City Council

CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2002 Present: Mayor Kenneth Klotz Commissioner of Finance, Michael Lenz Commissioner of Public Works, Thomas McTygue Commissioner of Accounts, Stephen Towne Absent: Commissioner of Public Safety, Thomas Curley Supervisor Phil Klein 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 Anthony Scirocco CALL TO ORDER Mayor Kenneth Klotz called the meeting to order at 7 pm. MAYOR'S DEPARTMENT Temporary Grading and Construction Easement – City National Bank (02-029) Mayor Klotz called upon City Attorney Jeff Wait who explained that council approval is being sought for a temporary construction easement in conjunction with Planning Board recommendations. He said the construction will take place behind the drink hall, near the old Friendly’s Restaurant. He said that there are upgrades and improvements being made to the site. He said that later, a right of way easement for City access will be requested, but tonight they are seeking approval for a construction easement for this strip of land. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded for council approval for a construction easement for the strip of land behind the Visitor’s Center/Drink Hall. Commissioner McTygue asked if there were plans submitted for review because he is concerned where the land is. Jeff Wait explained that the land is behind Broadway, between Hamilton Street and the walkway behind Freihoffer’s Thrift Shop. Commissioner Towne said that it is hard to comment and assess the impact of the easement on anyone without a map showing exactly where it is. City Attorney Wait said that tonight’s easement gives the construction company the right to go on the property to do the work – site improvements and upgrades. He said that it is implicit in the site plan review that the council has to approve an easement. Mayor Klotz said that when the City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 plans are in Engineering, he would like the City Engineer to let Commissioner Towne know so he could review those plans. Ayes all Set Public Hearing: Interlaken Special District Tony Izzo explained that this local law would create an emergency powers special assessment district for certain properties at the Interlaken Development. He said that there are about 120 property owners in this development, which consists of three sections. He said this type of district is established for the purpose of carrying on services intended to benefit the safety or convenience of the residents and to provide procedures for emergency situations. He said that this is an emergency power special district, so a local law is needed and it must be in its final form and distributed to each council member seven days before the public hearing and vote. The public hearing is set for Tuesday, February 19, 6:30 pm. Environmental Determination for Purchase of Ramsdill Property (02-030) Mayor Klotz said that in order to receive reimbursement from the State for a grant that assisted the City with the purchase of the Ramsdill property on Crescent Avenue, the council needs to formally issue a determination of environmental significance pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) regulations. He said that a copy of the environmental assessment form has been provided to each Council member. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to issue a negative declaration of environmental significance for the purchase of the Ramsdill property. City Planner Geoff Bornemann explained that this is a technicality. The SEQR Review was overlooked when the purchased was enacted last year. He said that the City needs to get reimbursement but cannot until the SEQR is completed and approved. He said that he assumes that transfer of property is not resulting in any negative impacts. In response to a question from Commissioner Towne, Geoff Bornemann said that the lack of the SEQR is due to an oversight. He explained that a negative declaration means that there is no problem with the transaction. He said that State law says that if land is transferred, a SEQR must be done. He said that this is necessary to get back $137,000 from the State. Ayes all Appointments Mayor Klotz announced the appointment of James Totino to the Community Development Block Grant Advisory Committee. Commissioner Towne asked if, when City Council materials are distributed to him, they could include who the Mayor was appointing and to what. Mayor Klotz said he normally announces these at the meeting but he could try to furnish the information with the council agenda. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Approval of January 15, 2002 City Council Minutes Commissioner Lenz said that there was a correction that was needed on page 7 of the minutes, which included the insertion of a dollar sign and a correction of the referenced speaker to Commissioner Curley. Commissioner Lenz also pointed out that an error was made in the presentation of a motion under the Public Works agenda item, “Request for Transfer from Landfill Page 2 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 Closure”. The line was edited to read that the funds transferred were “to cover the cost of the testing and the attorney fees.” Commissioner Stephen E. Towne moved and Commissioner Michael Lenz seconded to approve the minutes of the January 15, 2002 city Council meeting as amended. Ayes all Commissioner Towne said in reference to taking and approving the minutes that there has been a pattern of various individuals contacting the Secretary with minor edits. He said that from now on he would like the edits brought up at the table. Mayor Klotz said he has taken such adjustments as friendly amendments. Commissioner Towne said that they are not to be changed until they come to the table, because something as minute as a verb or punctuation change could alter the meaning of the statement. Commissioner Lenz said that regarding the December 18 minutes, a draft was distributed and the minutes were adopted on January 2nd. Subsequent to that meeting, the Deputy Mayor asked for a line to be removed from the minutes and although the line was there erroneously, it cannot be removed, no changes can be made to minutes once they are approved. He said that no individual can supersede an action, it has to be changed at the table. He said in this case the sentence was not on the tape and although the mistake should be corrected, it will have to be done