City Council

June 18, 2012 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Pre- Agenda Meeting PRESENT: Scott Johnson, Mayor Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Anthony Scirocco, Commissioner of DPW Christian Mathiesen, Commissioner of DPS STAFF PRESENT: Shauna Sutton, Deputy Mayor Lynn Bachner, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Sharon Kellner-Chille, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Eileen Finneran, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Joe Scala, City Attorney Joanne Yepsen, Supervisor EXCUSED: Tim Cogan, Deputy Commissioner, DPW Matthew Veitch, Supervisor CALL TO ORDER Mayor Johnson called the meeting to order at 9:36 a.m. PUBLIC HEARINGS None PRESENTATION 1. Urban Forestry Grant Status Supervisor Yepsen stated her people are not able to speak to the grant but will be providing an overall update of the project. Mayor Johnson stated they can re-name this. EXECUTIVE SESSION: The proposed purchase or disposition of real property of securities. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approve Budget Amendments (Increases) 2. Approve Budget Transfers-Regular 3. Approve Payroll 6/8/12 $413,800.10 4. Approve Payroll 6/15/12 $389,740.96 5. Approve Warrant: 2012 Mid – 12MWJUN1 $100,306.03 6. Approve Warrant: 2012 Reg – 12JUN2 $2,975,625.09 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting June 18, 2012 Mayor Johnson asked if any Council members had changes to the consent agenda; there were none. MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion and Vote: approval for the Mayor to Sign the annual Transportation Rental Agreement for Camp Saradac John Hirliman of the Recreation Department advised this is the bus rental for the camp. There is an increase in the per mile rate this year. 2. Discussion and Vote: Recreation Registrations John Hirliman stated this should be changed from Discussion and Vote to Announcement for the summer and fall programs. 3. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Contract to Purchase 133 Kaydeross Avenue East (Blodgett Property) No comment. 4. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign change Order with BCI Construction Inc. for 6 Woodlawn Avenue Parking Garage Mayor Johnson stated item 4 & 5 are related. One item is a change order to reduce the amount of the contract and the other is to award the contract for plumbing. 5. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Agreement with BCI Construction Inc. for 6 Woodlawn Parking Garage Plumbing Design & Construction No comment. 6. Set Public Hearing: Amend the 2012 Capital Budget for Waterfront Park Project Mayor Johnson advised they are looking to amend the capital budget to be sure it is consistent with the grant money received and total funds available for the park. 7. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Agreement with Landmark Archeology, Inc. for Archeaology Review Phase III at Waterfront Park Site Mayor Johnson stated this is a continuation of the archeological study being done. 8. Discussion: IDA Funding Received for Geyser Road/Route 50 Intersection Mayor Johnson advised that the City has received funding from the IDA to allow the project to proceed. 9. Discussion: Proposal to Limit Cell Phone/Texting During City Council and Land Use Board Meetings Mayor Johnson advised he has received complaints regarding the amount of texting at the meetings. He will be looking into what other municipalities do regarding this issue. It is rude and appears that people are not paying attention to the meeting if they are doing other business. This could possibly conflict with the Open Meetings Law as there is no record being made and not being recorded in the minutes. He will bring back a policy/procedure for adoption by the Council at the next meeting. Commissioner Franck asked for the names of the people who have complained. He has been texting since 2006 and has not had any complaints. Page 2 of 7 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting June 18, 2012 Mayor Johnson stated he received complaints from 5 individuals but would not provide their names out of fairness to them. Commissioner Franck advised he has been texting since 2006 with the mayor’s deputy, his people on contract information, etc. If it is against Open Meetings Law he would be happy to have a presentation done. He is confused at this proposal. Mayor Johnson advised his concern is if Council members are communicating to each other during a meeting via texting. That is not open communication. Commissioner Franck provided an example from the last City Council meeting where information was inaccurately provided at the mic and he learned of that information from a text from his staff. With out that he would not have