City Council

CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY COUNCIL ROOM TUESDAY DECEMBER 16, 2008 6:55 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 Eileen Finneran, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Pat Design, Deputy Commissioner, DPW 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 Chapter 225-94 and Add Section 225-81 Alternate Parking Greenfield Avenue & Granite Street Mayor Johnson opened the public hearing on alternate parking on Greenfield Avenue & Granite Street at 7:05 p.m. Commissioner Kim explained this is to conform the City Code with current signage on these streets; Greenfield Avenue and Granite Street. There will be no parking anytime on the north side of the street between Broadway and Clement Street on Greenfield Avenue and no parking on either side of Granite Street between Greenfield Avenue and Vermont Street. Donna Braimon works at 605 North Broadway. She stated many of the employees park on the south side of Greenfield Avenue. After the storm, the north side was completely cleared but the south side was not. They had to get up on snow banks and ice as it wasn’t able to be cleared as there is no alternate parking. The employees are ok with alternate parking from November to April or to just put up signs for 24 hours to clear that area and go back. Mayor Johnson closed the public hearing at 7:08 p.m. CALL TO ORDER City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Mayor Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. 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 7:10 p.m. Clark Hayward of 189 Daketown Road, Greenfield Center stated he is also president and chief executive officer for Saratoga Emergency Medical Services (SEMS). He is here regarding his concern of the RFP from the Department of Public Safety. He and another person in SEMS spent the better part of 2008 meeting with the Department of Public Safety and the Fire Department administration regarding better ways to communicate and work together. He was disappointed to see this item on the agenda without a phone call from the Commissioner’s office to give them a “heads up”. His major concern has to do with the potential, not knowing any details of the RFP, for financial impact on their organization. SEMS receives about $1 million dollars in revenues each year and spends about $1 million each year in a very tightly managed budget. There is no room in his organization that would reduce revenue; meaning reimbursements they get from insurance companies, taking away from call volume, or adding expense to their organization. He offered to present to the Council and the public their financials for the past several years and would allow their CPA firm to answer any questions the Council may have. Rick Stone of 26 Tiffany Place stated he is the president of the Saratoga Springs Babe Ruth League. He is here to speak in favor of the recreation facility proposal. They are eagerly awaiting the new facility proposed at the Southside field. The location provides walking access to many residents and transportation access and parking for the rest. The project is well designed and engineered to accommodate cross generational age groups; this is not just for kids. It will provide open play field space. Elements and factors used to rank the quality of life in cities include infrastructure, diverse mix of commerce and housing, public library system and recreation. With this facility, we enhance the quality of life in Saratoga. Building makes sense now more than ever; with economic downturns comes lower material costs, increase labor availability and construction competition. He feels we can afford the facility and it will enhance the quality of life for the tax paying residents of this city. Molly Gagne of 22 Vichy Drive stated she was invited to an event at the City Center a number of years ago that included guests that worked heavily with tourists. The guest speaker was T. Scott Gross, who is famously known for the book he wrote called “Positively Outrageous Service”. The idea was stressed that employees have to be loyal and give outstanding service so that people remember us after they leave our town. She feels that Mary Jane Pelzer emulated what that man described to her. She hoped that the Council would be careful in thoughts of defunding her job. Dave Bronner of 5 Royal Henry Court stated he is here to discuss a problem in the Putnam Street garage. There were 4 parking spacing in the middle that are no longer parking spaces. There is no signage posted for these spots, so he parked in the spot thinking it was a legal parking space. He received a ticket. When he came down to City Hall to submit a written rebuttal as explained on the ticket, he was told he couldn’t do that. He had two options, pay the fine or appear in court. He chose to go to court and the ticket was dismissed. While in court he found there were more people who received a ticket for the same thing and their tickets were also dismissed because of the lack of proper signage. This is a waste of the people’s time, the court’s time and the City Attorney’s time. He asked that Public Safety put up the appropriate signs or return the parking spaces. He also asked for an audit of all parking tickets as the average person will just pay the fine and go on. In those cases, the City would have received money no due. Paul Mound of 5 Underwood Drive also represents American Stampede American Legion Baseball program. He is here in favor of the indoor recreation facility. The City benefits by having all types of venues for their residents. From an economic standpoint, they hold a tournament at the East Side Rec, Page 2 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Skidmore and Geyser before the track opens. They occupy over 100 hotel rooms, and frequent the local restaurants. This facility will also generate revenue. The greatest asset we have is our kids, but we all can take advantage of this facility, not just the kids. Mary Jane Pelzer of 9 Stratton Street stated this is the only time she has been able to discuss the defunding of her position. She was not allowed the privilege to discuss this issue. She is not sure whose idea it was to defund her position. She takes a hit personally by losing her income but the City takes a hit. A commitment was made by the City to encourage heritage tourism, research and create accurate meaningful and vital programs. This is all going to be lost. The City is losing more than it is gaining. This position should be maintained so that it is ongoing; it is bigger than one person. She asked the Council to reconsider and put the position back in the budget. She submitted letters to the Council on behalf of concerned citizens. Mayor Johnson advised the public that he cannot respond to the issues as there currently are disciplinary proceedings against Ms. Pelzer that precludes him from making any comments. Susan Philbin of 23 Leffert Street stated she is here to speak on behalf of Mary Jane’s position. This position is based upon history and this City is full of history. We are known for our health, history, and horses. Her great-great grandmother was a mid wife and kept the birth records for the City. Her grandfather was a tailor, trained in Italy, and ran a tailor shop in the Grand Union Hotel. There has to be continued education to keep people aware of our history; we learn from history and it is a wonderful part of life. She has known Mary Jane longer than she had been in the position. She is a professional person, who takes pride in what she does and is diligent. Mary Jane is also creative. Defunding her position would be a sin. Linda Benton of 29 Thoroughbred Drive stated she feels it is important to reiterate what Mary Jane said. She is speaking in support of here. The Deputy Mayor stated the position was being kept in the budget and that Commissioner Ivins was the one who took it out of the budget. It is a valuable position that Mary Jane has served well. When she worked in the Mayor’s office, all she saw was professionalism from Mary Jane. It is unconscionable to do away with her and the position. This is the only funded salary position that is being defunded. She finds that very interesting. Jim Chatfield of 9 Lakeview Road thanked the Council for going to Albany to fight for the VLT money. He also thanked the Council for working together regarding the public safety building. This shows strong leadership. To be a well rounded community, you need to have all the elements. You need to have recreation for all of the City residents. All you see is cutting in the state and municipalities. This project has been bonded; not see this project go forward would be wasteful. Paul Garhartt of 63 Jones Road stated he represents the City of Saratoga Springs Babe Ruth and the North District for all the baseball players. He is in support of the recreation facility. A building of this nature is not just a gym; it will promote fitness and well being. It will give a much needed updated home for the City’s own recreation program. Consider facility as an investment in the City and the community of Saratoga Springs. You may not see the return investment in this Council’s term but years down the line the returns will be seen. Mike Laudicina of 9 Joseph Street stated he was the Youth Director for YMCA for 18 years. He is in favor of the recreation facility. It is important to put it in the Southside of town. After the YMCA