City Council

CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY COUNCIL ROOM TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2009 6:50 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 Water and Sewer Rate Increase Mayor Scott Johnson opened the public hearing on the water and sewer rate increase at 6:58 p.m. Commissioner Scirocco introduced Bill McTygue, Director of Public Works and asked him to give a brief presentation on the water and sewer rate increases. Bill McTygue provided a handout (attached) for the public. Copies of the ordinances were also supplied to the City Council. There are about 9,000 metered accounts for water and 8,000 accounts for sewer. These budgets are solely supported by user fees. The revenue supports the administrative staff as well as the field crews that maintain the water delivery system 24 hrs. per day, 7 days per week to fix water lines, etc. The first sheet shows a comparison of the 2008 rates to the proposed 2009 rate increases. Over half of the system users fall in the category of 2,000 cu. ft. or below. Other sheets provided show metered sales history over the past 5 years; a comparison of the 2008 budget and the 2009 budget; water fund for the past 4 years and the proposed 2009 budget; and rate increases for the various categories. Bill pointed out they are recommending an increase of 5% apply to the first 3 categories of usage; an increase of 6% is being recommended from the 4th category and up. They charge a declining rate for commercial business and industrial users for the more water they use. Over 50% of the users fall into the category of 0 – 2000 cubic feet. Bill reviewed the water rate resolution. There are a few situations in the city where a building is not hooked up to the city’s water, but there is a city watermain in front of the property for fire protection - these buildings receive a fixed charge. They are recommending a small increase for the repair and/or replacement charge of 3 different size water meters. City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 Sewer charges are based upon water usage. The sewer charge is proposed to increase 5% for every category. Bill advised they are trying to make up for losses due to declining sales. One of the city’s largest clients purchasing city water was Wilton Water and Sewer Authority. The amount of water being purchased by Wilton has diminished significantly due to Wilton developing their own supply system near Dorothy Nolan Elementary. In the contract agreement, Wilton was paying 3 times the city water rate; therefore, that was a great business deal for the city. Since Wilton does not need to buy water from the city, there has been a reduction of about $100,000 in revenue to the water budget. Currently there is no contingency built in to the water budget. When dealing with a utility budget, it makes sense to have contingency money in case of an emergency. Commissioner Scirocco stated he is leaving the public hearing open until the next City Council meeting to provide the public with the opportunity to review the information provided by Bill McTygue. They did what they thought was best in the interest of the taxpayers. Christine Foglia of 19 Vallera Road stated she is serving as president of the Interlaken Association. Approximately 13 months ago the members of Interlaken Homeowners’ Association met with Mayor Johnson to discuss their water rates as they pertain to the residents of Interlaken. After that meeting, the association invited the mayor and Commissioner Scirocco to go to their clubhouse for a discussion with members of the association regarding the water rates. This past August, Tom Sands and she met with the mayor to request that Interlaken water rates be put on a council meeting agenda. They mayor stated the request for an item to be put on a council meeting agenda had to be put in writing. Ms. Foglia wrote a letter to the mayor on September 25, 2008 formalizing her request and carbon copied all the commissioners. To date, Interlaken water rates have not been added to the City Council agenda. Also, no one responded to her letter. She understands the city owns their water supply and charges them a basic rate of $73.50 for the first 2,000 cu. ft., plus a $26.50 quarterly maintenance fee; for a total of $100.00 for the basic amount of water for Interlaken residents. The rest of the city pays substantially less and do not pay a maintenance fee. The higher rate is to be paid by Interlaken residents for 14 years. They may be able to accept the inequity of the rates if they were the only users of the system, however, there are approximately 1,250 other households using the Interlaken water system. Why should they pay more for the use of the water system? They request that their water rates be equalized with the other residents of the city and eliminate the maintenance fee. Nancy Goldberg of 66 Sarazen Street presented a letter and a copy of her water bill to show what she pays for a 2 person household. She also stated they do not have any leaks in their house and the sprinkler was not on. She stated they are not a condo and don’t receive any of the tax breaks the condos get. She also corrected the number of users Christine Folgia gave as she provided Christine with the number; it is not 1,250 users, the system can accommodate up to 1,250 users. She doesn’t know how many people actually use the system, but she does know there are others outside of Interlaken that use that water system. It is unfair that Interlaken citizens should fund water for the entire eastern plateau and for the city. John Goldberg of 66 Sarazen Street stated he is pleased with Bill McTygue’s presentation; it re-enforced how deeply in debt they are in comparison to the City’s. In Interlaken, they believe there is something strange occurring in their backyard. The Interlaken Water System produces 372,000 gallons per day per Barton & Loguidice. The 125 families that live in Interlaken are being charged water rates that are 89.6% higher than the minimum city rates. They are not the financiers of the Saratoga Springs acquisition of the SCWA (Saratoga County Water Authority) water system. Interlaken never at any time owned the water it drinks. For most of the years the SCWA existed, they were their only customer. Longfellows and Cohans were customers for a short period of time; then they joined the city’s water system. Since 2001, SCWA and the city levels on all 125 members of Interlaken the $26.50 mythical maintenance charge. That charge accounts for $13,250 per year into the city coffers. In 8 years, it has cost their members $106,000, before they pay for a drop of water. The reason SCWA initiated the surcharge is because they didn’t have their own maintenance department. SCWA was a 1 man operation. Despite the maintenance problem evaporated when the city’s DPW acquired the system, the city continues to bill the members the $26.50 per quarter. They pay taxes, so they shouldn’t be paying the maintenance fee. There is no other street or PUD that pays 89.6% higher rates than the rest of the city. No it is time for this council to end this inequity. 2 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 Kyle York of 59 Railroad Place stated public hearing is all the people have. He wondered why notice of the presentation was not given to the public with the many ways we have to notify the public. Why wasn’t this part of a commissioner’s presentation? Bill McTygue advised he understands Mr. York’s comment regarding not having previous knowledge of the water rate presentation. He welcomed the public to take the information, review it, and go to DPW to discuss the rates at any time. There will be another public hearing at the next City Council meeting to hear additional public comment. Commissioner Kim asked for a better understanding of the Interlaken rates versus the rates the other residents of the eastern plateau are paying. He didn’t realize water was going to other neighborhoods. He would like to understand who is receiving this water and what rates they are paying. Bill McTygue advised that the system at Interlaken owned by the SCWA was in dire need of major improvements and was about ready to collapse. The representative from SCWA came to the city to enter into an agreement where the city would buy the city and take it over. The holding tank was leaking more water than what was acceptable and the system was not operating efficiently. If the system had collapsed, Interlaken would have been without a water supply. The city bought the property from the SCWA