City Council

CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY COUNCIL ROOM TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2003 7:00 P.M. PRESENT : Commissioner Thomas Curley, DPS Commissioner Michael Lenz, Finance Kenneth Klotz, Mayor Commissioner Thomas McTygue, DPW Commissioner Stephen E. Towne, Accounts ALSO PRESENT: Anthony Scirocco, Supervisor Phil Klein, Supervisor STAFF PRESENT : Bruce Brown, Deputy Commissioner, DPW Erin Dreyer, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Christine Gillmett-Browne, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Deborah Harper, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Hank Kuczynski, Deputy Mayor (arrived 8:00 p.m.) Jeff Wait, City Attorney (arrived 7:15 p.m.) SARATOGA HOSPITAL PUD B PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Kenneth Klotz said this was a public hearing on a petition submitted by the Saratoga Hospital to amend the Saratoga Hospital Medical/Professional PUD at 211 Church Street. He said the required advisory opinion from the City Planning Board was on file. He noted that the Planning Board made a number of revisions to the original proposal and they have issued a favorable advisory opinion on those revisions. He said on October 14, 2003, the petitioner submitted a set of minor amendments that deleted any reference to a new heliport on the roof of the main hospital building and those amendments have been incorporated in the final draft ordinance that was distributed to the Council yesterday by the City Attorney. He said the required proof of notice to nearby by property owners has been submitted. Appearing before the Council was Matthew Jones & Stephanie Feradino, attorneys, representing the applicant; Steve Everest; John Dawes, CT Male; Ken Wurston, Creighton Manning; and Steve Frenchak, Saratoga Hospital. Matthew Jones showed a power point presentation of this project. He reminded Council members that in July, he appeared before the Council with an overview of the project. He explained that areas B, C, D, & E are the parking lot and area A being the hospital. He said that the focus of tonight=s presentation was Zone A. He said there are two proposed major undertakings in Zone A, the radiation unit and patient care addition to the northwest corner. He said, though, that there had been some minor changes to Zones B, C, D & E. He said those changes include additional parking and a five percent change in building space. Matthew Jones said the project originally proposed in July is different from what was before the Council this evening. He explained that the applicant now proposes the possibility of doubling the size of the radiation therapy center from 9,000 to 18,000 square feet by adding a second floor. He said another change to this proposal was the traffic flow. He said they are now proposing to widen Corey Lane from 15 feet to 40 feet and along Medical Arts Lane they will donate some land to the City to correct the traffic flow concerns in that area. He said there will also be some allowances for Dr. Byrne=s parcel. He explained that some of Dr. Byrne=s parking is in the public right of way and they will be sure that Dr. Byrne is not disadvantaged in any way through this project. Matthew Jones said if this project is approved this evening, they will return to the Planning Board on November 5, the Design Review Commission on November 6 and then onto the Department of Health on November 20. Matthew Jones said the second part of this proposal was the patient care addition on the northwest corner. He said originally the building was a rectangular building, but since meeting with the neighbors, the Planning Board and the City=s Real Estate Committee, the shape of the building has been changed to square and is Page 1 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 21, 2003 now 80 feet from the northerly boundary line and 10 feet from Myrtle Street. He said they have not yet developed the design of the building. He noted that the ambulance entrance will be located on Myrtle Street and they have also agreed to maintain the mature vegetation between the hospital and the neighbors. He said they will also do many other things to minimize the noise, lighting and other negative environmental impacts to the neighbors in this area. Matthew Jones summarized the changes noting that the parking along the boundary line near the Golf & Polo Club had been removed and more parking for staff has been added, Corey Lane will be widened, Medical Arts Lane pavement will be corrected, Byrne=s needs will be met and they will work with DPW to run a storm drainage system to connect to a manhole in Woodland Court. He said if all goes well, they planned to start the site work in December and they hoped to have the radiation therapy center operating by spring. Matthew Jones said they have also removed the heliport site from the top of the patient care addition, therefore, that was not an item for discussion this evening. He said that the addition of the heliport will require further study. Matthew Jones said the addition of the patient care addition is sorely needed. He said the Emergency Department can comfortably accommodate 22,000 patients per year, but they exceed 30,000. He said this will also allow for the expansion of the ICU and allows for three