moved to its new facility, there were a lot of teens that couldn’t get there. They didn’t have parents that could drive them. This is more accessible location. It is more than a recreation center; it is a safe haven for the children. There is a big drop in the number of teens that come to the YMCA. Jason Gross of 1 South Federal Street stated he thinks they need to think about revenue for 2010 and no more building. People on social security just received a 5.8% increase and we should follow suit. Patricia Ernst of 432 Broadway is here regarding the amendment to the towing contract. She was told when she appeared on November 18th that the fees would be collected by the City. The agreement contradicts that; it says the contractor will collect the fees. She is looking for clarification. Page 3 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Tony Izzo stated the current proposal is the contractor that does the towing will collect the fees. Ms. Ernst stated that schedule C contradicts that. Robin Hayne of Jefferson Street is here to say she is not happy with the proposed Southside recreation facility. It may be the right thing for the City and the City’s youth, but it is not in the right place. That park is less than 4 acres. The amount of that property you want to turn into parking is ridiculous. Once that space is gone, it is gone; you can’t replace it. This will invite people from the outside area. During the racing season, that area will become NYRA parking. Will the City then start issuing paid permits for parking there? She is pro-kids and taught kids. That space is too small. We can do better than this. Marie Poutre of 16 Iroquois Drive stated she is in support of Mary Jane Pelzer. She is here to speak on behalf of the volunteers who work at the Visitor Center. She resigned from the Visitor’s Center as a volunteer as she feels Mary Jane was treated very unfairly. Mary Jane was the one who held them together when Denise McDonald was on leave and when Johnnie Roberts was on extensive leave. She is professional, creative, diligent and represents this city in a way you probably don’t know; she has never seen any of the Council there. As far as the disciplinary action, she feels people are innocent until proven guilty. So far the terms of the disciplinary action has not been exposed; no one knows what it is about. She was put out of the place without pay or vacation pay. If there is a real reason why her position should be eliminated, we should know. She doesn’t feel the position should be defunded now. Frank Barrone of 91 Van Dam Street stated he is a City worker for the DPW. He will offer a personal layoff if Mary Jane Pelzer would be able to keep her job. Mayor Johnson closed the public comment period at 7:42 p.m. Presentation : radKIDS Commissioner Scirocco introduced Doug and Mary Lyle. Their daughter, Suzanne is missing. A DVD was played to educate the Council and the public on the radKIDS (Resisting Aggression Defensively) program. This program teaches kids to avoid either abuse or abduction. He would like to work with the Lyles to get this program going in the City through in-kind services. Doug and Mary Lyle stated they have a non-profit organization called the Sign for Hope. They are interested in stepping in before something happens. They are here tonight to ask the support of the Council to get this program going. They are not asking for a lot of money but need the support of the community to get this program going. They need instructors and a location. The training for the trainers is 30 hours. The girl that was featured in the DVD is now a mentor to other children. Commissioner Kim stated the City’s DARE program only reaches 5th and 6th graders. He believes the DARE Officer can get involved with radKIDS. We also have relationships with the Juvenile Aid Program. Mr. Lyle stated his granddaughter has taken this program and he was able to see a change in her. Mary Lyle stated the organizations such as the Girl Scouts and Boys Scouts pick up this program. They don’t believe there are any children that shouldn’t feel safe. Mrs. Lyle reminded the community that Saratoga Springs had a young girl escape an attempted kidnapping. Commissioner Scirocco stated the web site www.radKIDS.org will provide additional information on the program. Page 4 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Executive Session: Discussion 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. Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to adjourn into executive session at 7:57 p.m. Ayes - All Council resumed at 8:48 p.m. The Mayor reported that there were a number of items resolved during the executive session. These items are: o Mark Glaser vs. City of Saratoga Springs in an article 78 proceeding, a decision was made to retain Fitzgerald, Baker and Firth at a rate of $170 per hour up to a maximum of $5,000. This was a unanimous vote by the Council. o Retain the same firm in the matter of Saratoga Property Development LLC vs. the City of Saratoga Springs in an article 7 proceeding at the rate of $170 per hour with no maximum cap. This was also a unanimous vote by the Council. o Retain the same firm in the matter of Silipigno vs. the City of Saratoga Springs in an article 7 proceeding at the rate of $170 per hour. o Two grievances were filed by unions on behalf of City personnel; the first matter was filed by CSEA City Hall and CSEA DPW to resolve a grievance regarding a claim of change in the co- pays in insurance available to employees under the prescription co-pays. The City has entered into agreement with the union to resolve the issue under the following terms: up to a maximum of $5,000 or up to January 31, 2009; which is a sunset provision of the availability of the money for those purposes. That was also a unanimous vote by the Council. The second grievance was filed by the PBA union regarding prescription co-pay based on a change of coverage on an insurance health plan available through the City. The City has agreed to pay up to $5,000. This was also a unanimous vote by the Council. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Scott Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to approve the consent agenda as follows: 1. Approval of 11/24/08 2009 Budget Workshop Minutes 2. Approval of 11/24/08 City Council Minutes 3. Approval of 11/25/08 City Council Minutes 4. Approval of 12/2/08 City Council Minutes 5. Approve Budget Amendments 6. Approve Budget Transfers 7. Approve Payroll 12/12/08 $458,304.75 8. Approve Payroll 12/5/08 $462,344.72 9. Approve Warrant 2008 Mid MC1DEC08 $214,244.01 10. Approve Warrant 2008 Regular 2DEC08 $3,035,194.46 Ayes – All MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Amend the 2008 Capital Budget for the Purchase of 00 Vanderbilt Avenue (08-246) Page 5 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to amend the capital budget for the purchase of 00 Vanderbilt Avenue. Mayor Johnson stated this is the last procedural step to allow for the closing of the property. There is no additional cost to the City. Funds are coming from the Open Space Bond not the general fund. Role Call: Commissioner Franck – Aye Commissioner Ivins – Aye Mayor Johnson – Aye Commissioner Scirocco – Aye Commissioner Kim - Nay Discussion and Vote: For City Council to Declare Negative Declaration Under SEQRA for Indoor Recreation Facility (08-247) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to declare negative declaration under SEQRA for the Indoor Recreation Facility. Mayor Johnson stated Part I of the long form was completed by the City Engineer and Planning Department staff. Tonight they are addressing Part II as the Council is lead agency on this portion. The answers to the questions are in draft form and this Council must determine what the answers should be in order to determine a positive or negative declaration from this part. The Council decided this may be a type 1 action under the law, therefore to be cautious, they decided to do the long form rather than theshort form. This is a more involved process to asses more factors and come to more conclusions. Mayor Johnson read the following from Appendix A of the SEQRA Full Environmental Assessment Form: “Purpose: The full EAF is designed to help applicants and agencies determine, in an orderly manner, whether a project or action may be significant. The question of whether an action may be significant is not always easy to answer. Frequently, there are aspects of a project that are subjective or immeasurable. It is also understood that those who determine significance my have little or no formal knowledge of the environmental or may not be technically expert I environmental analysis. In addition, many who have knowledge in one particular area may not be aware of the broader concerns affecting the question of significance. The full EAF is intended to provide a method whereby applicants and agencies can be assured that the determination process has been orderly, comprehensive in nature, yet flexible enough to allow introduction of information to fit a project or action. Full EAF Components: The full EAF is comprised of three parts: Part 1: Provides objective data and information about a given project and its site. By identifying basic project data, it assists a reviewer in the analysis that takes place in Parts 2 and 3. Part 2: Focuses on identifying the range of possible impacts that may occur from a project or action. It