City Council

CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2000 CITY COUNCIL ROOM 7:00 P.M. PRESENT: Thomas Curley, Commissioner, Public Safety Kenneth Klotz, Mayor Michael Lenz, Commissioner, Finance Bernard Mirling, Commissioner, Accounts ABSENT: Thomas McTygue, Commissioner, Public Works ALSO PRESENT: Phillip Klein, Board of Supervisors Representative Anthony Scirocco, 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 MAYOR=S OFFICE Greetings from Australia Margie Ward, from Australia, said she was in the area to attend the National Women’s Writing Council. She said she simply wished to extend greetings from Queensland, Australia. She offered a gift of rum, made in her hometown, to Council members. City Worker Certificates of Appreciation Mayor Kenneth Klotz announced that certificates of appreciation had been received from NYCOM for employees in the City with more than 25 years of service. Those employees include: Thomas McTygue; James Reilly; William O’Donnell; Kenneth King; Michael Salisbury; Fred Brown, Michael Carpenter, Clyde Robinson; Robert Flanagan; Timothy Cogan; Henry Smith; Jack Dejnozka; John Gailor; William O’Reilly; Russell Terpening; John Arpei; Janet Woodcock; Gary Simzer; Thomas Butterfield; John King; John Shaw; Michael Ogonowski; Anthony Fisher; Robert Wilson; William Crandall; Francis Murphy; David Hammond; Ed Robinson; Larry Bovee; Keith DeGrechie; Robert Speers; Greg Benton; Joseph Jazwinski; Dwight Gill and James Linn. Mayor Kenneth Klotz Page 1 of 10 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 15, 2000 congratulated these employees. Approve Extension for EOC Use of CDBG Funds Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to extend the use of CDBG funds for EOC for the project at 20 Walworth Street. He said this extension would be through December 31, 2000, and no additional funds are involved. Ayes all. Approve $25 Late Fee for Recreation Programs Registration Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to approve the request from the Recreation Department to institute a $25 late fee for registration purposes. Ayes all. Approve Advantage Press Economic Development Loan Application Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to approve the application from Advantage Press for funds from the Economic Development Revolving Loan Program in the amount of $58,000 at 6 percent fixed rate with a term of 20 years. Commissioner Thomas Curley asked why the Council was approving such a request. Brad Birge, Community Development Coordinator, said the revolving loan fund has money available in that fund for this purpose. He said the Council must approve such requests. Ayes all. Discussion B Tobacco Bonds Phil Klein, City’s representative to the County Board of Supervisors, said both he and Skip Scirocco attended the County Board of Supervisors meeting today and the vote was 20 to 3 to not securitize the tobacco funds. He said the Board did not shut the door completely on securitization, however, at this time it will not happen. He said this issue could be revisited in a few years. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said he was disappointed. He said this was a good opportunity for the County to share this revenue with the towns and cities. He said he was glad to hear that the issue might be revisited though. He said the City has a number of capital improvement projects that could have been funded with this money. Phil Klein said he understood that the City has capital projects that need to be funded, however, pointed out that almost every city and town has projects that need to be funded. He said both the City and the County have the lowest tax rates in the state which was achieved in part to good budgetary practices. He also noted that both the City and the County have surpluses available to Page 2 of 10 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 15, 2000 them. Mayor Kenneth Klotz encouraged the county supervisors to continue to advocate for the City at the County Board of Supervisor meetings. Loughberry Lake Moratorium Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to send to both the City and the County Planning Boards proposed Local Law #4 B 2000 (an extension of Local Law #3) and to set a public hearing on Tuesday, September 19 at 6:45 p.m. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said he would like to get a copy of the Barton & Loguidice report which was recently completed on this project. Commissioner Michael Lenz asked why an extension of local law #3 was needed. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said the City had given itself six months to make the modification to the zoning ordinance but because of the litigation and the time required to generate the report from Barton & Loguidice they simply need a little more time. Ayes all. Approve Charter Review Commission Budget Mayor Kenneth Klotz said the Charter Review Commission has been meeting for a few weeks and they have submitted a budget to his office in the amount of $40,850 for the Council’s approval. He said this budget includes funds for personnel, advertising, printing, etc. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to approve this budget noting that $15,000 would be made available to the Commission this year and the remainder will be funded through the 2001 budget. He also noted that the $15,000 would come from Commissioner Bernard Mirling’s budget. Commissioner Michael Lenz asked about the legal expenses. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said it was his understanding the Assistant City Attorney Tony Izzo would be contracted with for the legal expertise, however, if necessary, outside counsel might also be used. Commissioner Michael Lenz asked how this budget was developed. Tony Izzo said he simply gave the Commission his fee. