Public Safety

PUBLIC SAFETY Tuesday, December 2, 2025 – 6:35 p.m. Council Chambers – Olean Municipal Building Present: Members: Chairman Robinson, Alderman Bennion, , Alderman McCall, and Alderman Crawford. Others: Lens Martial, City Clerk, and Tiffany Taylor, Managerial Confidential Administrative Secretary. 1. Roll Call Alderman Robinson called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. and asked that the record show that all committee members were present except Aldermen Keary, Forney, and Anastasia, who were excused. 2. Approval of Minutes of the Previous Committee Meeting (Tuesday, November 18, 2025) A motion to approve the minutes of the November 18, 2025 committee meeting was made by Alderman Robinson, seconded by Alderman McCall. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. 3. Unfinished Business a. North Union Street Lighting Alderman Robinson explained the Council received a memo about doing this in three phases. He explained the first is to change the luminaires from 80 to 85, the second is pedestrian lighting improvements and possibly bollard lighting, lighting added to the pole or new pedestrian poles, and the third is decorative lighting. He noted the City will work with the Greater Olean Chamber of Commerce for the design and installation of the decorative lighting. He explained funding will have to be decided by the Council. He explained there were not anticipated costs at this time, so that will need to be discussed. Alderman Bennion asked if the third phase is new decorative lighting, why we are leaving the dead lights on North Union Street. Alderman Robinson explained he wants to ensure that each phase is done as a separate action with Council approval. Alderman McCall asked this be put back on the agenda after the first of the year. 4. New Referrals for Consideration a. Shared Use Path Plowing Alderman McCall explained after talking to the downtown businesses, she feels that the City made a choice to put in the shared use paths, she would like to see the City plow those paths as well as the downtown. She explained in the downtown areas there is no place for merchants to put snow and there a number of empty storefronts where sidewalks are not being cleared. She explained she thinks we do a disservice to residents to make them clear shared use paths when they were a part of a City project. Alderman Bennion explained he brought this up too because Codes calls for repair and maintenance to be the responsibility of property owners and when there is a ten foot sidewalk, we have given that property owner 2 ½ times the financial burden than they had before. He explained this should have been considered before shared use paths were installed. He explained they have caused extra work, extra cost, and extra liability for property owners. Alderman Robinson explained he agrees the City should provide some assistance with shared use paths. He explained we will have to work with the DPW Director on this, and explained the Council just authorized the purchase of a side-by-side with a plow and salt spreader. Alderman Bennion explained he believes the Village of Allegany has a sidewalk plow they use. Alderman Robinson explained he is not saying we should plow all sidewalks, but the shared use paths are areas the City has made claim to and he feels this is a shared responsibility. Alderman McCall explained we should look at the ordinance for sidewalks and consider revising it to whatever we think is fair for shared use paths and the City sharing responsibility. Alderman Bennion explained this was a part of a discussion that was occurring with himself, a prior Alderman and a prior DPW Director regarding right-of-ways. He explained that committee has not met since Director Sprague started, and it is just a matter of getting the committee back together after the holidays are over. Alderman Robinson explained the Council has quite a few things stacked up for January and after that we will be getting into the budget, so he suggests we push revisiting this out to sometimes in the fiscal year third quarter to give Alderman Bennion the opportunity to meet with Director Sprague about the issue. Alderman Bennion asked if the committee members need to be chosen by the Mayor and Alderman Crawford explained they do not need to be as this is just an ad hoc committee. Alderman McCall explained she can be on the committee, but she does not want the plowing issue to go until spring. She explained if there is an anticipated cost for sidewalks she wants to ensure DPW builds this into the budget. She explained a discussion also needs to take place with the City Attorney. She explained she would like to see us do something in the interim and ask James if we could plow the downtown to help out our businesses. Alderman Bennion questioned if she means the downtown or just shared use paths and Alderman Robinson explained he means just shared use paths. Alderman McCall explained she would like to do areas of the downtown as well. Alderman Crawford explained we do not need to decide tonight and the Council can put together their ideas to see what the consensus is of what should be plowed and salted. Alderman Robinson agreed. Alderman McCall explained she does not want this issue to go until March, and Alderman Bennion explained he is looking for a faster resolution. Alderman McCall explained she would like the downtown to be done, for those who are having issues with storefronts that are vacant, and who are shoveling with no place to put the snow, and we can worry about the shared use paths later. Alderman Bennion explained this is a discussion about shared use paths, not plowing downtown districts. Alderman Robinson explained there is a larger conversation to have about all of this. Alderman Robinson explained we need to see if there are different code requirements for repairing and replacing sidewalks in the downtown area. Alderman McCall asked for a follow up in two weeks for the Council to determine the areas to plow. 5. Approval of Committee Reports None 6. Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made by Alderman Robinson, seconded by Alderman Bennion. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m.