provides guidance as to whether an impact is likely to be considered small to moderate or whether it is a potentially large impact. The form also identifies whether an impact can be mitigated or reduced. Part 3: If any impact in Part 2 is identified as potentially large, then Part 3 is used to evaluate whether or not the impact is actually important. PART 2 – Project Impacts and Their Magnitude (Responsibility of Lead Agency) General information Page 6 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 o In completing the form the reviewer should be guided by the question: Have my responses and determinations be reasonable? The review is not expected to be an expert environmental analyst. o The examples provided are to assist the reviewer by showing types of impacts and wherever possible the threshold of magnitude that would trigger a response in column 2. The examples are generally applicable throughout the State and for most situations. But, for any specific project or site other examples and/or lower thresholds may be appropriate for a Potential Large Impact response, thus requiring evaluation in Part 3. o The impacts of each project, on each site, in each locality will vary. Therefore, the examples are illustrative and have been offered as guidance. They do not constitute an exhaustive list of impacts and thresholds to answer each question. o The number of examples per question does not indicate the importance of each question. o In identifying impact, consider long term, short term and cumulative effects. Instructions: a. Answer each of the 20 questions in PART 2. Answer Yes if there will be any impact. b. Maybe answers should be considered as Yes answers. c. If answering Yes to a question then check the appropriate box (column 1 or 2) to indicate the potential size of the impact. If impact threshold equals or exceeds any example provided, check column 2. If impact will occur but threshold is lower than example, check column 1. d. Identifying that an impact will be potentially large (column 2) does not mean that it is also necessarily significant. Any large impact must be evaluated in PART 3 to determine significance. Identifying an impact in column 2 simply asks that it be looked at further. e. If reviewer has doubt about size of the impact than consider the impact as potentially large and proceed to PART 3. f. If a potentially large impact checked in column 2 can be mitigated by changes(s) in the project to a small to moderate impact, also check the Yes box in column 3. A No response indicates that such a reduction is not possible. This must be explained in Part 3. Impact on Land: 1. Will the Proposed Action result in a physical change to the project? Yes Other Impacts: Small to Moderate Impact (1) – General grading for building, parking lot and site improvements. 2. Will there be an effect to any unique or unusual land forms found on the site? (i.e., cliffs, dunes, geological formations, etc.) No 3. Will proposed action affect any water body designated as protected? (Under Articles 15, 24, 25 of the Environmental Conservation Law, ECL) No 4. Will proposed action affect any non-protected existing or new body of water? No 5. Will proposed action affect surface or groundwater quality or quantity? Yes Other Impacts: Small to Moderate Impact (1) – Installation of stormwater facilities and practices from increased impervious areas. 6. Will proposed action alter drainage flow or patterns, or surface water runoff? Yes Other Impacts: Small to Moderate Impact (1) – re-grading for new building, parking lot and site improvements. Page 7 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 7. Will proposed action affect air quality? No 8. Will proposed action affect any threatened or endangered species? No 9. Will proposed action substantially affect non-threatened or non-endangered species? No 10. Will proposed action affect agricultural land resources? No 11. Will proposed action affect aesthetic resources? (if necessary, use the visual EAF addendum in Section 617.20, Appendix B) Yes o Proposed land uses, or project components obviously different from or in sharp contrast to current surrounding land use patterns, whether man-made or natural. 12. Will proposed action impact any site or structure of historic, prehistoric or paleontological importance? No 13. Will proposed action affect the quantity or quality of existing or future open spaces or recreational opportunities? Yes Other Impacts: Small to Moderate Impact (1) – Increases year round recreational opportunities for the existing neighborhood and surrounding areas of the City. 14. Will proposed action impact the exceptional or unique characteristics of a critical environmental area (CEA) established pursuant to subdivision 6NYCRR 617.14 (g)? No 15. Will there be an effect to existing transportation systems? Yes Other Impacts: Small to Moderate (1) – Increases will occur however, per CME Traffic Evaluation dated 7/15/08…”it is expected that the construction of the City Recreation Center will not impact the operation of the roadways and intersections in the study.” 16. Will proposed action affect the community’s sources of fuel or energy supply? Yes Other Impacts: Small to Moderate (1) – Electricity and gas for the new building. 17. Will there be objectionable odors, noise, or vibrations as a result of the proposed action? No 18. Will proposed action affect public health and safety? No 19. Will proposed action affect the character of the existing community? Yes Small to Moderate Impact (1) o Development will create a demand for additional community services (e.g. schools, police and fire, etc.) o Proposed action will create or eliminate employment. Other Impacts: Provide year round recreational activities in a new recreational facility. 20. Is there, or is there or is there likely to be public controversy related to potential adverse environment impacts? Yes Mayor Johnson stated since there were no potentially large impacts identified in Part 2, we do not proceed to Part 3. Page 8 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Commissioner Scirocco stated there will be a significant impact on the infrastructure on the Lincoln Avenue area. He believes there will be quite a bid of runoff. We are already having problems in that area. He doesn’t see where this is a small to moderate impact. He would like to see more input in regards to the findings. Mayor Johnson stated he had someone from the Planning Department and from Synthesis to address technical questions. He noted the infrastructure demands had been addressed because of the stormwater containment and system that is being designed and will be constructed to deal with the water runoff. A request was also made from the Planning Board to all departments in the City for any concerns they may have. Mayor Johnson doesn’t recall that concern being raised to them. We can’t wait for the Planning Board’s site plan review before the Council makes their SEQRA determination; the law does not allow that. SEQRA is very specific and request the Council to make the declaration and finding before the Planning Board can issue their determination. Commissioner Kim asked if SEQRA is not approved tonight, does the Planning Board stop their process. Mayor Johnson stated they are delayed in coming to final resolution on the site plan review. Commissioner Kim asked what if the SEQRA is never approved. Mayor Johnson advised that if SEQRA is never approved, the Planning Board will not be able to issue their findings. Commissioner Kim stated he is seeing this document for the first time this evening. Regarding the impact on the land, whoever did the report didn’t deal with the construction on the land with the dept to the water table less than 3 feet. He is not aware of any studies in that area and people in that area do experience flooding in their basements. If there is a study that says that is not a problem he hasn’t seen it. Maybe tests have been done, but it is something he is not familiar with. The conclusion on that is small to moderate impact. Until he knows there isn’t a problem with the depth to the water table less than 3 feet, he can’t make that conclusion based on this proposal. Then there is the question “will the proposed action affect aesthetic resources”; this is a small to moderate impact. The example that is checked is “proposed land uses, or project components obviously different from or in sharp contrast to current surrounding land use patterns”; we are building a recreation center in a neighborhood. There aren’t any other recreation centers around there, so it would seem to him that it is a sharp contract with a potential large impact. This doesn’t seem to be a small to moderate impact. Impact on open space and recreation; we are saying there is a small impact on recreation. Then why are we building it? If it is not a large impact to the community, we shouldn’t be spending this kind of money. Number 15 is marked as a small to moderate impact for transportation. All the time he spent on the zoning board, he has never seen a traffic study that had an impact on a project. Commissioner Kim gave the example of the Planning Board allowed The Local on Grand Avenue. They have received a lot of calls regarding the parking situation in that area. Here we are building 4 basketball courts, 2 teams for each court, minimum of 6 players per team equates to 48 people. When a league is playing, the children will be driven there