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said all of the Commission budgets that he had seen from other communities were between $25,000 and $50,000. He informed Council members that there is the possibility Page 3 of 10 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 15, 2000 to obtain 40 percent reimbursement from the state for this budget. Commissioner Michael Lenz asked if the budget needed to be developed before obtaining this 40 percent reimbursement. Tony Izzo said it was his understanding that the state has a line item for this reimbursement, however, at this time there are no funds in that line item. He said he thought that some home rule legislation might required to obtain this reimbursement. Commissioner Michael Lenz asked how much the 1980s Charter Commission spent on legal fees. Tony Izzo said he was not sure, however, in the 1970s approximately $6,000 was spent. Commissioner Michael Lenz asked if any of the services to be provided by Tony Izzo would fall within his current contract with the City. Tony Izzo said no. Commissioner Michael Lenz asked if it was necessary to adopt this budget this evening. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said it was necessary in order to pay the staff. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said Corning recently underwent a charter review and their budget was between $50,000 and $60,000. Commissioner Michael Lenz said it was his understanding that the original budget for the Charter Commission was $25,000. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said that was a draft budget that was submitted by the Chair to the Commission for their review. He said the Commission felt that those initial figures were somewhat conservative. Commissioner Thomas Curley asked who would conduct the research/analysis. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said it was his understanding that work would be done by Tony Izzo. He said this is an important process that needs to be supported by the Council. He pointed out that he was willing to fund the $15,000 from his budget for this purpose this year. He said if there are specific questions, perhaps Council members could talk to Harvey Fox. Commissioner Michael Lenz said he supported the Commission’s work, but simply wanted some clarification before approving. He said he wanted to be sure this work was being done in the most economical way. He asked if the City Attorney provided this type of service to previous Charter Review Commissions. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said it was his understanding that the City Attorney had provided these services in the past but was overwhelmed. Tony Izzo said he would do some research to determine if outside counsel was used in the past. Jeffrey Wait said this type of service is outside the scope of the existing contracts between the City and its attorneys. He said outside counsel could be used, however, Tony Izzo is more knowledgeable of the charter than outside counsel. He also noted that Tony Izzo does not charge as much as other outside counsels generally charge. Commissioner Michael Lenz agreed the charter needed to be reviewed and he said he was not questioning Tony Izzo’s ability but was only looking at the economics. Commissioner Bernard Mirling suggested that perhaps it might be appropriate for someone from the Charter Commission to appear before the Council to clarify some of these issues. Page 4 of 10 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 15, 2000 Ayes all. Budget Amendment B 85 Beekman Street Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded that on a temporary basis the City amend the budget to allow for the City to purchase the property at 85 Beekman Street in the amount of $36,700. He said when the funding comes through from HUD, the City could then be reimbursed that amount from those funds. Mayor Kenneth Klotz explained that the seller of this parcel is anxious but because of the delay in obtaining the HUD funds, it is not possible to complete this sale. Therefore, he proposed that the City make this purchase with City funds and then the City to be reimbursed when the HUD funds become available. Commissioner Thomas Curley asked if this type of transferring of funds from HUD to the City was within HUD guidelines. Brad Birge said it falls within he HUD guidelines and there would be no problem with the City making this purchase and then being reimbursed. He said generally these funds arrive from HUD sometime between July and October. Commissioner Thomas Curley asked if there were any funds available from last year that might be used. Brad Birge said no. He said there are some year end balances but not enough to cover this expense. Ayes all. Announcement B Spring Run Trail Grant Mayor Kenneth Klotz announced that the City had been awarded a grant in the amount of $365,000 for the Spring Run Trail. He said a 50 percent match is required and the City is negotiating with Niagara Mohawk for that match. Commissioner Michael Lenz asked if this would include some in kind services. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said this is a complex arrangement that is being worked out between the City and Niagara Mohawk in connection with their clean up work to be done at the Excelsior Avenue parcel. He said this is a major project for Niagara Mohawk. Appointments Mayor Kenneth Klotz announced the following appointments/reappointments to the Urban Heritage Area: Lu Lucas, Randall Royka; and Janice Burns; reappointment of Sonya Taub and Sheila Goss. Page 5 of 10 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 15, 2000 He also announced the appointment of Kitty Macica to the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority. Property Auction Jeffrey Wait said the City held an auction this afternoon and sold a landlocked parcel on Route 50 to the two adjacent property owners for $2,000. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Michael Lenz seconded to approve the sale of parcel 190.2-6 on Route 50 in the amount of $2,000. Ayes all Jeffrey Wait said the parcel on Fifth Avenue and Henning Road had been withdrawn from the sale due to an old deed restriction. He said apparently the parcel originally belonged to NYRA but the City obtained ownership many years ago for the widening of Fifth Avenue. The deed restriction states that if not used for road widening purposes it would revert to NYRA. He said he had contacted NYRA on this restriction and hoped to hear soon. Urban Heritage Area Brochure Mayor Kenneth Klotz distributed the new Urban Heritage Area “Strolling Tour of Saratoga’s Congress Park” brochure. Approve Amendment to Rehabilitation grant B 9 Jaipur Lane Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded that the Council approve the amendment for the rehabilitation grant at 9 Jaipur Lane in the amount of $5,600. Ayes all. Adjustment in Pay B Part Time legal Stenographer Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to approve the pay raise for the part time legal stenographer from $10/hour to $12/hour. Ayes all. Set Public Hearing B Comprehensive Plan Amendments Mayor Kenneth Klotz reported that the Comprehensive Plan Committee would hold a public hearing on the proposed amendments on Thursday, September 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Court Room. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Approval of August 1 & August 8 City Council Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 10 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 15, 2000 Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to approve the August 1 and August 8 City Council meeting minutes as written. Ayes all. Position Reclassification Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded that the position of senior stenographer, currently held by Kathy Moran, be reclassified to Secretary to the City Council, Zoning Board of Appeals and Design Review Commission and she be moved to grade 12, step 4, effective August 28. Both the Civil Service Commission and the CSEA have approved these changes. Ayes all. 2000 Final Assessment Roll Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to adopt the final 2000 Assessment Roll as previously distributed (Attachment A). Commissioner Bernard Mirling said the total assessed value for the City now stands at $2,189,719,614 and the total taxable value is $1,415,874,373. He said it should be noted that the total taxable value increased by almost $56,000,000 which equates to $300,000 in additional revenue to the City for the tax year 2001. Commissioner Michael Lenz asked if the last three years comparative information could be forwarded to his office. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said yes. Commissioner Michael Lenz said there appeared to be an increase in exempt parcels. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said no, in fact exempt parcels had decreased. He said to his recollection exempt parcels have been between 40 to 50 percent. Mayor Kenneth Klotz pointed out that the growth in the outside district puts great pressure on the services offered by the City. He said the City needs to continue to provide those services but wondered at what cost. Commissioner Thomas Curley asked if new buildings such as Borders had been included in these figures. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said yes. Commissioner Thomas Curley said he would like to see some comparative data on nonresidential parcels. Phil Klein asked that Council members share this information, as well as other pertinent information to be discussed at Council meeting with both him and Skip. Mayor Kenneth Klotz agreed. Ayes all. Page 7 of 10 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 15, 2000 FINANCE OFFICE Payroll Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to approve the following payrolls: August 4, 2000 B $308,741.06 and August 11, 2000 B $307,186.94. Ayes all. Warrants Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded for the approval and payment of the 2AUG20 warrant #2 through #31 as follows: General Fund $ 206,843.89 City Center Authority 1,620.32 Water Fund 20,849.71 Sewer Fund 23,916.46 Capital Projects Fund 36,199.61 Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development 6,775.27 TOTAL $ 296,205.26 and the MC200809 warrant #2 - #7 as follows: General Fund $ 30,168.93 City Center Authority -0- Water Fund 29,099.71 Sewer Fund 8,786.42 Capital Projects Fund -0- Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development -0- TOTAL $ 68,055.06 Ayes all. Budget Amendments Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the budget amendments as presented (Attachment B). Ayes all. Budget Transfers Page 8 of 10 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 15,2000 Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz to approve the budget transfers as presented (Attachment C). Ayes all. July 31, 2000, Financial Report Commissioner Michael Lenz distributed the July 31, 2000, Financial Report. He said the City should be at about 58 percent expenditures and we are at about 54 percent. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Waive of Bid B Fort Miller Company Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to waive the bid to The Fort Miller Company for manhole riser rings in the amount of $8,904. He said the money is within the DPW budget. Ayes all. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Waive of Bid B Audio Equipment B Police Department Commissioner Thomas Curley moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to waive the bid for audio equipment for a time lapse video recorders to Ray Supply of Glens Falls in the amount of $2,103. He said quotes were sought from three companies and this was the best price. He said this would be covered by the local law enforcement block grant funds. Ayes all. Waive of Bid B Video Equipment B Police Department Commissioner Thomas Curley moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to waive the bid for video equipment for investigation purposes to LEA in the amount of $6,345.00. He said this company is the sole source provider of this equipment. Ayes all. Set Public Hearing B Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Commissioner Thomas Curley requested that a public hearing be set on Tuesday, September 19 at 6:40 p.m. on the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant. Council members agreed. Page 9 of 10 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 15,2000 ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:10 p.m. Ayes all. There being no further business, Mayor Kenneth Klotz adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kathy Moran Clerk Approved: Page 10 of 10