City Council

CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY COUNCIL ROOM MONDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2008 6:15 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 Amend 2007 – 2012 Capital Program Mayor Scott Johnson opened the public hearing on the Amendment of the 2007 – 2012 Capital Program at 6:21 p.m. Mayor Johnson stated this is to amend the capital program adopted by the Council in 2006 to insert the purchase of 00 Vanderbilt Avenue under the open space bond act proceeds. Commissioner Kim asked if this required any legal notice. Mayor Johnson advised that a legal notice did go out. Due to the absence of a staff member, the original wording of this public hearing on the agenda was not entered correctly and has been fixed for the meeting tonight. No one spoke. Mayor Johnson announced at 6:30 that the time allotted for the public hearing has come to an end, however, he will keep this public hearing open until the Council votes on this item. Property Maintenance Inspection Mayor Scott Johnson opened the public hearing on the property maintenance inspection at 6:30 p.m. City Council Meeting 11/3/08 Tony Izzo stated this is an amendment to chapter 118 of the City Code. NYS has mandated that municipalities have to change their way of handling inspections. The new revision brings in the new terminology and an article 2, which deals with residential occupancy permits. Section 118-3 and the entire article 2 states this is something that is done within the Department of Public Safety and their code enforcement. Article 2 deals with the registration and inspection of rental dwelling units. A rental dwelling unit is defined as any room or contiguous group of rooms located within a multi-family dwelling and forming a single habitable living space for one or more persons with cooking and sanitary facilities. Multi- family dwelling is a building with three or more rental dwelling units. There were revisions last week on the 10/28 and 10/31. The Council has the latest set of revisions from 10/31 for review. These are bookkeeping/housekeeping changes. The substantive stuff relates to separating the building inspectors’ authority, fire inspectors’ authority, and code administrators’ authority. The original draft of article 2 indicates the old effective date of June 1, 2008. The new proposed effective date is January 1, 2009. No one spoke. Mayor Johnson stated at 6:45 pm time allotted for the public hearing has come to an end, however, the public hearing will remain open. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Johnson advised Commissioner Ivins will present the 2009 amended budget before the public comment period to allow the public to comment on the presentation. Presentations 2009 Amended Budget Commissioner Ivins stated he met with each Commissioner regarding their wants and needs. He worked with Deputy Jarosh over this past weekend to amend the budget. This is not the final version, there is still time to make changes. The energy to ice money was used to change a few things. Page 5, debt service. They will need to amend the capital program. The $150,000 for the 2009 telecommunications was taken out and added the $88,000 for 2008 telecommunications. He factored in $145,000 to 2008 for the 00 Vanderbilt Avenue purchase. As a result, the debt service is increasing for 2009 by a $2,000. Revenues – Public safety is proposing over $100,000 in new revenue sources. These things will need council approval. If not approved by the Council, the amended budget will need to be amended again. Public Works energy to ice money is not guaranteed. $450,000 of the $526,000 has been factored into this budget. If the extra $76,000 is received, it will give us a cushion if one of our other areas is short. He is concerned with adding this as it is a one time amount. Recreation has had a number of adjustments on the expense side and only one adjustment on the income side. This is due to expecting the new recreation center building to be up in 2009 but not moved in to until January 2010. There is some savings here. Finance got the property tax down. Instead of 3.8% tax increase we are looking at a 2.71% tax increase. Cost of living is up around the 4-4.5% range but we are able to not go more than 2.7%1 in tax increase. Expenses – Mayor’s Office has asked that the heritage coordinator be put back in as a full time person. The part time clerk is remaining in place but the part time heritage event planner. The Accounts Department has announced that Marilyn Rivers has negotiated lower rates for our liability insurance. We had budgeted about $170,000 more than what we are going to be paying next year. If you go through each department, you will be able to see the savings by department. Commissioner Ivins extended a big Page 2 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 kudos to Marilyn Rivers for all her hard work over the years in keeping the city safe and bringing the insurance premiums down. The Accounts Department is leaving everything as is. Commissioner Ivins is looking to reduce the impact of the energy to ice money is by putting $100,000 of the money into a contingency account with the ides that we do not spend it. It will go into our fund balance. Public Safety has a lot of changes. Commissioner Ivins is adding $60,000 back in to the overtime fund for the special events. It is less than what was originally requested, but they have ideas to cover the difference. Commissioner Ivins is also proposing the funding of 2 new officers