formally at the next council meeting. Appointment: Commissioner of Deeds Commissioner Stephen E. Towne announced the appointment of the following individuals as Commissioner of Deeds with a term of two years: Sandra Arpei, John Carey, Joseph Carey, Kevin Johnson, Scott Johnson, John Kelly, Dan Noeker, Sean O’Leary, Michael Rayburn, Gregory Santos, Anthony Strauss, and Glen Vidnansky. He said they are all employees of the Saratoga Springs Police Department. Mayor Klotz asked if Commissioner Towne would furnish him with the list of his appointments prior to the council meeting, and Commissioner Towne indicated that he would. Ratification of Previous Approval by Memo: SARA Grant Application (02-031) Commissioner Stephen Towne said that this item concerns a last minute grant application that was written to solve a recently discovered problem. He said that he does not want to circulate memos as a common practice, but decided to do so in light of the fact that the deadline for submission of the application was immediate and prior to the city Council meeting. Commissioner Stephen E. Towne moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded for the ratification of the approval by memo to authorize the Mayor to sign a State Archives and Records Management grant application in the amount of $4,094 for shelving, boxes and a temporary part time inventory clerk for an inactive records management project in the Police Garage Record Room. Commissioner Towne complimented the Records Retention Coordinator, Nancy Wagner on the work that is done regarding the City’s Record Management Program. Commissioner Towne explained that the new charter severely restricts the City Council’s ability to do things by memo, so the council should monitor the situation and get in practice and be alert to the pending change. He said that there has been past practice and that there will be timing issues, deadlines, and Page 3 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 although the new charter does provide for emergency situations, the council should exercise restraint in resorting to approvals by memo. Ayes all Approval of Lewis & Greer Retainer Agreement Commissioner Towne said that he sought to remove this item from the agenda this morning but was told that in compliance with the Open Meetings Law, once the agenda was published in the paper, it could only be changed at the table. He said that on the 18th of December there were three different agendas issued, one of them was issued after 4 PM. He said he thought that the refusal to let him pull an item was arbitrary since there has been a pattern of things being done differently. He said that he would like to know when an agenda is set and final and when are people able to sign up to speak. He said that these “deadlines” should be formalized. Mayor Klotz said that we should all be following the same rules and he was unaware until now that this had happened and that he is going to look into the situation. Insurance Discussion Commissioner Towne said that he has previously mentioned the difficulty when stepping into office in getting up to speed on issues, on the budget and on matters of concern to the City Council and on issues within his own department. He said that he had one opportunity to sit with then Commissioner Mirling on December 26. He said that his preparation for this position has been a rather difficult exercise. He said that he received a copy of his budget within the first few weeks and what became apparent was that there was a significant issue regarding the biggest line item in his budget. He said that he is now compelled to go out and do a re-proposal process on property, casualty and liability insurance. He said that fortunately the City has been serviced by an agency, Marshall and Sterling, and they have done a good job. He outlined his department’s budget process of last fall and said that on October 2, 2001, the two resident insurance “experts” in his department, Jack Perry and Cindy May wrote a memo to Commissioner Mirling indicating that the $330,000 insurance costs of 2001 was estimated to be increased by 50% to $495,000 for 2002, broken down into a 25% increase in premium due to a continuation of high losses and claims the City has had, and another 25% increase in terms of insurance companies off-loading the costs of liability from the September 11 issue. He said that Commissioner Mirling refused to agree with this figure, but eventually agreed to a 25% increase, for a figure of approximately $415,000 which was the figure Commissioner Lenz used in his proposed budget which was ultimately voted down by the council. Commissioner Towne said that a budget proposed by the Mayor and passed by the council increased his insurance premium liability line by only one percent. He said that Mayor Klotz had claimed that there is a $79,000 savings in liability insurance under the Accounts Department budget that he believed possible. Commissioner Towne said that he could find no basis for this amount. He said that this money was subsequently taken out of the insurance line and now he is probably facing close to a one hundred thousand-dollar shortfall in his budget. He said he has no flexibility in his budget so he must either go out for proposals and do everything in his power to minimize that gap or come to the table and ask for $100,000 from surplus. He said that there are risks in going out for proposals but he does not have a budget large enough to negotiate line items, Page 4 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 so he has approached brokers, and received feedback that the City could count on a thirty percent increase in liability insurance. Mayor Klotz said that the budget process is very complicated and there was a great deal of discussion regarding insurance costs. He said that it is always possible that projections are wrong, and that he does not micromanage other people’s departments. He said he took the judgement of the insurance expert giving out the information in good faith. He said that the amount of liability insurance spent in 2001 was substantially more than in 2000. Heated discussion followed about applying appropriate common sense to possible increases in insurance due to loss runs and September 11. Commissioner Towne said he is stuck in a difficult spot. Mayor Klotz pointed out that Commissioner Lenz’s projection for medical insurance expense was not accurate. Commissioner Towne said that this issue has been