City Council

CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 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 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 Robert King, Deputy Commissioner, Public Safety William McTygue, Deputy Commissioner, Public Works Jeffrey Wait, City Attorney PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR Pat Brereton, Northside Civic Association, said he was here this evening on behalf of the Northside Civic Association to express their concerns for the zoning change. He said many of the residents in this area have wet basements and they do not want to make it worse. He said the residents in this area depend on the City to protect them. He said they are also concerned about additional traffic, blasting and drainage problems. Mayor Kenneth Klotz explained that the request for rezoning for this project this evening would only entail the Council accepting it for study and to send it to the Planning Board for an advisory opinion. He said no approval would be issued this evening. MAYOR=S OFFICE Set Public Hearing B Comprehensive Plan Amendments Mayor Kenneth Klotz said the Council received the proposed amendments to the 1999 Comprehensive Plan from the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee. He said the Committee held a public hearing on September 14, 2000, and they have responded to all the comments made at that public hearing. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to accept these amendments for study, send them to the Saratoga County Planning Board for the required advisory opinion to establish a public hearing date of November 8, 2000,at 6:30 p.m. Ayes all. Page 1 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 17, 2000 Announcement Downtown Parking Study Mayor Kenneth Klotz said the Council has received a grant from the Capital District Transportation Committee to develop strategies for looking at long range solutions to parking in the downtown area. He said CDTC has retained the local consulting firm of Edwards & Kelcey to assist in this effort. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said the City’s Downtown Parking Committee would work with CDTC and the consultants to hold public workshops/forums to develop alternative visions for how parking solutions in the downtown area might be developed, managed and financed over the long term. He said it is expected that the first public workshop will be held in the middle of November and a second one in January. He said the Council and all City Departments will be invited to participate Approval for Mayor to Release HUD Funds to Housing Authority (00-211) Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded for the approval to release HUD funds to the Saratoga Housing Authority. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said this is a routine request. Ayes all. Appearance B ANW Holding, Inc. B Rezoning Request Mayor Kenneth Klotz said the City has received a petition for ANW Holding, Inc., to rezone approximately three acres at the intersection of Greenfield Avenue and Granite Street. He said the proposal is to change the zoning designation from Urban Residential-1 (single family homes on 12,500 square foot lots) to Urban Residential-3 (single family homes on 6,600 square foot lots). Mayor Kenneth Klotz said the decision before the Council tonight is whether to accept this petition for study. He said if the Council accepts it for study it would be sent the City Planning Board for an advisory opinion. He said after it comes back from the Planning Board, the Council would then hold a public hearing. He said the applicant is here tonight to make a brief presentation on the proposal. John Witt said he is under contract to purchase 32 acres near Skidmore on Greenfield Avenue. He said he has already been to the Planning Board for another project in this area and the neighbors expressed some concerns with storm drainage. He said the Planning Board requested that he run storm drainage lines to North Broadway and in order to make this project economically viable, he needs these additional lots. He said the proposed lots are very similar in lot width size to nearby lots. He said he was simply requesting that the UR-3 zone be extended to these lots. John Witt said he has talked to a few of the neighbors in this neighborhood. He said building on these lots would simply force any water to the drainage in the streets and in fact should help to Page 2 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 17, 2000 dry up some of the basements in this area. He also said blasting would be done to all specifications and there should not be any problems. He said these issues would be addressed in detail during site plan review. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to accept the petition for study and to send it to the Planning Board for an advisory opinion. Ayes all. Appointments Mayor Kenneth Klotz announced the appointment of Jeff Wait, City Attorney, to the Spring Run Trail Advisory Committee. Empire Zone B Resolution (00-210) Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to approve the Empire Zone Resolution as presented (Attachment A). Mayor Kenneth Klotz said approving this resolution did not commit the City to anything at this point, but it would allow for certain tax breaks at a later date of the City so desires. Ayes all. Authorization for Mayor to sign 2000 CDBG Subrecipient Agreements Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the 2000 CDBG Subrecipient Agreements. Ayes all Approve Recreation Department Policies (00-212) Linda Terricola said the proposed recreation department policy concerning scholarships is modeled after the school district’s free lunch programs. She said the policy also includes some recommendations from Commissioners and the Recreation Commission. She said the scholarship program will be income based. