City Council

City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 19, 2001 CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2001 CITY COUNCIL ROOM 7:00 P.M. PRESENT: Thomas Curley, Commissioner, Public Safety Michael Lenz, Commissioner, Finance Thomas McTygue, Commissioner, Public Works Bernard Mirling, Commissioner, Accounts ABSENT: Kenneth Klotz, Mayor ALSO PRESENT: Phillip Klein, Board of Supervisors Representative Anthony Scirocco, Board of Supervisors Representative STAFF PRESENT: Bruce Brown, Deputy Commissioner, Public Works Christine Gillmett-Brown, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Carol Kennedy, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Robert King, Deputy Commissioner, Public Safety Jeffrey Wait, City Attorney CALL TO ORDER: Commissioner Michael Lenz called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Commissioner Lenz mentioned that the Mayor is continuing his recovery. He is walking on a daily basis. His will be a long recovery process. He hopes to come to City Hall sometime next week. MAYOR’S OFFICE: Elm Street Sewer Hook-ups: (01-092) Commissioner Michael Lenz deferred to Brad Birge, Director of Community Development to explain the program. City Council approval is needed for rehab grant eligible applicants to move up on the list to be connected to the Elm Street Sanitary Sewer. The program is part of the Block grant 2001 and serves to expedite the sewer connections for grant eligible applicants. Property owners are responsible for the cost of connecting their house to the sanitary sewer. If they are income eligible, they can move up on the list and expedite connecting to the sanitary sewer and get connecting fees through the grant program. Therefore, Commissioner Lenz moved and Commissioner Curley seconded to approve this. Ayes all. Page 1 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 19, 2001 Confirmation of Previous Approval by Memo: (01-093) A motion was made by Commissioner Michael Lenz and seconded by Commissioner Bernard Mirling to confirm the previous approval by memo of the Administrative Assistant Engineering and Grade level adjustment. Commissioner Lenz said that this was in regard to the transfer of Kathy Moran from the Department of Accounts to the Engineering Office. Commissioner McTygue asked for clarification. City Engineer Paul Male explained that the position had been vacated since April and that since there were no candidates from the recent Civil Service test, Kathy Moran agreed to make the transfer. She will continue to be the secretary to the Design Review Commission and the Zoning Board. Both of these duties are not currently part of the Administrative Assistant position description, but since all the other staff members that serve on these committees work in the City Engineer’s Office, approval was sought by memo to accept the transfer of Kathy Moran to this position and to upgrade the Administrative Assistant position with the inclusion of the DRC and ZBA duties. Commissioner McTygue said that this is essentially a lateral transfer and Paul Male concurred. Ayes all. West Avenue Special Assessment District- Resolution and Statement of Facts: Commissioner Lenz requested that this item be placed at the end of meeting agenda. Change in Camp Saradac field Trips: (01-094) Upon the request of the Recreation Department and the Camp Saradac Director City council approval is being sought for changes in the original list of field trips scheduled for Camp Saradac. These changes will impact the budget as a seventy-five dollar increase, but should not affect the overall budget line. The first change is that the Waterslide World trip fee has been increased by one- dollar ($1.00) per camper. Therefore the cost will be sixteen dollars ($16.00) per camper rather than the originally planned fifteen-dollar ($15.00) rate. This will increase the cost of the trip by approximately $200. The second change is to delete the ice skating field trip and replace it with trips to Proctor’s Theatre. The campers will be attending two performances. On July 11, the five through ten-year-olds will see Ferdinand the Bull. On Monday, August 6, the five through eight- year-olds will attend the performance of the Mother Goose Band. The cost for ice-skating was approximately $1325. The approximate cost for the two performances is $1200. Each ticket price is five dollars ($5.00) per camper while staff members will attend free of charge. A motion was made by Commissioner Lenz and seconded by Commissioner McTygue to accept these field trip changes as presented. Ayes all. Amendment to Youth coordinator contract: (01-095) Linda Terricola needs City Council approval for an amendment to the Youth Parking Coordinator Contract. Chris and Deanna Signor have resigned as the Youth Parking Coordinators this Page 2 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 19, 2001 season. Bob Spratt, a member from the Recreation Commission and Linda Terricola interviewed three candidates and agreed on hiring Robert Jeremy Walton for this position. He is a recent graduate from Clarkson University and comes highly recommended. The Recreation Commission needs to approve all positions and changes in the Department prior to sending it to the City Council but their next meeting is June 21 and the Coordinator needs to begin on Monday June 25 so that he can start interviewing the Youth Parkers and setting up his program. Therefore Commissioner Lenz moved and Commissioner Curley seconded to approve hiring Robert Jeremy Walton as Youth Parking Coordinator contingent upon the Recreation Commission’s approval at their meeting on Thursday June 21. Ayes all. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Approval of June 5 meeting minutes Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to approve the June 5 meeting minutes. Ayes all. Award of Bid – Tire Repair and Service Contract: Upon the recommendation of the Public Works Department Commissioner Bernard Mirling moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to approve the bid for Tire Repair and Service contract to Metroland Tire Mart, Inc. of Saratoga Springs for various prices. They were the low bidder. Ayes all. Confirmation of approval by memo: Environmental Control System Maintenance Agreement (01-096) Upon the recommendation of the Records Management Office, Commissioner Mirling moved and Commissioner Curley seconded to confirm the previous approval by memo in the amount of $1230 to the Smart-Energy Company for a two-year maintenance agreement on the Geothermal system in the City Clerk’s vault commencing after the standard ninety-day warranty expires. This is an addendum to the contract for the system, which was approved by the City Council on June 5. Confirmation of approval by memo: Insurance Renewal Amendment Upon request of the Finance Department, Commissioner Mirling moved and Commissioner McTygue seconded to confirm the previous approval by memo to amend the approval of Marshall & Sterling for City Property Casualty Insurance to instead name specifically the Capital Risk Associates which is a Division of Marshall & Sterling in Saratoga Springs. Commissioner Lenz asked about the amount of money involved and questioned whether it was less than originally approved or if the amount had changed. Commissioner Mirling said the Page 3 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 19, 2001 memo dealt only with the appropriate name of the company for premium payments. Ayes all. Executive Session The next item on Commissioner Mirling’s agenda was a request for Executive Session for the purpose of discussing matters of Tax Certiorari. FINANCE DEPARMENT: Payroll: Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to approve the following payrolls: June 8, 2001-$308,399.47 and June 15, 2001-$295,499.64. Warrants: Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded for the approval and payment of the 2JUN01 #2 - #36 as follows: General Fund $ 350,678.42 City Center Authority 11,118.71 Water Fund 74,900.86 Sewer Fund 5,117.11 Capital Projects Fund 281,641.50 Special Assessment District 20,607.50 Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development $ 26,039.19 TOTAL $ 790,102.69 and MC010613 #2 - #5 as follows: General Fund $ 37,309.10 City Center Authority 59.17 Water Fund 21,159.56 Sewer Fund 63.27 Capital Project -0- Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development $ -0- TOTAL $ 58,591.10 Ayes all. Page 4 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 19, 2001 Budget Amendments: Commissioner McTygue commented in reference to an item in the newspaper from a member of the Charter Review Commission recommending that the City Council review budget amendments item by item. Commissioner McTygue said that doing a line by line at the City Council meetings could add three hours to a meeting. He urged the public at large to please review situations before commenting. These budget amendments are issued well in advance and a line by line review at the meeting would be overkill. Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to approve the budget amendments as presented (Attachment A). Ayes all. Budget Transfers: Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded to approve the budget transfers as presented. (See Attachment B) Ayes all. Financial Report for the month ending May 31, 2001 Deputy Commissioner Christine Gillmett-Brown distributed the May 31 financial report. She reported that based on the revised budget amount of $22,999,836, the year to date expenditures amount to $8,390,891 and YTD encumbrances total $663,140 leaving $13,945,805 available budget. The City has used 39.4% of its budget as of May 31, 2001. Although departments are on target for the most part, she encouraged Council members to watch their budgets closely. Adoption of Travel and Vehicle Policy: Christine Gillmett-Brown presented a travel/education reimbursement policy and a vehicle policy for City employees. Similar policies and procedures have been in effect but have never been put in writing. The Finance Department felt it was appropriate to set a standard to be implemented citywide. These policies outline how the employees will be reimbursed for their expenses. The policy requires prior approval by the City Council to attend the training or meeting and