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HomeMy Public PortalAbout09-30-1993 y`f • BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY OF THE I ; i'` CITY OF RICHMOND,INDIANA. SEPTEMBER 30, 1993 • 1 The Board of Public Works and Safety of the City of Richmond, Indiana, met at 9 a.m.Thursday, September 30, 2 1993, in the Municipal Building in said City. Chairperson Janet Hibner presided with Earnest Jarvis and Dennis 3 Grimes in attendance.The following business was had to-wit: 4 5 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 23.1993 6 7 The minutes of the previous meeting were approved on a motion by Jarvis, second by Grimes and carried on a 8 unanimous voice vote. 9 10 CLAIMS FOR PAYMENT 11 12 Claims submitted by City Controller Dennis Grimes totaled $113,329.68, most of which was for supplies and 13 contractual services. Grimes moved to accept the claims, second by Jarvis and the motion was carried on a 14 unanimous voice vote. 15 16 CONTRACTS 17 18 A. Chairperson Hibner recognized City Engineer Bob Wiwi who brought before the Board a large set of 19 drawings which he explained were the final tracings for Industries Road from Northwest 5th Street to 20 U.S. 27. He explained that this was a culmination of a project that began about 10 years ago in 21 planning and is nearing the point of construction. The drawings were developed by Sieco, Inc., a 22 consulting firm from Columbus, Ind. He said this project is one that is proposed to be jointly funded by 23 the Indiana Department of Transportation and the City through the Redevelopment Authority.The plans 24 are at the stage now where the final drawings are available for the Board's approval, after which they 25 will be submitted to the State for its concurrence in preparation for the construction of the project. 26 However, he said,before construction begins the City has to acquire all the right-of-way and is currently 27 in the process of doing that and is at the stage of preparing final right-of-way drawings. He noted that 28 this is a culmination of a long planning process and it does fit in with the City's Master Plan and it is 29 hoped the project will be under construction next year. In answer to a question by Jarvis,Wiwi said the 30 road will be coming through just south of the Metropolitan Life Building on U.S.27 and it is a four-lane 31 road. He added that the funding consists of 80 percent federal highway funds and 20 percent local 32 which comes from the Redevelopment Authority. He said it is a large project and once it's let for 33 construction it will take a year and a half to two years to build because there is a bridge over the east 34 fork of the Whitewater River. Chairperson Hibner moved to approve the final tracings, second by Jarvis 35 and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. 36 37 REQUESTS 38 39 A. Handicapped parking space requests read by Jarvis included the renewal of two spots at St.John 40 Lutheran Church on South 7th Street and a new one for Linda Wrege on South West;4th Street. He 41 recommended approval of both, second by Grimes and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice 42 vote. 43 44 B.A continuation of the discussion on the Applefest planned for October 7, 8 and 9 on the Promenade 45 was brought before the Board by Grimes who reported that a meeting was held with Major Farmer of 46 the Richmond Police Department and the previous problems had been addressed and resolved. 47 Grimes moved for the closing of the streets as requested by the planners of the event,second by Jarvis 48 and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. 49 50 C. Jarvis read a request from the Wayne County Coaliton/Red Ribbon "Run, Walk and Stroll" 51 scheduled to take place from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, October 9, 1993. The letter asked for 52 permission to use University Boulevard, Autumn Way, Sylvan Nook Drive and Middlefork Reservoir 53 Road as the race route and further requested that traffic be temporarily restricted while the runners, 54 skaters and walkers are on the road. A letter from the Traffic Safety Division stated that no streets will 55 be closed for the event but the Richmond Police Department D.A.R.E. officers will be in attendance at 56 the event to assist with any traffic control that is required. Chairperson Hibner said they would like 50 57 cones. Jarvis moved to approve the request, second. by Grimes and the motion was carried on a 58 unanimous voice vote. 59 60 61 D.Grimes read a request from Mark Bleilles, president of the Wayne County Right To Life,stating that the local group will be joining with area churches to conduct a life chain in the center of Richmond from 62 2 to 3:30 p.m.on Sunday,October 3. He explained that this is a nationwide event involving hundreds of 63 cities on the same day. He added that guidelines have been established for particpants to ensure a 64 peaceful and lawful event and the area to be covered will be on North and South A Streets and 8th and 65 9th Streets. Grimes noted that the Traffic Safety Division had reviewed the request and had no objections since no traffic will be hampered because of the event. Bleilles appeared before the Board, noting that the event had-occurred last year without incident and is well organized. Grimes moved to approve the request,second by Jarvis and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. t� Board of Works Minutes Cont'd - September 30, 1993 Page 2 1 E. A letter addressing a parking hazard in the Crestdale addition was presented to the Board by Jarvis. 2 He read the letter from Sgt. Janice Passmore of the Traffic Safety Division of the Richmond Police 3 Department, noting that Dusty Davis had pointed out a problem in the 900 block of Crestdale Drive 4 where parking is permitted on a curve, causing motorists to constantly go left of center when 5 westbound. He said it creates a hazardous situation and he has seen a number of near head-on 6 collisions there. Sgt. Passmore said she had checked it out and recommended that the curve be 7 painted yellow for no parking on the north side of the street for approximately 80 feet. Based upon that 8 information, Jarvis moved for approval of the recommendation made by the Traffic Safety Division, 9 second by Grimes and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. 