for $70,000. The agreement at the time, which was explained to the board of directors at Interlaken, that the city would be interested in assuming responsibility for the system and investing what was needed to bring the system up to current standards. The offer was that the City would invest up to $500,000 in upgrading the system and the city would maintain the current rate structure the residents were paying the county. The bonds that the city would float to borrow the money for the work on the water system could be paid for through the current revenue stream the Interlaken residents were paying at the time. The city explained to the residents that they would assume the expense if they agreed to maintain the current rate structure for 14 years to pay off the bonds for construction. On the revenue side of the water budget there is a $36,000 line item for Interlaken. Commissioner Kim asked if the bonds for this construction were supported solely by water and sewer. Bill McTygue stated the homes at Interlaken are paying for the bonds that paid for the construction on that system. Commissioner Kim asked why the other homes that are receiving water from that system aren’t paying for those bonds. Bill McTygue stated there is water flowing both ways in that system. At any time water could be coming from the city system into their neighborhood. Mayor Johnson stated the issue of Interlaken is not directly on point of the purpose of the public hearing. The public hearing is for the proposed increases of water and sewer rate increases. John Goldberg continued, against the request of the mayor to take his seat, to state that the residents of Interlaken were never an owner of any part of the water system. They also were not involved in the negotiations between the city and SCWA. It was the city who decreed the new charge of $73.50 and the $26.50 on top of that. They decreed that Interlaken would pay that for 14 years. Commissioner Scirocco suggested some of the Interlaken residents get together in his office so they can go over the plan so he too can get a better understanding of this. Mayor Johnson reminded the public that in this form of government, the public needs to start with the commissioner who is responsible for the issue. Mayor Johnson ended the public hearing at 7:48 p.m. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Scott Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:48 p.m. 3 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 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 Scott Johnson opened the public comment period at 7:48 p.m. Margie Vanmeter of 175 Washington St stated she is disappointed that the column she sent to the Saratogian didn’t get printed today. She hoped that the Council received a copy. She doesn’t feel the City needs to rush to take the $1.8 million bond issue that the Adirondack Trust holds, being they will not initiate penalties to the city. This would allow us to take more time to make a clear decision on the recreation center. Pursuing the recreation center right away will add $500,000 to our city annual budget in terms of debt payment and maintenance of the facility. Joel Reed, Director of the Arts Council addressed the council regarding the public restroom project at the Arts Council. He explained to the council the number of projects that were going on today at the center. He also wanted the Council to understand how the heat works in the building; it is freezing downstairs and those upstairs are sweltering. Now is the time with the capital project to address the heating issues. Ann Bullock of 86 Lincoln Avenue asked what kind of lawyer, knowing his client is being sued as to the substance of a potential contract, would advise his client to enter into that contract. As a practicing attorney, she wouldn’t want to have to explain that to her professional liability insurance carrier. Also, what individual, having stated publicly, that he is not going to enter into a contract under such terms could consider going ahead and doing so. As a parent, she couldn’t imagine explaining to her children the hypocrisy of that. The citizens, the merchants, the voters and the taxpayers are watching carefully what you choose to do tonight. They demand the council vote against awarding a contract for the indoor recreation facility. Lou Benton of 29 Thoroughbred Drive stated for the record that he is a city employee. Nearly 400 city combat veterans suffered a reduction in their veterans’ exemption this year. This reduction resulted from an application of a previous year’s equalization rate. This should have been done last year. A story published in the Saratogian reported that the veterans will be made whole over the next 2 years; practically that may be correct, practically it is not. This class of veterans will see the taxable assessable value increase and pay an increase in city taxes. That increase will not go away next year. Section 458 of the real property tax law allows high appreciation municipalities to increase the value of the veteran’s exemption to compensate for real or reductions in benefit value. A high appreciation municipality includes any city located in a county for which the State Board of Real Property Services has established a sales price differential factor. Saratoga County has been such a county for 2 consecutive calendar years; 2007 and 2008. In the next few months, the state will designate high appreciation counties for 2009. If Saratoga County is designated as such in 2009, it will beat the threshold and allow the council to adjust the value of the benefit. In so doing, appropriately restore that which has been taken from this class of veteran. The total value of this increase should be quantified and a large portion, at least 50%, reserved to benefit Shelters of Saratoga, the EOC soup kitchen, and such other city not for profits that serve the veteran community. He strongly believes that a notification should have been sent to these veterans. Clark Hayward, President of Saratoga Emergency Medical Services (SEMS) came to speak regarding the RFP for the ambulance transport service. There were 3 bidders, themselves, Mohawk and Empire. SEMS has been the sole provider in Saratoga Springs for 4 years. They have done a great job per all the cards and letters they received from the citizens of Saratoga Springs. That is a direct tribute to the professionals that staff their organization. They provide a paramedic level of service to the city 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. They are a not for profit organization and do not take any money from the tax payers today. Their entire funding comes from the reimbursement of the insurance companies of the people they transport. SEMS is very proud to have been a part of this for the past 4 years, and is proud of the job they have done. They fully intend to continue to provide the highest quality, free medical care available for the city residents in the future. 4 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 Ian Hamelin of 4 Elburn Street and 4 Underwood Drive stated he is the Administrative Director of the Dance Flurry Festival. He extended their thanks to the Council and all city staff for a very successful 22nd dance flurry event. They look forward to coming back next year. Peter Tulip of 40 Sarazen Street stated he is here to speak about the award of bid for the indoor recreation facility. If the Council is awarding a contract, he suggested they republish this item so the public understands that they are talking about awarding a contract and not a bid. He doesn’t know what awarding a bid means. Additionally, it is his understanding that this award would constitute an award of monies that were bonded by a previous council. His recollection is when a council decides to bond money for a municipal contract, a super majority, 4 votes, is required. If you go to expend that money, wouldn’t that also require 4 votes? He suggests if they don’t know the answer to that, and if they don’t get 4 or 5 votes, that they seek legal opinion before moving forward. Kyle York of 59 Railroad Place stated people state there is no parking problem. He had invited people to come to the City Center with only 6,000 people who came into town for the dance flurry. There was a tremendous parking mess. There were a number of streets blocked by cars that were trying to squeeze in an extra parking space. We need parking solutions and beg the Council to do their best. Undine Giguere of 84 Lincoln Avenue stated she questions the reasoning of awarding a bid for