City Council

CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY COUNCIL ROOM TUESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2008 6:40 P.M. PRESENT: Scott Johnson, Mayor John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Ken Ivins, Commissioner of Finance Ron Kim, Commissioner of DPS Anthony Scirocco, Commissioner of DPW PRESENT: Matthew Veitch, Supervisor Joanne Yepsen, Supervisor 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 RECORDING OF PROCEEDING The proceedings of this meeting were taped for the benefit of the secretary. Because the minutes are not a verbatim record of the proceedings, the minutes are not a word-for-word transcript. PUBLIC HEARINGS Zoning Ordinance Article 13 Revision Mayor Scott Johnson opened the public hearing on the Zoning ordinance revision to Article 13 Revision at 6:45 p.m. Tony Izzo, Assistant City Attorney reminded the public this is a large piece of legislation but only one major paragraph should be focused on; the section dealing with administration and enforcement of the zoning ordinance by the building inspector. Many changes are meant to reflect the change made in the 2001 Charter revision that moved the Building Department from where it had been, the Department of Public Safety to the Mayor’s Office. There are a number of changes in which the phrase Commissioner of Public Safety or Department of Public Safety is changed to Mayor, Mayor’s Office and so on. The substantive change comes in section 240-13.3; it adds the paragraph “The Mayor may appoint additional building inspectors or assistant building inspectors on a temporary or permanent basis and shall have authority to designate which of such additional inspectors shall act in the place of the building inspector when the building inspector is absence or unavailable”. No one spoke. Mayor Johnson closed the public hearing at 6:55 p.m. Donation of City-owned land to Shelters of Saratoga Continued from July 15, 2008 Mayor Johnson opened the public hearing on Donation of City-owned land to Shelters of Saratoga at 6:55 p.m. Sherri Hoffman of 39 Ferndale Spring Drive member of the board for the Shelters of Saratoga – we are the only homeless shelter in the county and we have had an increase in number of people who have taken the City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 opportunity to stay at shelter. By providing this land we will be able to expand our services and hopefully keep more people off the streets. Dan McDonald of 3 Plantation Road, Saratoga Springs, board member for three years and currently serves as the treasurer of the Shelters of Saratoga. One of the biggest obstacles is people leaving the shelter and then returning. The goal for the land grant is for us to be able to put on an addition to the existing structure and provide affordable housing to these individuals to get up on their feet and become contributing members of society especially for the City of Saratoga Springs. Ultimately that is our goal. I’m here on behalf of the Shelters and to campaign for the land grant. Dr. Traina Smith of 509 Elks Circle (Ballston Spa) – I’ve been on the Board of Directors for Shelters since January. In just that little amount of time I’ve been able to see just how hard the staff is working and how well the shelter functions with what we have. To provide the service that isn’t provided elsewhere in the county in terms of being transitional and emergency shelter for people. One of the things that we would love to see is getting people thru successfully so that we don’t see them again when people are going through a rough spell, need some support, need some help. Part of what Shelters provides is case management to help them access other resources, job training or finding employment to become or return to being successful productive members of the community. It will allow us to take in people we currently have to turn away or allow some people to stay a little longer. Some people need a little more time to transition. Rebecca Cronin, president of the Board of Directors for Shelters of Saratoga. I’ve been on the board for a little over four years during that times I’ve seen the services we provide expand. We are forced to turn folks away. One of the things that I just want to point out again we are the only adult shelter servicing Saratoga and Washington Counties. One of the things that separate us from other homeless shelters in the greater capital district is that we do provide case management services and would be able to further expand those services so people can be self sufficient and not have the revolving door syndrome. Brendan Wolf of 117 Washington Street. Not only am I a board member but I am also a neighbor. My property is 30 or 40 yards away from shelter. I live in my house with my wife, my six month old son. I think the greatest compliment I can give to the shelters is that myself nor most of my neighbors think about the fact that I live near a shelter most of the time. It is a well run organization. There is no doubt in my mind that the proposed expansion of the shelter could be manageable. I wanted to voice my support for the proposed annexation of land from the City. Dr. Michael Styles of 2 Franklin Square. I have a PHD in physics and lead a set of strange circumstances a few years ago. I came wondering into town and needed the services of the shelter myself. I’m doing very well now thanks to their initial support. I’m an expert on sustainable and alternative energy technologies and am currently working on a patent for design for sustainable and energy efficient building design. I would like to take this opportunity to say that I am willing to donate the use of that design to the Shelters of Saratoga free of royalty and other charges so they can go green while they are doing expansions. Thank you very much and please vote the right way. Brian Crumb of 139 Phila Street. I am speaking today in support of Shelters of Saratoga’s request for the two parcels of land adjacent to their housing. In order to break the cycle of homelessness, I feel it is critical to provide affordable housing alternatives especially in today’s current housing market. The fact is too few after their short stay are able to transition to the housing market we have in this county. The project is about providing housing and is coupled with social services of drug and alcohol abuse and job training, which the shelter currently provides. We have to provide a cost effective solution for all these members of our community that are in dire need to help them lead more stable productive lives and benefits our community as a whole. Mayor Johnson closed the public hearing at 7:05pm. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD 2 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 Mayor Johnson said the public comment period is limited to a total of 15 minutes and individuals are limited to two minutes each according to the rules approved in February of 2004 by the City Council. Mayor Johnson opened the public comment period. Marybeth Delarm of 96 Quevic Drive – I’d like to express appreciation to the City Planning Board tonight from numerous citizens who spoke against the 91 home Beaver Pond Subdivision at the June meeting. An article in the July 14th Saratogian announced the current administration is approving open space monies to acquire a lot next to the proposed Southside recreation center. We are wondering why our application from 4 years ago and this year for acquiring the 209 acres of Beaver Ponds beautiful wetland, meadows, streams, forests and prehistoric glacier standings for public open space continues to be overlooked. The citizens also appreciates one of our public officials voicing their concern on preparing our community for future needs, which we are hoping other government officials will act to support. Another professional and resident, Dr. Beckerman also spoke in support in approving infrastructure of our City’s emergency services as well. As the Saratogian confirmed in a news article there is a great need to do in depth planning for our emergency services and make sure they are sufficient staff and sufficient locations that can respond to any emergency especially with the immanent railroad expansion which New York State will allocate $29 million dollars for approving the infrastructure along the Saratoga County line due to increased traffic. While much of the current administration is not recognizing the future needs of our community, what it needs to do is ensure that the plan for our ambulances, hospital, fire department and police to respond to the population explosion resulting in traffic congestion is incurring now and will in the future. To help prepare for this growth, the City Council needs to approve the 2 year study laying grounds for a new comprehensive plan that was drafted for smart growth over a year ago. In addition the City Council should look ahead as a unified body and prepare now to assure its citizens will be kept out of danger. Having served with the American Red Cross and various disaster locations throughout the country including floods, fires, Katrina, and 911 my experience forces me to urge the current administration prepare our City for the future needs of emergency services now. Don’t let us become another New Orleans. The small power outages we incur for a few days are nothing compared to what could devastate our entire community without