with the energy to ice money so overtime can be reduced in future years by $150,000 - $200,000. This idea was presented by Deputy Jarosh. DPS will try to get people in for the January session, if not then for the June session. They also need to work with civil service on this. Public Safety will also be keeping their executive secretary, code enforcer, and an IT person just for public safety who will work with the City’s IT person. Department of Public Works has had their labor line refunded; therefore no reductions in labor. Also, the DPW clerk position and the executive secretary positions have been refunded. The hazardous waste money is budgeted for 2008, but they are looking to encumber that money so it can be carried over to 2009. We are looking to lock in a natural gas rate. It looks like a 9 - 10% reduction per therm cost compared to where we locked in last year. Hopefully the steps by Johnson Controls will add to the savings. Recreation is looking to open the new facility in January 2010. The $165,000 for furniture, fixtures, and equipment, is staying in place. This still needs to happen to open the doors by January 1, 2010. Commissioner Ivins addressed the following questions and comments made via e-mail, letters and at public hearings: o Hiring of private contractors. We do hire a lot of contractors to a certain degree. We need to ask if our current staff is able to do some of the things we hire the contractors for or do the contractors supply expertise that our employees don’t have. If our people got the training, would they use the expertise regularly enough to offset the cost of the training. Do we have enough work for these contractors to do all the time; should we look into hiring someone to do that or if it is a one time fix where hiring someone long term wouldn’t have enough to do. Each Commissioner needs to ask themselves these questions each time before entering into contracts. So far, the contractors are justified for the things Commissioner Ivins has seen. o Books. Books purchased by the Accounts Department are mandated by the state to be updated annually. o Conferences. Some conferences are mandated by union contract, others may be able to be cut, but are useful for training existing staff. o Hiring or wage freeze. We are not big enough for a hiring freeze. We can’t address a salary freeze due to union contracts. For non-union personnel, such as deputies, we are only looking at a $6,000 – $18,000 impact or saving. o City Center. The Council gets an annual update from the City Center. If the Council would like an additional presentation, Commissioner Ivins would be happy to arrange that. o Water and Sewer budget. The water and sewer budget has changed and is on line. The whole amended budget is on line, is in the Clerk’s office and will be at the library on November 15th. There has been a suggestion that Commissioner Scirocco make presentation of the water/sewer budget. That is up to him to do that. Overall, this budget is a good compromise. A lot a things have been put back in. Commissioner Ivins is uncomfortable with a couple things as the energy to ice is a one time amount. Some of his biggest concerns are the revenue lines. We will probably need to fight hard for VLT money as early as December. The VLT money represents about 10% of our entire budget and about 25% of what is paid in property taxes. We really need to work on building the contingency because of things like the VLT. Page 3 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 Hopefully with AMD coming in to our county we will see more sales tax coming in, increase property values, increase property sales, etc. Commissioner Ivins recommended to the Council that they work through SEDC (Saratoga Economic Development Council) to talk about how to plan for and deal with changes like AMD. Next steps: o Monday, November 10, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. there is budget workshop. The Council members will have the opportunity to make suggestions and changes. o Tuesday, November 1, 2008 there will be a public hearing prior to the regular council meeting. o Monday, November 24, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. there is another budget workshop. We will probably be voting on this at that time. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD 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 at 7:25 p.m. Frank Barrone of 91 Van Dam Street stated he would like to thank Commissioner Ivins and Commissioner Scirocco for finding the money to keep his part time job with DPW. John Krause of 225 Grand Avenue stated the Council did a good job. They were fortunate that the $450,000 dropped in their laps, but Commissioner Ivins has been up front with advising this is a one time deal. Hopefully there will be time to look at the bids that are coming in and will have some room for capital spending to participate in the joint effort. Who can complain about a 2.71% tax increase? Commissioner Kim wanted to thank Commissioner Ivins and his deputy for working with them on the budget. The revenue items that DPS has come up with will be addressed later in the evening. Property maintenance fees at a conservative effort can gain $25,000. In the past, they have not charged for false alarms, going forward they will be more stringent about enforcing the false alarm penalties. Under vehicle towing requirements there is no city surcharge; about $10,000 could be recouped based upon past history. Another area they have not traditionally charged for is accident