the recreation center when there is pending litigation. The mayor and the City Council have been advised that they are proceeding in violation of SEQRA. She wondered if the mayor and the Council can be so immune in regard to legal procedure. What kind of message does this give? Someone has put on their agenda the discussion and vote of award of bid for construction of the indoor recreation center despite a previous statement that he would not support awarding a bid while there is pending litigation; to quote “..to accept a bidder when we don’t know where we are going, I wouldn’t do that.” This is from the January 9, 2009 Saratogian. Maybe this person has forgotten his previous assurances. Mark Lawton of 209 Nelson Avenue stated he did most of the work in the charter regarding budget process and approvals. Our City Council cannot legally award a contract for the recreation center tonight because it is not a legal capital project according to the charter. The project is not in the 2009 capital budget plan or the city’s annual capital budget. Therefore, it lacks appropriation (authorization) by the council to spend public money out of the city’s treasury. Without an appropriation there is not authority to spend money out of the city’s treasury. Appropriations are provided as a consequence of budget adoption, only affective within a fiscal year; budgets are adopted for a fiscal year, and a new budget year requires a new authorization in that budget year. The recreation center was last authorized in 2007 and has not been re-authorized since. Appropriations approved by the City Council are the only legal means to spend any public money on any capital project out of the public treasury. The budget in this state is determined by local law; local law is the City Charter. He suggested they follow the requirements of the charter. There is a liability involved for every public officer. The Commissioner of Accounts has the job of doing a pre-audit and certifying that this expenditure is according to the law; section 7-3-13 of the law. The Commissioner of Finance will have to certify there are approved funds available to make any expenditure. These are serious matters and will be reported if this is not corrected; actions like that will be reported to state officials. Pat Kane of 19 Marion Place stated he is looked through a number of things to find a good reason for building this recreation center. He cannot find a good reason to do this at this time. It does not feel like the right time to do this. Public Comment ended at 8:13 p.m. PRESENTATION Bill McTygue, Director of Public Works introduced Chris Kalawara from Johnson Control. Chris Kalawara advised Johnson Controls has been working with the city for about 2 years; starting with the energy audit and about a year ago they started construction and nearing completion on phase 1. Work being done in the city includes new boilers, new chillers, upgrades to lighting systems, building envelope improvements and insulation, and temperature control in a number of buildings. They would like 5 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 to present the concept of standardizing temperature control systems and the benefits it would provide the city. Chris introduced Bob Gatchell and Dave Ricci from the temperature group from the Albany office. Chris thanked the council for their support and trust they placed in them in upgrading the infrastructure needs within the city. Bob Gatchell, Albany Branch Manager, introduced himself and Dave Ricci. He explained they are here to propose standardizations for the city to capitalize on investments they have made to date. They are talking about control components as they relate to mechanical systems; thermostats, relays, actuators, etc. Also, the professional services they provide relative to those in terms of engineering, installation, and the proper commissioning of systems. Proper commissioning of the system is a true benefit to the city based on protecting the investment and making sure it is operating properly. We want to standardize to protect the investment made in the infrastructure that allows the city to manage their facilities and energy consumption; and it reduces maintenance costs. The quantity of parts will be minimized will help the operational budgets and repair budgets by having those parts available from one source. They like to work with city engineering to maximize the budgets. Johnson Controls offers state contract pricing and they manufacture their own products with strong financial backing. City employees are fully trained and can manage facilities from any terminal that has the interface capabilities. Mayor Johnson asked how compatible Johnson Control’s products are in the industry. Bob stated they are one of the most interoperable manufacturers. Dave Ricci stated he heard the question why Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls will reduce the long term operating costs of the buildings by standardizing and allowing the staff the features of the system. Mayor Johnson asked if they are developing their products to be able to interface with others. Dave Ricci stated they are and have been for the better part of the last 10-15 years. Commissioner Scirocco asked what piece of equipment we are talking about standardizing. Are we talking about the hardware that would talk the computer we have? Dave Ricci stated that was correct. Commissioner Scirocco asked if there is another company that can supply the city with the same type of hardware or something compatible that would work with Johnson Control’s system. Dave Ricci stated there is a wire that connects to all the components. Anyone that communicate ‘back net’ can communicate back to their system in that fashion. Commissioner Scirocco confirmed that there is competition in regards to the merchandise that Johnson Control is referring to. Bob Gatchell stated that was correct. Commissioner Ivins asked if they are exclusive to selling their product or are there other authorized dealers to sell and install Johnson Controls’ product. Bob Gatchell stated there are other authorized building control system suppliers who supply Johnson Control products. There is usually one per market and there are various contractors around the northeast. Commissioner Kim stated he is trying to figure out how this relates to the resolution being proposed. He is not sure this resolution is necessary. Bob Gatchell used the indoor recreation center as an example. That bid did not specify Johnson Controls, it was open to all vendors. If another controls vendor came in, the city would have to have another infrastructure put in place to be able to see that facility on the city wide systems. The city would have 2 systems sitting next to each other on a desk to be managed and trained on to operate the systems. 6 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Johnson moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to adjourn into executive session 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 the DEC litigation and Mirabile et al vs. The City of Saratoga Springs. Ayes – All Upon return to the normal council meeting, Mayor Johnson stated based upon what transpired in executive session, there is nothing to report at this time to the public. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Scott Johnson moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to approve the consent agenda as follows: 1. Approval of City Council Minutes 2/3/09 2. Approve Budget Amendments 3. Approve Budget Transfers 4. Approve Payroll 2/13/09 - $435,807.24 5. Approve Payroll 2/6/09 - $417,170.36 6. Approve Warrant 2009 Mid MC1FEB09 $2,818.68 7. Approve Warrant 2009 Mid MC2FEB09 $221,603.38 8. Approve Warrant 2008 Regular 6 DEC08 $505,362.43 9. Approve Warrant 2009 Regular 2FEB09 $797,713.66 Commissioner Ivins stated the warrant of 2008 Regular 6 DEC08 includes a voucher for $46,170 representing the final payment to Ganem for the City Hall front steps. He is making this note as this completes the $210,000 originally agreed upon for this project, although the project was significantly later than agreed upon. There has been talk over time of invoking a penalty due to the project being late, therefore, he asked Commissioner Scirocco if he still wanted to pay that full amount and if they are waiving the penalty. Commissioner Scirocco stated under the circumstances they couldn’t work because of weather. Ganem admitted they had problems with the project and corrected those problems at no cost to the city. He recommended they pay the full amount. He believes everyone is pretty satisfied with the work done. They had problems getting the granite and Ganem just couldn’t follow the timeline. Commissioner Franck asked if they removed the squares that were marked up all over the stairs. Commissioner Scirocco stated they tried to get them off. Commissioner Ivins stated he is not comfortable with this but since they are voting on the consent agenda as a whole, he will vote yes for the whole agenda. Commissioner Scirocco stated they did the job as budgeted. Ayes – All MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Discussion: High Rock RFP Workshops Mayor Johnson stated the first workshop was held after they received the bids. He is looking to set up another workshop to review the bidders’ responses to the questions the Council sent out. Workshop was scheduled for Feb 25th at 6:00 pm. 7 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 Discussion: Issue of Paid Parking Mayor Johnson stated it is important to summary for the public what the council has been done and what has not been done to date. Two of the three proposals show how paid parking can help finance or completely finance the project. The council has loosely decided that paid parking is something to be considered if not accepted to go forward with this project. Paid parking is just a concept at this time. The mayor also met with each of the groups that have a vested downtown interest – Downtown Business Association, Chamber of Commerce, Special Assessment District, Convention and Tourism Bureau, City Center, and the Downtown Saratoga Group formed this past summer - to explain what is happening with this idea. He wants the people to understand this is not a done deal. The purpose of the workshops is to analyze the proposals for what is in the best interest of the city. When the time comes and the council believes they have some direction in mind, they will involve the public in the process and take public input in the process. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Discussion: Energy Contract Commissioner Franck advised during the budget times we tied into a contract for natural gas. This contract is for electric. Electric is cheaper than it was a year ago. As a council they will have to make the same type of decision regarding if they want to tie in the electricity or keep it as a variable rate. He is just bringing this up for the Council to think about. He wants to keep this process open. Commissioner Ivins confirmed that the spreadsheet provided is the current rates. He asked why there are different rates for different buildings. Commissioner Franck stated he could bring Gene Salerni back to answer these questions before the council votes. Discussion and Vote: Extension of Garage Sign Lease Agreements (09-37) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded for the Mayor to sign the garage sign lease agreements extensions with Purdy ’s Discount Wine and Liquor and Colwell Computers. I move to extend the lease agreements for the parking deck sign program for Purdy’s Discount Wine and Liquor and Colwell Computers. The lease agreement term is for 1 year. A copy of the lease agreement is on the council’s agenda. The price is the same as the previous year. Ayes - All Discussion: Veteran’s Exemptions Commissioner Franck explained there is a 2 year lag indicator. We are using the number from 2 years ago, which is 83%, which is last certified. When we come out with exemptions, the rate is anticipated but it is not certified. Based on various discussions with OARPS, we are using a percentage that is 2 years old. The number of people entitled to the exemption is 767; 397 people saw a raise in their taxes this year. Mr. Benton failed to mention, and was aware of because Commissioner Franck explained it via phone discussion, was Mr. Benton got a $142 benefit last year. It cost him $142 more this year; so it isnot going to take him another 2 years to break even. This is a confusion situation. We are sending a letter to the 397 veterans. Of the 767 veterans, Commissioner Franck only received 1 phone call; that was from Mr. Benton. The reason Mr. Benton saw this is because of the value of his home is over $240,000. He has spoken to the VFW and a number of people; they understand what happened. If there is a way they can take the maximum amount and change it a little because of a certain section of the code, he would be happy to take a look at that. By not being at 100% had nothing to do with this; which is a misconception that was out there. If you take what our assessments would be at 100% versus the whole assessment, it would come out to the same percentage. Mr. Benton understood this after it was explained to him by 8 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 Commissioner Franck. This has been taken care of and Commissioner Franck offered to discuss this with anyone. Commissioner Ivins stated Mr. Benton contacted him as well. He directed him to the Accounts office. He commended Commissioner Franck for such a quick response to the inquiry. Commissioner Ivins offered any assistance his office can provide. Commissioner Franck stated thousands of different exemptions change every year based upon various things. It really hasn’t been a problem because it is mixed in the rate. He believes the veterans will understand. Discussion and Vote: Award of Bid Indoor Recreation Facility (09-38) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to award the bid and for permission for the Mayor to sign a contract for the Indoor Recreation Center to Bast Hatfield, Inc. in the amount of $4,997,000. Commissioner Franck stated upon the recommendation of the Mayor’s Department, I move to award the bid and for permission for the Mayor to sign a contract for the Saratoga Indoor Recreation Center to Bast Hatfield, Inc. in the amount of $4,997,000. Bast Hatfield was the lowest qualified bidder. This motion is contingent upon review by the city attorney and the risk manager. Mayor Johnson advised this project is from his department, however, the charter dictates that the Commissioner of Accounts place the award of bid on his agenda. He stated this project has been going on for over 10 years and has gone through multiple studies. A need for a recreation in our community has been confirmed. There were a number of bids submitted. We retained the services of the design consultant and architectural firm that designed this plan for the recreation center to review the bids on behalf of his department. The bidder being recommended for adoption and award of bid is Bast Hatfield from Halfmoon. This is a total bid price of $4,997,000. This amount is inclusive of the additional items we didn’t know if we could afford when this was put out to bid. The $6.5 million bonded for this project by the previous council, started almost 3 years ago. The breakdown of the bid is as follows:  Base bid is $4,467,00, which does include the geothermal heating system for the facility and is a green component of the project  Air conditioning for the gym is included  Racquetball court  Lightning protection  Additional street lighting  Additional trees for buffering and landscaping  Emergency back up generator which will allow for use as an emergency shelter  Wall paneling for the gym which puts a better finish on walls from an aesthetic point of view By awarding this bid, the City is well within the budget. A $1.2 million balance will be left of the amount originally bonded. Part of that money will be used for design services and construction management during the construction. The community is getting a great value for its money. Mayor Johnson listed many of the projects Bast Hatfield has worked on within the city and recommended that they award this bid to the contractor. There is pending litigation by a group against the city regarding this project. A motion to dismiss a significant portion of the lawsuit against the city has been filed by the city regarding this issue. The Mayor advised we have bonding deadlines to deal with. By law and bond resolution adopted by the council in 2007 is the money is to be spent within 3 years. That deadline is April 1st of this year. The consequence to the City of not meeting that deadline could be financial penalties. He inherited these bonds and it is his responsibility to take care of all the citizens of this city. Commissioner Kim stated he is going to oppose this motion. This project is a disaster for this city to enter. There is a motion to dismiss, but the mayor is telling half truths. The city