placed in his lap because of the budgeting process of the Mayor. Commissioner Lenz said that the budget process was lengthy this year that included lengthy workshops and meetings and the night of the council vote on the budget, his budget was defeated and the Mayor proposed a different budget at the table. He said that the budget ultimately proposed and adopted has some significant flaws and shortfalls. He said that they were assured by the Broker of Record of some savings that have yet to materialize. He said that his department is about $150,000 below what it needs as a bare bones budget. He said that he would be willing to try to analyze the budget and project potential utilization of the surplus. He says that he has difficulty with a situation where a budget is passed and cannot be adhered to so the surplus is tapped sporadically. He said that in the last two years, the City has gone through a significant amount of un-appropriated surplus so a more comprehensive approach of dealing with these issues needs to be taken. Mayor Klotz said he objects to the budget process being described as the Mayor’s process because it is a City process. Commissioner Lenz said that as the Commissioner of Finance he is the chairman of the budget process. He said that it would have been helpful to him, when changes to the budget are going to be made, that they be presented to the Finance Office with enough time so that they can address the impact of the proposed changes on City operations. Commissioner Towne said that there is no basis for the amount of $79,000 articulated by the Mayor during the budget process as the amount that could be saved from the liability insurance line. Commissioner Lenz explained that there are some surplus utilization needs that are going to arise and the question is whether the council wants to address those needs one at a time as they arise or comprehensively. He said that if the council understands how much of a shortfall they are looking at, it might help them make intelligent decisions in the future concerning surplus utilization. He said that two years running the City has gone through $500,000 in unbudgeted surplus each year. Commissioner McTygue said that the budget that Commissioner Lenz proposed included substantial cuts and it did not seem that the departments would be able to get through the year with those cuts. He said that subsequently they put together a different budget that they thought was more feasible and that budget was adopted. He said that substantial budgets have been proposed annually for the last four years, and yet there has been a substantial amount of surplus each one of those years. He said that Commissioner Towne has been given a budget and although it does not Page 5 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 seem to be ample, he has to run his department and it is his responsibility to move ahead and do the job for the people of this community. He said that this type of shortfall happens to every Commissioner that comes into office. Commissioner Towne explained that he is not asking for money from the surplus; he is letting the council know that he is requesting proposals in an attempt to save money on the insurance costs. Commissioner McTygue suggested that the proposals be done as sealed bids and with a set bid opening. Commissioner Towne said that there are numerous steps to the process, and he is relying on those individuals in his department who are more familiar with the process than he is. He said he is trying to be open in procedures such as with his comments about the minutes and about approvals by memo. He said he would respond back to Commissioner McTygue after he becomes more familiar with the process. Commissioner Lenz said that he has never stated that there is no surplus, he only stated that he wanted a moratorium on capital spending at one point because the City had, at that time, reached its debt limit. Heated discussion followed between Commissioner Lenz and Commissioner McTygue disputing the accuracy of some of each other’s statements. Mayor Klotz said that his alternative budget that the council passed on November 20 was based upon the budget that Commissioner Lenz prepared. He said that he does not know how much was left in contingency and whether Commissioner Towne could be spared going through the bid process by using the contingency fund, which was unchanged. Commissioner Lenz said that the budget he proposed had the $300,000 increase in health insurance in it and it also included the amount of money, the 25% increase that Commissioner Mirling originally requested and it had in it the Finance Office budget funded to a bare bones status. He said that now there are holes that are going to have to be plugged and he does not like the idea of going to contingency this early in the year. He said that this in and of itself is not the solution. Mayor Klotz said that the budget is always in the constant state of change and no one knows what to expect in the next ten months. He said that there are mechanisms for handling the budget in the fiscal year without panicking in the first month. Commissioner Towne reiterated the budget situation that led to the shortfall in the insurance line item. He said representatives from Marshall and Sterling blanched when he told them the amount of money that was budgeted in the insurance line for 2002. Commissioner McTygue said that when we find out the exact number for insurance cost, the council is going to have to deal with it. Commissioner Towne said that he is going out for proposals in an attempt to manage the situation to minimize that number. Special Election costs – Discussion and Vote (02-032) Commissioner Towne said that at the time the budget was put together, through no fault of anyone, it was not anticipated that there would be a need for a Special Election, and it was not budgeted for. There is going to be one on February 12 to elect a new representative to the Assembly. He said that he has no wiggle room in his budget to fund the cost of holding the election. He said that he would like to request that the City Council approve the transfer of funds from contingency for an amount not to exceed $18,000 for costs associated with the Special Election. He expects the numbers to be slightly less, and will include about $13,000 for election inspectors, about $2,000 for machine custodians and other miscellaneous costs. Commissioner Stephen E. Towne moved and Commissioner