City Council

CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY COUNCIL ROOM WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2005 9:00 A.M. PRESENT: Commissioner Thomas Curley, DPS (arrived 9:05 a.m.) Mayor Michael Lenz Commissioner Matthew McCabe, Finance Commissioner Thomas McTygue, DPW Commissioner Stephen E. Towne, Accounts ABSENT: Phil Klein, Supervisor Anthony Scirocco, Supervisor STAFF PRESENT: Lynn Bachner, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Frank Dudla, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Debbie Harper, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Matthew Dorsey, City Attorney CALL TO ORDER Mayor Michael Lenz called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. MAYOR=S DEPARTMENT Donations - Kayderosseras Creek Access/Driscoll Road Mayor Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen Towne seconded to accept the donation from Bonacio Construction, Inc., in the amount of $4,863.90 for in-kind services for the Kayderosseras Creek Access Project. Ayes all. Grant Funds from State for Kayderosseras Creek Access/Driscoll Road (05-168) Mayor Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen Towne seconded to accept $25,000 grant funds from Senator Bruno=s Office and $25,000 grant funds from Assemblyman Tedisco=s Office for the Kayderosseras Creek Access Project/Driscoll Road. Commissioner Thomas McTygue asked if the checks had been received. Mayor Michael Lenz said no, however, there were letters of commitment. Ayes all. (Commissioner Thomas Curley arrived at 9:05 a.m.) Waive of Bid B Kayderosseras Creek Access/Driscoll Road (05-169) Mayor Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen Towne seconded to waive the bid regarding the construction of the Kayderosseras Creek Access Project and authorize the Mayor to sign a contract with Bonacio Construction, Inc., for $50,000 for completion of that project. The proposed contract with Bonacio Construction has been approved by the City’s Risk & Safety Manager and City Attorney and was distributed to Council members. The certification of sufficient funds has been obtained from the Commissioner of Finance. This motion is contingent upon a budget amendment that will be voted on later during this meeting. Commissioner Stephen Towne noted that this is in compliance with the City’s purchasing policy. Page 1 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, August 10, 2005 Commissioner Thomas McTygue questioned that the funds were not actually in hand yet the certification of funds had been issued. He said there have been many problems recently with funding for projects causing great delays in the projects. Commissioner Matthew McCabe said this is similar to the interactive play fountains in that there are letters of intent for the funds. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said it had been made clear on several recent occasions that if the funds were not in hand that the projects cannot be approved. He said there are two standards being applied. Commissioner Matthew McCabe said the motion is contingent upon the budget amendment being approved later in this meeting. Commissioner Thomas McTygue asked if the policy now was that a letter of intent was sufficient. Commissioner Matthew McCabe said this does not center around the letter of intent. He said in the past not all of the paperwork had been in order. Commissioner Thomas McTygue disagreed saying that this is simply two different standards. Commissioner Thomas McTygue then asked if waive of bids were still permissible. Matthew Dorsey said the charter allows for waives of bids. He also noted that in the past there was a capital budget issue with some of the projects, which required public hearings, which in turn caused the delays. Commissioner Thomas McTygue asked why the City was managing this project when it really was a state project on state lands. He asked who would maintain this project and why was the state was not coordinating the project. Mayor Michael Lenz said the state had been involved with the development of the plans. He said this is a cooperative effort between the City and the State. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said maintenance would be an issue. He said the state is not maintaining what it has and wondered how they would take on something else. He said he did not want to see it come back to the City to maintain. Mayor Michael Lenz said the state would maintain the project. Commissioner Matthew McCabe clarified that the $50,000 was enough to cover the project. Mayor Michael Lenz said that the project will be completed for $50,000. Anything above that amount will be donated by Bonacio Construction. The Council passed a motion earlier that the donation amount would be $4,863.90. Commissioner Thomas McTygue again stated that this project should be handled by the State. Commissioner Stephen Towne said the City is acting as a conduit. There is no cost to the City for this project and the City will not maintain the area. Ayes all. Wayne Jones Contract Mayor Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Stephen Towne seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the contract with Wayne Jones contingent upon ensuring that all past rent money has been received. Matthew Dorsey said the contract had been distributed. He pointed out that there have been some difficulties in the past with insurance and other matters, therefore, there has been a clause added to the contract that the contract can be terminated with 30 days notice. There is a minor change to the contract under paragraph 12 that if Wayne Jones fails to maintain the proper insurance, it could result in the immediate termination of the contract. Commissioner Stephen Towne said the contract between the City and Wayne Jones has been problematic in the past in trying to collect his rent money and ensuring that the proper insurance is maintained. He said he would like the motion contingent upon ensuring that all past rent money had been received. Ayes all. Page 2 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, August 10, 2005 Recreation Department - Track Parking Fees Linda Terricola said the Recreation Commission had authorized her to request the Council to increase the track side parking fees at Wright and Jackson Streets on Sundays. The new proposed rate is $10 on Wright Street and $8 on Jackson Street. Commissioner Matthew McCabe said that the additional fees generated from this increase would be divided proportionately between the parking solutions fund and the recreation commission as previously agreed to. He noted that there would be no additional cost in labor. Linda Terricola agreed the funds above and beyond the cost of running the parking program would go to the parking solutions fund. Mayor Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Matthew McCabe seconded to approve he parking rates at Wright & Jackson Streets to $10 and $8 respectively. Ayes all. