City Council

City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, February 5, 2008 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY COUNCIL ROOM TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2008 6:45 P.M. PRESENT: Scott Johnson, Mayor Commissioner John Franck, Accounts Commissioner Ken Ivins, Finance Commissioner Ron Kim, DPS Commissioner Anthony Scirocco, DPW PRESENT: Supervisor Matthew Veitch Supervisor Joanne Yepsen STAFF PRESENT: Michele Boxley, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Patrick Design, Deputy Commissioner, DPW Eileen Finneran, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Kate Jarosh, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Shauna Sutton, Deputy Mayor Joe Scala, City Attorney PUBLIC HEARING Excelsior Springs Project – Capital Budget Amendment Tony Izzo explained that this is a proposed amendment to the capital budget for change orders for the Excelsior Springs Project in the amount of $7,320. Mayor Scott Johnson opened the public hearing. There being no one wishing to speak, Mayor Scott Johnson closed the public hearing. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Scott Johnson called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Scott Johnson welcomed Boy Scout Troop 16 from the Caroline Street School. He said they were here this evening as part of their community service badge. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD Mayor Scott Johnson opened the public comment period and asked that speakers limit their comments to two minutes. Kyle York, 59 Railroad Place, said that he attended the State of the City address and he was impressed. He said he was available to serve on any committee. There being no one else wishing to speak, Mayor Scott Johnson closed the public comment period. PRESENTATIONS None. 1 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, February 5, 2008 CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Scott Johnson moved and Commissioner Ken Ivins seconded to approve the consent agenda as follows: 1. Approval of Minutes – January 15 & 30, 2008 2. Appointment: Commissioner of Deeds – Angel Lackner, Accounts Department 3. Budget Amendments: check from Communication specialist Ins., who broke water line service (Attachment A) Close Gilbert Meadowbrook Road – Account per auditors and move Accumulated interest/connection fee to water line extension reserve Per 2008 budget, amendment capital budget to cover transfer of interest earned on the bond proceeds account in prior years to the debt service fund to pay debt payments in 2008 4. Budget Transfers (Attachment B) To cover costs for equipment and furniture To cover conference registration costs associated with Engineering Licensing requirements 5. Approval Payrolls: 1/18/08 $438,131.88; 1/25/08 $588,263.67 & 2/1/08 $415,870.82 6. Approve Warrants: 2007 Mid MC5DEC07 $ 12,176.33 2007 Mid MC6DEC07 $ 20,067.91 2007 Regular 5DEC07 $ 199,938.63 2008 Mid MC2JAN08 $ 16,017.40 2008 Mid MC3JAN08 $ 228,923.35 2008 Mid MC4JAN08 $ 2,943.80 2008 Regular 1FEB08 $1,036,055.19 Ayes all. Commissioner Ken Ivins said that the regular warrant was so large because there was an insurance premium payment of $617,000. MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT SD Atelier/Synthesis – Architectural Services – Authorization for Mayor to sign contract (08-16) Mayor Scott Johnson said this proposal was similar to the proposal for the Weibel Avenue location. Under this contract, the City would request that there be further studies at the southside recreation area and soil samples. The anticipated cost of the contract is $5,500 with no retainer. Mayor Scott Johnson moved and Commissioner Ken Ivins seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the contract with SD Atelier/Synthesis for the feasibility study and soil samples for the indoor recreation center at the southside recreation field site. Ayes all. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Stewart’s Shops Zoning Amendment Commissioner John Franck said that pursuant to the Council’s request of January 16, the City Planning Board reviewed the Stewart’s Zoning Text Amendment at their January 23, meeting. This request originates from the applicant’s desire to expand the permitted uses identified in the bath house/health center/spa definition, specifically within the Tourist Related Business District 2 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, February 5, 2008 (TRBD) in the area of Maple Dell and Marion Avenue. The Planning Board engaged in substantial discussion on this matter. Since the request is not site specific, the application of this definition would have city-wide impacts in all zoning districts which currently permit bath house/health center/spa uses, in particular the TRBD district along the Route 9 gateway in the City from Exit 13. During this