City Council

CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2000 CITY COUNCIL ROOM 7:30 P.M. PRESENT: Kenneth Klotz, Mayor Thomas Curley, Commissioner, Public Safety Michael Lenz, Commissioner, Finance Thomas McTygue, Commissioner, Public Works Bernard Mirling, Commissioner, Accounts OTHERS PRESENT: Phillip Klein, Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Representative Anthony Scirocco, Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Representative STAFF PRESENT: Christine Gillmett-Brown, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Carol Kennedy, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Bob King, Deputy Commissioner, Public Safety William McTygue, Deputy Commissioner, Public Works Jeffrey Wait, City Attorney ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Approval of City Council meeting minutes of March 7, 2000 Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the March 7, 2000, City Council meeting minutes. Ayes all. Award of Bid -- Pre-Cast Curbing Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to award the bid for Pre-cast Curbing to The Fort Miller Company for various prices (only bidder). Ayes all. Award of Bid – Grass Seed Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to award the bid for Grass Seed to United Horticultural Supply of Warnerville, NY for various prices (low bidder). Ayes all. Award of Bid – Field Marking Lime Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to award the bid for Field Marking Lime to Grimm Building Materials of Troy for $3.70 per bag (low bidder). Ayes all. Award of Bid – Field Marking Paint Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to award the bid for Field Marking Paint to Passonno Paints of Watervliet for $18.95 per five gallon pail (low bidder). Ayes all. Award of Bid – Port-a-John Rentals Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to award the bid for Port-a-John Rentals to IBS Septic and Drain Service of Queensbury for $20 per unit per week (lowest bidder meeting specifications). Ayes all. Authorization for Mayor to sign contract with Public Library on use of voting machines (00-068) Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded for authorization for the Mayor, upon the City Attorney’s review, to sign the contract with the Saratoga Springs Public Library for use of the voting machines on April 13, 2000. Ayes all. Request Executive Session Commissioner Bernard Mirling requested an executive session for the purpose of discussing certiorari cases. Council members agreed. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Payroll Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to approve the following payrolls: March 10, 2000 – $316,172.28 and March 17, 2000 – $272,847.60. Ayes all. Warrants Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded for the approval and payment of the 2MAR20 warrant #2 through #38 as follows: General Fund $213,821.74 City Center Authority 23,457.90 Water Fund 12,068.55 Sewer Fund 3,101.97 Capital Projects Fund 9,723.00 Special Assessment District 358.12 Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development 658.31 TOTAL $ 263,189.59 and the MC200315 warrant #2 - #3 as follows: General Fund $ 33,183.93 City Center Authority 3,861.35 Water Fund -0- Sewer Fund 51.02 Capital Projects Fund -0- Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development -0- TOTAL $37,096.30 Ayes all. Budget Amendments Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to approve the budget amendments as presented (Attachment A). Ayes all. Budget Transfers Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the budget transfers as presented (Attachment B). Ayes all. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Presentation by Barton & Loguidice Engineering Company - Re: Water (00-069) Rick Straut and Nick Pinto, Barton & Loguidice Engineering Company, made a presentation on water supply for the City. Rick Straut said Barton & Loguidice had been working on a draft EIS for the long term water supply for the City. He said currently the City depends on Loughberry Lake, Bog Meadow and Geyser Crest wells. He said the City now needs to determine the future viability/capacity of Saratoga Lake and whether it would be adequate for long term water supply for the City. He said the City needs a new source for the future. He said the City completed a study in 1996 and the long terms needs are projected at 12 million g.p.d. in 2025. He said Barton & Loguidice have been looking at Saratoga Lake and ground water sources and they recommend that the City pursue Saratoga Lake. Rick Straut said a feasibility study and analysis was completed in 1996-1997. He said since that feasibility study some initial improvements at water plant have been made. He said they are now in the process of drafting the EIS. He said the Council will need to schedule a public hearing at some point on the final EIS and then the Council would need to determine whether to continue with the design and construction phase. He said a team of varied consultants will participate