reports. The state troopers and sheriff have charged for this. There could be revenue there. In total, they conservatively estimated $100,000 in revenue to help operate their department. In looking at longer term revenue sources, they are looking at services rendered to Skidmore that could be a revenue source. Other ideas or discussion points are: an amnesty program for zoning violations where people could be brought into compliance for a fee; contracting out EMS services, etc. Commissioner Kim thanked Commissioner Ivins again for his efforts with the budget. Commissioner Franck stated that the evening of the public hearing at the Casino, Marilyn Rivers and Deputy Boxley were meeting with our insurance broker. He received a text message around 9 p.m. that evening regarding the savings. Because things have gone so well, they are working on a 3 year deal to keep it flat. That will make budgeting easier. He thanked Marilyn and the Safety Committee for their hard work. His only concern with the budget is the VLT revenue. He doesn’t feel we have a choice where the VLT money goes; he thinks it has to go into a general fund. An argument can be made that at least some of the VLT money was put into reserves. He will be shocked if we get close to that amount again. Commissioner Scirocco stated he appreciates the fact that the positions were put back in. By putting those positions back in, he hopes they will be able to maintain the same level of sales tax we are getting in now because those positions help the revenue generating situations in the City. We need to go lobby for the VLT money. The state is making money off of us. We need to create a relationship with the new Senate Majority Leader. Page 4 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 Commissioner Franck stated he will be shocked if sales tax money hits the mark. Gas prices are down, auto sales are down. We have a fiduciary responsibility to make sure this budget is as accurate as possible. Mayor Johnson closed the public comment period at 7:44 p.m. Executive Session : Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to adjourn into executive session at 7:44 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, including certain specific matters. One is the ongoing DEC investigation of the City and another is Omega Homes versus the City of Saratoga Springs litigation and lastly a proposed stipulation of settlement and grievance filed by CSEA against the City on personnel policy involving insurance co-pays. Ayes - All The normal Council meeting resumed at 8:25 p.m. There was nothing to report, as no final action was taken. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Scott Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to approve the consent agenda as follows: 1. Approval of City Council Minutes 10/14/08 2. Approval of Public Hearing Minutes 2009 Comprehensive Budget 10/14/08 3. Approval of City Council Minutes 10/21/08 4. Approve Budget Amendments 5. Approve Budget Transfers 6. Approve Payroll 10/24/08 $417,065.50 7. Approve Payroll 10/31/08 $415,784.44 8. Approve Warrant 2008 Mid MC3OCT08 $543,247.21 9. Approve Warrant 2008 Regular 1NOV08 $808,411.54 Commissioner Kim stated regarding the 10/21/08 bond resolution of the telecommunication system he meant to say ‘Nay’. Ayes – All MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign the Rental Agreement for the Saratoga Springs City School District (08-199) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded the amendment for the Mayor to sign the rental agreement for the Saratoga Springs City School District. Linda Terricola thanked all of the council who attend Beau Kilmer’s memorial and dedication of the east side field. They raised $600 towards the sign and other expenses. The correct sign now appears at the field. Over 300 people attended the dedication. Page 5 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 Mayor Johnson explained there are multiple agreements being proposed tonight for him to sign which are rental agreements on behalf of the City for use of various recreational facilities throughout the City. Linda Terricola explained that the rate is remaining the same at $25 per hour. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign the Rental Agreement for Skidmore College (08-200) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign a rental agreement for Skidmore College. Linda Terricola explained the hourly rate is remaining the same at $10 per hour. Commissioner Ivins clarified that all of these contracts are being brought forward now due to the recreation center not being opened in 2009. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign the Rental Agreement for YMCA of Saratoga (08-201) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign a rental agreement for YMCA of Saratoga. Linda Terricola stated the hourly rate remains the same at $10 per hour. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign the Rental Agreement for the Town of Wilton (08-202) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign a rental agreement for the Town of Wilton. Linda Terricola stated the hourly rate remains the same at $50 per hour. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign the Rental Agreement for the Ballston Area Community Center (08-203) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign a rental agreement for the Ballston Area Community Center. Linda Terricola stated the hourly rate remains the same at $45 per hour. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Youth Hockey to Sell Dasher Ads (08-204) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to authorize the Youth Hockey to sell dasher ads. Page 6 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 Linda Terricola explained she forwarded an e-mail to the Council from Dave Merriman, the President of Saratoga Youth Hockey to answer some of the questions that were asked previously about the dasher boards. Dave identified in the proposal agreement that they sold 7 dasher boards and Youth Hockey brought in $2,700. The City received $1,000. This year the goal is to sell 15-20 dasher boards at $500 per board. The cost of the sign would be $150; the City will receive 25% of the profits. This would equate to $87.50 per sign to the City. This is net after materials. The second year, the City would receive $125 per sign. Linda has received a suggestion that the Youth Hockey charge out of town businesses a higher rate. If this is agreeable by the Youth Hockey, she will come back with an amendment to the contract. Commissioner Scirocco asked if this agreement will be renewable after 2 or 3 years. When will they pay the $500 again? Linda Terricola stated it is 2 years. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Issue Negative Declaration on SEQRA for 00 Vanderbilt Purchase (08-205) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to issue a negative declaration on SEQRA for 00 Vanderbilt Avenue purchase. Mayor Johnson advised he has part II of the SEQRA review that the Council will review. This is a required step to complete the transaction of purchase of 00 Vanderbilt Avenue. This property is just north of the Southside recreation field and is a .28 acre parcel that is currently vacant. This was brought to theCouncil and the Council authorized the purchase contract to go forward. This is the next step to go to closing and the issuance of purchase price through the open space bond act. The SEQRA process is an environmental review of this proposed purchase. This is something that should go forward regardless if the indoor recreation center is built on the Southside field or not, it makes sense for us to have additional acreage at that site to be used as the open space component for organized play or pick up games. Mayor Johnson went over Part 1 of the application. The City is the applicant/sponsor. The project name is Southside recreation. This is also the short form for an unlisted action for which this purchase qualifies. The location is in the City of Saratoga Springs, the County is Saratoga, the precise location is a .28 +/- acre parcel located northerly of the Southside recreation, tax parcel # 165.84-2-83.1. The proposed action is an expansion compared to new or modification/alteration. The project is described as “acquisition of a vacant .28 +/- acre of parcel, located at the northwest corner of the existing Southside recreation parcel. This parcel will be added to the Southside rec.” Mayor Johnson went on to read numbers 7 – 12 and their respective answers of Part 1 of the short environmental assessment form. This part was certified by Paul K. Male, City Engineer. Part II is to be completed by the lead agency which is the City Council. Mayor Johnson read the questions and his proposed answers as follows: A. Does action exceed any type 1 threshold in 6 NYCRR, Part 617.4? NO B. Will action receive coordinated review as provide for unlisted action in 6 NYCRR, Part 617.6? NO C1. Existing air quality, surface or groundwater quality or quantity, noise levels, existing traffic pattern, solid waste production or disposal, potential for erosion, drainage or flooding problems? NO C2. Aesthetic, agricultural, archaeological, historic, or other natural or cultural resources; or community or neighborhood character? NO C3. Vegetation or fauna, fish shellfish or wildlife species, significant habitats, or threatened or endangered species? NO C4. A community’s existing plans or goals as officially adopted, or a change in use or intensity of use of land or other natural resources? NO C5. Growth, subsequent development, or related activities like to be induces by the proposed action? NO Page 7 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 C6. Long term, short term, cumulative, or other effects not identified in C1-C5? NO C7. Other impacts (including changes in use of either quantity or type of energy)? NONE D. Will the project have an impact on the environmental characteristic that caused the establishment of a critical environmental area (CEA)? NO E. Is there, or is there likely to be, controversy related to potential adverse environmental impacts? NO Mayor Johnson asked the Council if there were any comments or questions on Part II and the proposed findings. The Council had no questions or comments. Part III is where they would determine if there is a negative or positive declaration affect on the environment that would interfere with the project or the purchase going forward. Mayor Johnson read the instructions as follows: “For each adverse effect identified above, determine whether is substantial, large, important or otherwise significant. Each effect should be assessed in connection with its (a) setting (i.e. urban or rural); )b) probability of occurring; (c) duration; (d) irreversibility; (e) geographic scope; and (f) magnitude. If necessary, add attachments or reference supporting materials. Ensure that explanations contain sufficient detail to show that all relevant adverse impacts have been identified and adequately addressed. If question D of Part II was checked