Common Council Caucus & Regular Meeting

CITY OF ALBANY COMMON COUNCIL MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, October 21, 2019 Members Present: Anane, Applyrs, Balarin, Conti, Doesschate, Fahey, Farrell, Flynn, Hoey, Igoe, Johnson, Kimbrough, Love, O’Brien and Council President Ellis Staff Present: Danielle Gillespie, Michele Andre, Jared Pellerin The roll being called, the meeting was called to order by President Ellis at 7:00 pm; Council Members recited the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a moment of silence. CHANGE IN THE ORDER OF BUSINESS President Pro Temp Conti made a motion to change the order of business so as to take up Resolution 71.102.19R as the first item and allow for the opening of the roll call vote thereon and to thereafter return to the regular order of the agenda. The motion, being duly seconded, was ADOPTED by unanimous voice vote. Council Member Love noticed Resolution 71.102.19R, asked passage and a roll call vote thereon. Resolution Number 71.102.19R RESOLUTION HONORING DEACON JOSEPH AND VELMA MILLER AND NAMING LIVINGSTON AVENUE, BETWEEN TEN BROECK STREET AND NORTH PEARL STREET, IN THE CITY OF ALBANY, “DEACON JOSEPH AND VELMA MILLER WAY” IN HER HONOR WHEREAS, Joseph Miller Jr., born December 9, 1923 and Velma Cook, born September 23, 1928, met in Birmingham, Alabama and married in 1944; and WHEREAS, In 1958 they relocated to Albany, NY with 5 children and 1 on the way. 100 Livingston Ave was their home for over 60 yrs. and they had great pride in their home and family; and WHEREAS, Joseph Miller enjoyed decorating his 3 story brown stone with Christmas lights and décor from top to bottom and in the summer Velma Miller adorns her steps with the most beautiful flowers; and WHEREAS, their brownstone has been the location of every Sunday dinner after church and so many celebrations, holidays, birthdays and even a few family weddings. This has been the family meeting place, planning vacations, family reunions, and funerals; and WHEREAS, Joseph Miller was a devoted Husband, Father, and Deacon and Velma Miller is a devoted Wife, Mother and Deaconess; and  WHEREAS, Joseph Miller retired from J.H. Maloy Construction after 28 years of service; and WHEREAS, The family attends Union Missionary Baptist Church, where Mrs. Miller is a member of the Deaconess Ministry and Mr. Miller was an ordained Deacon, Treasurer, Choir Member and Custodian. Upon his passing the church dining hall was named in his honor; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that in recognition of her lifetime of work and selfless devotion to her neighbors and community a street sign to read “DEACON JOSEPH AND VELMA MILLER WAY” shall be placed adjacent to the existing Livingston Avenue sign between Ten Broeck Street and North Pearl Street in the City of Albany. * Resolution Number 71.102.19R was co-sponsored by Council Members Anane, Applyrs, Balarin, Conti, Doesschate, Fahey, Farrell, Flynn, Hoey, Igoe, Johnson, Kimbrough, Love, O’Brien and Robinson * Council Members Love and Robinson spoke on the Resolution prior to passage. There being no discussion, President Ellis called for a roll call vote thereon and the Resolution was ADOPTED: The Resolution passed by the following vote of all Council Members elected voting in favor thereof: Affirmative – Anane, Applyrs, Balarin, Conti, Doesschate, Fahey, Farrell, Flynn, Hoey, Igoe, Johnson, Kimbrough, Love, O’Brien and Robinson Affirmative 15 Negative 0 Abstain 0 PUBLE HEARINGS The Clerk read the title of the ordinance for the public hearing: City of Albany 2020 Proposed Budget The following member of the public spoke: 1. Amani Waxman, Albany, NY 2. Brandon Bissell-Evans, 23 Delaware Terrace, Albany, NY 3. Sean Madden, 111 South Allen Street, Albany, NY 4. Bryan Marcou-O’Malley, 90 Homestead Ave, Albany, NY 5. Maria Marcou-O’Malley, Evangeline Blake and Emma Kraus Albany, NY 6. Susan Rizzo, Albany, NY 7. John W. O’Grady, 817 Livingston Ave, Albany, NY 8. Joe Paparone, 835 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 9. Rebecca Garrad, 328 Madison Ave, Albany, NY 12210 10. Laura Felts, 143 Eagle Street, Albany, NY 11. James Davis, Albany, NY 12. Erien Reale, 28 Orman Street, Albany, NY 13. Vincent Rigosu, 13 Beach Ave, Albany, NY 12203 14. Marlon Anderson, 214 Lark Street, Albany, NY 15. Sister Honna Kinney, 128 West Lawrence Street, Albany, NY 16. Maria Markovics, 38 Myrtle Ave, Albany, NY 12202 There being no further members of the public wishing to speak, President Ellis declared the public hearing on City of Albany 2020 Proposed Budget closed. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD 1. Marlon Anderson, 214 Lark Street, Albany, NY (Recent violence) 2. Vincent Rigosu, 13 Beach Ave, Albany, NY (Equity Agenda) 3. Dr. Brenda Robinson, 244 Livingston Ave, Albany, NY(Equity Agenda) 4. Joyce Love Williams, 10 Harriet Street, Albany, NY (Street Sign) 5. Elijah Willingham, 121 Van Renesselar, Albany, NY (Street Sign) There being no further speakers, President Ellis declared the Public Comment Period closed. Approval of Minutes President Pro Temp Conti made a motion, which was duly seconded, to approve the minutes of September 5, 2019 and September 16, 2019 regular meetings of the Council, which was APPROVED by unanimous voice vote. CONSIDERATION OF LOCAL LAWS: President Pro Tem Conti held the pending local law on the agenda for further consideration. REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES: Finance, Assessment and Taxation: Council Member