Michael Lenz seconded for council approval of the transfer of funds for Page 6 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 an amount not to exceed $18,000 for costs associated with running the Special Election February 12. Commissioner Towne said that this is an unanticipated and therefore unbudgeted item. Mayor Klotz said that he is going to support this request because the City, and particularly the Department of Accounts has to run the Special Election. He said that he would like to introduce into the record an editorial from the Saratogian dated November 28, 2001 which refers to the public expense of a politically motivated Special Election and he would like to note that we now know the exact amount of this election which the City has to bear and he said that he doesn’t see a lot of complaints about it. Ayes all Commissioner Towne said that he wanted to inform the City council about the two new voting machines that were approved at the December 19, 2000 City Council meeting. He said that the trail of conversations between the company and the Accounts office included half a dozen phone conversations seeking a signed contract, looking for payment and for the department to take possession of the machines, which was not done and now conveniently falls under his watch. He said that the amount is a little over $12,000 and in addition there are costs associated with maintaining these machines of around $5,700. He said that he is not asking for anything at this time, and they are still trying to work out the details of the situation. He said that the new machines will not be used for this election. He said that the process they are going through right now is one in which it is planned to take tentative delivery of the machines later this month. He said that the County Board of Elections must attend a State Machine Certification class, which has to happen within 72 hours of receipt of the machines, and between February and later in the summer, the machine custodians and Election Inspectors will be trained to use the new electronic machines. He said that in October all voters in the districts where the electronic machines are placed must be notified by mail at least ten days before the election where electronic voting machines are going to be used. He said they are also anticipating having a voter education day in the district where the machines will be deployed where the voters will have an opportunity to come in and get familiar with them. He said that they would plan then to have the machines in use for the November 5 election. He said that this is the timetable for an item approved fifteen months ago. State of the City - Discussion Commissioner Towne said that he wanted to compliment the Mayor on having the State of the City address. He said that he wants to be on record as requesting that the next State of the City meeting be a collaborative presentation of the by the whole City Council since the City is not yet in a strong mayoral form of government. He said that the perspective that the Mayor brings and his sense of agenda items and his priority of those items might be different from the others at the council table, and as long as each council member has an equal say in the items that help advance the City, the voters ought to be afforded an opportunity to hear these different perspectives. Page 7 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 Commissioner Towne said he is looking for a collaborative effort, not one of discord, but some frank opportunities to talk about issues the council may see from a different viewpoint. He said he is aware that it is in the City Charter, and he believes that having a State of the City process conducted by the Mayor alone may have some precedents. He said his comments would be the same regardless of the party affiliation of the Mayor in office. He also said that since the council makes decisions as a group, it would be useful to paint the picture of where the City is headed the following year in as much of a group as possible. He said that he would like to have this subject brought up at the end of this calendar year for further discussion. Mayor Klotz said that the current Charter allows and encourages Commissioners and the Mayor to submit quarterly and annual reports about their department and there is a mechanism in place for the Commissioners and Mayor to express their opinion at the council table, to make their views heard. He said that there has been precedent set by previous Mayors conducting such an address. He said that the current Charter describes the Mayor as having oversight over all City departments, so he has been simultaneously been following in the tradition of this City within the framework of the current charter, and moving forward in anticipation of the new Charter in 2004. He said that he thinks that the new Charter allows any council member plenty of latitude to report on the operation of their department and express their opinions. Commissioner Towne said that he does not want to have five meetings, but rather have the council make a full group presentation. Commissioner McTygue said that it would be difficult to pull the council together and that he sat through many State of The City addresses and has always had the opportunity to come to the council table to express his views as he sees fit. Commissioner Lenz said that he thinks it is a difficult proposition but he admires the fact that Commissioner Towne has presented this idea to the council as something they might want to strive toward. He said that as a group the five individuals sitting at the council table have the best interest of the City at heart and if there is a way they could present something as a group, they should make the effort to do so. Award of Bid: Printed Poly Bags (02-033) Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, Commissioner Stephen E. Towne moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to award the SPEC 2002-01 bid for printed Poly bags to All American Poly at $111.55 per thousand – the lowest bidder meeting specifications. Ayes all Award of Bid: Street Trees (02-034) Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, Commissioner Stephen E. Towne moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to award the bid Spec 2002-02 for street trees to Northern Nurseries, Inc. at various prices as stated in the bid. They were the lowest bidder meeting specifications. Ayes all Page 8 