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Nothing at this time. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Budget Amendments Commissioner Matthew McCabe moved and Mayor Michael Lenz seconded to request approval of a 2005 Budget Amendment for the Kayderosseras Creek project. This amendment will bring into the 2005 Budget the $50,000 in revenue provided by Senator Bruno and Assemblyman Tedisco. It also provides that $50,000 will be expended (from a line item to be designated) on the completion of the Kayak/Canoe launch on the Kayderosseras Creek (near Driscoll Road). Ayes all. Parking Enforcement Officer Commissioner Thomas Curley moved and Commissioner Matthew McCabe seconded to accept funding of $1,280 from the Special Assessment District to cover the cost of funding an additional parking enforcement officer during the remainder of the season. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said he did not believe that this was a donation. He said that the SAD budget goes through the City and they fund many projects. Ayes all. Budget Amendment Commissioner Matthew McCabe moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to approve the budget amendment for $1,280 from the special assessment district to cover the cost of a parking enforcement officer. Ayes all. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Weed Harvester Commissioner Thomas McTygue reported that there was an incident with the weed harvester in that one of the Page 3 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, August 10, 2005 pontoons took on some water and the weed harvester tipped over. He said no one was injured. There was no leakage from the diesel tank, however, there was some minor leakage from the hydraulics. He said the Saratoga County Hazmat team, Maple Avenue Fire Department, DEC and DOH were all on site. The weed harvester was taken from the lake to the City garage. The minor leakage was cleaned up. He said it was an unfortunate incident, however, everyone responded appropriately and the operation went well. Marilyn Rivers noted that the loss will be covered by the insurance company including the boat, trailer and cleanup.. Water Level- Loughberry Lake & Volunteer reduction in water usage Commissioner Thomas McTygue reported that Loughberry Lake was down 18 1/2 inches. It is dropping by about an inch each day. He said they are asking for voluntary reduction in water usage by turning off the automatic sprinklers. He said the residents need to be a little more careful with their water usage. The City has been pumping from Bog Meadow. He said he would also be looking for some assistance from DPS on writing tickets for excess water usage if that becomes necessary. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Traffic Signal Preemption Equipment - Install, Operate & Maintain (05-170) Chief Robert Cogan said about a year and a half ago the City applied for a grant from FEMA for the traffic preemption system. He said this is a new digital system. The City has received permission from both the County and the State to begin work on this project. There were two contracts distributed to the Council from DOT concerning the terms and conditions of this project. The total cost of the project is between $260,000 and $270,000. The City is required to provide a 10 percent match. This project is for between 57 and 59 traffic lights throughout the City. It will allow the lights to turn in favor of the emergency vehicles when passing through the intersections. He said they would also be asking for a waive of bid because this is a sole source project. The breakdown of cost is about $140,000 for equipment and $130,000 for labor. Commissioner Thomas Curley said the 10 percent matching funds are within his budget. Commissioner Thomas Curley moved and Mayor Michael Lenz seconded to authorize the Mayor to enter into the agreement with DOT on this project. Commissioner Thomas McTygue asked what happened to the existing traffic signal preemption equipment. Commissioner Thomas Curley said this is a new digital system. Chief Robert Cogan said the old system is no longer working. It was cumbersome, subject to failures and eventually not maintained due to the cost. This is a new system with the latest technology. It will make the intersections safer. Commissioner Stephen Towne asked when the grant application was submitted. Chief Robert Cogan said he believed it was in submitted in April 2004. Commissioner Stephen Towne asked if the grant application was approved by the Council. Commissioner Thomas Curley said he believed it was. Commissioner Stephen Towne said if this was going to be a waive of bid, he wanted to see all of the material. He clarified that the 10 percent match was within the DPS budget. Commissioner Thomas Curley said yes. Commissioner Stephen Towne asked if both the Risk & Safety Manager and the City Attorney had reviewed the document. Marilyn Rivers said she had reviewed the document between the City and DOT. Marilyn Rivers noted none of the original equipment had been entered into the City’s fixed asset program and that should be done. Ayes all. ADJOURNMENT Page 4 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, August 10, 2005 Mayor Michael Lenz moved and Commissioner Thomas Curley seconded to adjourn the meeting at 9:45 a.m. Ayes all. There being no further business, Mayor Michael Lenz adjourned the meeting at 9:45 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Kathy Moran Approved: Clerk Page 5 of 5