by their parents; that’s at least 40 cars. That can be accommodated as we have 51 parking spaces. When one game is coming to an end and another is getting ready to start, there will be an overlap in parking; you will have 80 cars that are trying to find a place to park. His department gets the calls when there is no parking for the neighborhood and no place for people to park. To say there is a small to moderate impact on the transportation system is absolutely absurd. One of the main complaints of the neighbors near the bar was not only that they couldn’t find a parking place, they couldn’t move their cars. The final one on page 20 it states the “proposed action will create or eliminate employment”. “Or eliminate” is crossed out and it says will create. In the same environmental form Part 1, under #9 it says number of jobs generated during construction is 30+/- and then it says after project is complete, and nothing is there, no one ever answers that. After the project is complete we are not clear if we are adding staff or how we are staffing this facility. Then 10 says the number of jobs eliminated during this project is 0. Between question 9 & 10 on this part it is inconsistent with what we are saying here; which is it will create employment. It will create construction employment but what about other employment? The form itself is inconsistent. Under SEQRA rules we can’t vote on it when it isn’t completed. If we are not adding employment, let’s say that. Page 9 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 If we are adding employment we should put a response there. Given the inconsistencies, he can’t support this. Mayor Johnson stated they can easily insert after #9 on page six a zero. Commissioner Kim confirmed there are no jobs generated other than construction. Mayor Johnson stated that the existing staffing will be used. Commissioner Kim stated then they would have to go back to the budget; there were staff positions that were added. The 2009 comprehensive budget has $285,000 worth of additional costs for the recreation facility. There are inconsistencies we have to make consistent. Mayor Johnson advised the staffing of the center will take place with the existing rec staff but will be staggered because of the hours of operation of the recreation center. Because of the timing and shifting of staff, there will be some impact on the budget for staffing but it will not be increasing additional staff positions. Commissioner Scirocco stated we need to talk about the operation and maintenance cost. So he doesn’t know where we are coming from on this. Mayor Johnson explained that is not the issue at hand with SEQRA. Commissioner Scirocco stated he has some questions. If there is a substantial impact than it needs to go the next level and go to a positive declaration and we need to look more into it. He can’t support this the way it is put together. There are issues there with ground water now. Ground water was found at 7 feet when test pits were done. When you cover a piece of open space, the cup is going to be full and the run off is going to go into the streets. That needs to be addressed properly. Mary Moore Wallinger of Synthesis stated there were several test pits performed. The ground water was determined to be 5 ½ to 7 feet deep across the site. There is at least 2 feet of separation between the bottom of the storm chambers and the ground water; which is the required separation distance. There is a large system of stormwater infiltration that will allow the water to be treated on site, contained on site and stored in the chambers until it allowed to properly infiltrate into the ground. It is designed for the 1 year storm, the 10 year storm and the 100 year storm. It complies with all of the DEC regulations, and it was designed conservatively to handle more than that. There is a basin on the back area where if there was a problem with the system, that is where the water would go. There will be a series of catchbasins and reducing the impact on the street. The water that is currently on the street will be going into the stormwater infiltration system. Commissioner Scirocco asked isn’t it true that when you put the building on the property you are going to have runoff into the street. That’s why we are talking about putting additional storm drains into the street that are going to flow. Mary Moore Wallinger stated they are required to grade that site so that any water coming off the building will go into our stormwater system. It has been graded and a system of swales have been installed; everything is pitched towards a catchbasin so it will go directly into the storm system and not into the street. Commissioner Scirocco asked if they are aware there are problems in that area with ground water as far as basements. Mary stated they are aware; this is all based upon soil analysis, perk tests, and a whole extensive system of calculating the runoff rates that are based on very site specific conditions. Commissioner Scirocco confirmed that the ground water is going to be retained at the site and at some point it is going to seep into the existing site/soil. Page 10 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Mary stated it will go into the ground and filtrate down to the 5 ½ to 7 foot level where the ground water is and recharge the site. Currently, some of that is recharging the existing ground water; a lot of it is running into the street and creating the puddles and the problems you have now. They are providing storage capacity that is below ground instead of in the street. They are buying extra time to allow the water to naturally percolate into the soil. This will be improving that situation. Commissioner Scirocco asked if they are other problems on Lincoln Avenue, Jefferson Street and Vanderbilt. Mary stated it is flat topography and there isn’t a place for the water to go. She knows there are issues with the storm systems in the streets maybe not being sized properly to handle all of that. That is why they are handling it on site and not allowing it to get to the street. They have created their own topography that reduces the problems you get because of very flat areas. Mayor Johnson stated that based on advise of Synthesis, on page 2, Part 1 under the Description of Action that presently states construction of a 35,500 =/- square foot multipurpose recreation facility should read 33,000 rather than 35,500. On page 3, under category 2: roads, buildings and other paved surfaces and spray parks was listed after completion as 1.63 =/- acres and should read 1.42 =/- acres; and other athletic fields/lawn after completion was listed as 1.61 =/- acres and should read 1.82 =/- acres. Commissioner Scirocco stated he is not opposed to the recreation center but doesn’t believe this is the right site. He is opposed to spending $6.5 million in the current economic times. Down the road there is going to be maintenance costs. People think this is going to be free; it is not going to be free. We need to start partnering with the schools. Commissioner Ivins stated he has a problem with turning away $900,000 and not getting anything for it. This decision was not made by this Council; it was made by previous Council. Commissioner Scirocco asked if the $450,000 spent for the design of the building included in the $900,000. Commissioner Ivins stated it is. Commissioner Scirocco stated if we walked away from the project now, the design is still good for the future. Commissioner Ivins advised that it is not; this design works for this location only. Commissioner Kim stated he was there when the initial designs were done for Weibel Avenue. He was one that voted for one of the bonds, but the Council before him voted for the bond that is in jeopardy. He voted for the bond because at the time he felt the Weibel Avenue location made sense and we were in a different fiscal situation. He thought we could afford it at the time. We need to cut our losses at some point. He was told by staff that there was support to move it; there was going to be no problem with the neighborhood. They were wrong. In Saratoga Springs, you always have some people against a project. We are going to get sued by this neighborhood, they will stop the project and we will be shoveling money down the black hole. Mayor Johnson stated we are far beyond the issue on the table. The issue is SEQRA. Commissioner Scirocco asked if this is a negative declaration, what is the next step. Is the next step to hire a contractor to build it? Mayor Johnson stated this goes to the Planning Board for decision. Commissioner Scirocco asked if zoning is an issue. Page 11 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Mayor Johnson read the following resolution for the record: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY SARATOGA SPRINGS NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: The City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs has reviewed and analyzed Parts 1 and 2 of the full EAF; has fully considered the environmental impacts of the project and hereby determines that the project will not result in any large or important impacts and therefore, is one which will not have a significant impact on the environment. Therefore, a negative declaration is hereby issued for this project which will be maintained in a file readily accessible to the public as well as required from the SEQRA. Aye – 3 Nays – 2 (Commissioner Scirocco and