had the proper information. He asked how this is different from a note being passed. That is communication going back and forth that isn’t put in the minutes. Mayor Johnson advised that is different because it is visible. Commissioner Madigan advised that she texts to communicate with her deputy. She feels they do need a way to communicate with the people behind them. Sometimes they need to get more clear information on a topic. This says proposal to limit; does that mean proposal to cut it out? Commissioner Franck stated his deputy is texting; the City attorney has his laptop on, Shauna texts, etc. Are these 5 people who come to meetings, watching from home, employees? Mayor Johnson stated he will bring to the next meeting a proposal with legal analysis. Commissioner Madigan questioned if this is an appropriate topic for the City Council agenda or is this something we can work out in a meeting. Mayor Johnson stated he feels the public should know we are considering this. These messages can be FOIL whether they are personal phones or not. Commissioner Mathiesen stated he leaves his cell phone on at all times as he is on call. Mayor Johnson stated the proposal can have something to the effect of emergencies. 10. Announcement: Reminder for Public Hearings and Workshops on Proposed Zoning Ordinance and City Code Revisions No comment. 11. Set Public Hearing: Woodlawn Oval PUCD Proposed Map and Text Amendments Mayor Johnson stated there was a lot of discussion between his department and Commissioner Franck’s department regarding whose agenda this item belong on. He has no problem putting this on his agenda. 12. Appointment: Zoning Board of Appeals No Comment. 13. Appointments: Shared Access Advisory Board (Complete Streets Initiative) No Comment. Page 3 of 7 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting June 18, 2012 ACCOUNT’S DEPARTMENT 1. Award of Bids: Plumbing Design and Construction for 6 Woodlawn Avenue Parking Deck to BCI Construction, Inc. No comment. Commissioner Franck advised he is adding 3 items to his agenda: Rescind Award of Bid – Spirit of Life, Award of Bid – Spirit of Life to Martha Lyon Landscape Architecture, and Award of Bid – Casino Handicap Ramp Restoration to L.G. White & Sons, Inc. FINANCE DEPARTMENT 1. Announcement: Budget Presentation Commissioner Madigan advised she will be hosting 2 presentations at the library – June 26th and June 28th at 7 p.m. 2. Discussion and Vote: 2012 Bond Resolution – Ballston Avenue Traffic Improvements Project No comment. 3. Discussion: Saratoga Springs Housing Authority Commissioner Madigan stated she will provide an update to the letter received from the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority. 4. Discussion: Proposed Zoning Ordinance Commissioner Madigan stated she put this on her agenda to request a little more time to review the changes. Mayor Johnson stated we have set the public hearings/legal notices on this. The Planning Department and committee involved with this has offered to sit with the Council or anyone to go through this. Commissioner Madigan stated she did set a meeting. Mayor Johnson stated he is sure that will assist her. Deputy Commissioner Finneran stated they had discussed they are concerned the public will not have time review with busy summer schedules. 5. Discussion and Vote: Budget Transfers – City Center Contingency No comment. 6. Discussion and Vote: Budget Transfers – Payroll 06-19-12 No comment. 7. Discussion and Vote: Budget Transfers – Benefits 06-19-12 No comment. Page 4 of 7 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting June 18, 2012 8. Discussion and Vote: budget Amendments – Benefits 06-19-12 No Comment. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign Agreement for Water Treatment Plant Filter Upgrade Project Commissioner Madigan advised she hasn’t received the certificate of sufficient funds request. Commissioner Scirocco advised it was provided to Finance for the last Council meeting as it was awarded at that time. 2. Announcement: Paving Schedule No comment. Commissioner Scirocco advised he is adding an item to his agenda: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign an Agreement with 7 Horse Pub & Hattie’s for Lease of Lena Lane. Joe Scala advised this lease was just loaded on Friday and he has not had a chance to review it yet. Commissioner Madigan asked if the details have been defined as she has heard of many options. Commissioner Scirocco stated it will be a 5 year lease, $2 million insurance, and $2,000 lease agreement for seasonal use. Commissioner Mathiesen stated per Mark Benaquista, Lena Lane is a City street and not a public right-of- way. He questioned if a City street can be leased and/or if the City would want to set such a precedent. He