proper planning. States and cities across the nation are preparing for major disasters that will affect the whole community and Saratoga Springs is not. Whatever it takes I employ you to act as a unified City body to protect its citizens to prepare for necessary emergency space, staff, response, communication and planning now so we will be able to handle any size disaster when it strikes. Gerri Freeman of 110 Adams Street on the corner of Adams and Steele. I am here to appraise you of a drainage problem with my property and the surrounding area of 110 Adam Street and Steele Street. Last Saturday, July 26th storm created a backup of sewage water in my basement, which caused significant flooding and damage. My pump could not keep up with the rising sewer water so I called the water department for help. They brought over a bigger pump and a pvc pipe which diverted the water outside. First they drained it to the left side of my house which created a pond in my neighbor’s yard then they moved it to my back yard which created a lake. Then I went out to by a pump which is the same capacity of the borrowed pump and called a plumber to install it and drain it out the front of my house since my backyard was already a lake. Now it is 15 minutes and I am pumping water down my driveway and either down Steele or Adams Street. There is no drain for the water to go and it is destroying my entire property as well as my neighbors. I park cars on my property for track season which I do pay taxes on which is used to pay my taxes but now I can’t use that part of my backyard due to the significant sinkholes and constant lake effects. I am aware that the conclusion of track season drainage problem is slated to begin. I am here before you this evening to ask for immediate resolution to my situation which seems to be more prevalent at my address than any other home in my neighborhood. The City should repair the existing infrastructure first before continuing to approve new development. I know this problem is not isolated in the City. My home and property are really being ruined. Thank you for your attention. Valarie Keehn of 41 Benedict Street – I am becoming increasingly concerned about the number of executive sessions with this body has been holding the last several months especially as well as the way the executive sessions are presented to the public. I see there is an executive session on the agenda tonight. I don’t know if that executive session has occurred already but one of my concerns is the way it is presented to the public. I believe what the executive session descriptive is on tonight’s agenda and I believe this is the exact descriptive that comes along with every executive session that has occurred under this administration. In order to describe this executive session, the Mayor writes this executive session has to do with proposed, pending or current litigation personal private information of a person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, supervision, dismissal or removal of a person or corporation. 3 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 That’s pretty general information. That really doesn’t give the public any idea about what this executive session is in regards to. With regard to the open meetings law for the sake of the public because I’m sure all of you the Council members are very familiar with what the law describes with regards to executive session and won’t go into the seven details with how an executive session can occur but it does say that upon a majority vote of its total membership taking in an open meeting pursuant to a motion identifying, this is key Mayor, identifying the general area or areas of the subject or subjects to be considered, a public body may conduct an executive session. Now I ask you with regards to the executive session that is going to occur tonight, are you generally going to be discussing proposed, pending or current litigation, or are you going to be discussing personal private information of a person or corporation or are you going to be discussing matters leading to the appointment or the employment or the promotion or the demotion or the discipline, suspension, dismissal or the removal or a person or corporation? Not all of those. You can’t be discussing all of those things in an executive session. It is your job to define generally which of those topics is being discussed in executive session. And I dare say that has not been done once and I implore you to abide by what I believe all of you agree open and transparent government. Thank you. Mark Lawton of 209 Nelson Ave – concerned about capital projects and authorization of capital projects - how they are designated, how they are authorized according to the charter procedures and processes. Only if those steps are taken can you in fact spend money of the City’s general fund or any City monies. We’re concerned that the project referred to as the Southside recreation facility is not an authorized capital project. It does not have the required documentation information and written justifications that are required and therefore City funds can not be utilized for any aspect of this proposed project. I refer you to section 3.1, 3.1.5, 4.4, 4.4.13 of the City Charter. The alienations protection for lands that are held in trust for the public. This is a special provision that was placed into the new Charter and is in the existing Charter and puts a special duty of responsibility on every elected official in the City. There are provisions in the Charter regarding your responsibilities as trustees in preventing the alienation of existing park open lands. As you know we are waiting responses on our request for formal written opinions from the Saratoga Board of Education and the State Parks and Recreation and Historic Preservation. When we receive them we will share them with the City Council meanwhile we urge you to re-read section 3.3 of the City Charter. These concerns must be addressed until resolved no City funds whether derived from bond proceeds or tax levies can be made available and cannot be encumbered or committed by anyone elected or otherwise. I refer you to section 4.4.13 resolution can satisfy your fiduciary responsibilities and we trust you responsibilities under existing state and local laws. We refer you to our earlier memorandum of June 15th regarding remedial actions that are necessary to legally authorize a project. I want to thank you very much if we can be of help let us know. Mayor Johnson closed public comment period at 7:20 pm because the fifteen minutes had elapsed. PRESENTATION Recreation Center Bonding Presentation is on the website in a PDF format on the City’s website. Commissioner Ken Ivins stated that this presentation was driven from questions about bonding of the recreation center. He also stated that Commissioner Ron Kim had asked that the money from the recreation center be moved over to the police station. This presentation has quite a bit of fact. The first thing he addressed was clearing up a quote of his that was taken out of context by Commissioner Kim. Commissioner Ivins did say in October that he believed the public safety building is deplorable and resolved that it is his first priority. No where did he write that the proposal Commissioner Kim is presenting is the way he feels it should be solved. He wants to take it in a sound financial way to its conclusion. He said that a number of times throughout the campaign that we need to find something that is affordable to local tax payers. His first real priority is to make sound financial decisions for the tax payers of the city; a police station, a recreation center everything that comes across our desks. He’s looking to see some more numbers before he takes a step and takes a vote on approving this and then moving on to bond. First question is moving the money over. In September the bond council submitted a letter to Commissioner McCabe rendering an opinion that clearly stated that money for the recreation center cannot be used for anything else other than its intended purpose of building a recreation center. That was based on local law section 165. 