 12-month guideline,which was why the Board approved the stop sign there. Robert Lee McDaniel Jr.of 1107 Sheridan Street said he had lived at that address for the past 10 years and stated that there are many accidents that happen there that don't get reported. Harold Clements of 219 North West K Street said he avoids that intersection and goes out of his way to miss it.He cited a situation in Lynn,Indiana,where a number of stop signs have recently been installed.He said a former law enforcement officer is a member of the Town Board there. Kay Watson of 930 Sheridan Street said she has lived there for 15 years and members of her family live on Bridge Avenue so she travels the area quite a bit and has noticed in the last few years the traffic has accelerated.She says she hears motorcycles zooming up Sheridan Street at all hours of the day and night. She alluded to a four-way stop on North J and Hunt Streets, saying she felt it was not needed there as much as this one is.She said she is a foster parent and takes her children to school because she fears for their safety when they walk. Henry asked if someone could reiterate the guidelines that this Board adopted recently.Rabe complied,quoting from the minutes: "in order for the board to consider deviating from the above reference federal advisory standards the petition must assess any circumstances that make this situation unique or different from any other intersections.Examples:intersections adjacent to schools and playgrounds;permanent view obstructions;difficult terrain and topography;or other occurrences that might run in sight distance or create a safety hazard." Metzger said he had not visited the intersection but would like to do that before he makes a decision.Henry said she was there in that area today.Captain Truitt stated that there are not enough police officers to enforce speeding and there are not going to be enough to enforce their four-way stop.She added that the federal guidelines warn any municipality about the placement of stop signs to control speed.She said they are not supposed to be used for that purpose.She said people disregard stop signs and instead of increasing the safety they may decrease it because of the falseness of security the four-way stop may bring. Captain Truitt said the City has installed four,four-way stop signs this year and her office gets nothing but complaints about them so the problem continues to exist on a daily basis.She said again that the department does not have the manpower to watch all the four-way stop signs and sometimes the installation of those does work adversely.She also addressed the view obstructions mentioned by Bizarro.She said her survey revealed that there have been no collisions at that intersection associated with those buildings since January 1994. She said there is no data to support that those two buildings are a factor in reported collisions.Metzger asked if there are any other solutions rather than four-way stops.Captain Truitt said there are numerous others mentioned and she will try to find those and bring them to the Board. Board of Works Minutes Cont'd November 12, 1998 Page 4 Bizarro spoke again,repeating what he had said before,noting that the primary purpose in requesting this is having the best interest of the majority of the people in this controversial area.He said they are interested in avoiding an accident and believe that a four-way stop will help to do that.He alluded to the four-way stop that was put in some months ago at Ridge and North West K Street,saying residents in that area have noticed the effectiveness of it and are satisfied with it.He said the petition he presented to the Board contains more than 100 names, adding that they are talking about two additional stop signs and he feels that's a small amount of money to invest in the interest of safety.Chairperson Goodwin said this issue would be tabled and brought back next week. BID AWARD A. Wiwi returned with his recommendation that Mike DeLucio and Son be awarded the bid for the work at South 24th and South J Street for$490.Henry moved to approve subject to receiving a certificate of insurance,second by Metzger and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. B. City Attorney Bob Bever brought before the Board a purchase agreement for the former Medical Arts Building at 35 South 8th Street from Theodore and Michael E.Lyons.He said the City has been working with them,following some negotiations,and has come up with the purchase agreement,which they have signed in the form of an offer to purchase for$50,000. He said that in the agreement,the purchaser agrees to pay the first installment of the 1998 taxes due in May of 1999.He continued,saying it is a normal purchase agreement except for two paragraphs.He said since the City wanted to confirm there would be appropriate use of this property,in addition to zoning restrictions,he has put in further restrictions on use of the property,which is found in paragraph 3 of the agreement.It states that the purchaser would not use the property or allow the property to be used for package liquor stores,tent sales, fireworks sales or displays,adult book stores,massage parlors,or any other use incompatible with the current use of the surrounding area.Bever said that since some of those might,in a way,get through on zoning,that would restrict them and that would be on the deed to Ted and Mike Lyons from the City. Secondly,Bever said,so that the City could have some sort of input over what happens to the property,paragraph 4 of the agreement,speaks to the configuration of the property,which he and Ted and Mike Lyons met about and went over.He pointed out that on the configuration it shows they would use 20 feet along the northern border for parking,24 feet for ingress and egress to that parking area and the balance to the south would be available for their future development of a building site. Bever said in the agreement,the City would require the purchaser to construct a sidewalk and • curb cut and until they did something on the building site they would have to landscape the property,keep it clean and in proper condition,seeding it in grass so it would be an attractive site downtown and not sit barren until a development came along.He said he was told that the purchasers have a potential developer of an office building there,but there is no time limit on that.However,rather than keep this on the City's property list,the Mayor and the administration are recommending this Board accept this offer to purchase.He added that it is felt this is in the best interest of the City and of the current property owners downtown. !C-1 Board of Works Minutes Cont'd November 12, 1998 Page 5 Metzger commented that he assumes that what is left is a suitable size for development and Chairperson Goodwin answered that is correct.Metzger moved to accept the purchase agreement,second by Henry and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. C. Wiwi explained to the Board that two weeks ago he presented a proposal for additional work to be done by the Bonar group on the Richmond Midwest Industrial Park.He pointed out that Item D was for geotechnical investigation by Earth Exploration and they gave a range at that time.However,the proposal's estimated cost is$2,900 and is less than the range given two weeks ago.He said this work is to do the soils investigation for the extension of the road between Salisbury and Round Barn Road. Wiwi said he is asking the Board to award this work to Earth Exploration for$2,900,adding that these funds are a part of the previously approved funding by the Economic Development Corporation.Metzger moved to approve,second by Henry and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS A. Henry pointed out that in looking over the holiday schedule for City employees,they found that the meetings of this Board,which meets each Thursday,fell on three of the remaining holidays.Metzger moved to change the meeting days to Wednesday which would fall on the dates of November 25,December 23,and December 30. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business,on a motion duly made,seconded and passed,and carried on a unanimous voice vote,the meeting was adjourned. Robert Goodwin,Chairperson ATTEST: Norma Schroeder,Clerk