floors of new patient rooms. He said through this expansion, the hospital would be able to meet the needs of the community. Mayor Kenneth Klotz asked about the timetable for this addition. Matthew Jones said it would be between one and two years before site plan review took place. He said, though, that as the demand for beds and emergency services increases, the timetable will continue to move up. Mayor Kenneth Klotz clarified that the radiation therapy center and the patient care addition were independent of one another. Matthew Jones said yes. He said they both need separate approvals from the Department of Health. Mayor Kenneth Klotz opened the public hearing. Kathleen Hamill, Vice President & Chief Nurse, said she oversees patient care on a day to day basis. She said because of the growth on patient population, they have had to hold patients in waiting rooms and postpone elective surgeries. She said this is a very important project that will add more beds and also provides for more privacy for patients. She also noted that the radiation therapy center will also assist patients so that they do not have to travel 45 minutes for treatment. Dr. Timothy Brooks, Emergency Room director, said he has been in this community for more than 16 years. He said when he first arrived at the Emergency Department staff saw about 24,000 patients each year, but that number has now increased to about 34,000. He said the hospital has only 16 spots available in the Emergency Department for patients, therefore, although it was unfortunate, the hallway is often used to accommodate patients. He said they are hindered by the physical plant and the additional space will allow for privacy and also allows for different options for patients. He said the radiation therapy center is also needed so that patients do not need to travel so far for treatment. Cynthia Giordano, Myrtle Street & Woodland Court, said while she supported this application there are impacts to the value of their homes. She said drainage is difficult in this area and it needed to be addressed in detail. Sal Ferlazzo, attorney representing the neighbors, said he had been working with City staff and the applicants= attorneys on this matter. He said the neighbors were glad to see that the heliport had been removed from this proposal. He said the neighbors are not opposed to this proposal, but wanted to be sure that it went through the proper SEQR process. He said they were concerned that the SEQR process had not been followed. Sal Ferlazzo explained that under this zoning, this was a type one action which presumes that an EIS is required. He said there are significant impacts to the neighbors. He said if the SEQR standards are reduced for this project, the Council would need to follow suit on other projects. He pointed out that this is a five-story building and it impacts the neighbors. He said the impacts include, traffic, noise, property values and drainage and quality of life. He said there have been no studies on the visual impact, drainage or traffic. He said they were Page 2 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 21, 2003 also concerned with hazardous materials. He said they were also very concerned that there was some segmentation and that the hospital will bring back the heliport. He then quoted from previous case law on segmentation findings. Sal Ferlazzo said the Council should be going through the environmental process and encouraged the Council to do so. Lew Benton, Planning Board Chair, said the Planning Board worked with all interested parties and crafted changes to the proposal to accommodate the concerns. He said the only change to the proposal since the Planning Board forwarded their favorable advisory opinion was the removal of the heliport. He said one of the more important recommendations of the Planning Board was the establishment of a capital reserve fund that would be used for traffic mitigation. He said they encouraged the Council to channel any fees that the hospital might incur under future applications to be used for traffic related issues. He reminded Council members that at every phase of this project there will be review by the Planning Board and in some cases the Design Review Commission as well. He said the Planning Board has the authority to halt subsequent phases if adequate infrastructure is not in place. He said at each phase of the project there will be negotiation. He noted that the Planning Board had the foot print of the patient care addition reconfigured to accommodate neighbors concerns. Lew Benton said that while the Planning Board is an involved agency, it is the Council is the lead agency on this project. He reminded Council members that the Planning Board recently dealt with the segmentation matter on another project and the case was dismissed. He said a Type I SEQR does not compel a DEIS. He said that what is required is that the applicant complete part one the Council make a determination under part two and the impact and mitigation are identified under part three, if necessary. He said the Planning Board was comfortable that the process had been adhered to. He said the City Council has not violated any SEQR procedures because the Council has not taken any action on this application. Deane Pfeil, 340 Broadway, member of the Saratoga Care