4 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 What about paying off the bond with the principal plus interest? That can be done. Commissioner McCabe said on many occasions that would be very costly. He is right. Back in 2005 there was a bond for $100k that was used primarily to start establishing the method design, the need for the recreation center. That has all been spent. Then in 2006 a bond was issued for $1.865 million dollars. Of that $19k has been spent under the $271K that had been committed to be spent for a variety of things from sol samples to design works, etc. It leaves about $1.5 million dollars remaining. Bonds have a three year window so the City has until next April or they are not legally allowed to touch it. The bond either has to be paid back or just let it sit there gaining interest and pay it back over time. Adirondack Trust did purchase that bond and they are willing to call the bond in; pay it off before it is due without any penalty assuming there is no other legal applications. Last year another $4.3 million dollars was also bonded. None of that money has been expended. The City has until July of 2010 to spend that money or we no longer have use of it as well. This bond was purchased by Stifel Nicolaus which is a brokerage firm who probably sold this bond to hundreds of people. Tracking them down and requesting permission to call this early is next to impossible. It’s callable 2017, it is a 30 year bond but we could pay it off in 2017 if we desired. There is $235K in reserve to be used strictly for a recreation center. This is money left over from National Grid when they cleaned up Excelsior Avenue, the old ice rink. It can only be used for a recreation center. So there is $6 million dollars that remains unspent and unencumbered. The 2007 bond was approved unanimously by the Council and even seconded by Commissioner Kim; even though at that point the police station was his number one priority. There is also $130K former Mayor Keehn has talked about a number of times that comes from when new condos go in and also subdivisions go in that is dedicated for recreation activities. A quick showing of what the City is paying in interest on those bonds is: the $100K is 3.8%, the $1.8 million is 4.25% and the $4.3 million is 4.255% (that is an average because it does change over time). We have either obligated or paid a certain amount of interest payments so far on these bonds. The $100k is already spent so we have to pay out interest over the course of a loan no matter what. We’ve paid $11k; we still owe another $32k. Of the $1.8 million we’ve paid $157K in interest. These are just our normal payments and of the $4.3 million, we’ve paid $184K which gives us $385K we are obligated to pay with these one way or another. The money that hasn’t been spent has been sitting in an account. Commissioner Ivins talked to Adirondack Trust and managed to up what percentage of treasury notes that they reimburse or pay us back in interest. Treasury notes have been going up and down in fact it dropped down quite a bit but up to 1.74% so compared to the 4% and compared to 1.7% we are making up the difference in paying those bonds. The City can pay off the $4.3 million dollars in 2017 or invest that principal into an account to return money back so the City is not paying all that interest up to that point. We are legally allowed to invest up to 4.15%. The net cost to us if we hold on to that money and do not spend it and pay it off in 2017 would be $92k. That is what we are going to lose if we do nothing with that portion and we pay off the Adirondack Trust portion as well. The City already paid $385K, future interest is $92K, and we’ve already spent $390K. Comes up to $868K. We could make this money available. We may have to increase our bond rate/bond ratio depending on where things stand but we’re looking at in his mind money that he would say would be part of the cost of the police station. We are not building a recreation center anymore but we can do that. The real lesson is we shouldn’t have bonded last year. We were not shovel ready; we were not ready to go. It was the cart before the horse. People are asking why don’t you bond the police station, we’re putting the cart before the horse. So that is also why in February he left out the police station, because he knew we still a long way away. We didn’t even have a design in hand yet. If we bonded the police station tonight, we still wouldn’t be bonding until next sometime next year anyway. Commissioner Ivins asked Christine Gilmett-Brown, Finance Director to put together some numbers. In 2007 we bonded about $8 million dollars. We spent $29K, so it would be about $30K to put out a special bond if we 5 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 did it without grouping everything together. He would rather hold off and not do a special one or do a special one if he had to with the reality of not spending more. Commissioner Ivins said we need to know the whole cost, a quote Commissioner Kim did not quote of his. In A Reader’s View Commissioner Ivins wrote when he was a candidate, he asked for the real cost of the recreation center. The City was also talking about an EMS station at that point as well as the police station. He’s been asking for this information a long time; and just recently as well. Commissioner Ivins put an e-mail out on June 6th to the Mayor, Recreation Director Terricola and carbon copied the rest of the Council asking for the cost of the recreation center. Things like one time cost of moving, furnishings, etc. These are the things that haven’t come back to him yet. On the exact same date he also sent an e-mail very similar to Commissioner Kim asking him for the same information of the police center; furnishings, one time moving costs, renovating down stairs, etc. He proposed an RFP in February or March and was told there’s no rush to do that. A couple of meetings ago Commissioner Kim did bring that idea forth and Commissioner Ivins voted for doing that. Later it was found that the way Commissioner Kim had put it together was going against our purchasing procedures and had to come back again, be rescinded and voted on again. Again Commissioner Ivins voted for that. He needs to know these costs. Another topic that came up last meeting was the Waterfront Recreation money and compared to the $500K they took out of the debt service. By city referendum the voters authorized the City to bond up to $5 million dollars to purchase the open space. To date about $3.3 million dollars has been spent. Leaving about $1.6 million left. The Waterfront Property purchase was started during Mayor Lenz’s term and completed under Mayor Keehn’s term. The cost was $2 million dollars and came from the open space bond money. In July of last year a big ribbon cutting was held. They opened it up with picnic tables on the upper level but nothing in the lower portion. In June 2006, the City Council on a 5 – 0 vote also voted to spend another $50K to improve the Waterfront site area. In May 2007, again the same bond that they passed for the recreation center of 5-0 vote, seconded by Commissioner Kim, had another $200K to improve that site. Up until the Mayor’s last RFP, only $38K had been spent of that. The City has a wonderful area they’ve spent $2 million dollars plus on and have a couple picnic tables and a parking area. The Mayor’s trying to do some work so our residents have access to the investment that they put in. Commissioner Kim’s question was what about the VLT money? The City was $422K short on what was expected and budgeted for VLT. The charter calls for a balanced budget. A shortfall of a half a million dollars is significant enough to make adjustments to that budget. There were three major options to consider – one was take it out of the debt service, not bond the police station this year. Or, the money could have been left in the debt service and taken out of the general fund; with two options here, one being to take it out of our surplus. There is over $4 million dollars in surplus – that’s a great thing. A number of people have said that Commissioner Ivins should take some more money out of the surplus and apply it to the police station. That’s contrary to the State Comptroller, our auditors, our buying council. Our bond rating for the City went down last year. The key reason is because we had no surplus. They’re saying we’ve got to keep that surplus for at least two or more years before our bond rate is going to go back up. If were to increase our bond rating and reduce the amount of interest we pay by just a half of a percent, then on $8 million dollars over 30 years, that adds up to over $500K in interest we would pay. This is not an option. The next option is reduce the current spending by half a million dollars. Public Safety makes up about 50% of the budget, Commissioner Scirocco’s budget makes up about 25% of the budget, and another $125K would be split up between the Mayor’s office, the Finance office and the Accounts office. Of these options, Commissioner Ivins is going to take the one that’s not going to affect services to the citizens and leave it where we’re not spending it. Commissioner Ivins listed the things he believes should be done when considering building a new facility: first analyze and determine the need, look at all possible solutions and determine the best one. In some cases determining need and looking at all solutions may take a little bit of bonding i.e. the $100K they spent on the recreation center to do that and make that all happen. Come up with a location; determine the final design; again that may take money to come up with the design work. Complete the planning process – SEQRA including outlining all the costs. With the police station, public hearings should be held where the folks will come out and talk about the costs. Are they willing to bear the costs? Here’s the final numbers of what you are looking at. Traffic studies, etc. We are starting to go through that with the recreation center. The recreation center should not have been bonded until all this was done. It was bonded, so we have to move 6 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 forward. Then vote to move forward with a time frame and vote to bond. Based on the way our charter is set up we may have to do both of these at the same meeting. Commissioner Ivins stated the recreation center is exactly the reason why he did not put forth the portion of the capital projects bond on the police station. It should be the last step not the first step. He believes it is their duty as Council members to be fiscally sound; that should be their first priority. Solving the police