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 Taxi Cab Committee: Update Commissioner Towne reported that Deputy Commissioner Deborah Harper held a meeting with the taxi cab owners and then polled the taxi committee to see if they wanted to return for a meeting. The taxi committee met with the owners, Deputy Commissioner Harper, and the Assistant City Attorney on Thursday January 24. He explained that although some things were accomplished, other issues remain to be resolved. A subsequent meeting has been scheduled for February 14 at 1:30 in City Council Chambers. He said that this will hopefully be the last meeting, and then the revised proposal could be presented for a public hearing and brought before the council for a vote in March. Purchasing Guidelines Update Commissioner Towne said that there have been many meetings held between Deputy Harper and the various individuals involved with purchasing for their departments. He said that once there is a final document, Karen Slayton’s job will be to enforce the guidelines, and if anything occurs that is not included or is outside of the guidelines, he will deal with and attempt to resolve that situation FINANCE DEPARTMENT Approve Payrolls Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen E. Towne seconded to approve the payroll for 01/18/02 in the amount of $ 331,613.50, for 01/25/02 in the amount of $476,544.53, and for 01/01/02 in the amount of $314,364.25. Ayes all Approve Warrants Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to approve the following warrants: 5DEC01 – Warrant 2 – General Fund $ 251,143.34 City Center Authority 21,347.57 Water Fund $ 16,272.57 Sewer Fund 986.65 Capital Projects Fund 15,984.16 Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development 12,884.22 Total Warrant $ 318,618.51 Ayes all Page 9 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 1FEB02– WARRANT 2 - General Fund $ 346,139.11 City Center Authority 7,454.67 Water Fund 18,217.86 Sewer Fund 6,581.04 Capital Project 54,684.85 Special Assessment District 200.00 Trust Fund 9,950.00 Debt Service -0- Community Development 11,267.00 Total Warrant $ 454,494.53 Ayes all MC011702– WARRANT 2 General Fund $ 247.92 City Center Authority -0- Water Fund -0- Sewer Fund -0- Capital Project 675.00 Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development -0- Total Warrant $ 922.92 Ayes all MC010123 – WARRANT 2 - 3 General Fund $ 27,316.39 City Center Authority -0- Water Fund 668.86 Sewer Fund 646.98 Capital Project -0- Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development -0- Total Warrant $ 28,632.23 Ayes all MC011702– WARRANT 2-4 General Fund $ 40,020.63 City Center Authority 10,463.37 Water Fund 2,147.03 Page 10 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 Sewer Fund -0- Capital Project -0- Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development -0- Total Warrant $ 52,631.03 Ayes all MC010130 – WARRANT 2-3 General Fund $ 17,031.35 City Center Authority -0- Water Fund 4,858.54 Sewer Fund 930.22 Capital Project -0- Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development -0- Total Warrant $ 22,820.11 Ayes all MC020130 – WARRANT 2-4 General Fund $ 1,649.67 City Center Authority -0- Water Fund 292.78 Sewer Fund 134.37 Capital Project -0- Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service 4,884.57 Community Development -0- Total Warrant $ 6,961.39 Ayes all MC020102– WARRANT 2 General Fund $ 2,108.00 City Center Authority -0- Water Fund -0- Sewer Fund -0- Capital Project -0- Special Assessment District -0- Trust Fund -0- Page 11 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 Debt Service -0- Community Development -0- Total Warrant $ 2,108.00 Ayes all Commissioner Lenz explained that these warrants are lengthy and there are so many because they apply to both the 2001 and the 2002 budgets and there were three weeks between council meetings so there were a number of mini warrants to be issued. Approve Budget Amendments (02-035) Commissioner Lenz said that he wished to do this in two separate motions because there is one amendment that he is not voting for and he does not want to have to vote against all amendments in order to vote against the one he is not going to support. He said there are twenty amendments on the list that was distributed, two amendments for each transaction, and he would like to remove amendments five and six and vote on them separately. Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen E. Towne seconded to seek council approval for amendments 1 through 4 and 7 through 20 as distributed. Commissioner Lenz referred to page one of the budget amendments, amendments 5 and 6 related to the zoning consultant, and said he was now seeking approval for all of the amendments except 5 and 6. Mayor Klotz said this is an unprecedented separation of budget amendments. Ayes all Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to approve budget amendments 5 and 6 as distributed. Mayor Klotz said he wonders what the implications will be of the City having approved a signed contract and having committed to a particular expenditure and then not funding it, if that were the council decision. Commissioner Lenz said that he would probably refer it to the Accounts Commissioner although he believes it is related to the Purchasing Guidelines that until a source of funding is secured, the City does not pay for the service. He said he is not arguing that the City not secure a source, he said he is not going to support the source that is being presented, which is to take the money from the surplus. Mayor Klotz responded to a question from Commissioner McTygue that the zoning consultant has signed a contract and the work has begun. Commissioner McTygue expressed concerned that there might be lawsuit regarding late or no payment and Mayor Klotz expressed concern about the impact on the City's credit rating. Commissioner Towne said he was not part of the council regarding the engagement of the consultant but his recollection is that it was a phase one expenditure. Mayor Klotz explained that the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee looked at what needed to be done and had put out to bid the job it had in mind and some of the bids came through very high, anticipating a level of detail that the committee had not initially envisioned. He said that they decided to take the most important things that needed to be done and sign a contract to do that piece with the understanding that those might