Foundation Board, said the hospital adds to the community. She said it was especially nice that residents do not need to travel 45 minutes to get to an emergency room. She said many of the physicians are board certified and they contribute to the health of the community through their excellent medical services provides. She also noted that the hospital is one of the largest employers in the area. She too agreed that the Emergency Department is seeing more patients each year. She said the outpatient services for 2002 were at 188,000 and the hospital is now constructing an ambulatory surgery center in Wilton to assist them in that area. She said they operate close to capacity nearly every day. She urged the Council to approve this application. Joanne Avella, Seward Street, said she supported this application and noted that she was a former hospital board member. She said though that she was concerned with the widening of Corey Lane and the impact it would have on her neighborhood. She said Seward Street already has a lot of traffic and this would only increase that amount. She said she supported the project but hoped the Council would consider the impact to the surrounding neighbors. Anna Alpern, 14 Woodland Court, said she was concerned about the traffic in this area. She said she was also concerned that the heliport proposal would be brought back sooner rather than later. She said the hospital should agree to the neighbors request that it not be brought back for at least five years. Wayne Harrision, 8 Medial Arts Lane, said Medical Arts Lane should remain a City street. He said they need to have access for postal services, plowing, etc. Alice Smith, Woodland Court, said while the hospital expansion is needed, it should be studied carefully. She said she was concerned about the details of the project such as the drainage and traffic. She said she did not believe enough study had been done in those areas. Doug Dockendorf, 48 Myrtle Street, agreed there are a lot of issues that have not yet been addressed. He said the neighbors should be made to feel comfortable with the project. He said he supported the project, but wanted to see studies completed. Page 3 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 21, 2003 There being no one else wishing to speak, Mayor Kenneth Klotz closed the public hearing. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Kenneth Klotz called the meeting to order at 7:45 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD Major General Mike VanPatten said he was here this evening with Bob Iovenella from the Saratoga Glen Water Company. He said they were here this evening to offer some history on their company to let the Council know that this could be a possible water source alternative. He said in 1993, they were interested in obtaining water at the southern end of Saratoga Lake and dug some wells. He said they have since expanded the wells and the lines to run from Cold Spring Road along Route 9P to Route 423 to the Town of Saratoga line and Stillwater. He said they have the ability to pump 900,000 gallons per day from wells that are only 250 feet deep. He said the water comes from the Colonie aquifer, is very pristine and requires only a small amount of chlorine. He said they propose that their excess capacity could be used by the City. He said there could be a public/private venture to extend the waterline to the City and they were willing to discuss this option with the City. David Bronner, 5 Court Street, said he appreciated this opportunity to speak about the City=s proposed budget. He encouraged the Council to keep the tax increase low and noted that last year it was at 8 percent. He said last year the Council had a split vote with Mayor Kenneth Klotz and Commissioner Thomas McTygue voting against the budget. He said they were in favor of higher property taxes. He encouraged the Council to act responsibly this year and enact a responsible budget that will limit the increase. David Bronner, 5 Royal Henley Court, said that on another note the charter should be changed to clearly state that elected officials should be legal and actual residents of the City. He said the an actual resident is a person who actually resides in the City on a day to day basis. He said by taking an action such as this, it would ensure that elected officials actually live in the City. He said it could be argued that there is an elected official serving today who does not live in the City. David Bronner said he was also concerned with free speech and privacy matters. He said it was unfortunate that recently a council member, on a public radio show, gave David Bronner=s name and further stated that the Council member=s attorney would be calling David Bronner. He said this was clearly a sophomoric attempt by Commissioner Thomas McTygue to intimidate him and others into silence. He said there had been newspaper articles, without mentioning his name, and it was unclear to him how Commissioner Thomas McTygue could clearly state his name on the public airwaves without knowing for sure that he was the source. He said he will not be intimidated but was concerned that other residents might be. He said he had written three letters to Commissioner Thomas McTygue on this matter and has yet to get a reply. William Conley said he