discussion, the Planning Board questioned the appropriateness of the TRBD zoning district in the area in question as well as in the area of Gridley Street and South Broadway between Driscoll Road and Columbia Avenue. The Planning Board suggested a South Broadway Gateway study would be a worthwhile endeavor to better understand the appropriateness of the zoning within this important gateway into the City. Ultimately, by a 3-4 split vote, the Planning Board denied the motion to issue a favorable advisory opinion. The Planning Board also noted other options available to the applicant including a request for a use variance or a request for rezoning. Commissioner John Franck requested to set a public hearing for Tuesday, February 19 at 6:55 p.m. City of Saratoga Springs – Internal Controls Over Purchasing Commissioner John Franck said that Office of the State Comptroller did an audit on the City’s purchasing for the period of January 1, 2005 through March 31, 2007. The report is available on line at www.osc.state.ny.us. Commissioner John Franck said that City has purchasing guideline, i.e., to purchase materials between $1,499 and $5,000 requires three verbal quotes, materials for $5,000 to $9,999 requires three written quotes and materials over $10,000 are biddable. Public works projects follow a similar procedure with higher thresholds, leading up to the bidding process. During the period of time audited time period, the City had more than 27,000 transactions. The state comptroller’s office found that of 36 purchases, there were 16 problems relating to the lack of verbal and/or written quotes and on 7 others there was lack of sole source information. The Comptrollers Office has two recommendations: 1) the purchasing department should ensure that City employees are aware of and follow the policy and 2) the Council should ensure that City employees use the purchasing policy. The City has 90 days to respond to the audit. Commissioner John Franck said there are both long and short term solutions. Short term is education. He will meet with individual departments to review and address their specific concerns in their department. He will begin with DPS and DPW because they are the departments with the most purchases. For the long term, the requisitions, purchase order and vouchers will be computerized. He said computerization will eliminate the of lack of purchase orders, because the system will not pay an invoice that does not have a purchase order. Commissioner John Franck said that once the workshops are completed with each department, he will formulate a response to the audit and forward it to the State Comptrollers Office. That will be done within the next 90 days. Parking Deck Sign Lease Agreement Commissioner John Franck said that as the Council has previously discussed, the City will lease advertising space at the City’s parking decks. Distributed with the agenda was a draft agreement for the lease of such space. The agreement has been reviewed by the City Attorney and the City’s Risk & Safety Manager. Therefore, based on the discussion that this proposed generic parking deck sign lease agreement is acceptable to the City Attorney, Risk & Safety Manager and the Council, Commissioner John Franck moved and Commissioner Ron Kim seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign all future parking deck lease agreements, without out returning to 3 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, February 5, 2008 the Council with each individual agreement, with all vendors who wish to purchase parking deck signage program at the City’s parking decks. Ayes all. Commissioner John Franck said that his department has already solicited local businesses and has signed on nine firms to this advertising program. He said that they estimated $10,000 in revenue and with the nine companies they are already at $13,500. At this time they are soliciting only local businesses. He said that he would keep the Council updated. FINANCE DEPARTMENT DPW Transfer Commissioner Ken Ivins moved and Commissioner John Franck seconded to approve the budget transfers for gas and diesel in 2007 as presented. It has met the transfer guidelines and the availability of funds is certified (Attachment C). Ayes all. Commissioner Ken Ivins pointed out that this is not normal practice and he was not intending to set any precedent in allowing the 2007 transfer. It is being allowed to happen based on the advice of the City Attorney. There is no budget impact because the funds are being transferred from an over budgeted line to an under budgeted line. DPW Budget Amendment Commissioner Ken Ivins moved and Commissioner John Franck seconded to approve the budget amendments for the Excelsior Springs Culvert project as presented. It has met the amendment guidelines and the availability of funds is certified (Attachment D). This motion