also assigns different maximum rates depending whether the training/destination is in a metropolitan area such as New York City. The policy on employee use of city-owned vehicles is in accordance with IRS guidelines and mandates that employees maintain a daily logs of vehicle use that include odometer readings at the beginning and end of each workday, an explanation of significant mileage variances and a service and maintenance schedule. These policies have been in place but never into writing. Commissioner Mirling mentioned that he has not seen the policies prior to this evening. Based upon a quick read-through, he has no concerns but before he votes on them, he would like an opportunity to review them more thoroughly. Christine Gillmett-Brown said that the policies were circulated last Friday and both Purchasing and Payroll administrators have reviewed them. She said they do not have to be adopted tonight if Commissioner Mirling needs more time. Commissioner Lenz said the policies will be on the agenda for approval at the July 3 City Council Page 5 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 19, 2001 meeting. Authorization for Mayor to sign contract between City and Communications Consulting Services: (01-097) Commissioner Lenz is seeking city council approval for the Mayor to sign an agreement with the Communications Consulting Services, Inc. a company from River Edge New Jersey. This company will conduct an audit of all telephone bills for service, line, and equipment charges to determine if these charges are correct. In the event of overbilling, Communications Consulting Services will pursue the telephone companies to attain refunds and reductions in monthly billings. The fee for this service will be fifty percent of any refunds that are a direct result of the audit. They will not participate in any future savings that come about as a result of the audit. If the company finds nothing, the City owes them nothing. All they need are copies of the City’s telephone bills. Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded for the Mayor to sign the contract with Communications Consulting Services, Inc. Ayes all. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Appointments: (01-098) Commissioner McTygue requests approval to fund the following positions and items from the City’s appropriated surplus account. These monies represent funding for the remaining 28 weeks of this year. The three positions include a MEO (Motor Equipment Operator) in the amount of $16,845. The responsibilities include summer paving and winter plowing. No people have been added for fifteen years, yet there has been a considerable growth in the City. A second position is that of a laborer in the amount of $12,130. Included in this motion is a request for City council approval to create a new position entitled Account-Clerk Typist to which Commissioner McTygue is appointing Joette Delaney provisionally effective June 25, 2001 at Grade 3, step 1 of the salary schedule. The amount of money from the surplus for the remainder of the year will be $11,730. Commissioner McTygue said that Joette Delaney has been doing a fine job in a temporary position and he is happy to have her aboard. Included in this request is approval for $15,000 from the appropriated surplus fund for improvements to the proposed Gilbert Road Recreation field. The total amount requested from the surplus is $55,705. This request, including the new position and appointment of Joette Delaney was moved by Commissioner Thomas McTygue and seconded by Commissioner Bernard Mirling. Ayes all Discussion- Sales Tax: Commissioner McTygue requested that the City Council set a special meeting to discuss the sales tax program and whether the city wants to continue in the County program or go independent in Page 6 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 19, 2001 reference to the amount of sales tax collected in the city, from OTB, the race tracks, etc. This meeting will give the Council the opportunity to have additional revenues to opt out of County Sales tax collection. City Attorney Jeff Wait explained that the City Council would have to adopt a resolution at the special meeting opposing its own sales tax and submit it to the County six months in advance. The motion (resolution) can be rescinded as late as December 2001. Commissioner Lenz asked if the purposed of the meeting is to resolve to adopt the resolution to leave the sales tax formula or put us in position to bargain. Jeff Wait said, “Yes, the resolution is for opposing the tax formula. It will not go into effect until March of 2002 and we have until December 31 to rescind it if a better formula is worked out with the County in the interim”. The City Council set the special meeting for Thursday, June 28 at 6:30 pm. Approval for Mayor to sign Youth Hockey Lease: Commissioner McTygue made a motion and commissioner Lenz seconded for City Council to approve for the Mayor to sign a lease with the Youth Hockey league for the summer season at the ice rink at the same terms and conditions as last year. He mentioned that a sign would be posted at the rink advertising the space that