recently got a letter from DPW stating that if the County water plan is adopted by the City, the rates for residents will go up five times. He asked how that number was determined. He also asked if the protection of the entire Saratoga Lake watershed had been included in the DEIS and who would pay for that protection. He said it was an important number that was missing from the DEIS. He said he wanted to know what that would cost as well as how much it would cost to defend law suits from adopting the lake option. He said it was clear to him that because Commissioner Thomas McTygue had put Aall of his eggs into one basket@ that when this lake alternative was not adopted, the City would have spent a half a million dollars and have nothing to show for it. Bob Iovenella, Saratoga Glen Water Company, distributed a copy of their proposal to the Council. There being no one else wishing to speak, Mayor Kenneth Klotz closed the public comment period. Page 4 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 21, 2003 ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Saratoga Hospital PUD (03-165) Commissioner Stephen Towne asked Jeff Wait, City Attorney, to respond to some of the issues raised by the neighbors= attorney. Jeff Wait said he had not heard all of the comments because of his late arrival, therefore, it was not appropriate for him to respond. He said he did hear Lew Benton=s remarks and spoke to Geoff Bornemann, City Planner, and it was their opinion that the requirements which trigger a DEIS were not sufficient and he concurred. Geoff Bornemann clarified that this is not a Type I action because it is 25 acres but because it is adjacent to the historic district. He also noted that a negative SEQR determination has previously been issued by the Council. He said the negative SEQR was issued with an environmental process and not a DEIS. He further explained that the Council must first establish the lead agency and then that will allow the Council to evaluate the environmental assessment work included in the Council=s packet. He said it was the Council=s choice, however, he did not believe that there was anything in the application that was so large that it could not be mitigated. He said if the Council chooses to require a DEIS, the document must be modified because those factors had not been listed. He said just because it is a Type I process does not automatically mean that it needs to go to a DEIS. He said there has been some visual and traffic analysis and those documents exist as part of the record for this project. Commissioner Michael Lenz asked if Council action tonight would violate the SEQR process. Geoff Bornemann said it was up to the Council to determine if the packet was complete. Commissioner Stephen Towne said that pursuant to the Council=s request of July 16, the City Planning Board reviewed the proposed zoning amendments to the Saratoga Hospital Medical/Professional Planned Unit Development District. He said the Planning Board reviewed the proposal at their July 23, September 10 and September 17 meetings and as a result of that process they have revised the text and map of the proposed amendments. Those meetings produced several changes to the PUD ordinance as follows: a) several amendments were designed and intended to reduce negative sensory and physical impact on Woodland Court and encourages a more urban design of the patient care addition; b)the changes also recognize potential traffic generating characteristics of several of the improvements to be made and suggested a strategy for advancing traffic improvements. He said these changes include the establishment of a capital reserve fund to be used exclusively to finance necessary traffic improvements on the Church Street corridor. He said at the Planning Board=s September 10 meeting they voted 7-0 to defer lead agency status for this project to the City Council. He said at the Planning Board=s September 17 meeting they voted 7-0 to issue a favorable advisory opinion on the revised proposed amendment for the following reasons: 1. The proposal meets the intent and objective of the PUD as expressed in Article 240-3.5: a) It meets all the general requirements of Article 240-3.5 b) The proposal is conceptually sound in that it meets a community need and it conforms to acceptable design principles in the proposed functional roadway system, land use configuration, open space system, drainage system and scale of the elements, both absolutely and to one another. 2. There are adequate services and utilities available or proposed to be made available in the construction of the development. Therefore, Commissioner Stephen Towne moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded that the Council: 1. Establish itself as the lead agent for the SEQR environmental review because no other involved agencies have challenged this request; 2. Declare that Part II of the SEQR long environmental assessment form has been reviewed and is deemed accurate and complete; 3. Issue a negative declaration of environmental significance because the analysis of the information provided and presented in Part II of the environmental assessment form Page 5 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 21, 2003 demonstrates that these amendments will not result in any large and important impacts and, therefore, is one that will not have a significant impact on the environment; and 4. Adopt the proposed amendments to the PUD as presented. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said that clearly the hospital had made a great effort to work with the neighbors and a number of those issues have been resolved. He said for further explanation though on the heliport issue. Matt Jones said there had been some discussion that the hospital not bring this matter back before the Council for five years from the time the building is completed. He said the applicant views this matter differently, though, in that the heliport may never come to fruition. He said there is also the matter that approach to the heliport from the southeast could be better. He said the applicant was willing to work with the neighbors on this time frame. Sal Ferlazzo said on behalf of the neighbors they were willing to compromise at four years. He said they were looking for some comfort level. Matthew Jones said it would be good if the applicant could say that this matter had been resolved and that the neighbors were content, but that was not the case. Sal Ferlazzo said he reserves the right on behalf of the neighbors to look at their legal options on this matter. He said they were comfortable with many of the other issues such as traffic and drainage and they wanted the same comfort level for the heliport. Commissioner Michael Lenz clarified that if the Council adopts this proposal this evening, the applicant would return to the Planning Board for further review of such details. Matthew Jones agreed and further noted that they would also appear before the Design Review Commission. Commissioner Stephen Towne said that it was important to note that there is a public benefit to this project. He urged a continued dialogue among all interested parties. He agreed that all of these details need to be looked at under the site plan review process. Mayor Kenneth Klotz asked Jeff Wait if a Type I action requires a full DEIS. Jeff Wait said it does not require a full DEIS. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said the Council could determine that there are environmental impacts but they could be mitigated in ways that do not require a full study. Jeff Wait agreed. Mayor Kenneth Klotz said the Planning Board has recommended that the Council issue a negative SEQR. Jeff Wait said that approval of the motion would be appropriate and he was comfortable with the Council proceeding in this matter. Ayes all. MAYOR =S OFFICE Land Acquisition Consultant Mayor Kenneth Klotz said this item appeared on his agenda two weeks ago and he withdrew it for further review. He asked Jeff Olson to comment. Jeff Olson explained that he had met with Commissioner Stephen Towne to address his concerns. He said they have since reviewed the package and are now ready to proceed. He said he understood that there were two other interested firms wishing an opportunity to review this proposal. He said he talked to both of those firms today and asked them to give him a proposal with a fee structure but he did not receive anything. Therefore, they are ready to proceed. He said there is some concern that if the committee does not take action soon, these parcels may no longer be available. He said there was already one parcel that was under contract. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to accept the recommendations of the Land Acquisition Committee for the hiring John Behan Associates as consultants on this matter under the terms and conditions as presented . Page 6 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 21, 2003 Commissioner Stephen Towne said he had circulated a memo today on this matter along with the e-mails received from the two interested firms. He said in his memo he asked that this matter be removed from tonight=s agenda. Therefore, Commissioner Stephen Towne moved and Commissioner Michael Lenz seconded to table this item. Ayes: three (Commissioner Stephen Towne, Michael Lenz and Thomas Curley); Nays: two (Commissioner Thomas McTygue and Mayor Kenneth Klotz). Motion carried. Executive Session Mayor Kenneth Klotz requested an executive session to discuss land acquisition matters. Council members agreed. Weibel Avenue/Gilbert Road Study Lou Schneider first thanked members of the committee including: Amy Durland, ZBA; Pat Kane, DRC, Thomas McTygue & Bruce Brown, DPW; Jim Cornick, Police Department; Tom Lewis, Stewart=s Shops; Bill Morris, W. J. Morris Excavating; Dave Junkins, CDTC; &John & Cynthia Behan and Jennifer Vigian, Behan Associates. He also thanked Brad Birge and Cindy Phillips, City staff. Lou Schneider said the comprehensive plan adopted in July 2001 stated that the City prepares a master plan for the Gilbert Road/Weibel Avenue intersection. He said a consult was retained to assist the City with preparation of land use plan for the area and a plan was developed with significant public participation address design standards, traffic mitigation, road realignment and mixed land uses. He said the study area seemed ambiguous, consisted of approximately 200 acres of largely undeveloped land east of I-87 between the Northway from exit 14 to exist 15. He said this study responded to the comments and concerns generated by citizens involved