be enough but that the council would have the opportunity to say yes or no to any proposed additional expenditure. Page 12 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 Commissioner Lenz said that in 2001, the Comprehensive Plan was passed with the under-standing that there would be a zoning ordinance review committee established to implement the changes to the Comprehensive Plan. He said that the council did not approve the 2002 budget until the third week of November and there were requests for proposals for the Zoning Consultant prepared and sent out September 24 and due back October 16th . He said that a range of cost figures presented for the service was from around $40,000 to $200,000. He said that at one of budget workshops there was a question regarding an increase in the professional services line in the Mayor’s budget and the response from City Planner Geoff Bornemann was that it is a proposal by the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee to contract services for a consultant to rewrite the zoning ordinance and that this money was intended for that purpose. Commissioner Lenz said that unfortunately when the budget was approved, the Mayor had removed the additional $40,000 from the professional services line and had not put any money of any kind into his budget in anticipation of what was very clearly a cost that the City was going to have to incur in 2002. He said that on November 29th , Michael Welti, the chairman of the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee had sent a letter to Mayor Klotz in which he stated that he understood that there was appropriate funding for the contract in the 2002 operating budget. Commissioner Lenz said that it is one thing if there are unanticipated needs that arise such as the Special Election, to go to the City’s surplus is understandable. He said that when there is a specific history prior to and throughout the budget process and specific knowledge received from different firms regarding the kind of money the City can expect to spend and money is actually appropriated and then removed, he has difficulty supporting the Mayor’s decision to take the money out of the City’s surplus. Commissioner Lenz said he believes that money should come out of the Mayor’s budget and he suspects that it will come from his budget if this council sees fit to do that. He said that the money was there, and if a good faith effort had been made to leave perhaps forty thousand dollars in and it was determined that the proposals were higher, then he would have supported tapping the surplus, but because all the money was removed even though it was known that it was needed, he cannot support the amendment to take the money from the surplus. Mayor Klotz said that when the proposal was made to sign the contract, he had explained to the council that the amount that had been anticipated and planned for was inadvertently omitted from the budget. He said that it was an expenditure that the City was fully committed to making, so he had made the point that it needed to be covered by some other source of funds. He said he is going to support the money coming from the surplus because it is an important move forward with the progress made by the Comprehensive Review Committee. Commissioner Towne said that although Commissioner Lenz is basing his position upon the concern for there not being a funding source, he is concerned with the issue of where the City is financially, so he will not vote in favor of this pending a forecast of expenses. He said he would like to see an assessment of the fund surplus including the results of this year and each council member’s forecast of what anticipated drains they see on the fund surplus prior to approving this. Page 13 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 Discussion followed on when the 2001 books would be closed, at which time the council would have a better idea of the fiscal situation and the potential impact on the surplus. Mayor Klotz said that the City Council needs to monitor the use of the fund balance. Mayor Klotz said that his concern is the message that the council is sending to the City when it agrees to contracts but does not fund them. Commissioner Lenz said that the source of funding for this particular contract needs to be addressed, but he is not supporting it because he does not agree with using the surplus as the source of funding. The vote was taken: Ayes: 2, Nays: 2 (Lenz, Towne) (Motion fails) Approve Budget Transfer Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen E. Towne seconded to approve the budget transfers as distributed. Ayes all Approve 2002 Tax Roll (02-036) Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen E Towne seconded to approve the 2002 tax roll as distributed: RESOLVED, that the City of Saratoga Springs, New York on this 5th day of February, 2002 at 7:00 PM adopt and confirm the 2002 Tax Roll carrying a levy on the inside district of $4,460,365.42. Levy on the Outside District of $3,890,666.61 for the City and $2,089,562.08 for the County: total Outside District levy of $5,980,228.69 making a total tax levy of $12,788,083.03 and that the Commissioner of Finance be authorized to collect such a levy computed at the following rates per one thousand dollars of Assessed valuation: INSIDE DISTRICT RATES CITY $5.8090 COUNTY $3.045686 OUTSIDE DISTRICT RATES CITY $5.6844 COUNTY $3.045686 FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York adopt and confirm the relevy of the 2001 Utility Tax in the amount of $280,701.01. FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York adopt and confirm the 2002 Saratoga Lake Special Improvement Tax for the Saratoga Lake Improvement District in the amount of $37,711.24. FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York adopt and confirm the 2002 Special Assessment Tax for the Saratoga Springs Special Assessment District in the amount of $62,944.53. FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York adopt and confirm the 2002 Knoll Spring Park Water Improvement Tax for the Saratoga Springs Knoll Spring Water Improvement District in the amount of $55,364.00. FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York adopt and confirm the 2002 West Avenue Special District Tax for the Saratoga Springs West Ave. Special District in the amount of $46,113.27. FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York adopt and confirm the 2001 omitted tax for the Telergy Network