filed a motion to dismiss, but the motion is for only 2 of the 4 claims. You only need 1 claim to stop this project. The motion to dismiss states there is no basis for this to be in the courts; you can decide this on a law, not on the facts. He doesn’t know why they didn’t go for an injunction; he too doesn’t know what their strategy is, but he can say he has had a couple injunctions granted in his employment litigation practice. Judges want to know at what point we stop this and what is the searing need to stop that. If we approve this contract tonight, they 9 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 are going to be asking the judge to stop the shovels. He reminded the public they are paying to defend this lawsuit. The second reason he is opposing this project is because the city’s priorities are out of order. Moving this project forward is going to cut their ability to get the stimulus package. The stimulus package offers them the possibility of getting some money to fund long neglected projects like the police station and the east side fire station; which he believes is far more important priorities than the recreation center. This project has to be staffed and there is no staff right now for this project, although we are being told we don’t need additional staff to staff the recreation center. It’s hard to believe we don’t need extra staff because in the first budget that came out; there was an additional $250,000 for additional staff. Now that has disappeared. He doesn’t disagree about having a recreation center. This City Council has made the city believe the bonded money is trapped and can’t be moved. He has spoken to state officials and private bond council; they have all told them that is not true. It will cost the city some money to move the money to a higher priority like the police station and the east side fire station. It will not cost us what we are going to spend on the recreation center. The cost benefit of moving the money to higher priorities is not close. We can stop this project if we have the political guts to do it. Commissioner Kim finds stating one of the benefits of this new center is the emergency backup generator as fascinating; suddenly they are concerned about what happens when they have an emergency crisis. A couple months ago the Council approved new phones against his vote. He didn’t vote for the phones because he didn’t believe the mayor’s office would actually put the police and fire as a priority for installation of new phones. Neither the police nor fire have operational phones. You would think the police and fire should be the number 1 priority. We are going to build a recreation center for emergency assistance, but we haven’t thought of installing emergency phones for our police or fire. Stop this foolishness and move the money over to a police station and let’s move on. We need to stop this now. Commissioner Scirocco stated we are walking on a slippery slope. The fact there is pending litigation, it is dangerous road to hoe. He has issue with the infrastructure of that area. He believes this is going to contribute to more problems than less. In today’s economy, this is the wrong thing to do. It just doesn’t make sense at this particular time. If we build this building, we are going to be taking away baseball fields. Some of this money could have been used to improve the south side field so it can be more usable. He can’t support this. Also, there has been no discussion on the operation and maintenance of the building. During the capital budget process, we have $300,000 for maintenance of the other city buildings. No one knows how much it is going to cost to maintain this building. Someone needs to come to the table and ask what it is going to cost over 30 years. Is this something we need to do now or can it wait? He hasn’t heard any discussion regarding redoing the bonds for a better interest rates. Is there a chance of doing that? He isn’t going to support this. Mayor Johnson stated Commissioner Kim referenced that an item of staffing for $250,000 disappeared from a preliminary budget item. That is not true. It has been the plan all along, and recited to the public long ago, that the existing recreation staff will be transferred over to maximize the operation of the center in conjunction with volunteers and part timers that are already on staff to man the facility during the hours of operation. In terms of the operational cost; it has been provided to the Council on 2 occasions – during the capital program presentation to the council as part of project inclusion into the capital program and the budget adoption last November. It was itemized for the council. This is being built more efficiently than the other buildings the city owns. To sit here now and say we don’t know what the operational costs are going to be isn’t exactly accurate. The risk of canceling this project is the cost to the tax payer. Over $1 million dollars has been spent to date to bring this project forward. A major part of that money was for the debt service on the bonds that the prior council issued for this project. The real cost to the tax payers over the past 3 years has been to cover the debt service on the bonds that were issued to cover the entire cost of construction. Building this facility now is not going to cost the taxpayers one cent. Three bonds were issued for construction. There is a misconception that building this now is going to increase taxes. Operational costs will always be there on an annual as is true with any building the city owns. Commissioner Ivins stated he understands the issues on both sides. He is disappointed the previous council bonded this. However, he will be supporting this as he cannot see wasting the tax payers’ money. If we say no, we get nothing for that money. We can go forward and give something to our families and our kids for years to come. Commissioner Franck reviewed the article that was referred to by Ann Bullock. He read the following from the article: “Johnson decided to move forward with issuing a request for proposal (RFP) despite a lawsuit filed on December 22nd by the Friends of the Southside Park, which is seeking to have the project 10 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 stopped.” Commissioner stated the lawsuit was ahead of time, it was before the RFP was voted on. He continued to read the article as: “I don’t expect the lawsuit will interfere with the bidding, I think we are on solid legal footing, Johnson said. Ann Bullock, a member of the Friends of Southside Park said ‘the request for proposals did not change the status of the legal action against the city. Commissioner of Accounts, John Franck, said he had no problem with issuing the RFP even with the Article 78 lawsuit ongoing. It is just an RFP he said. To accept a bidder when we don’t know where we’re going; I wouldn’t do that.” Commissioner Franck stated he does know where they are going, he does know where the location is, he knows the lawsuit, but hadn’t read it at the time because it was filed approximately at the same time. If we stop every project because there is a lawsuit, we will not get anything done in this city. He doesn’t know if we will win or lose the lawsuit, but he has to go on what legal people are telling him; they feel we are on strong legal ground. He knows a lot more now than he did then; that’s what he meant by the statement. He has received just as many e-mails, if not more, in support of this project. Some of the people here speaking against this project were for it a couple of years ago. Some of this is just politics. He was actually told he wouldn’t be endorsed through is own party if he didn’t agree with Commissioner Kim on this. This is not about get elected or re-elected, it is about what he believes is correct. The article of January 11, 2009 quoted Commissioner Kim as saying “he felt the lawsuit was going to go for the litigants and just the appellate timeframe will put the decision past the summer of 2009. Instead of fighting a legal battle, he would prefer to reach a settlement with the group and relocate the facility back to the originally planned location on Weibel Avenue.” As of January 11th, Commissioner Kim wasn’t against the project, he was against the location; it wasn’t the money, it was the location. All of a sudden it’s about the money, what it really comes down to is it’s about the police station. Commissioner Kim said he can’t get answers on the bond – 2 years ago we had a bond meeting on this. Commissioner Kim didn’t like what was being said; he had