through this process. He said in January 2002 the City applied for and received $25,000 from CDTC and those funds were used to hire Behan Planning Associates. He said the committee requested that the Council approve a nine-month moratorium on construction and development on lands within the study to allow them time to complete their study. He said their committee held 19 meetings and three workshops includes a charette. Lou Schneider said after the workshops Behan Associates presented eight possible options. He said they reduced those options from eight to four. He said those four options include: 1. Open Space and Recreation Strategy: The committee found support for the idea of proactive open space with the condition that any recreation use maintains the desired rural character and maintains low impact traffic comparable to rural residential use. 2. Maintain the current RR-1 zoning: With no change in current zoning conservation subdivision regulations are in effect. 3. Create Lake Avenue Gateway overlay and allow minimal additional land uses by special use permit only to compliment existing RR-1 zoning: Existing zoning remains in place with the change of adding flexibility in allowed uses such as day care center, multiple family housing in addition to two family housing, senior housing and recreation business (indoor & outdoor). 4. Develop an incentive zoning program to achieve desired community amenities: That is enhanced conservation and development and pedestrian, bicyclist and transportation amenities. Lou Schneider said each option in the study states the concept, approaches and funding, and potential impacts such as comprehensive plan changes required, zoning changes required, open space amount provided, open space public access, fiscal impact on the City, costs borne by the City, traffic impact and potential traffic mitigation/improvements. He said that simple phased traffic improvements should be conducted to stay ahead of the regional traffic growth. He noted that a detailed traffic discussion is included in the report. Lou Schneider said that key public decisions should included: Page 7 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 21, 2003 Open Space Decision: He suggested that this initiative be advanced if the Council pursues open space protection in this study area by engaging land negotiations with willing and interested landowners. Zoning Decision: He said concurrent to the pursuit of the open space strategy, the Council should decide on amending the zoning either slightly for a few additional special permit uses, or for increased flexibility and potential for greater community amenities via an incentive zoning program. Lou Schneider said included in this report to the Council is a minority report from committee member Amy Durland. Lou Schneider said City in the Country Preservation Committee presented their plan for RR-1. He thanked them for their input. He said he believed that the RR-1 proposal compliments options 2&3 and should be presented as an independent report. Lou Schneider encouraged the Council to hold a public hearing on this report. Lynn Bachner presented a report from the City in the Country Land Protection Committee through a power point presentation. She said their mission and key issues were as follows: a) to uphold the current zoning of rural residential; b) plan for reasonable growth within the confines of the low density designation; c) address current traffic safety issues of the Lake Avenue, Weibel Avenue and Gilbert Road intersection; and d) to defend the downtown business district against the extension of retail and commercial office growth in the Acountry@ sector of the City. She displayed the existing intersection showing the existing conditions and then showed the intersection if it was aligned. She noted that if it was aligned, it eliminated dangerous crosscutting, slows traffic, reduces volume in areas where dense traffic was not intended and restored pedestrian/cyclist access. She said some simple, inexpensive traffic and gateway solutions included: reduce the five point intersection to four points; institute traffic calming measures; institute traffic reduction measures and beautify to create a signature gateway. Lynn Bachner said the Weibel Avenue/Gilbert Road area should be a beautiful place for people, bicyclists and automobiles by extending sidewalks to the Northway, off road bike trail that connects to existing trails, installation of pedestrian crossings with lights and an elevated pedestrian/bike overpass or underpass. She showed the potential bike and pedestrian routes. Lynn Bachner reviewed design elements for the Brusk property for two acre zoning with low density & low traffic impact uses with curb cuts, etc. She said the design elements of the Anderson property could include: two acre zoning, mapped wetlands, low density/low traffic impact uses, no curb cuts on Lake Avenue, clustered residential units and low density recreation. She said the design elements of the Morris property could include: two acre zoning, low density/low traffic impact uses, respect the predominate wetlands and straightening of Gilbert Road. She said the design elements of the Hall property could include low density/low impact recreational fields and respect the predominate wetlands and flood plains and stream corridors. Lynn Bachner said the RR-1 designation is a good designation for that area. She said there needs to be good reasoning for making a change to that zoning. She pointed out that whatever option the Council chooses, it effects not only the Weibel Avenue/Gilbert Road area, but other parcels throughout the City. She said this decision will define our City. Real Estate Committee (03-166) Jeff Wait said the hospital proposed to purchase North VanRensselaer Street. He said they did appear before the Real Estate Committee and the committee voted unanimously to sell the street to the hospital for $70,000. Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Michael Lenz seconded to approve the sale of North VanRensselaer Street to the hospital in the amount of $70,000 as recommended by the Real Estate Committee. Ayes all. Capital Budget Page 8 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 21, 2003 Mayor Kenneth Klotz said he distributed information on the capital budget requests. He said this is preliminary information he gathered and compiled. He said a committee would be appointed to review and prioritize the requests. He said a presentation would then be made at a budget workshop. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT City Council minutes B October 7, 2003 Commissioner Stephen Towne moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the October 7, 2003, meeting minutes. Ayes all. Award of Bid B Poly Bags Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, Commissioner Stephen Towne moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to award the bid for polyethylene bags to Central Poly Corporation for $142.00 per thousand (lowest bidder meeting specifications). This bid has been reviewed by the Purchasing Department and meets the City =s purchasing guidelines. Ayes all. Award of Bid B Decorative Asphalt Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, Commissioner Stephen Towne moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to award the bid for decorative asphalt to Hayes Paving for various prices (only bidder). This bid has been reviewed by the Purchasing Department and meets the City =s purchasing guidelines. Ayes all. Award of Bid B Use Vehicles Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Safety, Commissioner Stephen Towne moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to award the bid for the sale of used vehicles as follows: Item #1, $100.00 Grace Quality Cars, Morrisville, PA; Item #2, $3,052.00 Grace Quality Cars, Morrisville, PA; Item #3, $400 Grace Quality Cars Morrisville, PA; and Item #4 $121.27 Parillo Services, Hagaman. This bid has been reviewed by the Purchasing Department and meets the City =s Purchasing Guidelines. Ayes all. Extension of Bid B Automatic Fire Sprinkler Inspection & Systems Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, Commissioner Stephen Towne moved and Commissioner Thomas McTygue seconded to extend the bid for Sprinkler Systems Services with Automatic Fire Sprinkler Inspection until October 2004 under the same terms and conditions. This RFP has been reviewed by the Purchasing Department and meets the City =s Purchasing Guidelines. Ayes all. Donation from NYMIR Commissioner Stephen Towne moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to accept the donation from NYMIR in the amount of $150 which was used for the purchase of smoke alarms and fire extinguishers for the City of Saratoga Springs celebration of National Fire Prevention week. The smoke alarms and extinguishers were distributed to the community on Saturday, October 11, 2003. Ayes all. Hotel & Restaurant Ordinance Review Committee Commissioner Stephen Towne announced the formation of the Hotel & Food Establishment committee noting that meetings will begin next Monday, October 27. He said this committee will meet biweekly over the next few months to review this ordinance. Saratoga Hospital PUD Previously discussed. Page 9 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 21, 2003 FINANCE DEPARTMENT Payroll B Approval Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the following payrolls: October 10, 2003 -- $371,461.46 and October 17, 2003 -- $352,081.49. Ayes all. Warrants -- Approval Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen Towne seconded to approve the following warrants: 2OCT03- -- Warrant 2-27 General Fund $ 235,999.17 City Center Authority 7,082.41 Water Fund 28,102.50 Sewer Fund 16,857.27 Capital Project 47,611.28 Special Assessment District 224.50 West Avenue SAD -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development 11,696.56 $ 347,573.69 MC031015 B Warrant 2 - 10 General Fund $ 21,439.25 City Center Authority 9,975.99 Water Fund 7,920.39 Sewer Fund 1,153.10 Capital Project -0- Special Assessment District -0- West Avenue SAD -0- Trust Fund -0- Debt Service -0- Community Development 29.10 Ayes all. $ 40,517.83 Budget Transfers Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen Towne seconded to approve the budget transfers as presented (Attachment A). Ayes all. Budget Amendments Commissioner Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen Towne seconded to approve the budget amendments as presented (Attachment B). September 30, 2003 Financial Report Commissioner Michael Lenz distributed the September 