Commissioner Kim) Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Enter into Contract for Professional Legal Services for City of Saratoga Springs Zoning Ordinance Amendment or Recodification (08-248) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to authorize the Mayor to enter into a contract for professional legal services for the City of Saratoga Springs Zoning Ordinance amendment or recodification. Mayor Johnson stated this is for professional legal services with the firm Miller, Mannix, Schachner and Hafner at a rate of $140 per hour not to exceed the sum of $19,413 for the purpose of reviewing the present zoning ordinance and identify deficiencies, improvements, and recodification of the ordinance if necessary. He is lowering the cap amount to what is presently available in the 2008 budget in the Mayor’s department. Brad Birge identified inconsistencies as a starting point. Mr. Birge also pointed out that the last comprehensive update occurred in 1990. There are 31 zoning districts plus 10 separate planned unit developments (PUD). Over the last 18 years, the City’s zoning ordinance and map have been modified hundreds of times since then. The code is problematic for both of the land use boards; Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Board. The Council owes it to the City to look at this. The revisions have been band-aids and it deserves more than that. Commissioner Kim stated he is opposing this because the Mayor stated he recognized this when he took office, however the tool he didn’t use that was free was the comprehensive plan, which had just been completed. We should look at that comprehensive plan and see where we want to go from there. We seem to want to spend a lot of money on attorneys. Commissioner Ivins stated the staff looked at some things. Did the staff figure out any type of cost that would have been saved if this had been implemented a year ago? Mayor Johnson stated it was identified that the City would have saved $23,216.00, for the Zoning Board only, had we had a more workable ordinance. This figure is for internal staff time alone; it does not include what it costs our taxpayers. This is real dollar costs to this City. Commissioner Ivins stated the contract being proposed is less than what we would have saved. Commissioner Kim stated the Mayor is reading from a memo that was obviously prepared before this meeting and they never got a copy of it. Others on the Council received the memo but he didn’t. He doesn’t know if the Commissioner of Public Works received it. At the last City Council meeting the cost out was brought up. He has not way of knowing that the figure given has been pulled out of the sky or has some rational basis to it. He doesn’t know where the number of $23,000 came from. If they do this contract and know at least $23,000 can be saved, he guesses they will cut that staff person out of the Mayor’s budget next year because all the hours devoted to helping applicants is going to be obviated by the work of the law firm. He will look for that cut of the staff next year. Mayor Johnson asked Brad Birge to address the Council regarding how he arrived at those figures. He also stated he did not share any document with any member of the City Council prior to this meeting. Page 12 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Brad Birge stated the savings is a difficult number to arrive at. They asked one of their senior planners to look at her agenda to identify the repeat items that have come up over the year. They looked at the number of people involved by the hours estimated towards those applications, including staff time at meetings and review. Staff included outside staff, inside staff, Tony Izzo, himself, principal planner, senior planner, and the Building Department to some extent. They are trying to gain efficiencies to provide better, faster, and more complete service to applicants as they come before us. The calculation is rough, but the methodology is sound. Commissioner Kim asked if the zoning board applications are up or down over the past year. Brad stated the number has remained constant. People are trying to work with what they have. Commissioner Scirocco stated he is not going to support it this time because he thinks they need to do some belt tightening. He can’t see spending any additional money because the time isn’t right. He also asked if the difficult cases come before the City Council or does the Zoning Board handle it. Mayor Johnson stated the Council is asked only on request for a rezoning. Interpretations or variances are the responsibility of the Zoning Board. Brad explained the authority of the Council is to write and approve the laws. The zoning board can only act upon the law. If the laws are unclear, they have to struggle through their decisions. Commissioner Scirocco asked isn’t that the function of the attorney for the Zoning Board to make recommendations? Brad stated the Zoning Board can only provide relief from the laws the Council makes. Commissioner Kim stated you did an analysis of the problems areas. I know you and Tony Izzo have the expertise. Why are we hiring an attorney when we know where the problems are? Why don’t you bring us the amendments to the code and we will pass them. Mayor Johnson stated we don’t know the full extent because we don’t have a full diagnostic. Commissioner Kim stated if we are going to re-write the ordinance, we should have a lot morepublic input. If you don’t like the Democratic Mayor who did this there are Republican Mayors who did this with the expert staff. If you need an outside attorney, then you bring them in. This shouldn’t be done behind closed doors with the Mayor and his Council. He is hearing we are going to re-write the code; re-writing the code changes the City. Mayor Johnson stated no one is re-writing the code. We are hiring competent council to give advice on what’s wrong and the steps for the best remedy that is out there. No one is looking to swap out the code without any kind of public input. Commissioner Scirocco stated he believes that’s what recodification means. Ayes – 3 Nay – 2 (Commissioner Scirocco and Commissioner Kim) Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Agreements with Saratoga County Office for the Aging for Transportation and Nutrition (08-249) Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign agreements with Saratoga County Office for the Aging for transportation and nutrition. Mayor explained there are 2 contracts here; one if for meals on wheels for approximately $4600 and the other is for transportation for seniors to make it to medical appointments for similar amount of money. Ayes – ALL Page 13 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Appointment: Recreation Commission Mayor Johnson stated there is a vacancy by the departure of Gerard Hawthorne who resigned his position. He is pleased to announce that Alfonse Lambert, Jr., otherwise known as ‘Fonzi Lambert’ has agreed to fill the vacancy. Fonzi has extensive background in athletics and mentoring the youths in our community. He has been with Spa Catholic over 23 years, with their baseball program for over 22 years, former athletic director of that school, 12 years with the City Recreation camps, and holds a physical education degree from Skidmore College. Mayor Johnson is pleased to announce his appointment to the Recreation Commission effective immediately. Appointment: Planning Board Mayor Johnson stated the vacancy occurs at the end of this year. The appointment goes to Daniel Gaba. He is a lifetime area resident and a realtor with Remax. He is well versed in land use because he deals with that every day. Mayor Johnson thanked Mark Torpey for his dedication to the board and his time spent on this board. Appointment: Zoning Board of Appeals This item was pulled from the Mayor’s agenda. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Accept Donation (08-250) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to allow the Department of Accounts to accept a donation in the amount of $1,500 from Palio Communications . Commissioner Franck advised this donation is to offset overtime expenses incurred during the Melanie O’Donnell Memorial Race this past September. He thanked Palio and Melanie O’Donnell Memorial Foundation for the generous reimbursement; it is truly a public/private partnership. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Award of Bid to Bollam, Sheedy, Torani & Co. for Auditing Services (08-251) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to award the auditing services bid to Bollam, Sheedy, Torani & Co. Upon the recommendation of the Finance Department, I move to award the bid for Auditing Services to Bollam, Sheedy, Torani & Co. for 3 years, not to exceed $31,500 in 2009, $33,500 in 2010, and $34,500 in 2011. Commissioner Ivins stated he sent a memo to Commissioner Franck and copied the other commissioners. They are not going with the lowest bidder, but would have if the lowest bidder had met the peer review. Commissioner Scirocco thanked Commissioner Ivins for the memo. Ayes – All Appointment: Commissioner of Deeds Commissioner Franck announced he is appointing Karen Whipple as commissioner of deeds. Page 14 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Discussion and Vote: Award of Bid to Jablonski Excavating, Inc. for the Maple Avenue Drainage Project (08-252) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to award the Maple Avenue Drainage bid to Jablonski Excavating, Inc. Upon the recommendation of the Department of Public Works, I move to award the bid for the Maple Avenue Drainage Project to Jablonski Excavating, Inc., the lowest bidder, for a total bid amount of $120,200.00. Ayes – All Announcement: Year End Reports As part of closing out 2008 and moving into 2009 I wanted to update the council and report to the public on several initiatives that the Accounts Department implemented in 2008. In relation to the City Clerks Office, they:  Collected over $20,000 in delinquent restaurant licenses bringing most past due restaurants into compliance.  