10 11 PUBLIC HEARING 12 13 A. Chairperson Hibner declared the residential parking permit public hearing concerning residents in the 14 South West 1st Street in session, explaining that the ordinance does require that all the residents in the 15 area be notified and that was done by letter on September 15. She added that it also requires that it be 16 published twice in the local newspaper and that was done on September 15 and the 22nd. That, she 17 said, is followed by the public hearing which is being held today. She asked for comments from anyone 18 wishing to speak in favor of the issue. She explained that a requirement would be instituted and a 19 two-hour area would be created primarily because the school students are parking in the designated 20 area and taking up the curbside parking area. This would require residents to acquire one-time only 21 parking permits for a$3 fee to entitle them to park on the street themselves during the normal hours of 22 8 a.m.to 5:30 p.m. Monday,through Friday. 23 24 Rita Cummins-Morris said she had lived at.728 S.W. First Street about 19 years and this is the first time 25 she has had this parking problem,adding that it started last April when parking was restricted in another 26 area. She said she has a yellow curb in.front of her house and understands there is a hazard there but 27 added that it.did not exist until the students started to park in her area. She said the students who park 28 there block the drives,double park and create a traffic problem for residents. She noted that she had to 29 leave for work earlier than she has in the past to avoid the traffic jam created by the students.She said 30 a neighbor, Mr. Barnes told her he had counted more than 100 empty spaces in the parking lot across 31 from the high school. She said her grandchildren are living with her and she is concerned for their 32 safety because of the added traffic. She added that her next door neighbor, Ned Sittloh was unable to 33 attend the hearing because of his working hours but he asked her to voice the same objections on his 34 behalf. 35 36 Ernest Adams at 1017 South West First Street, near Lin Kay Place, said he also has a problem gettifng 37 through the parked cars because they're parked on both sides of the street.making it impossible for two 38 cars to get through at the same time. However, he disagreed that the restricted area should include all 39 of South West First Street. He added that a new housing addition is planned for the area past South 40 West J Street and no separate entrance is planned, making it even more important to restrict the 41 parking since the area will be even more heavily traveled. Chairperson Hibner said the reason the 42 entire street was advertised was because when parking is restricted in one area the sudents tend to 43 gravitate further down the street.Adams presented his letter to the Board. 44 45 Sally Lloyd at 1029 South West I Street said she felt restricted parking only as far down as South West 46 J Street would be enough, adding that she felt the high school students would not want-to-walk that far 47 to school.Jarvis expressed concern about her request, saying he would hate to see her have to come 48 back before the Board next year asking that the area be extended. Chairperson Hibner explained that 49 although it had been advertised for the entire length of the street it could be mocjified and that would 50 depend on what the Board learned today. 51 52 Debbie Adams,who also resides at 1017 South West Street, explained there were several vehicles in 53 her family which would require the purchase of six stickers. She said that parking was not a problem in 54 her area, explaining that even during•'the basketball sectionals, spectators do not park in front of her 55 property. She added that she did contact the Board last year to have her area included in the restricted 56 parking area and it was omitted. She noted that she and her father were there at the hearing to support 57 the people who.have the problem at the beginning of the street and asked the Board to consider 58 restricting the parking to at least the 800 block. 59 60 Chairperson Hibner asked City Clerk Norma Carnes to read a letter from Tim and-Joanie McKee at 715 61 South West 1st Street, supporting the restricted parking. They stated their work schedule did not allow 62 them to attend the hearing. They noted that since the curb had been painted yellow they only had one 63 parking space in front of their home and had no alley and no driveway. They asked the Board to help 64 restore their nice,quiet neighborhood and remove,the yellow curbs. 65 • • • L�. Board of Works Minutes Cont'd September 30, 1993 Page 3 1 2 seriously opposed a residential parking permit and restricted two hour parking, giving four reasons for 3 her opposition. She said restricting the hours from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. will create a problem for the 4 students because they will have to leave class to move their cars every two hours and if they do move 5 them it would be to another street which would create another problem. She added that if the car isn't 6 moved the student will get a traffic ticket and that money goes to the state, not the residents and when 7 students receive tickets their car insurance gets raised and if the parents pay the,ticket their car 8 insurance gets raised. She said she didn't want to pay$3 for everyone in her family to park in front of 9 her home because she felt she paid enough to live there.And, she said it would cost lot of money in 10 the long run for getting tickets printed, parking permits, paying the wages of the traffic officers. At the 11 conclusion of the reading of the letter, Chairperson Hibner cautioned those in the audience that the 12 letter contained some inaccuracies in regard to local ordinance violations. - 13 14 Speaking again was Rita Cummins-Morris who said she believed she was speaking for everyone on the 15 street, in saying that they did not want to pay for a parking permit but if that is the only way to obtain the 16 freedom to use their neighborhood then they will grudgingly do so. She stated that she only has a 17 one-car driveway and there are three cars in her household,adding that since her curb is yellow in front 18 of her house it forces her to park across the street taking up a neighbor's parking space. She agreed 19 with Adams and Lloyd that students did not park past South West J Street. 20 21 Jarvis stated that in last year's hearing one of the excuses used by the students for not using the 22 parking lot east of the high school was because of vandalism but that had been checked out through 23 the Richmond Police Department and vandalism had been next to zero. Chairperson Hibner said she 24 had contacted John Lebo, Principal at Richmond High School,to tell him about the public hearing and 25 had had a good discussion with him about the problem, but he told her he could do nothing about 26 alleviating the problem. She added that she had sent Lebo a notice of the public hearing and he had 27 been given an opportunity to speak if he chose to do so. However, she noted, no one from the high 28 school was present. 29 30 Captain Danny McClure of the Traffic Safety Division suggested leaving the yellow curbs until after the 31 restricted parking goes into effect if the Board approved restricted parking in the area. Chairperson 32 Hibner said that could well be a part of the recommendation., noting that the yellow,curbs could be 33 evaluated. She cautioned residents that getting this action done is a long process, noting that what has 34 to happen is that the Board will be adopting a resolution sending a message to the Council and it will 35 have to go through Council as an ordinance. She added that she could not promise that it will be done 36 in anything less than another month. Based upon the information the Board received today from 37 residents in the area, Chairperson Hibner moved to create a residential parking permit area from South 38 West G Street to South West J Street, excluding the remaining blocks and eventually evaluating the 39 yellow curbs,second by Jarvis and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. 40 41 CONTRACTS 42 43 A. Grimes explained that the Board advertised on September 6 and September 13 to submit bids for 44 one used dump truck for the Street Division in the Department of Public Works. He saiditwo sealed bids 45 had been received. He opened the first from Studebaker Buick of Richmond which contained only a 46 statement noting they had no bid.Jarvis commented that good, used dump trucks are hard to find and 47 the majority of the local dealers are not in that business, adding that it is a specialty kind of thing. The 48 second bid opened by Grimes was made by Tom Reuble Truck Sales of Monroeville.;Jarvis read the 49 bid which was for a 1986 International dump truck with a new 10-foot bed and hydraulics costing 50 $21,750. Grimes moved to hold the bid, second by Jarvis and the motion was carried on a unanimous 51 voice vote. 52 53 OTHER MATTERS 54 55 56 A.Grimes read a letter from Fire Chief Jim Sticco requesting the use of a fire truck in the homecoming 57 parade to carry the Richmond High School football team on Thursday,September 30.Grimes moved to 58 approve,second by Jarvis and the motion was carried on a unanimous voice vote. 59 60 61 B.Another letter from Fire Chief Sticco stated that Tim Brown and Phil Schroeder had completed all the 62 requirements and had been promoted to the rank of engineers. In a separate letter Sticco also stated 63 that Jerome Hauptsteuck had completed his probationary period and earned the rank of Firefighter I. 64 Jarvis moved to accept the letters into the records,second by Grimes and the motion was carried on a 65 unanimous voice vote. Board of Works September 30, 1993 Page 4 1 2 C.Chairperson Hibner said she had received continual complaints about stray dogs running loose. She 3 reminded the audience that nothing can be done if the dog isn't caught. Jarvis asked if citizens could 4 catch the dogs and Chairperson Hibner said if they choose to do so, they can call the Department of 5 Law and she will send the animal control officer out immediately to pick up the dog. - 6 7 D. Councilmember Gene Allen asked if TCI has addressed the new billing that has come up. 8 Chairperson Hibner answered that it had not. Jarvis commented that during his attendance at the 9 Indiana Association of Cities and Towns conference recently in Evansville he had sat in on a seminar 10 that dealt with cable TV. He noted that he had asked if it was permissible to show the franchise fee on 11 the bill and the speaker at the seminar had answered in the affirmative. She had given the same 12 answer when he asked if it was permissible for them to pass that franchise fee on to the user of cable 13 TV. Allen stated that, even so, it still leaves a question as to whether they are reporting their rates 14 correctly.Jarvis said he learned there of some leeway where the City has a bit of control and the Board 15 is looking into that. He added that there is a Federal Communications form No.328 which the City must 16 submit to the FCC by November 15 and the Board intends to do that. Chairperson Hibner assured Allen 17 that the Board would take all the steps necessary to be a regulator of the basic tier. 18 19 ADJOURNMENT 20 21 There being no further business, on a motion duly made by Jarvis, seconded by Grimes and carried by a 22 unanimous voice vote,the meeting was adjourned. 23 24 25 26 27 28 Janet Hibner, Chairperson 29 30 31 32 33 ATTEST: • 34 Norma Games, Clerk 35 36 37 38 39 40 • 41 42 43 • 44 • 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 • 52 53 • 54 . 55 . 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65