30, financial report. He noted that the water and sewer budgets would be distributed shortly and budget workshops would be scheduled. Page 10 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 21, 2003 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Carousel Donation Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to approve the acceptance of a donation from Audry =s Art Ltd., in the amount of $1,010 for the carousel. Ayes all. Donate Trailer to Town of Greenfield (03-167) Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to approve the donation of an old trailer to the Town of Greenfield. He said it was a 1987 Peerless dumper trailer, 25 feet long. Ayes all. Water B Discussion Commissioner Thomas McTygue requested that the letter from Barton & Louguidice dated October 15, concerning their responses to the county=s plan be made part of the record (Attachment C) Commissioner Thomas McTygue said they had previously discussed the water options with Saratoga Glen and found they could not meet the City=s demands. He said the City would need to drill more than 100 wells to get the required amount of water from that aquifer. Bill McTygue, Director, Utilities, said he had previously discussed this option with Mr. VanPatten and he said that Mr. VanPatten acknowledged that they could not meet the City=s demand. He said all they could provide the City with was 1 mgpd when the City=s long range plan was for 11 mgpd. He said this option was reviewed and detailed in the DEIS. Decorate Street Signs Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to approve the standardization of the City =s decorative green Victorian street signs with Lakeshore Industries in Erie, PA. He also moved that the Council approve the purchase of approximately $6,000 worth of signs (29 signs plus caps). Ayes all. Woodlawn Avenue/Church Street Parking Structure RFP Commissioner Thomas McTygue said a draft RFP had been crafted for the Woodlawn Avenue/Church Street parking structure. He said he wanted Council approval to move forward with distribution of the RFP. Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to move forward on this matter. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said he wanted to send this RFP out and see what kind of interest would be generated. He noted that there had already been some survey and archaeological work done on this site. Commissioner Stephen Towne asked if there should be some priority given to locally based companies. Mayor Kenneth Klotz suggested that the Council reserve the right to think about that at a later time. Commissioner Michael Lenz asked to which firms this proposal would be sent. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said the City could publish this in the newspaper and it would be distributed through Commissioner Stephen Towne=s office. It was noted that the Council reserves the right to reject any or all of the proposals. Commissioner Thomas Curley said he wanted to be sure that there was still thought being given to making this structure more than two floors. Council members agreed. Ayes all. Page 11 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 21, 2003 Sanitary Sewer Agreement between City and Interlaken Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the renewal of the sanitary sewer agreement between the City and Interlaken Homeowners Association effective January 1, 2004. He said this will be for a two-year period and it is under the same terms and conditions. Ayes all. Campaign Signs Commissioner Thomas McTygue reminded Council members that campaign signs should be taken down within a day or two of the election. He also asked that those running for office to take care when taking down the signs to be sure that the metal poles also be removed. July 15 Council minutes B correction Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded that on page 15 of the July 15, 2003 minutes the phrase AMethane Energy Corporation @ be changed to AWehran Energy Corporation @. Ayes all. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY John Shaw Commissioner Thomas Curley reminded Council members that Police Officer John Shaw recently retired from the City. He said, though, that John Shaw has graciously volunteered to return to do volunteer work in connection with the child safety seat program and the neighborhood watch program. Therefore, Commissioner Thomas Curley appointed John Shaw as the Volunteer Community Service Coordinator to continue with the child safety seat program and the neighborhood watch program. Commissioner Thomas Curley said he was an asset to the City and brought forth much knowledge. SUPERVISORS Nothing at this time. EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Kenneth Klotz moved and Commissioner Michael Lenz seconded to adjourn to executive session at 9:00 p.m. Ayes all. Council members returned at 9:15 p.m. and reported that no action was taken . ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Thomas Curley moved and Mayor Kenneth Klotz seconded to adjourn the meeting at 9:15 p.m. Ayes all. There being no further business, Mayor Kenneth Klotz adjourned the meeting at 9:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kathy Moran Clerk Page 12 of 13 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 21, 2003 Approved: Page 13 of 13