Digitized restaurant licensing process eliminating mailing and decreased postage and paper costs. Purchasing, primarily the bid process:  Bids Process: In the past all bids were mailed to potential bidders, by moving to e-mail there has been a savings in paper, envelopes, postage and staff time. o Bids and addendums are e-mailed to potential bidders. o Bids and bidders lists are e-mailed to 7 bid distribution centers. o Bids and addendums are now available on the City’s web site under the Accounts Department. Finally, Risk and Safety and Vital Records who have reports posted on the public drive under Accounts, paper copies can be provided as requested. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Contract Renewal with Xonitek (08-253) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign a contract renewal with Xonitek. Commissioner Ivins advised this is for computer support which requires annual renewal. The amount of the contract is $2,678.53. This is a reduction of 5% from the original contract due to an incentive from the company. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Contract Renewal with Health Insurance Carriers (08-254) Commissioner Ivins moved and Mayor Johnson seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign a contract renewal with health insurance carriers. Commissioner Ivins stated the contracts are with MVP, CDPHP, Blue Shield of Northeastern New York, and Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield for employees and retiree health insurance for 2009. Per union Page 15 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 contracts, these are our 4 carriers. Rates increased from 9 – 15% as expected. This was going to be covered in the contingency account, but that account has been slashed. We are going to have to make some adjustments, but will hold off of these adjustments until partway into the year. At that time, we will take what is in the contingency account and zero it out. When we get a better feel from the State what is going on, we may have to dip further into our reserves to cover this. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Amend Capital Budget Open Space (08-255) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to amend the capital budget for open space. Commissioner Ivins stated this is for the purchase of 00 Vanderbilt Avenue. This step is procedural so the check can be cut. Role Call: Commissioner Franck – Aye Commissioner Ivins – Aye Mayor Johnson – Aye Commissioner Scirocco – Aye Commissioner Kim - Nay Discussion: City Finances Commissioner Ivins stated most of the departments are using the new timesheets and request forms. The forms are available on the public drive. If there are any questions or needs, please contact his office. October sales tax is down a little from last October; we won’t have final numbers until the end of February. We can’t close our books until we get those amounts in. The final installment of state aid was received on December 10th. The total we received was $1,791,676 which represents $52,000 more than what was budgeted. The Governor is also proposing a 50% decrease of what we would have earned in that year. So far our fight may be paying off. The Racino is ahead of their projections. Discussion and Vote: DPW Payroll Transfers (08-256) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded DPW payroll transfers. Commissioner Ivins stated these transfers cover year end deficits in the following payroll lines: engineering tech trainee, engineering administrative assistant, water fund unemployment insurance, water meter service worker, sewer laborer, sewer overtime, DPW account clerk, streets labor, streets overtime, recreation laborer, recreation labor overtime, garage overtime, DPW auto service manager, compost overtime, carousel labor, chief water treatment plant operator, water treatment plant operator to a water treatment plant holiday pay, and all social security lines associated with the above lines. Aye - All Discussion and Vote: City Center Payroll Transfer (08-257) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded City Center payroll transfers. Commissioner Ivins stated these transfers cover year end deficits in labor and retirement lines. Aye - All Discussion and Vote: DPS Payroll Transfers (08-258) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Kim seconded DPS payroll transfers. Page 16 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Commissioner Ivins stated these transfers cover deficits in payroll lines, DWI patrol social security, and out of grade pay. Aye - All Discussion and Vote: Mayor’s/Rec Department Payroll Transfer (08-259) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Johnson seconded the Mayor’s/Rec Department payroll transfers. Commissioner Ivins stated these transfers cover deficits in the recreation equipment and supplies from the supervision lines, part time clerk planner shortfall, and building shortfall. Aye – All Discussion and Vote: Finance Department Payroll Transfer (08-260) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded the Finance Department payroll transfers. Commissioner Ivins stated these transfers are to pay for retirement and opt out payments for all departments. Aye – All Discussion and Vote: Internal Controls for Cash Receipting – DPW (08-261) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Johnson seconded the internal controls for cash receipting in DPW. Commissioner Ivins stated he is bringing this back from last meeting. The reason they are pushing this and would like to see it passed by the end of the year is it will probably show up as some kind of comment on our audit. Any comment like that on our audit could affect our bond rating. He wanted to bring all the internal controls forward at one time, but being there was a problem in DPW, he wanted to address it before the end of the year. Commissioner Scirocco asked if it would be to Commissioner Ivins benefit to sit with him and go over this policy. It is pretty extensive. Commissioner Ivins stated his staff has been working with DPW . Commissioner Scirocco stated at the 12/2 City Council meeting, and he quoted “Commissioner Ivins stated their plan was to work with the policy in DPW, tweak it and then share amongst all departments.” That didn’t happen. Commissioner Ivins stated Commissioner Scirocco never called him. Commissioner Scirocco stated Commissioner Ivins needed to contact him. Commissioner Kim stated if DPW is not comfortable with the policy for within his department, he will not support this. He will abstain at this point. He thought it was going to be done comprehensively. He is not sure why there would be one set of procedures for each department. It should be across the board. Commissioner Ivins stated there is already a policy and procedure they are following. It is very similar to something they use for the recreation department. Each situation is a little different; we don’t do the same thing for the transfer station that we do for the carousel. Those are unique to them and different from they Page 17 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 way you may handle things. There are also some similarities. He is hoping to bring the rest of them together after the first of the year. For auditing purposes, they have to get the public works policy in place. Commissioner Scirocco stated there is a lot to it; it is 8 pages. One of the things is you suggest is giving tickets at the carousel and those tickets are going to end up on the ground in the park. I hope the Council doesn’t support it. This is where our form of government doesn’t work. Maybe we should take a look at the form of government instead of doing this sort of thing. Commissioner Ivins stated his staff has been working with him for months; he agrees to something and then comes back and says no. Commissioner Kim asked if this is being worked on as opposed to a complete procedure, what is the significance of that in regards to the audit. Commissioner Ivins stated they can’t talk about 2009 and that we took an action then. They have to look at what happened in 2008 and the action taken then to address this issue. Commissioner Scirocco stated “you can enact it but I am not going to do anything with it.” Aye – 3 Nay – 2 (Commissioner Scirocco and Commissioner Kim) Discussion and Vote: Budget Amendment (08-262) Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to add a late budget amendment to the agenda. Aye – All Commissioner Ivins moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to approve the budget amendment as distributed. Commissioner Ivins stated this is adding revenue from bid deposits that were not refunded. This is not new spending, however we are putting $400 back into the budget. Role Call : Commissioner Franck – Aye Commissioner Ivins – Aye Mayor