questioned if they could suspend the use of Lena Lane as a City street for a period of time and let them use that space as a sidewalk café. He thinks it is premature to consider a lease at this time. Commissioner Scirocco stated he is not sure if Lena Lane is a legal size street. It was done in memoriam of Lena Spencer. He believes it is a liability. We lease it to him on a couple occasions; we leased it to him for a day. Commissioner Mathiesen advised a permit to use Lena Lane should not be considered a lease. Commissioner Scirocco stated he would like to put this on the agenda for discussion and vote. Commissioner Mathiesen stated there were 3 or 4 approaches considered. He asked Joe Scala where they left off. Joe Scala advised his understanding was he is to do further legal research. The first he heard of this was Friday afternoon. He was also going to contact the attorney for the 2 owners to see if they were willing to do a permit. Commissioner Mathiesen stated they weren’t sure why this area couldn’t be used as sidewalk cafés and not have a lease. The use of sidewalk cafes in this area would be in the best interest of all parties as it would still allow pedestrian access and it would save them the $2,000. Commissioner Madigan stated she doesn’t like a lease with a transferability clause. Page 5 of 7 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting June 18, 2012 Commissioner Franck stated this would make that area safer and there is a large amount of money the restaurant owners are putting out. Joe Scala advised his understanding of the transferability issue is the language would require it to be another restaurant. It is also his understanding that the possibility comes down to 2 – lease it or close it temporarily. Then the street would have to change to be listed as a temporary street. Mayor Johnson suggested setting a public hearing at tomorrow night’s meeting for July 3rd for a proposal to change the street designation. PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Contract for the High School Resource Officer No comment. 2. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Change Orders for DeBrino Caulking No comment. 3. Set Public Hearing: Amend Chapter 225-89, Schedule XXIV: Load Zones No comment. 4. Set Public Hearing: Amend Chapter 225-90, Schedule XXV: Taxi Stands No comment. 5. Discussion and Vote: Authorization to Accept Donation from Stewarts Corporation Commissioner Mathiesen stated Stewarts is donating extra snow brushes they had. 6. Discussion: City Code Change on Caroline Street Commissioner Mathiesen advised the existing City Code states Caroline Street is to be closed from Broadway and Putnam from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. during July and August. The thought is if a pedestrian is injured by a car on that part of Caroline, the City could be liable. They would like to get some input from the Council and community regarding if they want to maintain this. Commissioner Franck stated this is important because of the way this street is set up. This is probably the busiest block in the City. Commissioner Mathiesen stated some of the establishments felt it was better to have the street open so if emergency vehicles had to get to them. It is still on the books it is supposed to be closed but we haven’t been doing it. If we do want to close it we need to find a better barrier to block the street. Commissioner Franck asked if we do change the code back, we will still be able to close the street for crowd control, etc. Commissioner Mathiesen advised we do have the ability to do that. 7. Discussion: Enforcement Regarding City Right of Ways Commissioner Mathiesen stated there is a portion of the City where residents are extending driveways into City right-of-ways. To do so, a permit from the Department of Public Works is Page 6 of 7 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting June 18, 2012 required. They are proposing to put up signs similar to the signs DPW uses for picking up leaves to advise the residents. Commissioner Scirocco stated as long as he has been commissioner of DPW, they have not issued a permit to do this; it’s illegal. Commissioner Mathiesen stated they are also contacting some of the paving companies who do work in this area to alert them of this. SUPERVISORS JOANNE YEPSEN Supervisor Yepsen advised she will be putting the following items on her agenda: Truth in Taxation Local Law, Mental Health Facility Relocation, Emergency Dispatch Cost Vote, Resolution Received from City Council, Climate Smart Workshops, and the Women’s Veterans’ Day Out. MATTHEW VEITCH Nothing at this time. ADJOURN Mayor Johnson adjourned the meeting at 10:24 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 7/3/12 Vote: 5 - 0 Page 7 of 7