Doesschate reported that the committee will meet this week, October 23, 2019 and October 24, 2019 for the Department of General Service, Administrative Service and Office of Audit and Control 2020 budget presentation. CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCES Council Member Kimbrough noticed the introduction of Ordinance 37.102.19 as follows, which was held for further consideration: ORDINANCE NUMBER 37.102.19 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY BY ENACTING A NEW SECTION 64 TO ARTICLE TWO OF CHAPTER 323 TO BE ENTITLED: “HONORARY STREET RENAMING” The City of Albany, in Common Council convened, does hereby ordain and enact: Section 1. The Code of the City of Albany is amended by adding a new Section 64 to Article 2 of Chapter 323 entitled: §323-64 – Honorary Street Naming A. Legislative Intent It is hereby found and determined that the creation of an honorary street naming dedication program enables the City of Albany to commemorate individuals who have made significant contributions to the community and humanity. These honorary street names are meant to commemorate the honoree and do not replace the official street name or require re-addressing of the street involved. B. Criteria for Approval (a.) The City’s Common Council shall evaluate and approve all honorary street naming dedications pursuant to the following criteria: 1. The honoree must have made a demonstrable and significant positive impact on the community or contributed to the cultural, economic, educational, intellectual, political or scientific vitality of the community or have made an extraordinary contribution in the service of humanity. 2. The honoree must be a natural person and no living individual shall be the subject of a designation. 3. Proposals shall not be for names that could be reasonably considered derogatory, obscene or blasphemous. 4. Honorary designation shall be confined to the right-right-of-way within the vicinity of the home, organization, or location associated with the honoree. 5. The proposed name may not duplicate or be potentially confused with the name of an official City street name. 6. Each Council Member may propose up to two honorary dedications per calendar year except in the circumstance where the naming is upon the request of the Mayor. (b.) The Common Council shall consider the honorary street naming dedication at a Council meeting and the decision to adopt an honorary street name based on the criteria in this section shall be effectuated through the adoption of a resolution of the Common Council. C. Application Procedure (a.) Requests for honorary designations are to be submitted in writing to the Common Council or individual Common Council Member in accordance with the following criteria: 1. The submission shall provide the name and contact information of the person or group requesting an honorary street dedication; 2. The submission shall state the name of the individual or group intended to be honored;  3. The submission shall be accompanied by a biography of, and the reasons for honoring the individual or group, including the person or group’s relevance to the location being proposed; 4. Applicant shall include a map of the location of the proposed honorary street dedication, including total length of the street to be affected and bounding streets or other boundaries as necessary. (b.) Upon the Council’s receipt of a completed application, the Common Council shall conduct a review for compliance with the requirements set forth in this article, and shall have 60 days to make a determination on the application. This review shall include providing the Department of General Services with a copy of the completed application, so the Department can evaluate and transmit an impact report to the Council, to ensure the proposed signage will not be confusing to the public. Upon expiration of the 60 days, absent action by the Council, the request is deemed denied. (c.) If a resolution to effectuate the proposed honorary street dedication is adopted, then the party requesting the dedication shall deposit funds equal to the cost of the signage with the City Treasurer’s Office and upon receipt of such payment, the signage will be created and installed by the Department of General Services in accordance with this article. D. Honorary Street Dedication Signage and Restrictions (a.) In order to provide for consistency in naming of streets and to promote safety of the community, all honorary street dedication signs must conform to the following criteria: 1. Honorary street dedication signs must be mounted in a way that distinguishes them and does not detract from the primary street sign and therefore may be mounted above or below the primary street sign, or in any other way that is clearly distinguishable from the primary street sign. 2. Honorary street dedication signs shall have a distinct design, as determined by the City, and be in a contrasting color to distinguish them from primary street name signs, as approved by the City. (b.) Only a segment of street between one and four contiguous blocks may be proposed for honorary street designation and in the case of walkways, trails, or bicycle paths, the designation shall apply to the entire length of the way. (c.) Honorary street dedication signs are valid only for a period of ten years, at which point the signage may be removed by the City  (d.) Signs may be removed at any point as deemed necessary by motion of the City Common Council. Section 2. This ordinance shall take effect