City Council

CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CAPITAL BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING CITY COUNCIL ROOM THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2008 3:00 P.M. Present: Scott Johnson, Mayor Shauna Sutton, Deputy Mayor Lew Benton Kate Jarosh, Deputy of Finance Michele Boxley, Deputy of Accounts Ron Kim, Commissioner of Public Safety Eileen Finneran, Deputy of Public Safety PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Johnson welcomed the public and explained the capital budget is driven by the City Charter and the Charter dictates who will make up the 10 member committee. He explained that the media reported an error stating the proposed capital budget was $43 million. The Committee had received 32 project requests for 2009 totaling $22,381,000. The Committee worked to reduce the number of projects to 22, totaling $5,141,000. The amount proposed to be bonded is $3,841,000. Water reserve fund money is not bonded. The Mayor went on to explain the total amount of money that can be bonded by the City and the amount that can be bonded by 2035. A spreadsheet of the projects (enclosed) was provided to the public for review and was explained by the Mayor. He explained what the projects were, the amount allotted to each project and the ranking of priority. The Mayor opened the meeting to the public for comment at this time. Chief Moore of the Saratoga Springs Police Department advised the public that the $19,000 for the civilian fingerprinting equipment is for just the equipment. This dollar amount does not include making space available to use this equipment. Theresa Capozzola of 57 Gilbert Road stated she believed the Gilbert Road waterline project was on the 2009 capital budget, but now sees it is not. She wanted to know when that change occurred. Mayor Johnson advised the change regarding the Gilbert road waterline happened at the last capital budget committee meeting. Wilma Koss of 160 Kaydeross Park Road stressed that the Committee should take a hard look at the list. If the new police station was taken out of the list, how can they leave $13 million for water development? She feels there is an unquestionable need for emergency services on the east side but also a separate need for a stand alone fire station and equipment. Mayor Johnson advised that no one has committed the City to the eastside EMS facility over the next 6 years. The money is for land acquisition and design. Capital Budget Public Hearing September 4, 2008 Commissioner Kim stated a feasibility study was done regarding the east side as a satellite like the west side. The study established the cost for the east side station if done in 2009 would be $4.6 million for a fire station. Linda Benton of 29 Thoroughbred Drive asked what affect the new telecommunications system would have on the current telecommunication specialist employed by the City. Mayor Johnson responded that no consideration has been given and won’t be given until the new system has been chosen and put in place. Commissioner Kim advised there is a limit on bonding based upon the assessed value of the City. The bonding limit will go up over the years as the value of the City should go up. He stated that if we neglected all these projects when we had a 1% increase, then at 2% we are way below the 7% that we can go up to. None of the projects were voted for unanimously. If the public safety building is not on this list, nothing else should be as nothing else is more important. Mayor Johnson advised the public that upon removal of the public safety building from the capital budget for 2009; the Deputy of Public Safety stated that the Commissioner Kim advised her to vote ‘NO’ on everything else. He went on to say there is another public hearing on September 8th @ 6 p.m. The proposal has to be given to Commissioner Ivins by September 15, 2008 for inclusion in the budget. Then the City Council will vote to adopt the budget. Theresa Capozzola of 57 Gilbert Road spoke again stating it appears that the 2010 list is a wish list. She asked the members of the Committee to try to live without water for a month and see how it is. She has spent $10,000 to drill wells with no luck. She advised there are 10 homes on Gilbert Road in this situation and urged the Committee to re-consider putting this project on the 2009 capital budget. Mayor Johnson stated the system on the east side is not that old. They would have to question what the most equitable way of doing this project is. The City can’t do this project by itself; they would have to contract it out. Theresa Capozzola asked what the opportunity would be for this project to be included in the 2009 capital budget if the assessed cost of the project went down. Rich Endres of 23 Thoroughbred Drive stated his understanding is this is it is just a list of numbers or a wish list. If that is the case, why don’t they have money for a public safety building on it? Linda Benton asked the Mayor if he could say there are no risk and safety issues down stairs. Mayor Johnson responded that it is not the role of the Committee to determine if there are issues. Wilma Koss asked what Commissioner Kim would have to do to get the new public safety building on the list. Allan Turkeimer of 158 Woodlawn stated there’s a $2 million dollar beach that will affect 500,000 people but nothing for a public safety building that deals with quality of life. People can rent space at the state park or school for cheaper than what is listed for the beach. The Committee needs to ‘Wake Up’. A representative from Domestic Crisis at 480 Broadway stated that people need a soundproof and private place to talk with the police. It is a public health law and the City is deficient in that area. Resident of 21 Wilshire Blvd. stated that public safety is as least as important as having water or sewer. Jim Montagnino of 9 Roberts Lane stated there are several lawsuits directly related to the dismal conditions of the police station. Where are we if the courts determine damages will have to be paid to change the conditions. Page 2 of 3 Capital Budget Public Hearing September 4, 2008 Deputy Commissioner Michele Boxley stated the assessment value of the City has increased; however, there was only $51 million in new construction. This is the first time in 3 years that it has been less than $100 million in new construction. Commissioner Kim advised that $100,000 has been spent to date on the design of the public safety building. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: Page 3 of 3