in the preparation of this EIS. He said the total cost of the draft EIS would not exceed $262,000. Mayor Kenneth Klotz asked about the time frame. Rick Straut said it would take about nine months to complete this step. Mayor Kenneth Klotz asked if Saratoga Lake looked promising as a long term water source. Rick Straut said the feasibility study showed that it had potential. He said the EIS will look into that in further detail. Commissioner Thomas Curley asked if there had been any dialogue with the surrounding towns on this issue. Rick Straut said there will be public hearings. Commissioner Thomas Curley asked if there had been any direct contact with the towns. Rick Straut said although it was not required, it would be a good for the City to invite them to participate in these discussions. Both Commissioner Thomas McTygue and Mayor Kenneth Klotz agreed it was desirable to have the surrounding towns participate. Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to hire Barton & Loguidice to prepare a draft EIS for the City at a cost not to exceed $262,000. He said the money was within the water budget. Ayes all. Presentation by Salerni & Boyd, Re: Street Light Account Review (00-070) Gene Salerni said he submitted a proposal and draft agreement to the City for Street Light Account Review. He encouraged Council members to consider updating the street lighting system inventory. He said his firm recently performed a street light inventory for the City of Troy and they found substantial discrepancies. He said Niagara Mohawk is currently working on a methodology for refunds to customers for these types of inventories. Gene Salerni said his firm is proposing, at no risk to the City, a new street lighting inventory. He said they estimate there are 1,800 lights throughout the City. He explained that Niagara Mohawk bills its customers, in connection with street lights, on a per item basis; therefore, an accurate account is necessary for te City. He said if Niagara Mohawk is currently under billing the City they cannot ask the City for reimbursement for that under billing. Commissioner Thomas McTygue asked how his firm would be paid for such work. Gene Salerni said his firm was proposing a 40/60 split (his firm getting 40 percent) of any savings generated by this inventory. He said if there are no savings to the City, then his firm does not get paid. Mayor Kenneth Klotz asked if his firm anticipated a savings. Gene Salerni said there are usually errors but there was no way in knowing which way those errors would go. Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded for authorization for the Mayor to sign the contract, upon the City Attorney’s review, with Salerni & Boyd, for street light inventory. The Council agreed to the 40/60 percent split (Salerni -- 40 percent and the City -- 60 percent) of any savings generated. Ayes all. Approval of Waive of Bid – ADT Security Company Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to ratify the previous approval by memo for an amendment to the original agreement with ADT Security Services for an additional $1,590. Ayes all. Appointments – Water Treatment Plant (00-071) Commissioner Thomas McTygue announced the following appointments to the Water Treatment Plant: Mike Smith, Jr., and Ed Braim, both to be appointed March 27, 2000 at Grade 6, Step 1. Ayes all. Approval for Mayor to sign curb work contract Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded for authorization for the Mayor to sign the contract with property owners at 2 Roberts Lane in the amount of $3,200 to install pre-cast curbing. Ayes all. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Ratify approval to purchase two LP Monitors for the Fire Department Commissioner Thomas Curley moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to ratify the previous approval by memo for two LP monitors in an amount not to exceed $7,500. Ayes all. Authorization for the Mayor to enter into an agreement with Albany Medical College (00-072) Commissioner Thomas Curley moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the agreement with Albany Medical College, upon the City Attorney’s review, in an amount not to exceed $7,000. He said this was an agreement between the City and Dr. Funk, Albany Medical College, for review of standard operating procedures and a quality management program. Ayes all. MAYOR’S OFFICE West Avenue Project Inspections Mayor Kenneth Klotz said the City had been asked by DOT to perform the inspections on the West Avenue project. Paul Male, City Engineer, said DOT informed the City that the City needs to hire a firm to perform the inspections on the West Avenue project. He said a proposal had been received from Clough Harbour to perform those inspections and there has been some negotiations with Clough Harbour. He said further discussions would be held with potential inspectors and DOT. He said he would have detailed information on the costs in the very near future. Paul Male said a low bid of $5.185 million had been received from CCI of Canastota for the West Avenue project, but he did not yet have a breakdown. Commissioner Michael Lenz asked how much might the inspection fees cost. Paul Male said the inspection fee would be about 10 percent of the total cost so approximately $518,500. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said the benefit to the City in hiring an inspector for this project was that the money did not have to be provided up front. Commissioner Thomas Curley asked what the target start date for this project. Paul Male said May 1 and it would take up to two years to complete. He said there would be no time off during the track season and arrangements would be made with EMS/Fire personnel for access. He said the road would remain open arrangements would be made with EMS/Fire personnel for access. He said the road would remain open during this entire project though. CDBG Committee Recommendations Jeff Pfeil, Chair of the CDBG Committee, said this committee was appointed by the Mayor with recommendations from Council members. He said this had been a difficult process because of the many worthwhile recipients and he commended the committee members for their many long hours of work. He said a memo had been distributed to Council members with their recommendations. He asked that a public hearing be set on these recommendations. Council members agreed a public hearing would be held on April 4, 7:00 p.m. Mayor Kenneth Klotz thanked the committee members for their work. Grande Industrial Park Pump Stations Mayor Kenneth Klotz said there are serious problems at the Grande Industrial Park with the pump stations and in particular one of the stations has and urgent need for attention. He said DPW had recently contacted Senator Bruno’s office, a meeting had been arranged and he was hopeful that there might be some relief from the state. He said it was likely that one solution to this problem was a water tower and an entire water/pump station project that could cost in excess of $4 million. He noted that Phil Klein had been working with the county on some funding possibilities. Commissioner Thomas McTygue reminded Council members that Phil Klein was successful in the past with the county in obtaining $10,000 for a study of the Grande Industrial Park. Shakespeare in the Park (00-073) Mayor Kenneth Klotz reported that DPW had been working with a local organization on providing free Shakespearean performances in Congress Park during the summer months. He said these performances would be free and open to the public. He said this was another good opportunity for the City to shine. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said this if this program is successful, next year professional European actors, at no cost to the City, would come to Saratoga for some performances. He said this is quite exciting and again takes this City to a new height. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the contract, upon the City Attorney’s review, for the Shakespearean performances. Ayes all. Victim’s Rights Week – Proclamation (00-074) Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to approve a proclamation to declare April 9-15 as Victim’s Rights Week. Ayes all. NYRA Renovation Project Mayor Kenneth Klotz said he had met with NYRA in January on the renovations to be made at the track. He said NYRA had recently applied for a building permit which raised some questions from the members of the public on this process. He said there have been questions on whether the proposed renovations need to appear before the Design Review Commission and he had his legal staff looking into that issue. He said NYRA should be encouraged and accommodated, but the City also needs to be careful of the changes that are made and to ensure that the changes are consistent with what the City would like to see. He said NYRA has encouraged public involvement in this process and he hoped that residents would take an interest. Appointment – Housing Authority (00-075) Mayor Kenneth Klotz announced the appointment of Hank Kuczynski to the Housing Authority effective April 1. April 1. West Avenue Project – Sear Brown Paul Male said approximately two months ago there were some changes made to the West Avenue project most of which were in connection with the storm sewer. He said Sear Brown had been directed to make those changes and they have now submitted a change order in the amount of $11,100. Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to authorize the change order for the Sear Brown contract in the amount of $11,100. Ayes all. Executive Session Commissioner Thomas Curley moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to move to executive session at 8:20 p.m. for the purpose of certiorari discussions. Ayes all. Council members returned at 8:30 p.m. Mayor Kenneth Klotz reported that no action had been taken. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. Ayes all. There being no further business, Mayor Kenneth Klotz adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m.. Respectfully submitted, Kathy Moran Clerk Approved: