City Council

City Council Meeting Minutes January 2, 2002 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY JANUARY 2, 2002 Present: Mayor Kenneth Klotz Commissioner of Finance, Michael Lenz Commissioner of Public Works, Thomas McTygue Commissioner of Public Safety, Thomas Curley Commissioner of Accounts, Stephen Towne Staff Present: Deputy Mayor Hank Kuczynski City Attorney Jeffrey Wait Deputy Commissioner Christine Gillmett-Brown Deputy Commissioner Bruce Brown Deputy Commissioner Robert King Deputy Commissioner Deborah Harper Also Present: Supervisor Phil Klein Supervisor Anthony Scirocco CALL TO ORDER Mayor Kenneth Klotz called the meeting to order at 7 pm. MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Recreation Department: Shed Update Mayor Klotz said that Linda Terricola, Recreation Director, consulted with various neighborhood groups regarding the placement of a shed at one of the City’s Recreation sites and the final decision is to put both sheds at the East Side Recreational facility. Approve Consultant for Excelsior Park (02-006) Mayor Klotz said that the Planning board recommended hiring a consultant to assist with the environmental reviews for the Excelsior Park project at 264 Excelsior Avenue. He said that the project applicant would pay for the total cost of the consultant. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign a contract with the New York Planning Federation in an amount not to exceed $15,000 to assist the Planning Board with the environmental reviews for the Excelsior Park project. Commissioner Curley asked if it would be worthwhile to use a second traffic consultant. Geoff Bornemann said that Creighton Manning is the City’s traffic consultant on this project and they will be used as part of this consulting team to do the environmental assessment. Mayor Klotz said that there are two different firms looking into the traffic impact of this project, one is the City’s consultant, Creighton Manning and one is the applicant’s consultant, New York Planning Federation. Ayes all. Page 1 of 7 City Council Meeting Minutes January 2, 2002 Approve Contract Planning Board Secretary (02-007) Mayor Klotz said that the City Planner requested that the City Council adopt the annual contract with the Planning Board Secretary. Geoff Bornemann said that this is a management exempt position, exempt from the Union contract but the provision is that exempt employees get the same privileges and benefits as in the annual contract including annual raises. He said that with the exception of the three per cent increase, it is the same contract as last year. He said the money is in the 2002 budget for this. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to approve the 2002 contract as presented for the Planning Board Secretary. Ayes all Approve Grant Application: Design Review Commission (02-008) Mayor Klotz said that this item involves a grant application being proposed by the Design Review Commission. He said that the DRC has recommended that the City apply for a historic preservation-planning grant for a series of public workshops and improvements to the Website. The required local match for this grant will be provided by in-kind services, so there is no budget impact of this application. He said that council approval is necessary in order for Geoff Bornemann and the Design Review Commission to proceed. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to authorize the Mayor to submit a grant application to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for a grant program not to exceed $18,000. Geoff Bornemann said that they are working with the Preservation Foundation for this grant application and they are working with a series of educators, local architects and builders who would conduct the workshops and volunteer their time which will be bulk of the local forty percent match. He said that there are forty communities in the State that are eligible for the program and about $120,000 available statewide. He said that this is a competitive program but the City has been highly successful in the past, the most recent project being the completion of the Historic Preservation Plan in the amount of $15,000. He said that the highest priority for the program is training for the public and the commission members, so this falls in line with their top priority so they are hopeful. Commissioner Towne asked is there were any doubts about the intended in-kind services qualifying as the matching elements and Geoff Bornemann responded that there is no reason to believe otherwise, and there is a track record to substantiate that. Ayes all Approve Contract: Labor Attorney Mayor Klotz withdrew this item from the agenda because details are still being worked out so the contract is not ready to bring to the council table. Appointments (02-009) Mayor Klotz announced the appointment of Amy Durland to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Public Hearing on VLT’s Mayor Klotz withdrew this item from his agenda. Page 2 of 7 City Council Meeting Minutes January 2, 2002 Approve Acceptance of Donation from State Farm to UHA (02-010) Mayor Klotz said that as a result of the approval of the New Purchasing Policy, any donations to City departments now require City Council approval for acceptance. He said that the Urban Heritage Area has been offered a copy machine to be donated by the State Farm Insurance Company. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the donation of a copier by State Farm to the Urban Heritage Area. Ayes all Mayor Klotz thanked all of the volunteers involved with the Olympic Torch Ceremony including Linda Benton and the Greater Saratoga Springs Jaycees. He said the ceremony and reception was well attended and very successful. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Approval of the minutes of the December 18 City Council Meetings Commissioner Stephen E. Towne moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the minutes of the December 18 City Council meeting. Appointment of Commissioner of Deeds Commissioner Towne announced the appointment of the following individuals as Commissioner of Deeds with a term of two years: Todd Bengston, Aaron Benware, Sean Briscoe, Eileen Cotter, Robert Jillson, John Lanzara, Thomas Mitchell, Jr., Andrew Prestigiacomo, John Sessleman, Gregory Veitch. He said they are employees of the Saratoga Springs Police Department. Ratification of Approval by Memo: Additional Insurance Premium (02-011) Commissioner Stephen Towne moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded for the ratification of approval by memo to pay an additional insurance premium in the amount of $4,190.41 to cover the addition to the City’s automobile coverage of ten additional vehicles. He said the money is in the insurance account to cover this expenditure. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Approve Payrolls Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen Towne seconded to approve the payroll for 12/21/01 in the amount of $ 306,057.30 for 12/28/01 in the amount of $322,621.14, and 12/31/01 in the amount of $102,539.72. Ayes all Commissioner Lenz said that on the January 2, 2002 warrant there is a voucher in the amount of $2,668 which is payable to Lewis and Greer. He said that the contract with Lewis and Greer was approved at the August 21, 2001 City Council meeting for an amount between three and five thousand dollars. He said that at the November 20, 2001 City Page 3 of 7 City Council Meeting Minutes January 2, 2002 Council meeting this amount was amended by $13,379.39 to include a voucher on that warrant. He said that the voucher being considered now was not covered by either of the two previous warrants so there needs to be another motion made to cover the additional money. Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded for council approval of the amendment of the Lewis and Greer contract to include the $2,668. Commissioner Towne explained that Lewis and Greer is the law firm that had been engaged to provide some expertise and preparation for the tax lawsuit of Niagara Mohawk. He said that this amount which was received in the first half of December was for work done in November. He said there is going to be an additional bill and the contract terms will be amended at the subsequent meeting as well. Ayes all. Approve Warrants Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen Towne seconded to approve the following warrants: 3DEC01 – WARRANT 2 – 30 General Fund $ 120,786.69 City Center Authority 1,188.17 Water Fund 20,986.19 Sewer Fund 885,62 Capital Projects Fund 259,215.09 Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development 11,782.66 Total Warrant $ 414,844.42 Ayes all MC011226 – WARRANT 2 - 6 General Fund $ 1,118,252.41 City Center Authority 9,656.82 Water Fund 527.41 Sewer Fund 434,038.40 Capital Project -0- Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development $ 5,854.22 Total Warrant $ 1,568,329.26 Ayes all Commissioner Lenz said that the final warrant includes the fourth and final payment of the County share of the property tax, which is why it is significantly higher than usual. Approve Budget Amendments Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen Towne seconded to Page 4 of 7 City Council Meeting Minutes January 2, 2002 approve the budget amendments as distributed. Ayes all Approve Budget Transfers Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to approve the budget transfers as distributed. Ayes all Approve 2002 Budget Amendments Commissioner Lenz withdrew this item. Approve 2002 Tax Rates (02-012) Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded for city council approval of the following 2002 tax rates: General Fund Inside District $5.16/$1,000 of Assessed Value General Fund Outside District $5.03/$1,000 of Assessed Value Capital Fund Inside & Outside District $0.65/$1,000 of Assessed Value Downtown Special Assessment District $0.70/$1,000 of Assessed Value Ayes all PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Ratification of Previously Approved Expenditures: Architectural Fiberglass Inc. – Carousel Dome Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded for ratification of a previously approved expenditure done by memo to the Architectural Fiberglass Company for the Carousel Dome in the amount of $10,358. He said the money is in the budget for this. Ayes all Waive of Bid – Sheridan Supply Corp Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded for council for a waive of bid to purchase a check valve and accessories from Sheridan Supply corp. of Albany in the amount of $1,938.21. He said that according to the new purchasing policy that was approved at the end of last year, at least two quotes are required for purchases up to $2,500, but since Sheridan is the only supplier for this product this was not able to be done. He said he has many questions concerning the new Purchasing Policy. Ayes all Commissioner Towne said that he intends to tighten