is contingent upon the approval of the change orders as listed under the Department of Public Works agenda. Ayes all. 2008 Tax Roll Resolution (08-17) Commissioner Ken Ivins moved and Commissioner John Franck seconded to adopt the 2008 Tax Roll Resolution as follows: February 5, 2008 RESOLVED, that the City of Saratoga Springs, New York on this 5th day of February, 2008 at 7:00 PM adopt and confirm the 2008 Tax Roll carrying a levy on the inside district of $8,751,768.99 for the City and $4,680,669.80 for the County; total Inside District levy $13,432,438.79. Levy on the Outside District of $7,223,450.15 for the City and $3,889,360.67 for the County: total Outside District levy of $11,112,810.82 making a total tax levy of $24,545,249.61 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 $5.3865 COUNTY $2.866764 OUTSIDE DISTRICT RATES CITY $5.3381 COUNTY $2.866764 FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York adopt and confirm the relevy of the 2007 Utility Tax in the amount of $287,916.48. FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York adopt and confirm the 2008 Saratoga Lake Special Improvement Tax for the Saratoga Lake Improvement District in the amount of $105,672.00. 4 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, February 5, 2008 FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York adopt and confirm the 2008 Special Assessment Tax for the Saratoga Springs Special Assessment District in the amount of $75,004.79. FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York adopt and confirm the 2008 West Ave. Special District tax for the Saratoga Springs West Ave Special District in the amount of $54,002.91. FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York adopt and confirm the 2008 Gilbert Rd. Water District Tax for the Saratoga Springs Gilbert Rd. Water District in the amount of $19,728.12. Ayes all. July 4th Activities Commissioner Ken Ivins said he was excited to be involved in last year’s July 4th festivities and was even more glad to be heading up this years festivities. He said it was his intention to expand the festivities to make it a three day event. He has formed a volunteer committee to work on this and will keep the Council updated. The event will be hosted by Gideon Putnam. There will be a press conference on this in the near future. He hoped this event could become as large as the Hats Off festival and the Victorian Streetwalk. He will keep the Council updated. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Capital Budget Amendment for Bucket Truck $20,000 Commissioner Anthony Scirocco set a public hearing for February 19 at 6:50 to amend the capital budget for $20,000 to move the money from the loader line to the bucket truck line. DPW Department Fees (08-18) Commissioner Anthony Scirocco said his department had been contacted by a repeat user of the Music Hall to lower the fee for rental from $500 to $400 on a weekend. This party has been renting from the City on a monthly basis for more than five years and they will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Therefore, Commissioner Anthony Scirocco moved and Commissioner Ken Ivins seconded to add a line item to the fees for repeat users on a weekend for rental of the Music Hall at $400 per event. Ayes all. Capital Budget Change Order for Excelsior Avenue Culvert Commissioner Anthony Scirocco moved and Commissioner John Franck seconded to approve the capital budget amendment as proposed to reflect a change order to increase the Excelsior Avenue Culvert line in the amount of $7,320.66. The total cost of the project would increase from $302,448 to $309,768.66. Ayes all. Contract with Specialized Environmental Monitoring for Landfill – Waive of Bid Withdrawn. Change Orders for Anjo Construction for South Broadway water line Commissioner Anthony Scirocco moved and Commissioner John Franck seconded to approve the change orders in the amount of $9,674.64 for Anjo Construction Company for the South Broadway waterline project. This is for additional materials, installation of water lines, directional drilling and landscaping. The funds are already in the budget. Ayes all. 5 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, February 5, 2008 New York State Landfill Grant Commissioner Anthony Scirocco announced that the City was recently notified by DEC that the City was awarded a grant in the amount of $747,043 from New York State. This grant covers all previous expenses that the City incurred for the initial construction of the Weibel Avenue landfill gas collection system as well as future improvements that the City may incur. He said he would keep the Council updated on this matter. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Street Closing Permit Ordinance – Set Public Hearing Commissioner Ron Kim requested that a public hearing be set for 6:45 p.m. on 2/19/08. 