situation is a priority but it should be done right way, go through the steps, and make sound financial decisions. Commissioner Kim responded to Commissioner Ivins stating the article he wrote in the Saratogian did not say that Commissioner Ivins should shift over the money. It had asked the City and the City Council to re-examine priorities given the tough economic times. The core of the question being asked is if we are reaching tough economic times, if we are going to have a struggle paying for all this, then shouldn’t priorities be set? Shouldn’t we re-orient ourselves to those new economic realities? Perhaps $800K is a small price to pay under those new economic realities if that’s what the total cost is of taking this money and no longer using it for the recreation center and moving it to the police station? Commissioner Kim also spoke about the Waterfront recreation area agreeing he did vote for it as well as he voted for the recreation center when that came up. We are talking about a police station but we are also talking about fire needs. We need an east fire station. Commissioner Kim stated he has a recent analysis that will be presented to City Council that will show how response time City wide, not just in the eastern corridor but City wide, has increasingly gone down as homes, hotels and the racino have been added. It’s true there are less and less fires every year, but medical calls are increasing. That is another issue coming down the pike this City will have to deal with. It is our needs to upgrade it. The City has grown. It only stands to reason that we have to address these issues. We are addressing sewage needs, we are addressing drainage, yet somehow this is an issue that has generated a tremendous amount of controversy when he stands up and says the public safety needs to be dealt with. As far as the votes pointed out, they all happened in 2006 and 2007 when the economy appeared to be good. We were getting racino revenues; it seemed to be ok. Things have changed. This issue of the VLT shortfall and the money, this may be a good decision that Commissioner Ivins is making in terms of taking that money. It is very clear it was a City Council decision to put this in a lockbox. If the City Council wants to amend the 2008 budget to now take that out, we can do that, but we need to do that. If the City Council makes the argument Commissioner Ivins just made, I’m going to vote for that because I don’t want to raise people’s taxes. The bottom line is we haven’t done that. His understanding and he would be happy to hear from the City Attorney was that there was a specific vote to pass the 2008 budget that vote included putting that $500K in a lockbox for the future interest payments of the police station. Now we are just essentially saying we’re not going to do that anymore. I believe that has to go to the City Council for a vote. Commissioner Kim continued to say that Commissioner Ivins helpfully put together the steps to build a new facility. He completely agrees with it except for one – analyze and determine need. We did that, we spent $30K. If you go back and do that again, we are 2-3 years away from a solution and the cost will simply climb. We have looked at all the solutions. What’s interesting is people were pulling their hair out when we came up with it, build the building and build the courtroom over it. That’s a $30 million dollar building – you’re going to break the bank and the City, etc. Now we hear we don’t want to see the prisoners transported into the building. Think about building a more comprehensive building that actually allow us to keep that sight out from the public. We proposed that. Now we are talking about creative financing. He’s open to that. He sent a letter to the Mayor to say let’s talk about that. We proposed that over here in connection with Commissioner McCabe’s RFP. That RFP asked for creative financing to build a parking garage, while we have that problem on Woodlawn, but also come back to us with something else that either is private sector development that will pay for the parking garage or a municipal facility. Only one consortium made a proposal on the Woodlawn site. That was to build a police station right at the corner next to Adirondack Trust to build a 3 – 4 hundred parking garage and then to allow development at the southern part of the Woodlawn parcel as the third stage. That cost to us in 2007 dollars was more than what it would cost us to build the $9.7 million dollar police station we are proposing back here. The creative financing was there. What happened? The City Council defeated it, he supported it, former Mayor Keehn supported it, and nobody else at the table did because again it was too expensive. Mayor Johnson interjected at this point to remind Commissioner Kim that we could go on forever on this topic and stated he would prefer to move along in the agenda. 7 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 Commissioner Kim went on to say we proposed another creative financing back here but the Council refused those and passed the budget. One point he disagrees with Commissioner Ivins on is the complete planning and SEQR process. The law is very clear that SEQR can’t be done until the bond has been issued. The SEQR process is triggered by the issuance of the actual bonds. Commissioner Kim can provide the sites. He went on to say the criticism of the public safety building now is all the costs haven’t been disclosed. Costs are being put together. But one of the criticisms is that we have a $9.7 million dollar building that is really $11 million dollars. Have you asked yourself what is the true cost of the recreation center building? Have you seen the total cost yet? We’ve talked about the bonds that we’ve issued which is about $6.5 million dollars but have you actually seen an estimate of the construction costs yet? No, that’s not the construction costs, that’s the total costs. The consultants working with him have said in the last 2 months steel has gone up 30%. Have you seen any costs yet and yet we are steamrolling that process through, we got a neighborhood in up roar, but we are going to do that even though we’ve never seen it. So what’s the real cost of the 6.5? If the real cost of the $9.7 million dollar building is 11, then the real cost of the 6.5 must be more like 8. Right? Same logic he would assume applies. Commissioner Kim said he appreciate the presentation. Mayor Johnson responded with as of the cost of the indoor recreation center, he’s meeting with the expert design consultants. They are working on a final professional estimate of actual cost involved in doing this project. We plan to have that for the next council meeting. So we are working on it Commissioner. You have before you today the projected operation costs on an annual basis for the recreation center which we have not yet seen for the police facility. We are pushing along on the recreation center project because it needs to be done. It’s over due. As to the actual cost and using of funds from the recreation center to the police station was a topic of at least phrased in the media by Commissioner Kim several times already, whether accurate or not. I’m glad the public is finally hearing the minimum cost will be $868K that cannot be recaptured by the City. That is a tremendous cost regardless of priorities and he disagreed with the Commissioner Kim that somehow the economy was rosy in 2007 it wasn’t. It’s worse now undoubtedly but it was never good back in 2007 at a time when this prior council voted to bond the recreation center. That’s the Mayor’s focus and objective. Commissioner John Franck also responded to Commissioner Kim that his project is dead as he doesn’t have the 4/5 vote. He thinks what we need to do is look at a comprehensive plan with the parking lot in the back include what he wants, maybe even more than what he is asking for currently. Somewhat of an RFP out last October/November, so he knows there was some flavor towards doing that where somehow we can get something done to meet his needs, to meet the needs of the City Center, to meet the needs of the City in general. Bring private funds into this. This is nothing new. We had these proposals and this was a proposal that you, former Mayor Keehn and Commissioner McCabe killed, that’s why we never went forward with them and he know times have changed. Commissioner Franck does agree with the Mayor that in 2007 and you can go through the minutes and look, everything you are saying now he told Commissioner Kim a year ago. It’s pretty obvious to most people paying attention. Commissioner Kim responded to Commissioner Frank advising that he sent a letter to the mayor this week and will carbon copy all the Commissioners which essentially offers what he said, which is a wise suggestion. What we said is using the same analysis, we already spent $220K to work on what we are doing down there. We said to the Mayor, the creative financing idea great, let’s talk about it. He was in favor of it a year ago, he was the one who brought it up, and he pushed Commissioner McCabe to do that. As long as it’s clear that the design process continues, because we’ve spent that money, we’ve got these design people on. We’ve got 3 RFPs that we never rejected as a City Council, we could pick those up, ask them to update them. Commissioner Kim has talked informally to some of the consultants and they have said they