11/10/1980 Board of Public Works Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 10, 1980 The regular meeting of the Board of Public Works was convened at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, November 10, 1980, by President Patrick M. McMahon, with Mr. McMahon, Mr. Richard L. Hill and Mr. Joseph E. Kernan present. Deputy City Attorney Terry A. Crone was also present. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING APPROVED Upon a motion made by Mr. Kernan, seconded by Mr. McMahon and carried, the minutes of the regular meeting of November 3, 1980, were approved as submitted. PUBLIC HEARING - PHILLIPA STREET SANITARY SEWER PROJECT Mr. McMahon stated that the Board had approved the final assessment roll for the Phillipa Street Sanitary Sewer Project on March 10, 1980, after conducting public hearings on the project; however, at that time, the residents had been advised that no billing under the Barrett Law Program for the sewers would take place until all the work was completed. He stated that this final public hearing was being held in order to give the residents an opportunity to come before the Board regarding the project prior to the assessment taking place. It was noted that several meetings between the residents and the Engineering Department had also taken place in the neighborhood concerning the project. Mr. Jack Young, 1713 South Phillipa Street, asked when the street would be finished and the catch basins installed. Mr. McMahon stated that the Bureau of Sanitation would be doing the work on the catch basins at each intersection. Mr. John Leszczynski, City Engineer, advised that the bureau would be starting on the catch basin construction as soon as possible and that the work would hope- fully be completed before the end of the year. Mr. Young then asked about the sidewalk repair which had been done. He wondered why those persons who owned vacant lots in the area had not had their sidewalks replaced like some of the other residents who had homes or buildings on the lots. Mr. Mcllahon stated that he had personally looked at the damage which O'Neal Trucking Company had done to some of the sidewalks in the area and O'Neal had been asked to repair only that sidewalk which he had damaged at the tap locations. Mr. McMahon stated that most of the sidewalk in the area was not in good condition in the beginning and that O'Neal had been asked to repair and replace only those areas which he had damaged. Mr. McMahon stated that he did not feel it would be fair to hold the contractor responsible for the condition of the sidewalks prior to sewer construction. Mr. Young stated that he had previously showed the Board photographs which indicated that O'Neal had driven a bulldozer across the sidewalks. He maintained that, as a result of that, all of the sidewalks were damaged, some more than others. He then asked whether or not O'Neal had actually put in the sidewalks or if the city had done the replacement work. Mr. McMahon stated that this work was added to the contract, and the sidewalks were replaced by O'Neal at his expense because the damage had resulted in his negligence. Mr. McMahon further advised that one of the Engineering Department inspectors had compiled a list of those areas which were damaged and these areas were primarily at the tap locations only. Mr. Young stated that one of the residents had experienced a cave -in as a result of the sewer construction, and it had never been corrected. He expressed concern about who would be held for any damage which might occur in the future. Mr. McMahon stated that the contractor had been asked to take care of the problems in the areas where there was excessive settlement by filling in with dirt and topsoil. He assured Mr. Young that the cave -in was not a problem underneath the sewer lines, but simply a problem of settling dirt above the lines. He stated that, as a result of the complaints received regarding the settling, the Engineering Department had viewed all the sewer lines by means of