2007 Complus Revenues from Parking Tickets Commissioner Ron Kim said that in 2006 the City collected $244,000 in parking fines, then in 2007, the City collected $532,000. He thanked his staff and the Finance Department for their due diligence in getting the new parking ticket collection system up and running. He said this has been a great program that has doubled the City’s revenues. Stop Sign Intersection – Set Public Hearing Commissioner Ron Kim requested that a public hearing be set for February 19 at 6:40 p.m. on the stop sign intersection ordinance. Donated Sick Leave for Police Officer Commissioner Ron Kim moved and Commissioner Ken Ivins seconded to approve the donation of 60 days of sick time from one police officer to another. Ayes all. Parking Violators and Towing Commissioner Ron Kim said that there are chronic violators of the parking ordinance. He said that there is nearly $150,000 in outstanding parking tickets from individuals owing a minimum of $500 (about 180 people). The fines range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. He said because they are having a difficult time in collecting these funds, they are going to embark on a new program of towing cars. Before they tow these flagrant violators, they will give them time to come in an pay their fines. However, if they don’t pay up by the end of March or so, the City will begin towing these vehicles. Appointments to Public Safety Building Design Oversight Committee Commissioner Ron Kim said the first Building Design Oversight Committee meeting was held on January 29. He said that David Torres and Harry Buciffero had been appointed to this committee and the committee is moving through the process. This committee will meet quarterly. The consultants have agreed to look at the potential options for the existing police station. DCJS Grant Extension (08-19) Commissioner Ron Kim moved and Commissioner Anthony Scirocco seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the DCJS three month grant extension for the drug enforcement task force in the amount of $15,000. 6 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, February 5, 2008 Commissioner Ron Kim said this funding supports one of the investigators to on this task force. Commissioner Ken Ivins asked if this was in the budget. Commissioner Ron Kim said yes. Ayes all. Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) Grant $9,000 (08-20) Commissioner Ron Kim moved and Commissioner Ken Ivins seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program Grant in the amount of $9,000. This grant went through December 31, 2007. Ayes all. Accept 2008 STEP Grant of $14,362 (08-21) Commissioner Ron Kim moved and Commissioner John Franck seconded to accept the 2008 STEP grant in the amount of $14,362. This grant goes through September 30, 2008. Ayes all. Capital Budget Funds from Building and Upgrades line Commissioner Ron Kim moved and Commissioner Ken Ivins seconded to approve the use of the capital budget funds from the building and upgrades line in the amount of $9,625 for the renovation in the police department for the women’s locker room and bathroom. Commissioner Ron Kim said there is an inequity between the men and women’s facilities in the police department. The City currently has eight female officers. They plan to renovate existing space to meet the needs, however, this is not a permanent solution to this problem. He said they continually take the existing space and chop it into smaller pieces. This is a cost effective way to deal with the situation though. The dollar figure includes labor and plumbing. Ayes all. Fire on Grand Avenue Commissioner Ron Kim said there was a fire on Grand Avenue on January 23 at 6:45 a.m. where a home was destroyed. He said that thanks to the quick efforts of the firefighters there was no loss of life or damage to other properties. He noted that 41 of the 54 firefighters came to the fire. He said though that one of the issues that the Council needs to address is the City’s infrastructure. He said there was an undersized water main problem, however, they were able to tap into another water main. He also thanked Lucas Cicora of 158 Grand Avenue who opened his house up to those individuals with no where to go during the fire. Federal Indictment Commissioner Ron Kim said that on December 17, 2002, there was a murder at the Sheraton Hotel. There has been an ongoing investigation over the last five years and it was recently solved through the cooperation of several agencies including the City with a federal indictment of the individual being handed down and an arrest. He said there were many City officers that worked on this case and it was no small task. This was a credit to the City’s police department in assisting in this case and finding this individual (Roger Altrarez). He thanked Chief Moore. Gary Forward and Ed Lewis for all of their work in this investigation. 