yes, the determination of significance must evaluate the potential impact of the proposed action on the environmental characteristics of the CEA.” Mayor Johnson proposed checking the second box which states “Check this box if you have determined, based on the information and analysis above and any supporting documentation, that the proposed action WILL NOT result in any significant adverse environmental impacts AND provide, on attachments as necessary, the reasons supporting this determination.” Commissioner Scirocco stated he is supporting this project but has a couple questions. This property is heavily wooded and has a big dip in the land. It appears the property needs to be cleaned up. He does not have the money in his budget to do that. If the land needs to be cleaned up, where is the money going to come from to make the land usable. He could get an estimate of how much it would cost to do this. Mayor Johnson advised if it needs to be done, they will look at where the money should come from once they own the parcel. His understanding of the open space fund is that it does allow its funds to be used for certain development of the property in accordance with keeping it open space. The intent all along of this parcel is to keep it as open space. Commissioner Kim stated he is going to oppose this because in addition to the purchase of the land, we have additional costs to clean it up. This is something that we could hold off on at this point. He thinks they need to be a little more careful. He does feel the SEQRA process was done correctly. Commissioner Franck stated he is supporting this. The land is still valuable regardless if the recreation center is built there. During the construction process of the recreation center, this property could probably be cleaned up then. Mayor Johnson advised the purchase price is $145,000. Commissioner Ivins stated he is supporting this for green space and if we wait a couple years, the price may increase. Ayes – 4 Nays – Commissioner Kim Announcement: Page 8 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 Mayor Johnson announced the new building inspector; his name is Lauritz Rasmussen. He is a mechanical engineer, a professional engineer, and has been consulting for a variety of organizations regarding the building trade. Mayor Johnson wished him well. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Award of Bid: Arts Council Public Restrooms Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to award the arts council public restroom bid. Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works I move to award the bid for the construction of the Arts Council Public Restrooms to Zandri Construction Corporation in the amount of $224,700. Ayes – All Award of Bid: Installation of Central Hydraulics Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to award the installation of central hydraulics bid. Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works I move to award the bid for the installation of central hydraulics, controls and equipment to operate the sand/salt spreader to T&T Sales Inc. in the amount of $5,139 for each of the three items totaling $15,417. Ayes – All Discussion: Insurance Savings Commissioner Franck stated the total 2009 premium is $515,944. The 2008 premium was $615,805. He thanked Marilyn Rivers for her hard work on this renewal. He quoted Tom Murphy, the Chief Underwriter Officer for Trident Insurance as saying “We have over 1,200 public entity clients and you can count on one hand the number who have the professional risk managers like Marilyn Rivers. It makes a big difference working with a professional risk manager; losses drive numbers, so if you reduce losses you reduce premiums. That is what risk managers do.” Commissioner Franck announced that they are trying to get a 3 year level premium. They are in negotiations right now. It is the direction to go to lock in cost. Discussion and Vote: Natural Gas Contract (08-206) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded for the Mayor to sign the natural gas contract. I move to allow the Mayor to sign a contract with NYSEG Solutions and Energetix as our supplier. The price per therm will be $1.063. This represents a locked in rate that is less that what the Council paid per therm all last year. Commissioner Scirocco stated he works this works out as his department takes care of all the utilities in the building. All his utility lines in his budget have been cut. He hopes this plays out in a positive way for the City otherwise he will be back asking the Council for more money. Commissioner Franck reminded the Council that the step with Johnson Controls should help as well. Page 9 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 Ayes – All Award of Bid: Snow Plows Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to award the snow plow bid. Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works I move to award the bid for snow plows to T&T Sales Inc. in the amount of $4,359. Ayes – All FINANCE DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Financial Internal Controls - DPW Commissioner Ivins removed this item from the agenda for this evening. Discussion: 3rd Quarter Financial Report Commissioner Ivins stated we are probably going to fall a little short on sales tax. Pilot payments are above budget; the NYRA admission tax revenue does not meet the budgeted figures; parking ticket collections is projected to fall short of the budget figure; and the casino rental has exceeded the budget figure as of the end of third quarter. Commissioner Ivins mentioned these areas as they are the greatest concern to him on a go forward basis. We got lucky with the insurance renewal and the energy to ice money. He is looking towards 2010 where we are not going to have at least 1, maybe both of these revenue resources next year. He asked everyone to look hard and try to find things to cut back on in 2010. We are probably going to finish the year $500,000 short. $300,000 of it can be made up in contingency, so we still have a little less than $200,000 to look at in December. Discussion and Vote: Update Finance Policies and Procedures (08-207) Commissioner Ivins moved and Mayor Johnson seconded the update of finance policies and procedures. Commissioner Ivins stated the first update is the journal entry policy as recommended by the auditors. The only difference is the check and balance with the Finance Department for the entries created by the Director of Finance. The second update is the timesheet policy. It includes clarification and the proper forms to fill out for time off request and additional time earned. This update was created through the Mayor’s Labor Management Committee. Ayes – All Set Public Hearing: 2009 Amended Budget Commissioner Ivins set a public hearing for 2009 Amended Budget for Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. Commissioner Ivins announced 2 budget workshops on 11/10 and 11/24 both at 6:30 in the City Council Room. Discussion: City Finances Commissioner Ivins stated this has been discussed previously in his agenda and has no further comment at this time. Page 10 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 Discussion and Vote: Mayor’s Department Payroll Transfer (08-208) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded the payroll transfer for the Mayor’s Department. Mayor Johnson stated this is for using a clerk to assist the Human Resource Administrator. No additional funds are being expended but the transfer is required to be in compliance with Civil Service. Commissioner Ivins advised the charter requires payroll transfers to be addressed separately; therefore these cannot be made part of the consent agenda. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: DPW Payroll Transfer (08-209) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded the payroll transfer for DPW. Ayes – All PUBLIC WORKS DEPARMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Agreement with NYSERDA (08-210) Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded the approval for the Mayor to sign the agreement with NYSERDA. Commissioner Scirocco stated the contract is for engineering services in form of a participation agreement and task work order plan, an energy conservation study that will identify and suggest various energy savings initiatives in connection with the City’s proposed upgrade in modernization of the Geyser Crest well field and treatment facility. Under the terms of the contract the cost of these services are not to exceed $20,250. NYSERDA will contribute up to $5,793 and the City will pay the balance of $14,457 in total contractor fees. Barton & Loguidice has been identified as a certified Flex Tech engineering consultant and authorized to perform this type of study. We must respond to NYSERDA by November 10 th. Commissioner Ivins asked why they are just seeing this contract at the 11th hour if the contract was available to DPW in August. Commissioner Scirocco stated they were doing research on it. They were going back and forth with NYSERDA and Barton & Loguidice to get all the information on it. This is a considerable savings to the City. This is something that has to be done whether they go through NYSERDA or not. The well field is in need of attention and this will put us in the right direction. There was only a 90 day opportunity on the contract. Mayor Johnson clarified that this is part of the capital project to address the problems with the Geyser Crest wells. Commissioner Scirocco stated it was. He believed the money would be coming from the water extension fee line. Ayes -All Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Supreme Court Law Library Lease Agreement (08-211) Page 11 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 Commissioner Scirocco moved and Mayor Johnson seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the Supreme Court Law Library lease agreement. Commissioner Scirocco stated this agreement is for a period of 5 years starting on January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2013. The annual rentals are as follows: 2009 is $30,942.23, 2010 is $31,870.50, 2011 is $32,826.62, 2012 is $33,811.42, and 2013 is $34,825.76. The City will be responsible for all utilities not including telephone, and trash removal. Mayor Johnson confirmed this is a standard renewal agreement with 3% annual increase. Ayes – All Discussion: DEC Grant – Energy to Ice Commissioner Scirocco stated they were awarded the DEC grant the City’s development of landfill gas co-generation, energy to ice program. Bill McTygue, Director of Public Works stated this initiative began several years ago when they applied to DEC in 2003 where they would be in line for possible reimbursement funding for City investments of the landfill gas project. The documents furnished to the DEC to cover June 1995 through August 1998. That is the period of engineering and construction work of the implementation and installation of the gas system. The gas is collected and pumped to the ice rink to power the chillers at the rink on Weibel