could update them; the numbers are going to go up. He would be happy to work on a RFP that is different. Again, the issue is moving forward with the public safety station as a priority. Commissioner Franck said he believes the public safety would help the project work, potentially we don’t know if the numbers are going to work. He just feels that if we built a 2 or 3 story facility back here without a comprehensive plan for the whole lot, we can build a police facility where people would be safe in a community right next to them. Let’s face it, they just built a hotel a 100 yards behind the police station so they felt safe enough there. But he looks at that lot and to build something that has been proposed at a cost that has been proposed just makes no sense to him. He’s just looking for a comprehensive approach that he was all for in January 2006. He sees different things happening and whether it is true or in peoples mind, the bottom line here is there is a recessionary feel here. He thinks Governor Patterson sees it very clear, he’s pulling the Assemblymen and Senators back in, in August. To him the bottom line is we have to have an approach to get your police station but do it in a comprehensive way where we’re going to get revenues from private investors 8 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 from property taxes that will help subsidize payment for your bond or however we finance it. He thinks the Mayor has been clear on this. The bottom line is this project as is, is dead. Commissioner Franck doesn’t want to waste any more money going forward with it not because he doesn’t want a police station back there but because we can’t afford it the way it’s going to be done. The numbers are going to be considerably higher than the $8 million budget, he still thinks they are going to be 13, 14, 15 million dollars. He knows Commissioner Kim keeps saying steel has gone up 30% every month, if that’s that case steel has gone up 600% since we’ve started this argument and that’s not the case. Steel is higher and it is higher for the recreation project and everything else. But if we are asking everyone at home to tighten their belts, we have winter coming, people don’t know if they are going to be able to pay their oil bills, it’s really hard for me to say we are going to increase people’s taxes 10, 12, 13%. We have unfunded retirements over the next generation coming forward. Commissioner Franck said he can’t put our future, his child, and other people’s children in a tax and spend mode down the future. He thinks if we can work together on this and sit down as a team, and put everything else aside, we can get something done back here. What he’s currently seeing can’t get done, he can’t support it. Mayor Johnson provided brief background for the public explaining the Daily Gazette did an extensive article the last Sunday in July on the recreation center as well as the police station positions of the council. In that article he explained in depth his position to the public and indicated that he had been meeting with individuals to come up with financial solutions for developing the area behind City Hall as a comprehensive plan. That lot is too valuable. It’s a huge lot, it has great potential and to do a piece meal development as is presently being proposed doesn’t make sense. It is short sited and is not the maximum use of that location within the City. He’s looking at trying to maximize and put that property back on the tax role through private development and ownership. That requires creative solutions. Following that article he received a letter from Commissioner Kim stating he was ‘heartened’ to read the positions in the paper and wanted to get together. In part of the letter Commissioner Kim is still insisting on going forward with the design process of the present proposal. The Mayor stated he doesn’t think that is fitting into the overall comprehensive use of the lot. He would be happy to sit down with Commissioner Kim and the entire Council to work out a comprehensive solution to the best use of this lot behind City Hall. Commissioner Kim stated if $800K justifies going forward with the recreation center, then he would assume $220K or whatever the number is that has been spent on the design contract would justify not just dropping it. It was a contract approved by the prior City Council for a total of $690K. They have done substantial work towards this. He has spoken briefly with them and they can retrofit this in to a more comprehensive solution that Commissioner Franck talks about. But it does require this City Council jelling to some sort of decision fairly quickly because they are moving along. That’s what’s frustrating here is a prior City Council made some decisions and now we are re-upping all those Mayor said we all know that we can ask LaBella Associates to stop their design and wait our final determination in this matter. They are going forward designing a structure that you do not have a support for on the City Council. Commissioner Kim stated what they are doing right now is answering Commissioner Ivins questions and Commissioner Scirocco’s questions. These are experts in building a police facility. He’s not sure there’s a local developer that knows how to build a police station. Why we would throw all that valuable information out the window after we went through a competitive bidding process to get them seems to be counter productive. Mayor Johnson made one final comment; he’s been meeting with people that have creative solutions for the City. EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to move to executive session at 8:10 p.m. regarding proposed, pending or current litigation; personal private information of a person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal or removal of a person or corporation. Ayes all Council members returned at 8:50pm where Mayor Johnson said that having met in Executive Session, there was one item to report to the public and he deferred it over to Commissioner Kim on a public safety issue. 9 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 Commissioner Kim moved to hire the law firm of Christopher Watt of Hamilton Watt for representation for the City in the matter of Lawrence Castell at $165/hr not to exceed a total amount of $5,000. Unanimous vote in favor to retain the firm. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Scott Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to approve the consent agenda as follows: 1. Approval of July 15 City Council meeting minutes 2. Budget Amendments 3. Budget Transfers 4. Payroll 7/18/08 - $456,193.12 5. Payroll 7/25/08 - $457,751.86 6. Approve Payroll 8/1/08 $458,110.18 7. Warrant 2008 Mid M3JL08 $ 490,442.05 8. Warrant 2008 Mid MC2JUL08 $ 109,896.96 9. Warrant 2008 Regular 1AUG08 $1,468,051.45 Commissioner Ivins had one correction to the consent agenda on the regular warrant of August 1, 2008. The total should be $1,468,237.75. Ayes - All MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Youth Week Activity Reimbursement Agreement (08-130) Linda Terricola, Recreation Director explained that this is for the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors annual youth week activity reimbursement. This is an annual contribution received each year. This is used for our youth day and is in the amount of $2,800.00. Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to approve the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Youth Week Activity Reimbursement agreement as submitted. Ayes – All Sports Lighting for Geyser Park SEQR Mayor Johnson withdrew this from his agenda. Beaver Pond Application- Contract with Saratoga Associates (08-131) Developers with the project had submitted to the Planning Board a feasibility study indicating what could be developed in terms of the number of units on the parcel. The Planning Board determined it needed independent review of this study and the idea is to contract with Saratoga Associates for a review to assist the Planning Board in deciphering the feasibility study submitted by the applicant. This is the amount that is to be paid for by the applicant. It is actually reimbursement to the city for the entire cost of the analysis by Saratoga Associates. Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign a contract with Saratoga Associates for a review of an economic feasibility analysis regarding the Beaver Pond Application. Ayes - All 10 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 Easement Agreement-54 Phila Street (08-132) Assistant City Attorney Tony Izzo explained this easement is as a result of applications before the Design Review Commission and the Planning Board. 54 Phila Street LLC, is building a multi-use building at 54 Phila Street. The designs have been before both boards and out of that came approved plans to include a canopy in front of the building’s entrance on Henry Street. That same canopy will project about 30 inches over the City’s property line. It actually encroaches into the City’s air space approximately 30 inches. Letters are in Tony Izzo’s file, dated July 11th, from both the Chair of the Design Review Commission (Patrick Kane) and the Chair of the Planning Board (Clifford Van Wagner) indicating this is acceptable and the canopy was part of the plan during the reviews. The sidewalk is unobstructed. Tony did point out a typo in Patrick Kane’s letter, Patrick mentioned the canopy over the Phila Street entrance. He did mean the Henry Street entrance. Tony double checked that. Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to approve the Easement agreement with Scot Trifilo, owner to allow an overhang on 54 Phila Street over City property. Ayes - All Purchase Contract for Vanderbilt Avenue lot for South Side Recreation (08-133) Mayor Johnson stated this has been discussed publicly as well as in formal council mtgs. Regardless of whether the indoor recreation center is built on this lot, the proposed adjoining lot to the field is advantageous. There was a single family home on this lot which has been demolished. The lot is at a location that is at the northwest corner of the recreation field which nicely squares off the parameters of the property. City assessed lot at $135k, it was on the market for $178K. Our assessments are at 78.35% which translates into a fair market value of $171K. The purchase price of $145K is less than the fair market value. Mayor commended the owner, Bad Fish Holdings, LLC for wanting to have this land incorporated into the present park and was willing to take less than fair market value for the civic purpose in mind. The financing can come from 3 sources. One is covered under the bonding that has been put in place for the indoor recreation center, there is open space bond money that has a $1.6 million dollar balance to use to cover the cost of the purchase and the third contribution is an application with the County for a $50K grant money to go towards the purchase prices. The Mayor stated he is confident between all three there is money available to complete the purchase. Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to authorize the Mayor to enter into the purchase contract with the owner . Commissioner Franck seconded with discussion. He asked if the seller is paying the commission fees. Mayor Johnson responded that the seller is paying commission fees. Commissioner Anthony Scirocco asked if they should be more specific as to where the funding is coming from. His second concern was the clean up of the property. Was everything left below ground when the building was demolished? Mayor Johnson informed the house was on a slab. Commissioner Kim asked if there were any cost estimates to remove the building. He was reminded the building has already been removed. Commissioner Ken Ivins pointed out we have a number sources to fund this. Commissioner Kim stated he is going to oppose this for a couple reasons. He pulled minutes on bonds approved in 2006 and stated the purpose of the bonds was for multi purpose recreation facility. The bond doesn’t say land acquisition. Not sure if the $1.8 million dollars that was issued can be used for this purpose. The Open Space Bond Act requires a process. Local law chapter 110-6 says and he quoted ‘No expenditures shall be made from these funds except on the specific authorization of the City Council and for the purposes described in this chapter”. This is appropriate and would fit under this chapter based on the recommendation 11 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 of the Open Space Advisory Committee. Commissioner Kim wasn’t aware that a referral was made to the Open Space Advisory Committee, therefore he can’t support it. The final reason is we had a presentation about capital projects and whether we are even authorized. Things that have happened in the past do make a difference, they matter. That’s why someone is taking minutes and keeping us honest. We had a capital budget process that approved this project and he’s not clear that this capital budget process allows the City to build on this particular lot. At the time that budget was passed and the capital programs were passed, the assumption was we were building on Weibel Avenue. That also concerns him that the Council has gone in a different direction without doing the process. It sounds like the votes are here to do that. He was just calling it to attention. People are out there that are opposing this and every little process ignored just opens up potential litigation that’s going to cost the City. Let’s try to get that stuff done before we race off to buy this land. Mayor Johnson answered that this proposal was run by the Open Space Advisory Committee and they unanimously voted to go forward with the purchase of this lot. The Advisory Committee did a presentation at a Council meeting regarding this lot and the old Getty station at the corner of Rt. 50 and Rt. 9. Commissioner Scirocco stated he still has the concern of where and how they are going to fund this. Until he sees the property, he can’t support it although it would make a good addition to the Southside recreation field. He stated again that he is concerned there was a building on the lot and didn’t want to get into a situation where the City is buying a piece of property and having to clean it up. He stated he’s not going to support this tonight. Commissioner Kim asked when does SEQR have to be done, before we sign a contract or at the pint when we transfer money? Tony Izzo, Assistant City Attorney did not know what the point was that would trigger the SEQR process. He would look it up. Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Franck seconded with question to authorize the Mayor to sign a purchase contract with Bad Fish Holdings, LLC for the lot on Vanderbilt Avenue adjoining the site of the South Side Recreation field. Ayes - 3 No – Commissioner S cirocco and Commissioner Kim Status of Indoor Recreation Center Mayor Johnson said process is ongoing. Design consultants are putting together cost estimates on construction. They are confident that it is within budget allowed for the project. Final figures will be available for the public at the next council meeting in August. A traffic study from Crieghton Manning has been received and will be posted on the website. The findings conclusion category stated the following: it is not anticipated that the proposed City recreation center will change the existing urban street character of any of the City roadways detailed above. That reference includes Vanderbilt, Worth, Lincoln, the areas and roads in proximity to the proposed project. It further states that the project will create negligible increases in volume at the adjacent roadways and intersections at the vicinity of the site. The overall conclusions is as follows and quoted ‘ overall as expected that the construction of the City recreation center will not impact the operations of the roadways and intersections of the study area’. Resolution for SLPID in support of grant applications (08-134) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to approve the resolution for Saratoga Lake Protection and Improvement District in support of grant applications to control water milfoil in Saratoga Lake as follows: SUPPORT FOR SLPID LAKE RECLAIMATION Mayor Scott T. Johnson Commissioner John Franck Commissioner Kenneth Ivins Commissioner Anthony Scirocco Commissioner Ronald Kim 12 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes that Saratoga Lake is an important recreational and economic resource to the City of Saratoga Springs, and WHEREAS, the City Council supported the development of the Saratoga Lake Watershed Management Plan in 2001, and WHEREAS, over the last twenty years of efforts by the surrounding communities and SLPID, improvements in both water quality and nuisance plant control have been accomplished. Starting in 2003 with strong encouragement from the state, SLPID began the process of preparing an aquatic plant management plan and a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement with the goal of reclaiming the littoral zone (near shore area), in order to allow its recovery as a stable plant community that is no longer dominated by invasive species, and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to support the implementation of priority projects in the Saratoga Lake Watershed Management Plan including actions that restore water quality and aquatic habitats, and management Eurasian watermilfoil, and WHEREAS, the City Council acknowledges that the first year of the three year program has been very successful, the second year of control efforts are underway and they have a significantly improved chance for success due to use of newly available herbicides, and WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes that SLPID has funded 70% of the cost of treatment in year-one treatment cost and 90% of the cost of treatment in year-two and that these expenditures have depleted the reserves of SLPID, BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the City Council finds it is paramount that adequate grant funding be obtained to complete this important lake restoration effort and fervently supports the submission of grant application efforts that meet these goals. Ayes - All Donation of land to the Shelters of Saratoga Inc. for transitional housing (08-135) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissione r Franck seconded to authorize the Mayor and the Commissioner of Finance to execute any and all necessary documents for donation of two parcels of land on Walworth Street to the Shelters of Saratoga Inc. for transitional housing. RESOLUTION TO DONATE TWO PARCELS OF LAND AND WALWORTH STREET TO SHELTERS OF SARATOGA Mayor Scott T. Johnson Commissioner John Franck Commissioner Kenneth Ivins Commissioner Anthony Scirocco