down the guidelines of the policy and add some items to it. He said he wants there to be training in the purchasing process. He said he has no desire to slow down the business of the City and at the very latest he is looking to revise the policy by March one. Commissioner McTygue said that he has his people searching out three quotes and recommends purchasing from local businesses whenever possible. He said that as long as Page 5 of 7 City Council Meeting Minutes January 2, 2002 the three quotes are in writing, they do not have to be presented to the City Council. Commissioner McTygue said that the Department of Public Works and Public Safety are impacted the most by the policy because they make the most purchases on a daily basis. Commissioner Curley said that the new policy increases the departmental paperwork but makes things easier at the council table. Correction of Previously Approved Expenditure: Lane Enterprises Commissioner McTygue explained that he had previously obtained council approval for a waive of bid to Lane Enterprises $6,560 but the bands that hold the pipe together were omitted so the waive should have been for an additional five hundred dollars. Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded for council approval for a previously approved expenditure to Lane Enterprises in the corrected amount of $7052. Ayes all Acceptance of Streets for Snowplowing Only (02-013) Commissioner McTygue announced the acceptance of the following streets in the Villages at Saratoga for snowplowing only: Thoroughbred Drive, Furlong Street, Horseshoe Drive. Approval 2002 Sewer Budget (02-014) Commissioner McTygue said that he is requesting approval for the 2002 Sewer Budget. He said that they were late with this approval because they were waiting to see if the County Supervisors adopted the new County sewer budget. He said that this represents a 38% increase over last year’s charges. He said that when the 2002 Sewer Budget was prepared, they took $169,000 out of the contingency account in sewer to help defray the increase to City residents. He said that the increase would only be 24% as a result of applying the contingency. He said that on the minimum quarterly bill, the difference is $9.40, which is from $38.80 in 2001 to $48.20 in 2002. He said that on the average bill per quarter the difference is $16.45 and per year, the average annual bill would increase by $65.80. Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded for ratification of the 2002 Sewer Budget as previously approved by memo. Commissioner McTygue said that the increase is because of the increase presented to the City in the bill by the County Sewer District. He said that it is a substantial increase and the City objected to it, and the City’s County Supervisors voted against it. Commissioner McTygue said that there is a possibility of turning the collection of the County Sewer bills over to the County for them go through the process that the City has always done. He said that they have given all the data related to the process and the data related to the pumping stations to the County Sewer District requesting them to take over the maintenance and operation of the pumping stations in the City. He said that they are presently getting cost information from Finance and Assessment information from Accounts and when all the data has been assembled and analyzed, the results on the cost differences to the residents will be presented to the City Council with a recommendation. Ayes all Page 6 of 7 City Council Meeting Minutes January 2, 2002 PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT First Night Commissioner Curley commended everyone involved on a fun, smooth-running First Night celebration. He said that on the news people from many areas commented that Saratoga Springs First Night was a great event to attend because it was a safe place to be. He said that the community received nice publicity on the event and that it was great to see people wanting to come to this City. He said that there were only two arrests all night and the traffic situation was smooth and it was a safe evening. Mayor Klotz said that the event is a good example of people and organizations working together. Commissioner Lenz said that Saratoga Springs is the most popular First Night in the Northeast. Commissioner Curley said that since many throughout the State were cancelled, it serves as a tribute to moving forward and to what the community has to offer. Sidewalk Ordinance Commissioner Curley said that despite the lack of snow so far, he wants to remind the public of the Sidewalk Ordinance, which requires that sidewalks be cleared of ice and snow within twelve hours after the snowstorm. He said that sidewalks have to be maintained and the Department of Public Works has sand available if needed. Commissioner McTygue announced that the Assistant City Attorney said that the City now owns the property on Granite Street because the County waived the $70,000 in tax liens against the property. He said that the Department of Public Works wants to clean up the property and get Engineering to review it to determine if it can be renovated or if the City would be better off to build an affordable house on the lot, or simply sell the lot. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Thomas Curley moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to adjourn the meeting at 7:35 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Nancy Wagner Clerk Adopted: Page 7 of 7