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HomeMy Public PortalAbout04-24-1997 BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND, INDIANA,APRIL 24,1997 1 The Board of Public Works and Safety of the City of Richmond, Indiana, met at 5 p.m.Thursday, April 24, 1997, 2 in the Municipal Building in said City. President Robert Goodwin presided with Robin Henry, Bruce Metzger and 3 Assistant City Attorney Steve Rabe in attendance.The following business was had to-wit: 4 5 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 6 7 The minutes of the April 17, 1997 meeting were approved on a motion by Henry,second by Metzger and carried 8 on a unanimous voice vote. 9 10 CLAIMS FOR PAYMENT 11 12 Claims for payment submitted by the City Controller's office were read by Henry who noted they totaled 13 $98,948.68.She moved to approve,second by Metzger and carried on a unanimous voice vote. 14 15 OLD BUSINESS 16 17 A. President Goodwin announced that the proposal of the Board tonight is to reinstate the two parking 18 spaces immediately north of the KMH curb cut and the area between the KMH curb cut and the Marvin 19 Smith Auto Sales to the south would be posted No Parking for one space. The other item, he said, is 20 that the area will be designated a project area for the street department this summer for new curbs, 21 specifically to provide some element of safety so the school children can walk to school on the 22 sidewalks. He said the final element of the proposal is in two parts. The first is to cut out for each of 23 those sidewalks to accommodate the parking. The second, he said, is the alley east of the restaurant 24 would be rebuilt at the south end to accommodate traffic entering from the rear of that structure. He 25 said he is hopeful that will temporarily meet the needs of the neighborhood, adding that the engineering 26 for the project will start in the very near future and will be one of the first projects for the street 27 department. 28 29 In response to an invitation for comments from the Board members, Henry commented she was glad to 30 see the curbs are scheduled to be reinstalled, noting that is long overdue and a good step. 31 32 Terry Burk of KMH Systems at 712 South 5th Street explained that the existing driveway is very small, 33 which makes it difficult for the 65-foot long semi to enter without going upon the curb and sidwalk. He 34 asked the Board to consider leaving one of those spaces immediately north of the KMH curb cut area 35 which is;now marked No Parking. He said there is no way as you swing that truck to enter the driveway 36 and clear the cars across the street without actually crawling upon the anticipated new curbs. 37 38 Joan Burke, owner of Joan's Cafe on South 5th Street commented that if a loading zone is made in 39 front of Marvin's Auto Sales the semi doesn't need to back in since it's a rollback. She said her 40 restaurant does need a loading zone because it is not safe for a semi to stop on South 5th Street. 41 42 Marvin Smith,owner of Marvin's Auto Sales,said KMH does not need a loading zone and could not use 43 it if there was one. He said if Burke needs a loading zone then he suggests it be put in front of her 44 business, adding that she has a big sign on her business which specifically says there is truck parking 45 in the read.As far as his business is concerned, Smith said, motorists cannot see if there is a truck or a 46 car sitting there. He said he would hate to see this Board take the signs down and someone get 47 seriously hurt. He also presented a letter from Robert Henderson, another business owner in the area, 48 and President Goodwin said he would place it in the record. 49 50 Ben Kovach, a customer of Joan's Cafe, voiced his concern about what the City is proposing to do 51 about No Parking signs in front of a business. He said he thought when it was discussed at the Board 52 of Works meeting last week abot putting in a loading zone it was a good idea, especially if it is 53 combined with walks and curbs. He said with a loading zone the loader will be off the street and have 54 protection in front and back of the unit. He also stated that not being able to see coming in and out of 55 drives is a situation that is not different than many other businesses. He added that if the Board passes 56 - this without good reason for having No Parking he said he is afraid it is going to open the door for a lot 57 of other requests in the City. 58 59 Marvin Smith's son, Mike, said he feels the issue here is the safety problem and he feels the No 60 Parking decision made by the Board should stand. He added that KMH is trying to make a compromise 61 and is willing to give one more parking space and he feels that would definitely solve the problem. 62 63 Metzger asked how far will the parking spaces be from the KMH driveway and President Goodwin 64 answered they are immediately north. He also asked if the space is going to be right up to where the 65 entrance is going to be or is it back. President Goodwin answered that it is near the entrance. Board of Works Minutes Cont'd April 24, 1997 Page 2 1 President Goodwin said you have to creep out into the road to see, but that is typically what you run 2 into. He added that at this point there is not enough engineering data to determine whether or not you 3 can come up with additional parking to substitute for that one space. However, he said, he expects to 4 have the engineering survey very shortly but in talking with engineering they felt like they would wind up 5 with enough area in there that this 19-foot drive they have, which is the entry way at the point of their 6 lot, could be expanded to incorporate a 24-foot wide access. A drawing shown to the Board by Smith 7 prior to this meeting, President Goodwin said,showed a 48-foot wide drive. 8 9 President Goodwin stated that the recommendation before the Board now is to reinstall those two 10 spaces and try to resolve the situation when some accurate data is available with which to work. Henry 11 said the Mayor, in his letter to Marvin Smith, talked about the possibility of widening the entrance to 12 KMH and she asked what effect that would have on the parking spaces?President Goodwin said he did 13 not know, but once the Board has accurate engineering data and two spaces are lost on that side then 14 it is possible to pick up one on the other side. Metzger said he is trying to figure out how a semi is 15 supposed to get in the driveway if a car is against the curb. President Goodwin said if they are talking 16 about No Parking on the other side he would suggest they go around the block and come in at an angle 17 giving a stretch of about 20 feet to get into it. He added that the Board is trying to work within the 18 parameters available.Terry Burk stated that the reason he is here tonight is to perhaps look at this and 19 compromise a little. 