Commissioner Ronald Kim BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York, as follows: WHEREAS, SHELTERS OF SARATOGA is a local organization of individuals with proven results and dedication to providing shelter and assistance to persons in need; and WHEREAS, SHELTERS OF SARATOGA has asked that two parcels of land owned by the City and located adjacent to Shelter’s property on Walworth Street be transferred to Shelters for the purpose of expanding and augmenting Shelters’ current programs and services; and WHEREAS, the City-owned parcels are designated as parcel 165.58-3-25, a parcel measuring 100 feet by 37.5 feet and currently assessed at $13,000.00, and parcel 165.58-3-26, a parcel measuring 50 feet by 75 feet and currently assessed at $13,000.00; and WHEREAS, at its June 25, 2008 meeting, the City’s Real Estate Committee approved the donation of the aforementioned City-owned parcels to Shelters; and WHEREAS, the public benefit derived from Shelters’ use of the parcels will be substantially greater than the parcel’s market value; and WHEREAS, the parcels are not needed for municipal purposes, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED as follows: 1. This Council hereby determines to sell, transfer and convey the said two parcels designated as parcels 165.58-3-25 and 165.58-3-26 to Shelters of Saratoga, 14 Walworth Street, Saratoga Springs, New York, to be used for purposes consistent with its programs and services. 2. The Council authorizes the Mayor to sign all required documents of conveyance. 13 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 Mayor Johnson reminded the public that this was the subject of a public hearing earlier this evening and at previous council meetings. Parcels are unusual in configurations as far as being marketable. Proposal was brought to his attention a couple months ago when he visited the home and became very supportive of this and has been advocating it since. Service would be available to those in our City who are homeless. Note for record that the Mayor checked with the Economic Opportunity Council (EOC) for their opinion. He spoke with the director of the EOC who is in support of this initiative and does not object. Ayes – All Status of the Waterfront Park Development Mayor Johnson said efforts continue with the LA Group to put design together to hopefully make something available for public use beyond what is there now by end of the year. It is an aggressive goal given what is there and the work that needs to be done. They have some wonderful concepts and ideas on the design in conjunction with a committee that has been very involved working with them. They are very exciting designs that they hope can go public around Labor Day or there after. Overall people will be very pleased when they see the proposals. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Appointment: Commissioner of Deeds (08-136) Commissioner Franck announced the appointment of the following individuals as Commissioners of Deeds pursuant to the request from the police department: Officer John Kehoe Officer Justin Ahigian Officer John Guzek Officer Amy Evertsen Officer Aaron Moore Officer Adam French Award of Bid and Contract for Sports Lighting at Geyser Park Based upon Mayor Johnson withdrawing this from his agenda, this has also been withdrawn from Commissioner Franck’s agenda. Signage on the West Side of Broadway Commissioner Franck said in partnership with the Department of Public Works and the Downtown Business Association, the Accounts Office will be placing signage in the following locations on the west side of Broadway for local merchants: the corner of Broadway and Division Street by the Downtowner Motel, and on the corner of Broadway and Church where the Adirondack Trust Bank is. He thanked Commissioner Scirocco and Dawn Oesh of the Downtown Business Association for their involvement in getting these signs up. He also thanked former Commissioner McCabe who had forwarded this mission to his office. There will be an unveiling of the signs on Thursday, August 7th at the corner of Division and Broadway at 11am. Everybody is invited that would like to come by. Note for the record: Last item of our grant was the projection system and screen. This will be a nice addition. The projection will not be in the way anymore and as time goes he hoped to have the agenda on here at our next meeting. Again he thanked Public Works as they got this projection system up quickly. This will make the process easier for the land use boards as well. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Second Quarter Financial Report 14 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 Commissioner Ivins said that the report was distributed to council today. No big revelations. The real key is the next four months, sales tax, track attendance tax, mortgage tax, etc. will all be realized and we will be looking closely at those numbers to have a real feel for where we stand in the last portion of the year. With track attend down, gas up and the economy down it a real critical time for our budget. 2008 Budget Call Letter Commissioner Ivins said public notice was sent on July 25th to all city departments for 2009 budget requests, officially called a call letter. They are due back in his office no later than Friday, August 29th for inclusion in the 2009 budget that will be submitted to the Council on October 7, 2008. He would like to employ his fellow council members to take a hard look at their budgets. It’s tough economic times and we can’t always depend on the State money in this coming year. Sales tax money is not guaranteed, VLT money is not guaranteed so we have to do our tax payers justice and we have to tighten our belts and prioritize our requests. City Finances Commissioner Ivins said that this has been covered well in his first two items as well as his presentation. He is trying to keep City spending at a minimum for 2009. He hopes the City won’t have to do any of the state wide approaches here. We are not immune from the economy here, we are affected. North Woods Trail Work Weekend Commissioner Ivins announced the woods behind Skidmore College have gotten a lot of use over the years. As a result some problems have come up because of that use such as erosion and trail widening. He’s been working with the folks at Skidmore College to address some of these issues in the north woods and to keep it a valuable resource in our community for years to come. He is coordinating working with them for the weekend of September 13th and 14th to do some trail work. Putting in erosion steps, bridges, smaller walk bridges over wet areas, etc. If anyone is interested in coming out to help, contact his office, as they are coordinating all the efforts for that weekend. Donations have already been received from Allerdice Building Supply. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Pre-Cast Curb Work Agreement (08-137) Commissioner Scirocco explained this is for the Mayor to sign an agreement for the City to install 179 linear feet of pre-cast curbs for Jim Grande at 151 Nelson Avenue at the White Street side of the property in the amount of $3417.00. Commissioner Scirocco moved and Ivins seconded to enter into an agreement with Jim Grande for Pre- Cast Curb Work . Ayes – All Set Public Hearing Commissioner Scirocco stated he would like to request a public hearing to amend Chapter 231 of the City Code. This is a proposal to amend Chapter 231.48 of the City Code relative to the disposition of water connection fees. In September, 1999, the Council enacted a very long preamble to that section that required all water connection fees paid to the City to go into a certain fund dedicated for expansion of the City’s water system. The preamble required that the connection fees be used for the expansion of the system and no other purpose. The proposal tonight is to amend the section 231.48 to allow water connection fees that the City receives from now on to be paid into the City’s water fund and to be used for a variety of purposes. This change will allow the Council to use water fee money for other important things particularly the maintenance and repair of existing water systems. It will leave the City in a better position to fix badly damaged and worn out watermains and pipes for the benefit of the public. 