has been vacated by Ed Kelly as available space to lease. Ayes all. Schedule Public Hearing- Amendment to Sewer Use Ordinance: Upon the request of City Attorney Jeff Wait, Commissioner McTygue would like to schedule a public hearing for the purpose of adopting amendments to the sewer use ordinance drafted by the county to comply with new, stricter EPA standards for industrial users. The council agreed to schedule the public hearing for 6:55 July third. Notice of Open House at 85 Beekman Street: Commissioner McTygue said that although this item was not on his agenda, he wanted to announce that the Department of Public Works and the Mayor’s Office will be holding an open house at 85 Beekman Street on Saturday June 30 from 10:00 am to 12 noon. Brad Birge of the Community Development Office will put together an advertisement for the open house. Brad will also generate an application to be picked up by prospective purchasers either here in City Hall after June 27 or at the open house. Prospective purchasers must be a first time home buyer who fits into the income guidelines set forth under the 2000 Community Block Grant Entitlement Program. They must be pre-qualified and have their credit verified, and may submit their applications on or before July 13. Under Federal guidelines, the maximum sales price that can be charged for this two-bedroom house that has been completely renovated by City DPW personnel is $71,000. There will be a lottery type drawing of all qualified applicants. The sale should take place around the beginning of August. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Page 7 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 19, 2001 Authorization for the Mayor to Sign Agreement with the School for the Junior-Senior High School Resource Officer: (01-099) Commissioner Thomas Curley made a motion and Commissioner Mirling seconded to request City Council approval for the Mayor to sign an agreement between the Saratoga Springs Police Department and the Saratoga Springs Enlarged City School District to establish a School Resource Officer Program in the public school system and for the police to provide a School Resource Officer in the Maple Avenue Middle School. Ayes all. Authorization for the Mayor to sign a Vehicle Transfer Agreement with Matt’s Auto: (01-100) Commissioner Thomas Curley moved and Commissioner Mirling seconded for authorization for the Mayor to sign the agreement between the City and Matt’s Auto Shop regarding vehicle transfer. Commissioner Curley explained that this is an agreement with Matt’s Auto Shop to process five (5) obsolete vehicles that each have over 100,000 miles on them, and exchange them for a later model vehicle that is in good condition. Ayes all. Police Officers: (01-101) Commissioner Thomas Curley made a motion and Commissioner Bernard Mirling seconded the motion to expand the Police Force limit by two individuals. Commissioner Curley said he was becoming concerned. There were a number of drug arrests in April in the City of Saratoga Springs involving crack cocaine. He wishes to bring two members of his current uniformed force into the investigative unit and hire two individuals as uniformed police officers. It is documented that gangs are only thirty miles away. Commissioner Curley wishes to be proactive and increase the force now rather than wait for serious problems to develop within this City. The budget impact for the remainder of the year will be $30,000. The focus of the two new investigators will be on gang- related activities and drug investigations. Commissioner Lenz commented that this is a frightening concept “There certainly seems to be an increase in the presence of drug-related incidents in our community. Certainly as the parent of small children, that concerns me. We need to take steps to prevent this from extending even further.” Commissioner Curley said that there are many people that come to enjoy the attractions of the City. We also have some other elements coming into the city to exploit it by coming in and selling contraband. If we can get a handle on it and control it now, it will improve the future of this City. “We are a city everybody wants to come to including criminals,” he said, “Let them go back to where they came from. I made a commitment to this community.” Ayes all. Commissioner Curley expressed his thanks to the City Council on behalf of the community. West Avenue Special Assessment District-Resolution and Statement of Facts: Page 8 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 19, 2001 Commissioner McTygue recommended that discussion and any potential action on this item be deferred until the special meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 28. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to go to executive session at 7:45 pm. to discuss tax certiorari. Ayes all. Council members returned at 8:00 pm and reported that no action was taken. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:00 p.m. Ayes all. There being no further business, Commissioner Lenz adjourned the meeting at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Nancy Wagner Clerk Approved: Page 9 of 9