a disagreement with Commissioner McTygue and left the building. These answers have been there. This has already been bonded and the public is paying taxes for it now. He does believe there may not be sufficient budgeted items relating to the operating expenses; he does believe they will need more people to run this facility, he does believe you have to pay for utilities, power and cleaning people. He also believes there will be ancillary benefits from this such as tournaments, people are going to come from this place, there will be sales tax revenue generated, hotel tax money will come in, and shops in the city will do better. One of the reasons he was against Weibel Avenue was because when people are done using that facility, they go to Wilton. This is an inner city project that helps every kid. Having the ancillary benefit of these things is very important and is under budget. He is going to vote yes on this RFP. Commissioner Kim stated he has to speak to the gross misrepresentations from Commissioner Franck, which is normal from him. In January when he was asked by a reporter about the litigation, what he was commenting about was the fact that the south side group and their litigation didn’t have to happen; nor did the expenditure of $20,000 to defend us. As citizens of the city, these people came to him, other commissioners and tried to meet with the mayor to talk about this when it was first proposed. They were told ‘it’s my way or the highway’. He got the impression that they didn’t want to go to court, they wanted to work it out. When they were hiring the attorney’s in executive session, he suggested to the council that they talk to the people rather than go right to court, but that was rejected. The idea of relocating the facility was part of what could have been discussed. He voted against hiring the attorney’s. His view of the recreation center has changed in the past year and a half, but the economy has changed. This money can be used for something else and don’t let them fool you into believing it can’t. He bets that the public would rather trek out to the middle school when there is an emergency rather than spend $6 million to make sure we can go to the south side park. Commissioner Franck stated they will talk about Commissioner Kim’s budget over the next few years. As one of the 2 highest expenses in the city, they will hold his feet to the fire and see how he is at that point. He knows Commissioner Kim, including his secretary and everyone is essential services and no one else is because none of their administrative people count. Ayes - 3 Nays – 2 (Commissioner Scirocco and Commissioner Kim) FINANCE DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: City Center Payroll Transfer (09-39) 11 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 Commissioner Ivins moved and Mayor Johnson seconded to approve the payroll transfers for the City Center. Commissioner Ivins stated this is a transfer to correctly reflect expenditures for the expansion project. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Bookkeeping Transfers (09-40) Commissioner Ivins moved and Mayor Johnson seconded to approve the bookkeeping transfers. Commissioner Ivins stated the first transfer is to correct DPW error when they charged bills to capital project when it should not have been. The error was caught last week after thousands of dollars were charged. If this is not corrected, the project will not have enough money to be completed. This is a special case and the only way to rectify it. He appreciated the assistance of all the departments involved to fix this. The second transfer is here because we are already doing one. This is to correct the original set up of expenses and budget for the payment of city taxes on the hotel next to the City Center. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: DEC Fine Payment Transfer of Funds (09-41) Commissioner Ivins moved and Mayor Johnson seconded to approve the transfer of funds for the DEC fine payment. Commissioner Ivins stated upon consultation with auditors, it was determined the payment of the fine in the amount of $85,000 could be considered a 2008 expense. This is a special case. The funds will be transferred to a legal liability line from excess funds of the hospitalization line in DPW. Otherwise these funds would have gone into the unappropriated in 2009 and we would have taken the funds from there. The auditors felt that it was better put in 2008 because that is when the whole litigation took place. A voucher for this payment will be on the mid warrant for February 25th as this is the last warrant for 2008. The rest of the $185,000 worth of programs is not due at this time. Commissioner Kim asked if they have to have a public hearing for this. Commissioner Ivins stated not that he is aware of. Commissioner Kim stated this is totally unbudgeted. He is not voting for this as he is not sure they are doing this according to proper procedures. Ayes – 4 Nays – 1 Commissioner Kim Discussion: Complete Streets Policy Commissioner Ivins stated a meeting was held last week with representation from each department and a representative from Healthy Transportation Network. The main thing that came out of the meeting is to see where they are and proceed from there. They will meet again in about 3 weeks. They will work on this until they have a good proposal for the council to consider. He also attended a meeting, hosted by Healthy Transportation, with Localmotion from Burlington, Vermont in attendance. It was a good ‘nuts and bolts’ discussion in making a community pedestrian and bike friendly. It is not an overnight process and may not take a lot of money to move in that direction, but more of an ongoing awareness issue. Discussion: City Finances 12 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 Commissioner Ivins stated there still 1 small payment left on sales tax for 2008. We could be $600,000 below budget. Due to the energy to ice money, 2008 won’t look as bad as it would have. We have made small progress in collecting 2008 taxes from the state on the track. Due to a letter he sent to Assemblyman Tedisco on this matter, a representative from the comptroller’s office contacted Deputy Commissioner Jarosh to discuss the matter and educate themselves. All documents to substantiate our claim for payment have been sent. There is a discrepancy between what we are owed and what was brought forth at the closing and what is still owed for 4th quarter of 2008. A process for 2009 has been worked out where we will send bills to county and the county will bill the state. The county will reimburse us our share. Commissioner Franck stated he spoke with the school district today and they haven’t received any money to date. In their agreement, they capped out what their property is assessed at. We can never change that figure of assessment. Commissioner Ivins stated the governor wants to freeze payments to all municipalities including taxes at the 2008 level. Commissioner Franck stated we are probably not going to get the half of the VLT money. He believes we can’t wait to budget season to make changes. They are going to have to come back as a council and look at amending the city budget. They are not going to be able to wait until November or December if that happens. Commissioner Ivins encouraged the residents of the city to contact the state regarding the VLT money. Information on how to do this is on the home page of the city’s website. Commissioner Ivins also stated he asked the state comptroller for an audit of the handling of cash in DPW. The policy regarding cash handling in DPW put in place this past December have not yet been put in place by DPW. They verbally heard they are willing to do this but not date has been given of when thiswill happen. The District Attorney’s Office advised they wanted the investigation into the theft of cash in DPW to wind down before the state comptroller’s office could come in and look at what has been put together and suggest any changes. We are at that point now. Commissioner Scirocco stated Commissioner Ivins hasn’t purchases all the equipment needed to make this happen. The IT people were in his office the other day to install it and they don’t have a computer to do this. Commissioner Ivins stated he will follow up with IT as he believed they were going to use a computer they already had. He continued to announce that his office has met with public safety and drafted controls for their department as requested by Commissioner Kim. Hopefully final approved will be on the next agenda. They are already following some of the procedures put in place. Commissioner Ivins announced he and his deputy listened in on a conference call with the governor’s office and NYCOM today. The main focus seems to be restoring cuts to current budget proposals. It also appears that funding for projects with this money will follow the same process as funding of projects it has in the past, including applying for increase community development grant monies and weatherization assistance. What has been applied for and in the pipeline already will get the money first. The governor’s budget director is working to restore CHIPS funding cuts proposed by Governor Paterson for 2009-2010 budget, except for NYC. Details are sketchy and the bill was 1100 pages. Commissioner Ivins advised they have been in contact with NYCOM regarding National Grid. They will be meeting with them again and other municipalities affected by this. We have not received the letter National Grid stated they would be sending out. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Discussion : Water and Sewer Rates 13 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 Commissioner Scirocco stated the public hearing will remain open until the March 3rd council meeting. They will post the info on the website for the public to review. Set Public Hearing: Amend the 2009 Capital Budget – Arts Council Restroom Project Public hearing was set for 6:40 p.m. on March 3rd. Commissioner Ivins asked Commissioner Scirocco if he had a dollar amount of what it was going to cost. Commissioner Scirocco stated he didn’t have an amount at this time but would have it by the public hearing. Commissioner Ivins stated it should be before the public hearing so that the public knows what they are talking about. Also, they need the number to publish in the legal ad. Commissioner Scirocco stated they have to finalize the number. Discussion: Johnson Control Resolution – Standardized Heating Control System Commissioner Scirocco stated he believes this is a good idea. Purchasing regulations need to be checked. At some point he will bring back to the council for a vote. Mayor Johnson stated the questions dealt with the length of the agreement; should there be a set timeframe or can they achieve the same thing through individual bids. Discussion and Vote: Just Compensation Approval Letter – Church Street Project (09-42) Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded the authorization for the Mayor to sign the just compensation letter for Creighton Manning to provide the appraisal review and report for the acquisition of a portion of land at 31 Myrtle Street; 750 square feet for $19,700, and a portion of land at 211 Church Street; 522 square feet for $5,000. Commissioner Scirocco stated this is upon recommendation of the DOT. These 2 parcels are needed to establish a right-of-way for the Church Street reconstruction project. Ayes - All Discussion and Vote: Resolution for Church Street Reconstruction (09-36) Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to approve the resolution submitted by the NYS Department of Transportation regarding the Church Street Reconstruction project for an additional amount of $25,195.50 for land acquisition at the intersection of Myrtle Street and Church Street. Commissioner Scirocco stated 20% of this, $25,195.50, is $20,156.40, which will be funded by the federal government. An additional 15%, $3,779.33 should be funded by the Marchiselli program. The balance to be paid by the city for this project is $1,259.78. This is funded in the capital budget as the Church Street reconstruction project. Paul Male, City Engineer, corrected Commissioner Scirocco about the amount of the federal funding. Federal funding will be 80%. Mayor Johnson asked what the net cost is the city. Paul Male stated the city’s cost will be $1,259.78. This project could possibly be part of the stimulus package, so the cost could end up being zero to the city. It is anticipated that is will be put out to bid in April. Commissioner Ivins asked if it is anticipated traffic will be totally shut off to that area or will it be kept open. 14 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 Paul Male advised the consensus was to shut it down. The resolution is as follows: SAMPLE RESOLUTION BY MUNICIPALITY (Locally Administered Project) RESOLUTION NUMBER: ______ Authorizing the implementation, and funding in the first instance 100% of the federal-aid and State “Marchiselli” Program-aid eligible costs, of a transportation federal-aid project, and appropriating funds therefore. WHEREAS, a Project for the Reconstruction of Church Street, City of Saratoga Springs, P.I.N. 1757.14 (the Project) is eligible for funding under Title 23 U.S. Code, as amended, that calls for the apportionment of the costs such program to be borne at the ratio of 80% Federal funds and 20% non- federal funds; and WHEREAS, the City of Saratoga Springs desires to advance the Project by making a commitment of 100% of the non-federal share of the costs of Preliminary Engineering and Right of Way Incidentals. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council, duly convened does hereby RESOLVE, that the City Council hereby approves the above-subject project; and it is hereby further RESOLVED, that the City Council hereby authorizes the City of Saratoga Springs to pay in the first instance 100% of the federal and non-federal share of the cost of Preliminary Engineering and Right of Way Incidentals work for the Project or portions thereof; and it is further RESOLVED, that the sum of $240,000 (Two hundred forty thousand dollars and no cents) ($228,500.00 for Preliminary Engineering and $11,500.00 for the Right of Way Incidentals) has already been appropriated from the general fund and made available to cover the cost of participation in the Preliminary Engineering and Right of Way Incidentals phases of the Project; and it is further RESOLVED, that the additional sum of $25,195.50 (Twenty five thousand one hundred ninety five dollars and fifty cents) is hereby appropriated from ____________ (or, appropriated pursuant to ________________) and made available to cover the additional cost of participation in the Right of Way Acquisition phase of the Project; and it is further RESOLVED, that in the event the full federal and non-federal share costs of the project exceeds the amount appropriated above, the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs shall convene as soon as possible to appropriate said excess amount immediately upon the notification by the New York State Department of Transportation thereof, and it is further RESOLVED, that the Mayor of the City of Saratoga Springs be and is hereby authorized to execute all necessary Agreements, certifications or reimbursement requests for Federal Aid and/or Marchiselli Aid on behalf of the City of Saratoga Springs with the New York State Department of Transportation in connection with the advancement or approval of the Project and providing for the administration of the Project and the municipality’s first instance funding of project costs and permanent funding of the local share of federal-aid and state-aid eligible Project costs and all Project costs within appropriations therefore that are not so eligible, and it is further RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be filed with the New York State Commissioner of Transportation by attaching it to any necessary Agreement in connection with the Project; and it is further RESOLVED, this Resolution shall take effect immediately Ayes - All Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign an Agreement with Upstate Testing and Control Services (09-43) Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded the authorization for the Mayor to sign a contract with Upstate Testing and Control Services for the maintenance of the equipment that converts gas into energy at the Weibel Avenue Ice Rink in the amount not to exceed $40,000. Commissioner Scirocco stated this is a 3 year agreement starting on January 1, 2009 and ending December 31, 2011. Commissioner Ivins stated when this contract was discussed in January, he asked Commissioner Scirocco if there was an hourly rate. Commissioner Scirocco has indicated there was an hourly rate but did not have it at that time and would get that information. To date, he does not recall having received this information. Commissioner Scirocco asked Bill McTygue, Director of Public Works if he knew what the rate is. 15 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 