City Council

CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY COUNCIL ROOM TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2004 2:00 P.M. PRESENT: Commissioner Thomas Curley, DPS Michael Lenz, Mayor Commissioner Matthew McCabe, Finance Commissioner Thomas McTygue, DPW Commissioner Stephen E. Towne, Accounts CALL TO ORDER Mayor Michael Lenz called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. PUBLIC COMMENTS Bob Cleary, 127 Van Dam Street, requested that the Council place the Saratoga Springs School District and Seven Wells Street Realty Corporation Zoning Amendment Petition on the next Council agenda. Mayor Michael Lenz said that once the advisory opinion from the Planning Board is received in the Accounts Department, the item would be placed on the next available agenda. Commissioner Stephen Towne said he anticipated it being placed on the April 20 Council agenda. Peter Looker, Jefferson Street, said there should be some water incentives offered by rewarding those who conserve. He estimated the City could save up to 20 percent through incentives. He said Clifton Park has had a 22 percent increase in users but their water usage has remained steady because of incentives. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said that he would look into that matter, however, Clifton Park bills differently than the City. He said Clifton Park residents pay $68.35 for the same amount of water that City residents get for $20.98. He said that the City has undertaken water saving measures. He also pointed out that the sewer bills are based on the water that flows through the homeowners’ sewer, therefore, the less water used, the less the sewer bill. He said the City has been working with the larger industries on water conservation measures and for example Skidmore is now changing their shower heads. MAYOR=S OFFICE No items. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Energy Renewal Contract Commissioner Stephen Towne said it was that time of year to renew the electricity contract with NYSEG. He said NYSEG has provided a two year contract with a projected $9,000 savings. He said, though, that there needs to be verification of 57 accounts. He said NYSEG will provide more detailed information on those accounts so that they can be verified. He said Salerni & Boyd also recommend that the City enter into this contract. Gene Salerni said the savings are based on credits of kilowatt hour usage. He said that over the last two years, the City has saved $20,000. He the City locked into a 7 cents per hour and the current rate is about 8 cents, so the City was saving more than anticipated. He said they are watching over these accounts. Page 1 of 6 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Thursday, April 8, 2004 Commissioner Thomas Curley asked about payments to Salerni & Boyd. Gene Salerni said the supplier pays a commission to the Chamber and they are then paid by the Chamber. Commissioner Matthew McCabe asked about the locations and verification of the 57 accounts. He also asked about an energy savings audit. Commissioner Stephen Towne said he would be sure that the accounts are verified. Gene Salerni said there are companies that conduct energy saving audits and if the City is interested, they could recommend some. Mayor Michael Lenz said that perhaps this should be discussed. Commissioner Stephen Towne moved and Mayor Michael Lenz seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the contract with NYSEG for two years contingent upon review by the City’s Risk Manager and verification of the 57 accounts. Ayes all. Knights of Columbus Contract Commissioner Stephen Towne said that at the April 6 Council meeting a motion was passed to authorize the Mayor to sign the contract with the Knights of Columbus for the use of their facility for the revaluation conference. He said since that time, there has been a slight modification to paragraph three of the contract in connection with insurance requirements. Therefore, Commissioner Stephen Towne moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the amended contract with the Knights of Columbus. Ayes all. FINANCE OFFICE No items. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Sale of Sprayer Commissioner Thomas McTygue said that he had two quotes from interested buyers for the sprayer. He said he would like to sell to the high bidder. Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to sell the sprayer to Stan Hunt for $2,500. Ayes all. Water Line Repairs Commissioner Thomas McTygue said he would like to bring back to the Council an amendment for the maintenance of the water service lines from the main to the shutoff near the curbs. He said that during the winter there are leaks and it is difficult to get plumbers to make the repairs in a timely fashion. He said there were 11 emergency repairs last year but there had been as many as 35. He said that plumbers are so busy that they cannot get to these repairs. He said that DPW could do it more quickly. Commissioner Thomas McTygue proposed that a fee of a $3 per quarter for a total of $12 per year per homeowner be added to the water bill. He said those fees would cover the cost for repair or replacement from the main to the curb shut off. He said this money would be used for repairs only and not for new construction. He said these are usually older homes and it is often difficult for the older residents to be able to afford to make these kinds of repairs. He said it is difficult during the winter months when the water line leaks freeze on the street. He said that the plumbers are just too busy to get in there quickly and make the repairs. He said he would bring this back to the Council for adoption. Commissioner Thomas Curley said since this was brought to the Council before and there were concerns Page 2 of 6 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Thursday, April 8, 2004 expressed, DPW should talk to the plumbers before bringing this back. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said he would have an informational meeting with the plumbers. Bill McTygue said that generally most homeowners don’t realize that even though the pipe may be in the street, it is the responsibility of the homeowner. He said that also needs to be clarified in the ordinance. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said a letter would be drafted and sent to the plumbers on this matter. Water & Sewer Rates (04-074) Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Matthew McCabe seconded to approve the water & sewer resolution and rates as presented (Attachment A). Commissioner Thomas McTygue said there was no change from last year. Commissioner Stephen Towne said this item was brought before the Council at the last meeting. He said this was an important issue raised by constituents during the most recent election. He said that constituents were concerned about the water rates, minimum usage, sliding scale, etc. Commissioner Stephen Towne asked how many of the Council members knew what was the conversion rate between cubic feet and gallons. He said the public would not know that information. He said he was not sure of the calculations but by looking at the water rate of $2.79 per thousand gallons about 15,000 gallons per quarter, equates to 60,000 gallons per year. He said the average homeowner uses 72,000 gallons per year. He said the first 60,000 would be charged at $2.79. He said homeonwers never get out of the trap of the minimum rate because it is billed by quarter. He said there are homeowners who have contacted him about the minimum rates. Commissioner Thomas McTygue asked what was Commissioner Stephen Towne’s point. Commissioner Stephen Towne said that usage over and above the 60,000 gallons the rate goes down to $1.38 for the next 12,000. It comes out that the average homeowners is paying $2.56 per thousand gallons of water. He said the average homeowner does not understand this calculations. He said he believed that the residential users were subsidizing the commercial users. He said that when usage exceed 2 million gallons the rate drops to 42 cents. He said he was concerned with the $20.90 down to $10.30 rate and should it be scaled differently. He said that the average homeowner is stuck with the $2.79. Commissioner Stephen Towne said his first question was why the City uses cubic feet rather than gallons and secondly should the minimum rate be scaled back. He said that if the larger users pay more they may be more inclined to institute water conservation measures. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said this has been before the Council before. He said the City has the sixth lowest rate in the state. He said if Commissioner Stephen Towne had another proposal he should bring it before the Council. He said that of all the minimum rates in the tri city area the City has the lowest rate. He said the Town of Wilton pays five times what the City residents pay. Commissioner Stephen Towne asked if they were paying $13,000 or $14,000. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said they pay $100 per quarter. He said that Clifton Park pays about $68 per quarter. He said the City is the lowest rate. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said the minimum charge is not just for water, it’s for administration, meter readers, maintenance on 1,700 meters, fire hydrants, and maintenance of water treatment plant and maintenance on 170 miles of lines. He said Clifton Park pays $15 separately for those fixed items. He said when he first took office, the City was not metered and everyone was charged a flat rate. He said that DPW has been fair in keeping the costs down. He said once the problem of water source is solved then Commissioner Stephen Towne should bring forth his proposal. He said he is willing to look at proposals that are brought forth. He also noted that if a lot of water is used by homeowners, their sewer bill goes up. Page 3 of 6 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Thursday, April 8, 2004 Commissioner Stephen Towne asked about the rates of the surrounding towns. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said that in Clifton Park the rate is $68.00 for 15,000 gallons. Commissioner Stephen Towne said DPW has worked hard on managing the water situation. He said his question was why it calculated in cubic feet rather than gallons. Bill McTygue said that since the Council adopted universal metering, cubic feet has been used. He said that it could become more confusing to ask the billing department to make the conversion. He said it’s not unlike many other municipalities. Commissioner Stephen Towne said that it is more common to calculate in gallons. Commissioner Stephen Towne said that if the average homeowner was asked about the calculations for water usage, it was unlikely that they understand the calculations. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said they probably wonder the same thing about their reassessment information. Commissioner Stephen Towne said the point was that it had been stated that majority of the residents pay $1.34 per thousand gallons and he did not believe that was correct. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said there have not been people coming into his office complaining about the process or their bills. He said the average user bill is about $35.00. Commissioner Stephen town asked what percentage of the taxpayers is at the minimum amount. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said 54 percent in January were billed $20.90. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said that Commissioner Stephen Towne is focusing on the cost of the water which is not correct. He said the cost includes all of the previously mentioned items such as administrative costs, maintenance, 1,700 fire hydrants, 170 miles of pipes, billing process, meter readers, electricity. He said that all of the costs are calculated into the bills. He said that all of these years this system has not run in the red. He said the increase last year was three percent and that was the first increase in water rates since 1995. He said that sewer bills are based on water usage. He said in 1983 the minimum sewer charge was $17.00 today it is at $48.20. He said that in 1998 it was $34.00 and now up it is up to $48.20. He said savings should be looked at for sewer bills. Commissioner Stephen Towne said he had two points. He asked what would it take to convert the City’s system to gallons rather than cubic fee. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said that it would cost thousands of dollars to change all of the meters in the City. Bill McTygue said a notation could be added to the bills on the cubic feet calculations. Commissioner Stephen Towne clarified that it was cost prohibitive to change the meters. Bill McTygue agreed. Commissioner Stephen Towne clarified that 54 percent of the homeowners were paying the minimum charge. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said it depends on the time of year. Commissioner Stephen Towne said that about half of the users pay the minimum. He said residents with minimum usage believe that they are disproportionately paying more. He suggested that the rate scale be changed so that the minimum level be reduced. He said half of the population is being charged at the highest level by twice as much. He said he would like a lower minimum charge if that is the only charge that they are paying. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said Commissioner Stephen Towne should bring that request before the Council. Commissioner Stephen Towne said he would not do those calculations. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said after the after source problem is solved, he would look at this again. He said that Commissioner Stephen Towne should bring this forward his proposals, if he has any. Commissioner Stephen Towne said he received this information late and there was not time to talk to Commissioner Thomas McTygue. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said this has not changed from last year. He said he did not believe this would be an issue because the rates did not change. He said that if Commissioner Stephen Towne had received all of these complaints from the public then Commissioner Stephen Towne should have come down to his office to discuss this matter. Commissioner Stephen Towne said this was brought up during the elections. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said the major complaint should be with the sewer bills. Commissioner Stephen Towne said the complaints he has received are from residents who believe they are being charged at the higher minimum level rate. He proposed that Commissioner Thomas McTygue find a way to lower the rates. He said he was not comfortable in approving this resolution tonight. He said, though, that he appreciated adding the note to the bills on the cubic feet calculations. He said half of the population is subject to a higher rate and those costs should be redistributed. Bill McTygue said there are fixed costs in delivering the water, whether you are using a 100 gallons or a Page 4 of 6 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Thursday, April 8, 2004 100,000 gallons. He said there is a fixed cost to deliver the service. He said those fixed costs are included in the $20.90. He said because the City is the sixth lowest average price per user, that in itself shows that the City is doing well. Commissioner Stephen Towne said he would like see a copy of those statistics. Commissioner Matthew McCabe suggested that this move forward at this time and be more thoroughly discussed the next time it is brought forward. Commissioner Thomas McTygue agreed. He said that Commissioner Stephen Towne should bring forward his proposals also. Lynn Zorn, DPW Employee, from the audience, said the minimum calculations are based on 2,000 cubic feet not 1,000 cubic feet. Commissioner Thomas Curley said there were issues that could not be solved today and this resolution needed to be adopted. He agreed with Commissioner Matthew McCabe that this be moved forward. Mayor Michael Lenz said he appreciate the concept of larger users paying more and the smaller users paying less. He said the reality of this situation is that the concept should be fleshed out but the details cannot be fleshed out today. He said the discussion should continue between Commissioner Stephen Towne and Commissioner Thomas McTygue. He said the issue today was to adopt this resolution so that the bills could go out. Commissioner Thomas McTygue moved and Commissioner Matthew McCabe seconded to adopt the water rates and sewer rates as presented (Attachment A). He noted there was not increase from last year. Commissioner Stephen Towne said he would support the motion due to the time constraints. Ayes all. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY No items. SUPERVISORS No items. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Thomas Curley moved and Commissioner Matthew McCabe seconded to adjourn the meeting at 3:15 p.m. Ayes all. There being no further business, Mayor Michael Lenz adjourned the meeting at 3:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kathy Moran Clerk Approved: Page 5 of 6 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Thursday, April 8, 2004 Page 6 of 6