20 21 Captain Farmer said when figuring this you need to consider the width of the bed of the truck and the 22 width of the driveway. Metzger said there has also been a request for a loading zone. President 23 Goodwin said that needs to be in writing and handled at a different time. He added that hopefully that 24 will be a part of the engineering study of that area. 25 26 Metzger asked if the proposal is to reinstate the two parking spots,why not one on one side and one on 27 the other side of the drive which would give a wider approach. He asked if one spot in front of Marvin 28 Smith's and one in front of KMH would allow the area immediately from the north and south of the drive 29 to be open. 30 31 Smith responded, stating that putting one parking space back in front of Marvin's Auto Sales would 32 eliminate the safety Factor. Smith noted that in his drawing he had shown how to get four parking 33 spaces in front of a house north of the KMH business which would be approximately 62 feet. He said 34 that would allow him to move his sign over and give adquate room to get in and out, solving the 35 problem. President Goodwin said they had gone over that and he would feel more comfortable if that 36 drawing was in the hands of the engineers. He said again, that what is before the Board tonight is to 37 decide whether or not to restore the two parking spaces and No Parking in front of Marvin's Auto Sales. 38 39 City Engineer Bob Wiwi said it would be at least two weeks before his department could make a final 40 recommendation to this Board on the issue, adding that it would depend on funding as to when the 41 work would begin. Metzger asked about his suggestion about the spots on either side of the driveway 42 and Wiwi said that may be a temporary measure but could not say if it would be a final one until the 43 completion of the survey. 44 45 Henry moved to approve the South 5th Street parking plan and accept a proposal of Marvin Smith and 46 forward it to the engineering department for recommendation and to approve putting two parking 47 spaces in front of KMH and No Parking in front of Marvin's Auto Sales and give this proposal to the 48 engineering department along with any other suggestions citizens may have. The motion was 49 seconded by President Goodwin and was carried on a voice vote. 50 51 REQUESTS 52 53 A.Fire Chief Mike Allen presented the following: 54 55 1. He recommended the promotion of Michael Elsrod to the rank of Lieutenant effective April 6, 56 1997. Metzger so moved,second by Henry and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. 57 58 2. He recommended the promotion of Van VanMeter from the rank of probationary firefighter to the 59 rank of firefightercontingent upon him successfully completing his E.M.T.class in which he is currently 60 participating. Henry so moved, second by Metzger and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice 61 vote. 62 63 3. He reported that the Book of Rules for the Richmond Fire Department had been updated and both 64 the Professional Firefighters Local 1408 and the Richmond Fire Department had approved it. Metzger 65 moved to approve the update of the Book of Rules, second by Henry and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. Board of Works Minutes Cont'd April 24, 1997 Page 3 1 4. He said the Fire Department had been asked to display a fire apparatus at the Spring Fling Auto 2 Show Saturday,April 27, at Ivy Tech and asked that the Board approve the request to be there from 11 3 a.m.to 3 p.m. Henry so moved, second by Metzger and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice 4 vote. 5 6 B. Bill Smith, superintendent of building and grounds for the Wayne County complex, said he had been 7 asked by the Wayne County Commissioners to request two handicapped parking spaces for County 8 employees on South 4th Street on the west side of South 4th at the north side of the Wayne County 9 Courthouse. Captain Farmer said he is aware of the problem, noting it is gradually increased, and 10 adding that he feels the request is warranted. Metzger moved to approve the request, second by Henry. 11 City Attorney Bob Bever questioned as to whether or not approval of this would be setting a precedent. 12 Captain Farmer said there is already one handicapped parking space reserved for County employees 13 and it has been there for three or four years.The motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. 14 15 C. Captain Farmer brought before the Board a request for the Opening Day parade May 17 for the 16 Richmond Evening Optimist Club. He said this is an annual request and there is no change in the route, 17 adding that it should not last beyond two hours, traveling from North West 8th Street onto Peacock 18 Road and to North West 13th Street. Henry moved to approve the request, second by Metzger and the 19 motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. 20 21 CONTRACTS 22 23 A. President Goodwin read a letter from Purchasing Manager Vicki Stevens noting that four vendors 24 had been notified of the mowing contract and only one bidder had responded, that being GRF and 25 Sons. She said the hourly rate is $50, noting that the contract awarded previously was at$40 for each 26 operator and equipment. She stated the 1997 budget is sufficient to accommodate the increase based 27 on the same number of mowing hours which was 323. It was noted by President Goodwin that GRF is 28 George Falkenberg and Son and he recommended the contract be award to GRF and Son as the 29 lowest, most responsive and responsible bidder. He said this contract is for one year with the option to 30 renew for one more year. Henry moved to approve the awarding of the contract, second by Metzger 31 and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. 32 33 B. Board members opened the bids for prescription card services. Metzger opened the one from 34 Kroger's; Henry read one from RX Connections of Indianapolis; Goodwin opened from RX America; 35 and Henry opened one from Drug Card out of Napierville, Ill. President Goodwin said the bids would be 36 passed on to the purchasing director and personnel director of insurance. 37 38 39 MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS 40 41 A. President Goodwin acknowledged individuals in the audience. Henry introduced her Goddaughter, 42 Ann Irvin, who spent the day with her honoring Take Your Daughters to Work day. Captain Farmer 43 introduced his daugher, Pam, and Mayor Andrews introduced his daughter,Jennifer. 44 45 B. Bever pointed out that on the vote earlier on South 5th Street there was a vote opposing the motion, 46 clarifying that Metzger voted against it. 47 48 ADJOURNMENT 49 50 There being no further business, on a motion duly made seconded and passed and carried on a unanimous 51 voice vote,the meeting was adjourned. 52 53 54 55 56 57 Robert Goodwin, President 58 59 60 61 62 ATTEST: 63 Myra Miller, Deputy Clerk 64 65