7 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, February 5, 2008 Installation of Hot Water on second floor Commissioner Ron Kim thanked DPW for the installation of hot water in his office. He said it was a long time coming and his staff was happy to have hot water. SUPERVISORS Joanne Yepsen NYSAC Conference: Joanne Yepsen said she attended this conference last week. It is held twice a year. There were a number of speakers but the two big topics of discussion were the state budget and the economy. Also discussed was the Governor’s proposal for the $1 billion dollar upstate revitalization plan. The City and the County need to be diligent in finding out what type of funding will come to this area. She said the City and County should not be penalized for being successful. They also talked about technology and how it impacts the future. Saratoga Free Net Task Force: Joanne Yepsen said the proposed state budget includes a $15 million grant program to allow for municipalities to bring high speed interest access to the municipalities. Therefore, she announced the formation of the Saratoga Free Net Task Force with Jennifer Leidig as the chair. She said this committee will discuss the digital divide, brain drain and free high speed internet access to the downtown area. She said that she would be looking to appoint other individuals to this committee. Grant applications will be due in April and then this committee would lobby the state for the funding. County Issue/Meetings for February: Joanne Yepsen said the County Board of Supervisors is back in full swing with all of their meetings and subcommittee meetings. She said both her and Matthew Veitch felt that it was important for the racing committee to meet and discuss the very urgent issues surrounding the racing meet. The committee also needs to review the VLT funding in hopes of coming to a long term agreement with the state. She said NYRA has reported that it will begin laying off employees as of February 13. The County Legislative and Research Committee is also looking to approve a resolution on the VLT funding. Matthew Veitch Autism Council: Matthew Veitch said the first meeting of the Autism Council was held on January 22. The chair of this committee is Anita Daly. Their immediate goals include: the redevelopment of the web site and updating the community resource guide. They will then begin to work on forming partnerships within the community. They are considering holding an autism expo later this year. County Radio System: Matthew Veitch said he met with Paul Lent, Saratoga County Emergency Services Coordinator, on the proposed county radio system. He reminded everyone that the County Board approved a new radio system in 1999, however, there was an issue with the Adirondack Park Agency. The Adirondack Park Agency recently issued a permit to construct towers. There is the possibility to have 1300 users of the system throughout the County. The County is not currently using the much of the assigned bandwidth and according to FCC, the County must have at least 200 users on line by November 2008 along with four working towers. The County has budgeted $1 million in 2008 for this project, however this is a $12 to $15 million project. The cost for the radios for the entire county would be between $700,000 and $800,000. The City would be given one radio and one portable, which obviously would not be enough. The cost per radio is about $3,000. The county is exploring using the state contract to keep the cost down. There is also some discussion on using pagers. He said if the City joins the County system, the City would pay for the portable radios. 8 of 9 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, February 5, 2008 Saratoga County Planning Conference January 30, 2008: Matthew Veitch said he attended the County sponsored Planning and Zoning Conference. The County Planning Board sponsors this conference each year. It’s a good program for board members. Roy McDonald was the guest speaker. He informed the participants that he is working on a Hudson River partnership whereby it would encourage the preservation of open space, preservation of the rural character of the area, historic preservation and to encourage tourism around the Hudson. OTHER Mayor Scott Johnson said the State of the City address was held on Sunday, February 3 at the City Center. He thanked everyone for attending. He submitted a copy of the text to the Council members. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Scott Johnson moved and Commissioner Ken Ivins seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:05 p.m. Ayes all. There being no further business, Mayor Scott Johnson adjourned the meeting at 8:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Katherine A. Moran Clerk Approved: 9 of 9