15 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 Commissioner Scirocco set a public hearing to amend Chapter 231 of the City Code for Tuesday August 19, 2008 at 6:45 p.m. Commissioner Franck stated he has deep concerns with this. He believed RJ Taylor brought a law suit against the City when this chapter of the code was originally put in. Their argument was you can’t do it for general purpose, which is what DPW is doing and changing this for. They won. The courts found it would be unfair to basically tax the developers for something that is pre-existing that should be taken care of in a regular tax. His concern is that as we go forward and make this change, the money that is left in that fund would be in jeopardy in having to be returned. Also, all the money that has been collected over the last 8 or 9 years could potentially be put up to lawsuit and have to give that money back. What’s being proposed is basically what the courts told the City they couldn’t do in the beginning with the collection of this fee. There is time between now and the next meeting to look at this to see if it is something that can be done legally. Mayor Johnson stated that can be looked into between now and the public hearing. Commissioner Ivins stated to the best of his understanding the City can’t touch the old money anyway. It can still be used only as it was outlined. That point should be investigated. Commissioner Scirocco stated they have some 4 inch watermains that can’t supply enough water for fire protection in some areas. This is what they’re looking to do, maybe create some of this infrastructure with this money. Update- Arrowhead and Vista Drive Storm Drainage Commissioner Anthony Scirocco said that with the last rainstorm there were some issues with flooding. One in particular was on Arrowhead Road and Vista. The water department was sent out there and managed to put some new infrastructure in to address the flooding issue. Some of the water out there that was probably a foot deep. It was impassible for a regular car. One other problem was on Orenda and Hathorn Blvd. Same situation there, a storm sewer was not adequate enough to drain water from intersection. Additional infrastructure was put in to accommodate any excess water. Commissioner Scirocco addressed the lady from Adams Street. The contractor is in place for that whole area, the Nelson Avenue project as it’s called. It is his understanding there isn’t any infrastructure over there. The water table is really high over there especially now with all the rain. When that project is done she will get relief, the people at Saratoga Village will get relief from some flooding and the rest of the neighborhood there, one in particular the Nelson Avenue/White Street. The reason why they didn’t get to it before the track started was because of the water table was so high that the other contractor had a tough time getting into the ground to actually finish the White Street part to Nelson Avenue. That being done. They are going to start the Nelson Avenue/White Street and the project over to Saratoga Village right after the track. Hopefully that will address everyone’s problem in that area. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Contract with Control Network Communications (08-138) Commissioner Kim advised this contract is for security cameras for the police station in the amount of $59,579. It is in the budget. For the public’s information, the cameras went down in May. The most immediate need is in booking room, where there are two cameras – one facing the officer and one facing person being booked. There will also be a hook up to an existing camera that is mounted on the outside of the police station. For obvious reasons these cameras are necessary for security and proper protocol in terms of booking people and dealing with prisoners, etc. Note to council - server and switches will have to be ordered which will cost about $13k but it is also part of this capital budget money. So the total cost for this project is $76k. Mayor Johnson asked if this is a mandate. Commissioner Kim stated he doesn’t believe it’s a mandate that they have cameras. It really is a protection for both anyone going in the station and police officers. It enhances security for everyone. It is part of a contract for installation of security cameras in several other parts of City Hall. These cameras will be able to interface 16 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 with whatever else is done throughout City Hall and the hardware will be compatible with any program we end up with for the phones. Commissioner Kim moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign a contract with Control Network Communications in the amount of $59,579 for security cameras in the police station. Ayes - All Set Public hearing: Stop Sign Ordinance Commissioner Kim set a public hearing for a stop sign. This is a request of the neighborhood at Audrey and Victoria. Public hearing was set for Tuesday, August 19th at 6:40 p.m. Set Public Hearing: Amendment to Chapter 225 of City Code. Commissioner Kim set a public hearing to amend Chapter 225-69 of the City Code. They are lowering the speed limit on Geyser Road. Action by the county in the Milton portion of Geyser Road to lower the speed limit is welcomed. They want to move quickly to match that. Current speed limit is 40 from the Milton boarder to Rt. 50. It is being lowered to 35, that’s what this hearing is about. Input is welcomed. This is to try to enhance the safety of the pedestrians. The public hearing was set for Tuesday August 19, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. Commissioner Scirocco asked in regards to the truck traffic on Geyser Road if this ordinance can also include the use of truck jake breaks. Could a sign be put at the industrial park to remind truckers they don’t need to use the jake break as it is only 35 miles per hour? Commissioner Kim stated his understands this is an issue, but a noise ordinance has been passed to address this specifically. The real problem is enforcement. Tony Izzo, clarified the noise ordinance passed mentions the use of any device that causes the decibel measuring device to read a certain level is a violation. It would have to be measured in such a way that it would hold up in court. Commissioner Kim stated they could consider outlawing the use of jake breaks as other communities have done. But if done, there is an issue of safety you have to address. Recent Fire Calls Commissioner Kim said there was an unusual situation in July between July 7th and July 17th where there were 5 major incidents his department was called upon including 4 structure fires and 1 fire in a street paving machine. On July 9th there was a structural fire at 75 Nottingham. Station 2 on the west side arrived to find the garage and second floor bedrooms burning. The fire crew lead by Lt. Kirkpatrick consisted of firefighters Pat Cogan, Robert DeCelle, and Brian Moran. They cut through the garage door to gain access to the fire and then extinguished it. This was a structure fire. The firefighters’ aggressive actions prevented the fire from spreading. A day later there was a machinery fire on Lincoln Avenue, both stations responded to this. A paving machine was on fire with a large quantity of fuel oil, asphalt and hydraulic fuel leaking on to the roadway. The crew lead by Captain Whipple extinguished the fire and also the flow of leaking fluids which limited the environmental damage to the immediate area. On July 12th there was another structure fire at 208 Regent Street. Captain Williams and group 2 responded to the early morning fire to find the front of the house, porch, and porch roof fully involved. They were able to minimize the damage to the home by preventing the fire from extending into the structure. On July 16th there was a structure fire at 99 Church Street that involved Lt. Hammond and responded with group 1. When they arrived they found the rear half of the building fully involved. Some onlookers reported there were children on the 3rd floor. They went immediately to that area and luckily the occupants of that area had already evacuated. They were able to contain the fire and rescued 2 cats. The final structure fire was at 102 Congress Street (Legends Café), one of the oldest buildings in the city. Captain Williams and he crew arrived and limited damage to the back of the café. In the end, what is remarkable is out of the 5 major incidents, there was no loss of life. There were a couple minor injuries to firefighters. Commissioner Kim commended the fire department for what was had been a busy July season. 17 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday August 5, 2008 Announcement: Commissioner Kim announced the Town of Colonie has commended our investigative units on the recent bank robbery investigations. The Chief wanted to point out that the Saratoga Police Officers were instrumental in apprehending the suspects. They particularly wanted to thank Officer Lloyd Davis, Officer Aaron Benware, Officer Glen Barrett, Officer Scott Johnson, Investigator Tim Sicko, Investigator Shane Crooks and Investigator Dave Levanites. SUPERVISORS Joanne Yepsen Beekman Street Association Update Supervisor Yepsen stated about a 1 yr ago a group was put together called Beekman Street Association which includes artists and other small businesses. Part of the plan was to put together a long range plan/business plan. In addition to live music that’s happening in this district, they will be hosting brunch on Beekman each Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. now through the end of the summer. Directional Signs for International Visitors Supervisor Yepsen reported our City is increasingly become international. Several people have approached her over the summer and said they are visiting from another country. Resident, Denise Polit has offered money and her time into this project as she feels it is important to welcome our international visitors with signage and become a more welcoming community visually with people from all over the world. I would like to work with her on this project and would like to ask Commissioner Franck if he would help put together a proposal to bring back to the council. Matthew Veitch Nothing at this time. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to adjourn the meeting. Ayes - All. There being no further business, Mayor Johnson adjourned the meeting at 9:53 pm. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 18 of 18