Services, Inc. The City tax amount is $3,175.60 and $1,702.34 for the County making a total of $4,877.94. Page 14 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 Commissioner Lenz explained that the process is redundant in that each year the City approves the tax rate, then approves the budget, and then they are obligated by the charter to now approve the tax roll. He said that an interesting, odd addition is that the last paragraph in the resolution refers to the fact that since New York State omitted the 2001 tax for Telergy Network Services, Inc. they have requested that the City levy that tax in 2002. Deputy Finance Commissioner Christine Gillmett-Brown explained that it is a City tax of a business that operates in the City, similar to Niagara Mohawk or ATT where a portion of a tax should have been passed along by New York State to be levied by local governments. She said that the New York State Office of Real Property Services was supposed to have told the local assessment offices to have this tax included on their roll in 2001 and they did not do it, so now both the 2001 and the 2002 tax are being levied in 2002. Commissioner Towne asked about the term relevy referring to the 2001 Utility tax included in the resolution. Christine Gillmett-Brown explained that the relevy of utility tax refers to unpaid 2001 water and sewer bills. She said that the City must relevy the unpaid bills onto the property tax bills and then if they remain unpaid, the City will have a right to foreclose on those properties due to a failure to pay the water and sewer bill. She said that the water and sewer bills are sent out quarterly and any one of those 2001 bills that remain unpaid at the end of the year are then re- levied onto the 2002 property tax bill. Ayes all PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Request City Council Meeting Set for February 21, 2002 to Receive a Presentation of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) Commissioner McTygue said he sent around a memo requesting to set up a Special meeting of the City Council for Thursday February 21, 2002 at 7:00 pm in the Music Hall for the presentation of the City’s draft environmental impact statement. He said he is also requesting a public workshop meeting for Thursday February 28, 2002 at 6:00 pm in the City Council Chambers for the council to discuss the DEIS as it was presented on the 21st . He said that this would give the council members an opportunity to ask questions in reference to the DEIS of the Engineering firm and attorneys working on it. He said that notices are being sent out to all potentially interested parties regarding the Special City Council meeting. Commissioner McTygue explained that the meeting on the 21st was for the material to be presented to the council members in preparation for them to review it and then a week later be prepared to come to the workshop to discuss it and ask questions. Commissioner McTygue said that this process is being done because the council is eventually going to be in the position where it has to accept this. Approve Change Order from County Contract (02-037) Commissioner McTygue said that last year his department purchased a tractor and mower off the county contract. He said that installation was not included in the purchase. Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded for council approval to pay this invoice to Riberdy Diesel Service of Waterford in the amount of $1,985.68 for the installation of the mower on the tractor. He said that the money is in the 2001 budget for this. Ayes all Page 15 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 Re-classify DPW Position Previously Done By Memo (02-038) Commissioner McTygue said that previously a reclassification of a position in his department was done by memo. He said that the reason it was done by memo was that if they had waited until the City Council meeting, the employee involved would have lost a day’s pay, so upon the suggestion of the Office Civil Service, they did the reclassification by memo. Commissioner McTygue said that he is appointing Joette Delaney to the position of Senior Clerk off the Civil Service List at a Grade 6, Step one of the salary schedule effective last Monday, January 28, 2002. He said that in his memo he had requested that the position in DPW of Account Clerk Typist be changed to that of Senior Clerk, which was the exam she had taken and passed., so she is being appointed to a permanent position. He said he had received all five memos for this so the employee did not lose a day’s pay in reference to this. Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded for ratification of approval by memo to reclassify the DPW position of Account Clerk Typist to that of Senior Clerk effective Monday January 28, 2002. Ayes all Discussion – Abandoned Houses In City Commissioner McTygue called upon City Code Inspector Dan Cogan regarding the asbestos abatement on 195 Division Street, an abandoned property. Dan Cogan said that the contractor failed to do the abatement because he thought that he would not get paid, but Dan arranged for payment to be made, and collected the check himself. He said that according to the contractor the abatement has been completed, but a testing agency will verify that asbestos has been abated prior to issuing the payment. He said that Jackson Demolition Company has been given approval for the demolition and removal of the property to be done sometime between February 18 and 22, and they will also fill in the lot. He said that he mailed the demolition permit application to Jackson Demolition to avert any further delay in the process. Dan Cogan said that the process of removing these abandoned buildings is a slow one but the Code Inspectors are determined to see that the removals are accomplished. Commissioner McTygue said that the City did not delay the process, it was more of a delay caused by the people involved with the property. Referring to the Granite Street property, Dan Cogan said that there has been a contract signed with the testing company to see how much asbestos is on that property, but they are waiting for a few legal matters to be settled before going ahead with the testing. Commissioner McTygue said that his idea of the City building an affordable house on the lot of 49 Granite Street and selling it to a qualified buyer does not seem to be legally feasible. He said that the City could do the demolition on the property and once