Johnson – Aye Commissioner Scirocco – Aye Commissioner Kim - Aye PUBLIC WORKS DEPARMENT Discussion and Vote: 2009 – 2010 Canfield Casino Rates (08-263) Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Franck seconded the approval of the 2009 – 2010 Canfield Casino Rates. Commissioner Scirocco stated in the last City Council meeting they approved in packet the rates for 2009 and 2010. The prior Council approved the rates for 2008 and 2009. When he said they weren’t going to raise the rates, his intent was they were going to keep the rates for 2009 the same for 2010. Mayor Johnson confirmed we are matching the rates 2009 that were previously approved. Commissioner Scirocco stated that was correct. The approval in 2007 was for 2008 and 2009. He wants to keep those rates the same for 2009 and 2010. Page 18 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Commissioner Ivins suggested increasing the 2010 rates a little as our costs are going to go up in 2010. Labor rates alone will be 3 – 5%. He proposed setting 2010 rates that are up about 2-4%; $50 for a City resident, $75 for a non-resident, raise the non-profit by $25 and out of City $50, keep the luncheon rates the same, raise ceremonies $25, raise kitchen rates by $25, and raise chair rentals by $.25. This is not big but we will be needed this revenue. Commissioner Scirocco stated bookings aren’t where they need to be. They are trying to promote the place more and stay competitive. They thought they should keep things the way they are. It costs us money to keep it idle. None of this money comes back to Public Works. He spoke with Betty French and she felt this is how they should do it. He based his decision on what Betty told him. Commissioner Ivins offered a friendly amendment. Mayor Johnson asked if it makes a difference if someone pays an additional $50 on a rental. What does the difference mean in terms of the average bookings at the Casino. Commissioner Ivins stated there are about 150 keys days in a year; Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. He is told there are only 20 of those dates available for 2009. It depends on which groups grab which dates. He is guessing 200 – 250 days the place is used; so it can add up. Mayor Johnson asked Commissioner Scirocco if he would accept a friendly amendment. Commissioner Scirocco stated he will not accept the friendly amendment. Commissioner Ivins made a formal amendment to raise the proposed 2010 rates as distributed. Commissioner Scirocco stated he would second Commissioner Ivins formal amendment for discussion. He asked Commissioner Ivins why he wants to raise the rates. Commissioner Ivins said as he previously stated, they are looking to find more revenue sources and we are going to have more costs; 3 -5% additional costs. This is only a 2-4% increase. Commissioner Scirocco stated he is listening to the person who does the bookings and she is stating that it is not where it should be this time of year. There are only a few bookings for 2010. Commissioner Ivins stated people are going to start booking now for 2010. Commissioner Scirocco agreed. He is not going to support an increase when they can’t get bookings in there. They are competitive right now and putting themselves out of business. Commissioner Kim stated he is in support of finding revenue, but you have to listen to your staff as their expertise is helpful. Commissioner Franck confirmed these rates are for any day of the week. Is there a way to raise the rates for weekends only? You know those days are going to sell out. Commissioner Ivins stated he agrees to the increase proposed by Commissioner Franck. Make the proposed 2010 rates for the weekends and have the original 2009 rates for week days. Commissioner Franck suggested making it seasonal. Commissioner Scirocco stated he is going by what he is being told. Commissioner Franck stated these rates are very reasonable. Commissioner Scirocco stated we approved a whole packet at the last City Council, maybe we should look at the whole packet again. Page 19 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Commissioner Ivins pulled his amendment and suggested they pass what Commissioner Scirocco proposed here and maybe Commissioner Scirocco can sit with Betty to come up with something a little more creative for weekdays opposed to weekends. Ayes –All Discussion and Vote: Acceptance of a Donation (08-264) Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Kim seconded to accept the donation of a memorial bench from Keith and Joanne Huss ey. Commissioner Scirocco stated the bench is in the amount of $1,196 will be placed on Broadway in memory of Sharon Rousselle Adams. Ayes –All Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Kim seconded to accept the donation of a used power shredder from Mary Sawyer. Commissioner Scirocco stated the value of the shredder is approximately $200. Ayes - All Discussion and Vote: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign Contract with Jablonski – Maple Avenue Drainage (08-265) Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign a contract with Jablonski Excavating for the Maple Avenue Drainage project in the amount of $120,200. Commissioner Scirocco stated the funding for this project is in the capital budget and is contingent upon approval by city attorney. He also stated they will be installing 800 feet of HDPE piping to alleviate the flooding in that area. Ayes –All Discussion and Vote: Street Acceptance for Snow Plowing – Central Avenue (08-266) Commissioner Scirocco moved and Mayor Johnson seconded to accept Central Avenue and the extension of Division Street for snow plowing only. Commissioner Scirocco stated all the roads met the criteria for snow plowing. Ayes -All Informational: Commissioner Scirocco stated today he sent truck with a chipper and 2 laborers to Waterford to assist with them with storm clean up. PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote; Amend Chapter 225-94 of the City Code, Schedule XXIX and Add to Section 225-81 Schedule XVI (08-267) Page 20 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Commissioner Kim moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to amend chapter 225-94 of the City Code schedule XXIX and to add to section 225-81 schedule XVI. Commissioner Kim stated 2 streets were entered incorrectly in to section 225-94; were Greenfield Avenue between Broadway and Clement Street, and Granite Street between Greenfield Avenue and Vermont Street. These streets have parking prohibited on one side of the street at all times, therefore have to be removed from section 225-94 and be added into section 225-81 schedule XVI as follows: Greenfield Avenue no parking anytime on the north side of the street between Broadway and Clement Street, and Granite Street no parking anytime on the east side of the street between Greenfield Avenue and Vermont Street. Ayes - All Announcement: Department of Public Safety 2007 Annual Report Commissioner Kim stated their 2007 annual report has been distributed to all Council members. Announcement: F.B.I. Academy Graduation Commissioner Kim stated on 12/12/08, 256 law enforcement officers graduated from the FBI National Academy Program. He is proud to announce that Lt. Greg Veitch of our police department was one of the graduates. The academy was an 11 week advance investigative management and fitness training. This is an academy that is competitive to get into and doesn’t cost the City anything for that person to go there; no tuition, room and board, etc. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor Johnson to Sign Amendment to Contract for Towing Services (08-268) Commissioner Kim moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign an amendment to the contract for towing services. Tony Izzo stated there is also an amendment to the list of rules and regulations that requires authorization for the Commissioner of Public Safety who by law has to sign that document. Commissioner Kim amended his motion and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to include authorization for him to sign the amendment to the rules and regulations document. Ayes - All Announcement: Property Maintenance Inspection Fees Commissioner Kim stated 365 packets were mailed today in regards to the property inspection fees. This will cover 2500 or more individual apartment units in the city. The registration packet included an introductory letter included explaining the NYS law, details of what the inspection will cover, registration form, fee schedule, and a self addressed return envelope. The fire department and code administration is setting up a database to track information. He thanked the Council for their support with this project. Discussion: Intersection of Broadway and Circular Commissioner Kim stated this item was to discuss what could be done to stripe the crosswalks if the private contractor couldn’t get in to stripe the crosswalks again. DPS was ready to go out and stripe it if the construction company didn’t get out there. Kubricky did get in to stripe it. Permanent signs will be installed in the spring. Discussion: RFP for Emergency Services Page 21 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Commissioner Kim stated his department put together an RFP for emergency services and met with accounts. One thing that came up in a public hearing is that they hadn’t reached out and talked to SEMS about this. His understanding is that he can’t