Avenue. Last year notice was received from DEC that the City was put in the position for funding. This year notification was received that the City’s ‘number’ has come up for our turn in receiving funding. Last week the Mayor signed the formal application submittal to DEC. This application was for all program costs for that period and a request for 50% reimbursement, which is $526,829.60. That is what DPW believes the City is due. He is confident that the majority of those costs will be reimbursed. The City does have a contract with NYS identifying the maximum amount that the City qualifies for. Mayor Johnson stated this is a great program for the City. He asked how much we are saving by using the methane gas. Bill McTygue stated he can get the numbers and covert them to a dollar amount and report back. Whatever they continue to invest in enhancing that system, the City we remain eligible for 50% reimbursement up to the year 2013 under this program. If they can get the funding restored, there are additional things they would like to do at the site guarantee maximum use. Informational: Completion of the South Broadway Project Commissioner Scirocco stated this project was completed at the end of October. There were 4 mains were abandoned and one 12 inch line now. There are new catchbasins along the stormwater pipes which have taken care of flooding. There were 12 new decorative street lights installed. They believe they don’t need the National Grid overhead lights from Circular Street to Fenlon Street due to the new decorative lights. They will work with National Grid to take those lights down. Informational: City Hall Stairs Commissioner Scirocco stated the stairs opened on the 30th of October. The lions were removed from City Hall in the 1930’s. One was placed on the east side and one on the west side. They were recently restored and replaced on the cheek walls of the stairs. They are talking with a local mill worker to see what can be done to change the entrance doors. The entire interior of the front entrance was done by City employees. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony to be announced. The Council will be included in the ribbon cutting ceremony. Announcement: DPW has installed approximately 66 veterans’ bricks today. The bricks are engraved with the veteran’s name, rank and branch of service. Page 12 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Property Maintenance Inspection Registration Fees: Ordinance to Amend Chapter 118 of the Code of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York Entitled “Building Code Administration” Commissioner Kim pulled this item from his agenda tonight. The public hearing is being left open and another public hearing has been scheduled for November 18 at 6:20 p.m. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign “Hold Harmless” Agreement Between Saratoga Springs Police Department and New York State Police (08-212) Commissioner Kim moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the hold harmless. Commissioner Kim stated this agreement allows the officers to use the Schenectady County Airport facility for emergency vehicle operation training from November 17 – 21 on an annual basis. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign License Agreement with the Saratoga Springs Police Benevolent Association (08-213) Commissioner Kim moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the Supreme Court Law Library lease agreement. Commissioner Kim stated this is an existing agreement that is being extended under the same terms and conditions until December 31, 2009. Ayes – All Set Public Hearing: Amend Section 225-59 of the City Code “Vehicles and Traffic – Redemption of Seized Vehicles” to Add Surcharge Commissioner Kim set a public hearing for amending section 225-59 of the City Code “Vehicles and Traffic Redemption of Seized Vehicles” for Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 6:15 p.m. Discussion: History of Police Department Repairs Commissioner Kim stated in 2007 & 2008 there have been 5 areas addressed in need of attention. The cell block repairs which were completed in July 2008 with the installation of new locks, privacy panels, mesh screens on exterior windows, male and female cell areas were painted. This work was as a result of an inspection by the Commission of Corrections who mandated those repairs. Some repairs took unusually long because of the age of things such as the locks. The second item addressed was the women’s restroom locker area. A female restroom area was built in early 2008. The third area addressed was the radio equipment upgrade with Wells Communication. Power output for transmission over the mobile units needed to be upgraded. Dispatchers are able to hear officers from the field from all parts of the City. Earlier this year the department applied and was granted a new frequency to reduce interference and further upgrade the system. They are looking to replace all dispatch radios for the fire department. Funds were allocated in the 2008 capital budget. The fourth item addressed is the video surveillance system. This project was completed under budget. Page 13 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 The final project they have attempted to address but have not been successful is flooring in dispatch and the captain’s office. No response was received to the RFP. A local company wanted ½ down as deposit and was told by accounts we don’t pay this way. They are at the point where they want to try another RFP. They will