Borough Council Workshop Meeting Notes, June 2nd, 2011: 3rd Street Dam Design

Borough Council met on June 2nd at 7:38 PM for their workshop meeting. Of note to borough residents:

3rd Street Dam Design Updates

An engineer from Schnabel Engineering was asked to present the status of the design for the 3rd Street Dam. The engineer, John Harrison, covered the status of the various applications to PennDOT and other regulatory agencies, and was asked by council members to provide a sketch of the new design.

The photo at right is the diagram by Mr. Harrison, colored in by Media, PA News to provide context, shows the cross-section of the new dam if viewed from the Western side (Upper Providence) looking into Media up 3rd Street hill.

Of note:

• The tan diagonal line is the “old” slope of the hill on the spillway side of the dam. This slope will be filled in and made much more gradual, filling the existing pool and waterfall and extending the slope by 100 feet or more.
• The green line will be a grassy area, where all trees will be removed
• The wooden walkway which exists in the Broomall’s side of the lake will be removed and replaced with a concrete walkway for access to Broomall’s Lake Country Clubhouse (pink dot)
• The blue indicates the lake and the flow of the water underneath the dam
• The brown shows the new road surface and a wall on the Broomall’s Lake side

According to Mr. Harrison:

• There is no plan for a sidewalk on the bridge (due to the fact that there is no connecting sidewalk)
• There will be no “bike lane” on the bridge (despite what was stated last meeting, due to the fact that there is no connecting bike lane on either side)
• There will be two lanes of traffic, and a lane for parking (approximately 10 spots)

The road surface design and layout will be handled by Larson Design Group, so there may be changes based on their recommendations.

Mr. Harrison stated that the design work recommenced last fall, after being tabled since 2000, and has completed the following preliminary engineering tasks:

• Alternatives Report submitted to PennDOT, tentatively approved
  • Concrete cantilever wall was replaced with a steel sheathing basin wall with a concrete cap on it to save a “couple hundred thousand dollars” in construction costs
• Structural Design has been progressing
  • Members of the spillway, culvert, and basin have been designed, but need further drawings made
• Safety Review was submitted in April, but was requested to be resubmitted. According to Mr. Harrison, Larson Design Group the roadway experts, have more of a feel for the safety review guidelines, and he indicated that they said most Safety Review applications have a 50/50 chance of being rejected on the first submission.
  • The included sidewalk was rejected due to the fact that it did not connect to any sidewalk on either side of the dam. PennDOT wanted it connected on both sides.
  • Design will include a flat grassy area (in green above) to allow pedestrian traffic
• Drainage Report was submitted in April
• Utility Meeting was held on May 5th with all of the utilities invited, however only Peco showed up.
  • Peco has a gas main which runs through the roadway
  • Aqua PA has a water main which runs through the roadway
  • The plan is to bury the utility lines, when completed, beneath the roadway
• Wetlands Delineation was resubmitted
• There was  discussion regarding PNDI (see Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program) issues and ES (Endangered Species). The issue of the wetlands below the dam being filled in would be compensated by submitting money to a Wetlands Preservation Fund to mitigate wetlands removal elsewhere.

Next steps:

• PennDOT environmental review
• Right-of-way plans (by Larson Design Group)
• Safety review resubmitted
• Foundation review resubmitted

Other details revealed about the plan:

• The street width will be about the same, possibly slightly wider
• The bike lane addition would be treated similarly to the sidewalk submission (meaning it would be denied by PennDOT), due to the fact that there is no connecting bike lane on either side.
• The submission of a letter of commitment from Upper Providence and Media Borough to add a sidewalk and/or bike lane in the future would be sufficient to possibly include them in the design.
• Design phase of the project will be completed in mid-2012
• The outlet structure will be protected from intrusion by a fence and a 15 foot wall for the spillway. There will be a permanent 3 foot pool on the spillway side.

Based on a question from Peter Williamson, the dramatic increase in the cost of the dam since 2000 is not based on any changes in the rules and regulations of PennDOT, but instead the increase of the cost of engineering services alone.

The dam will look dramatically different when completed, much more wide and paved. The gulley will be filled in. Many trees will be removed, and the addition of the slope and fill will change the look and feel of this area significantly.

Stray Animal Boarding ending soon

Borough Council discussed the termination of the SPCA control on June 30th, 2011. With the hopes that the County of Delaware would come up with a replacement vendor to handle strays in the area, Borough Council is now left with having to fill the gap until a solution is found.

Borough Manager Jeffrey Smith suggested a multiple pronged solution, based on the fact that most stray issues in Media are dogs which get loose from their owners, and not strays.

By law, the borough must hold onto strays for 48 hours before passing them onto an adoption or rescue center. He suggested:

• Reminding all residents of Media put identification on their pets (stressing that he is not suggesting licensing of animals at all)
• Purchasing some animal crates, feeding supplies, and identifying an area of the borough complex to store animals safely
• Working with local resident and veterinarian Jeanne Wordley on short-term solution for care of animals found

Other business discussed

• Cocco’s Pizza: The borough plans to send a representative to the Zoning Hearing Board meeting for Cocco’s application for a sign in Upper Providence, to explain Cocco’s compliance to Media Borough’s zoning requests.
• Public Art Policy: Discussion about having a policy in place in case the borough is bequeathed art, or ever wants to have public art displays.
• Community Service Award:  will be awarded to the Media Fire Company next meeting
• Borough Employee Pensions: Discussion adopting provisions of Act 44 regarding pension funding for Pennsylvania governments
• Road Resurfacing: The list of roads to be resurfaced in 2011 was discussed. Borough Engineer Bob Johnson said that using electronic bidding can save the borough time and money when considering bids, and has planned the resurfacing such that roads are resurfaced in order of proximity, to save costs in transporting heavy equipment throughout the borough.
• Technology Committee has completed training of borough staff and is now populating the new website and considering designs. Both Eric Stein and Monica Simpson praised the chosen vendor for their thoroughness, professionalism, and efficiency. The site should be ready as early as July.
• Sidewalks: Considering making changes to resolution 2008-06 which provides rebates for borough residents whose sidewalks are disrupted by trees planted in the borough
• Sidewalks: The developer who owns the property at the south east corner at 5th and Orange requested removal of the brick sidewalk. General discussion ended in conclusion that a general policy should be made regarding sidewalk removal throughout town.
• HARB: An application to HARB for 8 Sound Lemon Street regarding adding storm windows to a historic home.
• Electric Vehicle Charging Station: The EAC would like to install a free, electric vehicle charging station to be possibly located on the north side of Jasper street next to the firehouse. It would be charged partly with the solar panels on the fire station. Discussion surrounded offering “free” fuel to electric vehicle owners, the location of the station, and better locations offering possibly more publicity.

The meeting ended at 9:42 PM.