Bill McTygue explained this contract is split into 2 pieces, the annual base service fee which is a set dollar amount, and the second piece is a dollar figure for optional services. The rate per hour for is $65 per hour, $90 for overtime, and Commissioner Scirocco corrected his motion as follows: Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded the authorization for the Mayor to sign a contract with Upstate Testing and Control Services for the maintenance of the equipment that converts gas into energy at the Weibel Avenue Ice Rink in the amount not to exceed $40,000 ; with a regular hourly rate of $65 per hour, $90 per hour for overtime, and $80 per hour for overhaul services. Ayes - All Discussion and Vote: Approval for Maple Avenue Drainage Project – Change Order (09-44) Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to approve the two change orders for the Maple Avenue Drainage project; one in the amount of $8,875 .00 and the second is in the amount of $1,024.00 . Commissioner Scirocco advised this change order involves NY State DOT requiring a 20 foot vertical drop connection into a NYS DOT manhole that was not included in the original contract. The price of that change order is $8,875. The second change order involves the installation of 8 ft. of 18” HDPE pipe. The cost of this is $1,024. The revised contract price is $130,099. The additional cost is in the capital budget for this project. Ayes - All Discussion and Vote: Approval for Nelson Avenue Drainage Project – Change Orders (09-45) Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Ivins seconded to approve two change orders for the Nelson Avenue Drainage Project; change order #1 for phase 1 involves placement of binder thickness within a 12’ wide trench line, replacement of 1½ “ thickness of topcoat asphalt, reinstallation of white pavement stripes, increase sub-base thickness within 12” wide trench line, furnish and install 1” thick asphalt overlay 30’ wide, reinstallation of sewer line in the amount of $8,647.42; change order #1 phase 1 alternate 1 involves the installation of a new 12” storm sewer line, installation of a 24” storm sewer line, moving of a 36” storm sewer to accommodate incorrect gas main location, cutting and reinstalling water and sewer main to Wright Street and install 36” storm sewer, cutting and repairing water service on Wright Street, cost for unknown unmarked underground utilities, reconstruction of Wright Street after installation of 36” storm sewer in the amount of $59,084.58. Commissioner Scirocco advised the total amount of WM Schultz’s contract has increased to $360,906.58. Included in both change orders is work requested by NYRA in the city’s right-of-way; we received a payment of $15,852.40 from NYRA for the additional work. Funding for both change orders is in the capital budget Jefferson Street project. Ayes – All Informational: Public Meeting for the City’s Stormwater Management Program Commissioner Scirocco announced there is a meeting scheduled for tomorrow, February 18th at 6:00 p.m. at the library regarding the stormwater management program. Letters were sent out to contractors and landscapers as they will be impacted the most by this. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Announcement: Operation Impact Grant 16 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 Commissioner Kim announced the award of an Operation Impact Grant from the Division of Criminal Justice Service for support on drug interdiction and investigations. This grant requires them to do fast event tracking through Safety Net, a computer program. Not all the cars are equipped yet, so they will do their best to make sure they live up to the terms of the grant; it will be difficult due to their handicap with computers. They were awarded $45,000. Discussion: Workshop on Emergency Services Proposals Commissioner Kim would like to give the bidders of the emergency services bid, Empire Ambulance, Mohawk Ambulance, and SEMS a chance to present their proposals. Commissioner Franck asked if this workshop could happen before the paid parking workshop. Commissioner Kim agreed to this. A workshop has been set for Wednesday, February 25th at 6:00 pm. SUPERVISORS Joanne Yepsen NYSAC Legislative Conference Supervisor Yepsen announced the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) was held last week in Albany. They heard from state elected leaders including the governor, the attorney general, comptroller, the minority and majority leaders. They shared how New York State’s budget and economy is affecting counties as well as municipalities. They prioritized one resolution regarding taxation and finance, calling on reductions in state spending without shifting cost to local property tax payers. The resolution put forward calls for strengthened state and local partnership in an effort to reform inefficient and outdated programs that do not maximize benefits to the state, municipalities, or recipients of these services. Prescription Drug Program Supervisor Yepsen announced 13 other counties are participating in this program that has partner with ProAct, a pharmacy benefits management company. This program will be moving forward through the committee and the Board of Supervisors next month. Any resident of the county can participate regardless of age. There is no cost to the county or participants. The discount card can be used in the area and nationwide. This discount program covers all medications, brand names and generic, as well as pets. Participants can save up to 20% on brand named drugs and 50% on generic drugs. Racing Committee Supervisor Yepsen announced this committee met this month. We need to begin to lobby the other 2 bodies of legislation before any votes are taken. Also, the NYS property tax payments for the race track are a great concern. This has been discussed at the county level; it will be billed from the county and reimburse the city their percentage. The operation of the Saratoga Race Course is under a new franchise agreement. There still is no contract with New York State. Our local advisory board will be looking at the preservation of the 250 buildings and 350 acres at the race course. Matthew Veitch Saratoga County Racing Committee Supervisor Veitch announced VLT revenue is high on the priority for the committee this year. They are going to put VLTs on the county’s legislative agenda. They will lobby as strong as possible for this. He will be partnering with Dick Rowland, Supervisor of the Town of Greenfield and Chair of the Legislative Committee, to construct a letter as an additional item of their lobbying efforts. The county has a list of state leaders that should get the letter. 17 of 18 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday February 17, 2009 He also mentioned that the property tax issue is big. He invited the Sam Pitcheralle, County Treasure and Commissioner Ivins to attend their March 5th meeting to explain the process going forward. Supervisor Veitch will be asking the Saratoga Gaming and Raceway to provide a report to learn what is happening on the standard bred racing side of things and how the racing has been affected since it opened 5 years ago. Condo Assessments Resolution Supervisor Veitch stated the condo resolution has passed the Law and Finance Committee and is on its way to the County Board of Supervisors meeting scheduled for the February 24th meeting. He and Commissioner Franck continue to lobby the supervisors for a unanimous vote. Saratoga Gaming and Raceway Foundation Supervisor Veitch announced their next meeting is on February 19th at 3:30 at the Raceway. They are trying to get the grant process going earlier this year. Last year they gave out about $27,000 in grants to local non-profits. Trails Committee Supervisor Veitch announced this committee is meeting on February 24th at 3:00 p.m. before the Board of Supervisors meeting. This project is going to open up county owned forestlands to the public and build trails on them. They have preliminary sketches and will present those to the committee at the meeting. Geyser Road Trail Supervisor Veitch announced he received letter from the state that the $25,000 grant money from 2006 should be in their checking account within 30 days. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Scott Johnson moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to adjourn the meeting. Ayes - All. There being no further business, Mayor Scott Johnson adjourned the meeting at 10:53 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 3/3/09 Vote: 5 - 0 18 of 18