clean up is done, they are going to bring the parcel to public auction. Commissioner Lenz said that he anticipates holding an auction this spring. City Attorney Jeff Wait said that there is a small problem with the title, and he has been talking with the attorney representing the estate. He said that he has been led to believe that the executor of the estate will sign the necessary deed, which would clear the title, within the next week or two. He said he would stay on top of the situation. Page 16 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 Discussion - Water Commissioner McTygue said that this discussion is in regards to an article that appeared in the local papers on February 1, “Water Authority Eyes River for New Source”. He said that in the article Supervisor Roy McDonald said that if he is elected to the State Assembly next month he would make it a priority to get Saratoga County drinking water from the upper Hudson. Commissioner McTygue said that this is interesting, especially since it is before our City’s presentation in reference to the firms we hired for water for the City of Saratoga Springs. He said that the article reported McDonald as saying that the problem was solved ten years ago. Commissioner McTygue said he wanted to point out that ten years ago nothing was stopping the County from going ahead with that project outside of the fact that it was a Republican-controlled City Council, and the City residents petitioned against the County Water Authority taking over the use of the City’s water plant, and the City Council supported that and refused to let the water authority take over. He said that there was nothing done by anyone in the City of Saratoga Springs preventing the county Water Authority from proceeding with their proposed project, but as of to date, the County Water Authority has not done anything about getting water from the Hudson. He said that the County Water Authority is trying to update their plan that was initiated in 1995, and are $350,000 in debt. He said he also understands that they are taking the reserve funds from the Interlaken Water Service that they have taken over. Mayor Klotz said that the past history indicates bipartisan approach to the approach the City’s Public Works Department has taken to deal with the City’s water needs. Discussion – Storm Commissioner McTygue said that this last storm was very unusual in that there was a lot of rain that was freezing when it hit the ground. He said that the traffic broke the ice up nicely on the main streets, but the secondary areas would ice up right over the sand and salt. He said that wants to commend the employees of the DPW for their efforts. He said he would like to see a little more cooperation regarding residents moving their cars so that the streets could be cleared. He said because these cars were not moved with in forty eight hours after the storm, there are ruts and clogged drains and the DPW has to bring out front loaders to remove the ice ruts along the curb lane to allow the water to drain off the streets. Discussion – 128 Grand Avenue Commissioner Thomas McTygue called upon Janine Farmer to speak with the City Council in reference to assistance needed on 128 Grand Avenue. Janine Farmer said that she applied for a State grant for the rehabilitation of 128 Grand Avenue for apartments for low-income seniors and they learned in November that the application was denied. She said that they had already purchased the building with Community Development Block Grant money and money from Evergreen Bank. She said that State grant program representatives explained that there were no points scored for rents because the rents were too high. She explained that they need to get $40,000 out of that mortgage to reduce those rents to fall below 50% of the median income. She said that they are trying to raise the forty thousand dollars, and are taking commitments from sources as this time because the application is due March 11. She said there is a commitment from weatherization through EOC to provide $16,000 worth of furnace for this project. She said she has Page 17 of 18 City Council Minutes February 5, 2002 asked Commissioner McTygue if his department could contribute the grading and paving of the driveway. Commissioner McTygue said that the total estimated figure is $10,900 for site preparation, installed asphalt and gravel, two trees including planting, sidewalk and sod installation. Janine Farmer said that with this help and the help committed so far from other sources, she will be able to reduce her budget, and subsequently be able to reduce the rents even more. Mayor Klotz said that this is a good project and it is good to make a second attempt at getting the grant application awarded. Commissioner Lenz said that this approach to this project is commendable, especially since they could have simply come and asked for money and instead they did their research, exhausted their options and requested an in-kind service rather than have the City cut a check.. Janine Farmer said that if the council did not support this project, she would have to pay $20,000 to get the work done elsewhere. She said that the work would not need to be completed until some time in 2003, so she would need only a commitment letter now to submit with her grant application. Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to approve the cost of the site work and preparation for the driveway and parking spaces and the sod at 128 Grand Avenue. Commissioner McTygue said that the costs should be around $8,050 since the sidewalk installation costs are coming from Community Development block grant funds. Ayes all Set Public Hearing: Name “Israel Lane” Commissioner McTygue said that he had requested that this item be placed on his agenda because street naming and acceptances comes through the Department of Public Works. He said that he has not had an opportunity to discuss this with the developer of the site because they are requesting the City to accept a new alleyway. He said he is pulling the item so he has time to review it and contact the developer for further discussion. PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT Nothing was presented on the agenda ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Stephen E. Towne moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded for adjournment. Ayes all The meeting was adjourned at 9:14 pm. Respectfully submitted, Adopted: Nancy Wagner Clerk Page 18 of 18