also sit with DPW to see if there is a possibility of them doing the work. Set Public Hearing: Amend City Code Chapter 58 “Alarm Systems” to Amend Enforcement of Penalties Commissioner Kim set a public hearing for property maintenance inspection registration fees for Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 6:10 p.m. Set Public Hearing: Establishment of Fee Schedule for Police Reports Commissioner Kim set a public hearing for establishment of fee schedule for police reports for Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 6:05 p.m. SUPERVISORS Joanne Yepsen Price Chopper – 3 Yr. Commitment and Beyond Supervisor Yepsen advised of a positive announcement regarding the transaction between Bonacio Construction and the Golub Corporation. Price Chopper on Railroad Avenue will remain. Announcing Sustainable Saratoga Supervisor Yepsen is interested in convening a new group called Sustainable Saratoga that will work towards proposals for real change, funding sources, educational programs, energy efficiencies, green development, and healthy transportation. 2009 County Budget Supervisor Yepsen reported that the 2009 County budget has been proposed. A tentative budget was presented on 10/28. The 2008 County budget totaled $232 million; the 2009 proposed budget totals $240 million. The tax rate is going to be maintained for 2009. Open sessions will be held on 11/10 and 11/12 at 5:00 p.m., 11/14 at 2 p.m., 12/3 there will be a public hearing, and on 12/12 the Board Supervisors will approve the full budget. The County has 2 public authorities – sewer commission and water authority. The City may want to have the County come in and talk to City on regular basis regarding the sewer commission. A meeting has been set up for November 17 with an AMD representative regarding arts and education center at the Saratoga Arts Council. They will talk about how they are going to be welcomed to the region and to continue the quality of life issues. Transportation and Planning Symposium Supervisor Yepsen reported there was transportation and planning symposium held last Tuesday. This is an annual event held which was held in Albany. She participated on panel discussion titled “Non- motorized Travel”. Three people presented; one person from the Complete Streets Representative from Cornell Cooperative, the Mayor of Altamont and herself. They talked about what the County is doing with their green infrastructure plan, as well as Saratoga PLAN projects, and Saratoga Trails Committee. Page 14 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 Grant Requests for Trails & County Committee The County is considering a trail committee. The City, Saratoga PLAN and other municipalities need to work together. There are 3 main grants to apply for. They are the Community in Transportation Linkage Planning Program through the CDTC, the Recreational Trails Program of the NYS Office of Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the Department of State Governmental Efficiency Grant. All of these have deadlines within the next couple of months. HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) Supervisor Yepsen reported that the 2008-2009 program year commences today by Saratoga County. They will continue to fund this program until all funds have been depleted. Grant applications will be received Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. through the Social Services Department to help households fund and pay for their heating this winter. Guardian House for Homeless Women Veteran Supervisor Yepsen remind the public of a press conference at 4 p.m. on 11/10 with fundraiser to follow. Matt Veitch Update: 2009 County Budget Supervisor Veitch stated that on October 28th a press conference was held giving the proposed 2009 budget. $240 million is being proposed for 2009. Property tax is not going up in 2009; it is still $2.15 per $1,000 assessed value. They are preserving $750,000 in open space grants; they are putting in $50,000 for special veterans events such as the Army Band concert event at SPAC. They are still running at shortfall at Maplewood Manor. Update: 2009 County Trail Initiative Supervisor Veitch stated $250,000 has been proposed to fund trail improvement. This has been scaled back due to economics, but a program will be done where County parcels will have nature trails cut through those parcels. A committee has been appointed to look at this; Supervisor Veitch is chairing the committee. The first parcel is located in Wilton on the City line next to the Wilton Mall. There will be a dog trail on one of the trails. The trails will be free to use. Update: Saratoga Gaming and Raceway Foundation Supervisor Veitch reported the Foundation met on 10/30 to go over some housekeeping issues. The grants are open until 11/26. They will be announcing the grant recipients on 12/11. The application has wrong date but website has correct date, so follow the website. Update: Saratoga County Recycling Center Rehabilitation Supervisor Veitch stated that $45,000 was allocated in Saratoga County’s Recycling Center for improvements. The Saratoga Springs recycling center will receive these funds this year for updates and improvements, such as new asphalt, concrete pads, etc. ADJOURNMENT Page 15 of 16 City Council Meeting 11/3/08 Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to adjourn the meeting. Ayes – All There being no further business, Mayor Johnson adjourned the meeting at 9:53 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 11/18/08 Vote: 5 - 0 Page 16 of 16