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to approve the recreation department policy for scholarships as presented (Attachment B). Ayes all. Public Pedestrian/Bicycle Trail Easement (00-213) Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to accept an easement Page 3 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 17, 2000 from Wallace Allerdice for the Spring Run Trail. He said this easement is located behind the Allerdice home on Excelsior Avenue. Ayes all. Executive Session Mayor Kenneth Klotz requested an executive session for the purpose of discussing a law suit. Council members agreed. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Approval of October 3 Meeting Minutes Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to approve the October 3 meeting minutes with a few minor changes. Ayes all. Truck Enforcement (00-214) Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to adopt the recommendations of the SSTAR committee as presented (Attachment C)this evening and further moved that the City Attorney be directed to contact Mr. Parillo, who owns the parcel at the corner of Marion and Excelsior Avenues, to negotiate a lease or purchase of that parcel for truck inspection station. Council members noted that they had not received a copy of these recommendations this evening. Commissioner Thomas McTygue suggested a five minute recess to allow Commissioners time to review this information. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said these recommendations are the same as presented by the SSTAR committee, except for the elimination of two items. Commissioner Thomas Curley said it was his intention to bring forth an overall plan. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said the City has been dealing with this problem for 30 years and it was time to act. He said at the last Council meeting he requested Commissioner Thomas Curley to come forth this evening with a plan. He said since Commissioner Thomas Curley did not include this topic on his agenda, he felt that in the interest of moving this forward the Council should act on the SSTAR recommendations. He said adopting the SSTAR recommendations did not preclude Commissioner Thomas Curley from coming forth with a plan. Commissioner Thomas Curley pointed out that some of the recommendations, i.e., synchronization of lights on South Broadway, had already been reviewed and achieved to the best of their ability. Commissioner Bernard Mirling suggested that perhaps it could be revisited. Commissioner Thomas Page 4 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 17, 2000 Curley said synchronization of the lights is done according to DOT specs. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said if Commissioner Thomas Curley felt that a recommendation by the SSTAR committee was not appropriate than Commissioner Thomas Curley should recommend something else. Commissioner Thomas Curley said he supported the concept but did not like that Commissioner Bernard Mirling felt it was necessary to dictate to him on this issue. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said Commissioner Thomas Curley has had months to review these recommendations. Commissioner Thomas Curley said he supported the SSTAR recommendations, however, was not sure exactly what Commissioner Bernard Mirling was presenting this evening. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said the recommendations presented were the SSTAR recommendations minus two. Commissioner Thomas Curley asked what two had been eliminated. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said the recommendations concerning property assessment and a designated truck traffic route. Commissioner Bernard Mirling asked where was Commissioner Bernard Mirling’s analysis on the property assessment issue. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said it was illegal to offer a property assessment reduction because of a designated truck route. Commissioner Thomas Curley said he would like to see that information in writing. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said there has been some planning and progress made on some of the SSTAR recommendations. He said it seemed as though it was the same recommendations as presented by the SSTAR committee with the elimination of two. Commissioner Michael Lenz agreed that some of the recommendations had been implemented i.e., two new truck inspectors and that other issues such as signage and land are still being reviewed. Commissioner Michael Lenz said he could understand why Commissioner Thomas Curley was annoyed with Commissioner Bernard Mirling since this issue falls under his jurisdiction and not Commissioner Bernard Mirling. He said it is no one’s fault that this issue exists and Commissioner Thomas Curley has taken steps to remediate some of the truck concerns. He said Commissioner Bernard Mirling has done some research on this issue but has not brought that research forward and in turn he is faulting Commissioner Thomas Curley for not bring research/information forward. He said this issue should be brought to the table by Commissioner Thomas Curley or at the very least in conjunction with Commissioner Thomas Curley. He said it appears that there is agreement with the recommendations of the SSTAR committee but some disagreement at arriving to the end solution. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said he has spent many frustrating years on this issue. He said this proposal does not harm Commissioner Thomas Curley’s reputation. He said the Council has never formally accepted the recommendations and he thought it was about time to do so. He pointed out that one of the recommendations was for the development of a plan and Commissioner Thomas Curly could still do so. Page 5 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 17, 2000 Commissioner Bernard Mirling said there is land available in an ideal location and he simply wanted Jeff Wait to look into that matter. Commissioner Thomas Curley said he would like to see the two items eliminated from these recommendations put back in. Commissioner Thomas Curley said residents along these routes need some relief. Commissioner Thomas Curley moved and Commissioner Michael Lenz seconded to amend the motion by including that the desirability of exploring ways in which the city can provide relief to property owners along truck routes also be included. Ayes all. Commissioner Michael Lenz said that Commissioner Thomas Curley was hoping to catch the trucks before they got into the City. Commissioner Thomas Curley said there are other parcels that should be included in the search for property. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said Jeff Wait would only be negotiating for a lease. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said no Council member is asking Commissioner Thomas Curley to get all of the recommendations done now. He said they are simply asking that the Council accept the recommendations. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said he would like to see a strategic truck enforcement plan and that document should come from Commissioner Thomas Curley. He said he would also like to see information on the fines. Commissioner Thomas Curley said that would be done and further reminded Council members that the newly created positions would be funded by those fines. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said the task force called for a formal written plan. Commissioner Thomas Curley said when it was complete he would bring it forth. Commissioner Bernard Mirling asked when that might happen. Commissioner Thomas Curley said he was not sure. Ayes all. Appointments B Taxi Commission Commissioner Bernard Mirling withdrew this item from discussion. He asked if other Commissioners had anyone in mind to appoint to this commission to please contact him. Election Pay Increase (00-215) Commissioner Bernard Mirling announced a pay increase in the election inspectors pay rate from $125/election day to $135/election day as presented in the 2001 budget. He said this increase would be included in his 2001 budget request. Thank You Commissioner Bernard Mirling thanked the Saratoga Springs Fire Department for all of their hard work in fighting the fire at his home. He said unfortunately he had major damage, however, the fire Page 6 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 17, 2000 fighters reacted quickly and saved many of their belongings. He again thanked Commissioner Thomas Curley and his department for their hard work in fighting this fire. FINANCE OFFICE Payroll Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the following payrolls: October 6, 2000B$287,933.97 and October 13, 2000- $295,227.54. Ayes all. Warrants Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded for the approval and payment of the 2OCT20 warrant #2 through # 27 as follows: General Fund $ 242,942.62 City Center Authority 23,357.50 Water Fund 141,008.32 Sewer Fund 5,463.47 Capital Projects Fund 4,619.80 Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development 60,885.00 TOTAL $ 478,276.71 and the MC201011 warrant #2 - #5 as follows: General Fund $ 24,737.57 City Center Authority -0- Water Fund 2,324.63 Sewer Fund 1,638.84 Capital Projects Fund -0- Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development -0- TOTAL $ 28,719.22 Ayes all. Budget Amendments Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to approve the budget amendments as presented (Attachment D). Ayes all. Page 7 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 17, 2000 Budget Transfers Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the budget transfers as presented (Attachment E). Ayes all. September 30, 2000, Financial Reports Commissioner Michael Lenz distributed the September 30, 2000, financial report. He said at this time we should be at about 75 percent in expenditures and we are at about 70 percent. He said he also included some quarterly revenue information. Mayor Kenneth Klotz asked how the sales tax issue was looking. Commissioner Michael Lenz said it was looking very good at about 25 percent more than normal. Schedule of Budget Workshops Commissioner Michael Lenz set the first budget workshop for Tuesday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council room. Waive of Bid B CIS Industries for Various Computer Products Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to waive the bid to CIS Industries in the amount of $2,330 plus shipping for various computer products for upgrading the system. He said the funds were within his budget. Ayes all. Discussion -- Surplus (00-216) Commissioner Michael Lenz said Jeff Wait had done some research on whether the City surplus from the sale of the City Center could be used for purposes other and property acquisition. He said Jeff Wait had determined that the funds could be transferred to another specified fund which could then be expended for uses other than property acquisition. He said once a specific proposal was developed Jeff Wait could evaluate it for compliance. Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the resolution as presented (Attachment F) to establish a property acquisition and municipal facility improvement capital reserve fund. He said this resolution is very similar to the 1983 resolution and the only change would allow for the funds to be used for other purposes such as improvement to city properties, parks, playgrounds, etc. and not just the acquisition of property. He said if the resolution is approved another capital reserve fund would be established and the money would be transferred to that account. Page 8 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 17, 2000 Mayor Kenneth Klotz asked if Jeff Wait had reviewed the resolution. Commissioner Michael Lenz said it was his understanding that based on a memo from Jeff Wait that the Finance Department should draft the resolution and did so. Jeff Wait said he would like some time to review this resolution. Commissioner Michael Lenz said because budget workshops were going to be held soon, he wanted a decision tonight on this issue. He said the only difference between this resolution and the 1983 resolution was the additional text to allow for facility improvements. It was suggested that the resolution be approved contingent upon the City Attorney’s review. It was agreed the vote on this resolution would be delayed to the end of the meeting. Executive Session Commissioner Michael Lenz requested an executive session. Excelsior Avenue Ice Rink Commissioner Michael Lenz distributed a copy of City Council meeting minutes from February 1, 1993 concerning the Excelsior Avenue ice rink. He said in that resolution it was stated that from the sale of the ice rink, $200,000 would go towards debt service. Commissioner Michael Lenz said the pertinent question is whether the Council should abide by that resolution and set aside $200,000 to reduce the debt service. He said he felt that it would be wise to place $200,000 aside for debt service payments rather than using the entire $200,000 all at once. He said the interest rates on some of the bonds is very good and it would be wiser to set the funds aside rather than pay down. Commissioner Thomas McTygue asked Jeff Wait for a report on the sale of the Excelsior Avenue ice rink. Jeff Wait said there is a draft contract that seems to be in order. He said we are now waiting for the survey and he expected to have that by the end of the week. He said there could be a closing within a week or two once the survey and deed is received. He said he expected to have a closing by mid-November. Commissioner Michael Lenz said he would like the Council to earmark $200,000 from sale of the Excelsior Avenue ice rink for debt reduction. It was agreed that Council members could think about this issue before voting. Parking Deck Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the resolution for reserving $500,000 for the construction of a downtown parking deck (Attachment G). Page 9 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 17, 2000 Commissioner Michael Lenz said if the City is to continue bringing business downtown, this is an issue that needs to be addressed. He said there has been tremendous growth in the downtown over the last several years and the City needs to provide parking. He said if the City takes the initiative to set aside these funds, perhaps the state would take our request for funding more seriously. Commissioner Thomas McTygue suggested that the Council wait on adopting this resolution until further information becomes available on the Woodlawn Avenue parking lot renovation and the test bores at the Hub parking lot. He said the City needs these funds, but he was not quite ready to earmark funds for this purpose without the benefit of all of the data. He said he should have all of that data in about three weeks. Commissioner Michael Lenz said we do not yet know what it will cost to construct another parking deck but the Council needs to think about setting funds aside. Commissioner Michael Lenz said he had no problem with waiting for the data that Commissioner Thomas McTygue expects, however, he wanted to keep the process moving. Mayor Kenneth Klotz suggested this be considered in context with the capital budget. He said it was fine to say that this is an important issue, but before the Council designates a large amount of money, it should be considered in context with other capital projects. Commissioner Bernard Mirling said he did not oppose this recommendations but he would like to have some time to think about it. Commissioner Michael Lenz and Commissioner Thomas Curley agreed to withdraw the motion. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Discussion B Leak Detection Study Commissioner Thomas McTygue reported that the leak detection study that was approved at the last Council meeting had been very successful. He said they found a leak on Circular Street that would very likely not been detected by the City because the water was running directly into a storm drain. He said the estimated amount of water loss was 100,000 gpd. He said this study has paid for itself with the detection of this one leak. He said they are now considering adding the Geyser Crest area in this survey. Waive of Bid -- Stagestep for Music Hall Stage Floor Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded for the ratification of Page 10 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 17, 2000 a previous approval by memo to Stagestep Company of Philadelphia in the amount of $3,074.38 for a new floor to the music hall state. Ayes all. Waive of Bid B Davis Valve Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded for the ratification of previous approval by memo to Davis Valve in the amount of $1,669.85. He said the money was within his budget. Ayes all. Waive of Bid B G&G Restaurant Supply Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded for the ratification of previous approval by memo to G&G Restaurant in the amount of $4,395 for a new double convection oven. He said this price was lower than the state contract price. Ayes all. Waive of Bid B DKC Construction Company Commissioner Thomas McTygue withdrew this item from discussion. He said he planned to proceed in a different manner on this project. Waive of Bid B Andrew Metal Products Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded for the ratification of previous approval by memo to Andrew Metal Products in the amount of $1,391 for lock bars for the openings at the Woodlawn Reservoir. Ayes all. Waive of Bid B Brandano Displays Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Michael Lenz seconded for the ratification of previous approval by memo for Brandano Display for Granville architectural lighting for City hall. He said this would be permanent lighting on the building. Ayes all. Waive of Bid B Young, Sommer, et. al Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded for the approval of payment to Young, Sommer, et. al, in the amount of $3,146.58 for work done at the Town of Wilton Planning Board in connection with the lawsuit. He said this had nothing to do with the Elks appeal process. He said this money was available from within his budget. Ayes all. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Fire Incidents Commissioner Thomas Curley reported that there were a number of fire incidents over the last week. He said there was a tremendous effort by both the fire and police departments in Page 11 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 17, 2000 connection with fires. He said he greatly appreciated the comments made by Commissioner Bernard Mirling on the efforts of the fire and police departments. He said Commissioner Bernard Mirling’s homes was only one of three fires that weeks. He said in all cases the first department did an excellent job in containing the fires. He said specifically the fire on Walton Street was a difficult fire and the new image camera, funded through a grant from Senator Bruno’s office, was used. He said that camera helped tremendously in locating the fire. Fire Department Open House Commissioner Thomas Curley said the fire department recently held their annual open house. He said it was a great event for both children and parents. He said both the DARE and K-9 patrol also participated in this open house. FINANCE OFFICE City Center Surplus (00-217) Jeff Wait said he had time to review this resolution and said it seemed quite generic in connection with the transfer of these funds from one line to another. He said once the funds were moved, he would review the Council’s recommendations for compliance. He said there did not seem to be anything controversial or questionable with this resolution or with the establishment of a capital improvement fund. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said this resolution seemed to widen the Council’s options for the funds. Jeff Wait agreed. He said the prior resolution was quite specific and narrow in scope. Commissioner Michael Lenz noted that the phrase “but not limited to” had been added. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said if Jeff Wait felt the resolution was acceptable, he had no problem supporting the resolution. He said though he simply wanted time for both him and Jeff Wait to review the resolution without having it shoved under his nose at a meeting. Commissioner Michael Lenz said this issue had been discussed at previous Council meetings. He said this issue was brought to the Finance Department’s attention through the auditors and these funds need to be earmarked for this use. He said there was obviously a misunderstanding between Jeff Wait and his office on who was to draft the resolution and he certainly was not shoving it under the Mayor’s nose. Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the resolution (Attachment F) as presented. Ayes all. Page 12 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 17, 2000 Executive Session Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to adjourn to executive session at 8:30 p.m. Ayes all. Council members returned at 8:45 p.m. Hire Richard Mullaney -- City Center legal matters (00-218) Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded that the City hire Richard Mullaney to handle legal matters relation to Saratoga City Center Associates and potential legal action with the City of Saratoga Springs. Ayes all. Flink Smith & Associates (00-219) Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded that the City retain the law firm of Flink Smith & Associates to continue with the appeal in the Eckerdt law suit. Ayes all. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m. Ayes all. There being no further business, Mayor Kenneth Klotz adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kathy Moran Clerk Approved: Page 13 of 13