talk to them if they are a potential bidder. He understands there are issues that Assistant Chief Betor has gotten out to accounts. Commissioner Ivins would like to see a presentation from SEMS of what they are about so they can be educated. Commissioner Kim stated again he doesn’t believe they can do that. They can be accused of collusive bidding practices. They had negotiations a couple years ago with SEMS and it didn’t work out. Commissioner Ivins stated he heard SEMS during the public comment period say that giving us $100,000 will put them out of business. We shouldn’t be in the business of putting non-profits out of business. Commissioner Kim stated it is all tough times. There are other services out there. The City Council doesn’t have to do this once they receive the bids. Commissioner Ivins feels maybe they don’t want to put out a bid after they hear a presentation from SEMS. We may decide it is not in the best interest of the community, so why waste anybody’s time or money. Commissioner Kim doesn’t know how we would know that without doing the bid. Commissioner Ivins stated they are already working with us so we are asking for an update or report. Commissioner Kim stated they are an independent organization that is housed in one of our buildings. We looked at this issue, that’s the relationship. Many years ago, HUD said they were going to build us a west side fire station with a condition that we had to keep an ambulance service in there. Commissioner Ivins asked can we charge for some to go in there with HUD involved. Commissioner Kim stated we could. There is no contract or string attached to a specific operator. Commissioner Ivins confirmed there was some form of original agreement with HUD. Commissioner Kim stated there was a construction agreement. Beyond that, they are not aware of any other agreement. The kind of arrangement this RFP would do would be like Schenectady. Commissioner Franck stated and RFP can be put out without Council vote. He has come to the Accounts Department with procedural things. He spoke to risk and safety and they asked the insurance carrier for information. His concern/question is, is this a way to bring the Fire Department into the ambulance business. Commissioner Kim stated for the record what they are doing is trying to raise revenue. The reason they started talking about rent first is because that was the natural way to do it. When they talked about doing this bid, it was clear to them that they shouldn’t define what the bidder should give us. The bidder should tell the City what they would give the City. Commissioner Kim stated for the record that this is not an attempt to turn the City into any kind of ambulance carrier. Commissioner Ivins stated he would like to get revenue, however, he doesn’t want HUD coming down with a hammer afterwards, like the County came down on the parking garage. Commissioner Kim stated there are minutes they can refer to that represent the agreement. He hasn’t found anyone in his department that has the agreement now. He asked if anyone else in City Hall has seen it or has it he would appreciate the information. Page 22 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Commissioner Franck stated since he has been in office, he has been approached several times by firemen stating they want to get into the ambulance business. There aren’t many people in this business and the non-profits aren’t making money at it. There was an approach a couple years ago about the fire department taking this over and they were using insurance numbers that were overstated. When he is reading the RFP, he is reading it as if we want to become an ambulance service. You state that’s not the case, but when he read who is controlling this, that’s not the flavor he’s getting. Commissioner Kim stated back when Lew Benton was Commissioner, he got the firemen trained in paramedic level care. We have an ambulance from a grant provided by Senator Joe Bruno. If we hadn’t bought the ambulance at that time, we would have lost the grant. There were City Council decisions in the past that were going in the direction of the City being in the ambulance business. If this Council doesn’t want to go there, that’s fine. We shouldn’t miss the current opportunity to get revenue for this City from a resource we have. Commissioner Franck stated the current company needs ambulances, they could lease that ambulance from us. He doesn’t want to get in the ambulance business because the cost for the City to do it is considerable; it is free right now. There are only 2 bidders out there that can get in on this bid due to the certificate of need. Commissioner Kim stated they had long negotiations with SEMS prior to this and that issue never came up as far as he is aware. SUPERVISORS Joanne Yepsen Informational: Supervisor Yepsen advised Commissioner Scirocco that the Waterford Supervisor, Jack Lawlor did publicly thank him and the City for you help with their difficulties in the southern end of the County. December Board of Supervisors Meeting Report Supervisor Yepsen advised the County: set rates for the public health services, approved the 2009 annual plan for office of the aging, authorized an agreement with CT Male for design and construction of the Saratoga County Animal Shelter, and established capital accounts for the animal shelter and public safety building authorized transfers of $500,000 and $1,000,000 respectively. They also added to their veteran’s calendar and event to honor our World War II Veterans for October 26th at the City Center. 2009 Budget Vote Supervisor Yepsen announced on December 10th they unanimously approved a $241,000,000 County budget. There were two major amendments; they approved to maintain their County Historian as part time, and added an award to the Saratoga Rowing Association of $15,000 from the County tourism budget to host the 2010 nationals in the spring. They estimate this event will draw 10,000 spectators and 4,500 athletes. This will be a great contribution to our local community. Update: Sustainable Saratoga Supervisor Yepsen announced they held their second public meeting last week. Approximately 40 attended and they now have over 80 people actively participating. They are developing a website and an e-mail communication system. The next meeting will be the second week in January. Report on Frederick Allen Lodge Fundraiser Page 23 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Supervisor Yepsen thanked the Golub Foundation, Tech Valley Times, Melvin Sparks Trio and the people who attended the fundraiser last week. It was a great night of entertainment. Matt Veitch 2009 Saratoga County Budget Report Supervisor Veitch reported the budget was approximately $241 million. They are maintaining the tax rate of $2.15 per 1,000. This keeps Saratoga County among the lowest in New York State. They are putting in $50,000 to continue the stormwater management program. They are also allocating $750,000 for open space, and they will be spending $45,000 in the capital program for repairs at the County’s Recycling Center on Weibel Avenue. Commissioner Scirocco asked Supervisor Veitch if the $50,000 part of MS-4 program where the towns contribute. Supervisor Veitch stated it was for that program. Commissioner Scirocco stated he there was money in his budget to contribute to that fund but he thought it was taken out. Commissioner Veitch stated he can find out what the amount should be, but there will need to be a contract between the City and the County in order for the City to give that money to the County. Commissioner Scirocco stated that program will save the City a lot of money. Supervisor Veitch also stated there will be a County Trails Committee, which he will chair. They will be building nature trails on County owned forest land which is undeveloped and they will also look into how they can start funding the trails portion of the County’s green infrastructure plan. Saratoga Gaming and Raceway Foundation Grant Awards Supervisor Veitch announced the Saratoga Gaming and Raceway Foundation was established when the County approved the Racino to come to Saratoga Springs. Part of the agreement was there would be a foundation established that would give back to problem gambling issues, etc. The County administers the grant award. The Racino and the Horseman’s Association put money into it; a total of $30,000 was put in and $27,490 was awarded to 15 different agencies - Saratoga Bridges $5,000, Prevention Council $3,000, Shelters of Saratoga $2,490, Capital Youth and Family Services of Clifton Park $2,000, Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Services $2,000, The Holly Foundation for Children $2,000, Saratoga Center for the Family $1,890, Franklin Community Center $1,700, The Children’s Museum at Saratoga $1,550, Ballston Spa Business and Professional Association (Ballston Spa Film Festival) $1,000, Empire State College $1,000, Homemade Theater $1,000, Catholic Charities $1,000, Saratoga Sponsor a Scholar $1,000, and Saratoga Reads $800. Awards were presented today at the Board Meeting. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Scirocc o seconded to adjourn the meeting. Ayes – All There being no further business, Mayor Johnson adjourned the meeting at 11:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Page 24 of 25 City Council Meeting 12/16/08 Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 1-6-09 Vote: 5 - 0 Page 25 of 25