immediately. President Pro Temp Conti referred Ordinance 37.102.19 to the Council Operations and Ethics Committee for further consideration. Council Member Applyrs noticed Ordinance 35.101.19 (MC) (AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY BY ENACTING A NEW CHAPTER 183 TO BE ENTITLED: “EQUITY AGENDA”), which had been previously introduced, requested passage and a roll call vote thereon. * Council Members Anane, Applyrs, Balarin, Fahey, Farrell, Johnson, Kimbrough, Love, O’Brien and Robinson on the Ordinance prior to passage. * Ordinance 35.101.19 (MC) was co-sponsored by Council Members Anane, Farrell, Johnson, Kimbrough, Love and Robinson There being no further discussion, President Ellis called for a roll call vote thereon and the Ordinance was ADOPTED: The Ordinance passed by the following vote of all Council Members elected voting in favor thereof: Affirmative – Anane, Applyrs, Balarin, Fahey, Farrell, Flynn, Hoey, Johnson, Kimbrough, Love, O’Brien and Robinson Present – Conti, Doesschate and Igoe Affirmative 11 Negative 0 Present 3 President Pro Tem Conti held the pending ordinances on the agenda for further consideration. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTIONS Council Member Doesschate on the behalf of Finance, Assessment and Taxation noticed the introduction of Resolution 70.101.19R as follows, which was held for further consideration: Resolution Number 70.101.19R RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL ESTABLISHING THE LOCALLY-ADJUSTED BASE PROPORTIONS OF THE HOMESTEAD AND NON- HOMESTEAD CLASSES FOR PROPERTY TAX PURPOSES PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 19 OF THE REAL PROPERTY TAX LAW  WHEREAS, by Local Law No. 1-1998, the Common Council adopted the provisions of Section 1903 of the Real property Tax Law relating to the establishment of homestead and non- homestead base proportions; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 1903(4) of the Real Property Tax Law, the City of Albany has opted not to amend its differential; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 1903 of the Real Property Tax Law, the locally-adjusted homestead base proportion of the City of Albany’s base year assessment roll of 2019 has been determined to be 55.35451 percent; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 1903 of the Real Property Tax Law, the locally-adjusted non-homestead base proportion of the City of Albany’s base year assessment roll of 2019 has been determined to be 44.64549 percent. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Common Council of the City of Albany does hereby establish the existing class shares as follows: The locally-adjusted homestead base proportion shall equal 55.35451 percent and the locally-adjusted non-homestead base proportion shall equal 44.64549 percent. President Pro Tem Conti referred Resolution 70.101.19R to the Finance, Assessment and Taxation Committee for further consideration. Council Member Doesschate on the behalf of Finance, Assessment and Taxation noticed the introduction of Resolution 72.101.19R as follows, which was held for further consideration: Resolution Number 72.102.19R RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL CONSENTING TO AN ADJUSTMENT IN SALARY FOR CERTAIN POSITIONS FOR THE 2019 BUDGET (DGS) WHEREAS, Section 604(D)(b) of the Charter of the City of Albany dictates that any transfer of budgeted funds that affects a salary rate or salary total that occurs outside of those described in the duly adopted budget must be consented to by the Common Council; and WHEREAS, the Commissioner of the Department of General Services of the City of Albany has requested amendments to the 2019 budget to increase by $10,415.02 the salary for the position of Confidential Assistant from $38,459 to $49,234.00 via the use of vacancy savings and to make such adjustment effective October 1, 2019. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Common Council of the City of Albany consents to the transfer of funds as set forth above, affecting the salary rate of one position in Department of General Services for the 2019 Budget. President Pro Tem Conti made remarks regarding Resolution 69.101.19R (MC). Council Member Igoe discharged Resolution 69.101.19R (MC) out of Law, Building and Code Enforcement Committee for further consideration. Council Member Igoe made a motion, which was duly seconded, requesting Resolution 69.101.19R (MC) to be discharged out of Law, Building and Code Enforcement Committee and take up at November 4, 2019 meeting. There being no discussion, the motion was adopted by voice vote. President Pro Tem Conti held the remaining Resolutions on the pending agenda for further consideration. MISCELLANEOUS AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS: The following Council Members commented on the following topics: Council Member Love (Thank Brenda Robinson for assistance with violence prevention) Council Member Johnson (spoke on violence, Equity Agenda and rent control) Council Member Robinson (Thank Council Member Applyrs for Equity Agenda and Requested moment of silence for Rep. Elijah Cummings) President Pro Temp (Resigns as President Pro Temp effective October 25, 2019) ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, President Pro Tem Conti made a motion to adjourn, which was duly seconded and adopted by unanimous voice vote. President Ellis declared the meeting adjourned at approximately 10:21 pm. Respectfully Submitted Michele Andre Legislative Aide to the Common Council