City Council

May 2, 2017 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Meeting City Council Room 7:00 PM 6:55 PM P.H. – SPA Housing Zoning 7:00 PM CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL SALUTE TO FLAG PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD / 15 MINUTES PRESENATIONS 1. Loughberry Lake and Route 50 Dam Spillway Project – Schnabel Engineering 2. 2016 Preliminary – Year End Financial Report CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approve Budget Transfers - Regular 2. Approval of 4/17/17 Pre-Agenda Meeting Minutes 3. Approval of 4/18/17 City Council Meeting Minutes 4. Approve Budget Amendments (Increases) 5. Approve Payroll: 4/28/17 $478,217.66 6. Approve Payroll: 4/21/17 $510,632.43 7. Approve Resolution for Use of Insurance Reserve #4 8. Approve Warrant: 2017 – 17MAY1: $160,439.30 9. Approve Warrant: 2017 Mid – 17MWAPR2: $11,634.53 MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion and Vote: Accept Donation of Property at 209 South Broadway Owned by Crown Oil #1 Company, Inc. Appraised at $340,000 2. Discussion and Vote: Community Development Citizen Advisory Committee’s Recommendations to the City Council 3. Discussion and Vote: SEQRA Negative Declaration – Loughberry Lake Purchase of Land 4. Announcement: DOT Grant Award: Downtown Connector 5. Announcement: Bikeshare Update 6. Legislative Update: Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT 1. Award of Bid: Lake Avenue Fire Station Air Conditioning to Collins Mechanical 2. Award of Bid: Police Dispatch Architectural Services to QPK Design 3. Announcement: Grievance Class – May 9, 2107 4. Announcement: Grievance Day – May 23, 2017 City Council Meeting 5/02/17 FINANCE DEPARTMENT 1. Announcement: Appointment of Deputy Commissioner of Finance, Susan Dugan-Armstrong 2. Announcement: National Grid Proposes New Delivery Prices Beginning April 2018 3. Discussion: 2018 Adopted State Budget Summary 4. Presentation: Saratoga Smart City Website – www.saratogasmartcity.com 5. Discussion: Smart City Parking and Public WiFi 6. Discussion and Vote: Budget Transfers - Payroll PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign Agreement Addendum #1 with Creighton Manning Engineering for the Woodlawn Avenue Water Main Replacement 2. Announcement: Update Night & Day Urns in Congress Park and the Pan Statue in the Italian Garden Congress Park PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT 1. Set Public Hearing: Amend Chapter 225 of the City Code Article IX, Schedules, Subsection 225-77, Schedule XII: Stop Intersections 2. Set Public Hearing: Amend Chapter 225 of the City Code Article IX, Schedules Subsection 225-26, Schedule I: Traffic Control Signals 3. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Lease Agreement with WDC of Upstate New York, LLC 4. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Contract with Collins Mechanical 5. Announcement: City Council Workshop on SPA Housing Ordinance on May 4, 2017 at 1 p.m. in City Council Room 6. Discussion: Responses to My Letter Dated April 6, 2017 Seeking Property for a Fire/EMS Facility SUPERVISORS Matt Veitch 1. Saratoga County Buildings and Grounds Peter Martin 1. Senior Advisory Committee ADJOURN Page 2 of 10 City Council Meeting 5/02/17 May 2, 2017 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Meeting City Council Room 7:00 PM PRESENT: Joanne Yepsen, Mayor Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Anthony Scirocco, Commissioner of DPW Christian Mathiesen, Commissioner of DPS STAFF PRESENT: Meg Kelly, Deputy Mayor Maire Masterson, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Franck Coppola, Jr., Deputy Commissioner, DPW Susan Armstrong, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Eileen Finneran, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Vincent DeLeonardis Matthew Veitch, Supervisor Peter Martin, Supervisor 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 HEARING SPA Zoning Ordinance Mayor Yepsen opened the public hearing at 6:58 p.m. Commissioner Mathiesen stated this is a continuation of the public hearing opened a couple meetings back. There will be a workshop on Thursday for the Council to discuss this. Darlene McGraw of Saratoga Springs stated she would like clarification of what is affordable. Mayor Yepsen concluded the public hearing at 7:00 p.m. and kept it open. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Yepsen called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Page 3 of 10 City Council Meeting 5/02/17 PUBLIC COMENT Mayor Yepsen said the public comment period is limited to a total of 15 minutes and individuals are limited to two minutes. Mayor Yepsen opened the public comment period at 7:01 p.m. Jane Weihe of Saratoga Springs stated she is here representing SUCCESS. The Charter Review Committee will be receiving $20,000 to educate the residents; not to be used to advocate for the Charter change. At the last meeting the vice president handed out a list of things they will be doing to educate. They want to be sure the appropriate activities are done as education and paid for with these funds. She submitted a letter requesting the Council’s plan to ensure the proper expenditure of public funds. (attachment) Bonnie Sellers of Saratoga Springs stated she is here representing SUCCESS. She read some headings from articles in 2006 regarding the Charter Revision (attached). Taxpayer money cannot be used to advocate for changing our form of government. Problems can be avoided if the City Council establishes a process and rules. Jay Portnoy of Saratoga Springs congratulated the Council on the financial ratings the City received from the 2 major rating agencies. Joe Dalton of Saratoga Springs stated he would like to address funds for Charter change. Why $20,000; just because the Committee asked for it? Let the Committee do what the opposition must do – invest private funds and time for their proposal. Charter change is a serious effect and people have the right to know both sides of the situation. Darlene McGraw of Saratoga Springs stated she agrees things have to be fair. We don’t need anything that is hidden. Also, parking at the Recreation Center does not provide for a fire truck to get through if needed. Mayor Yepsen closed the public comment period at 7:13 p.m. Commissioner Mathiesen stated they have looked at Worth Street and there are issues there. The fire chief has expressed concern and they are considering making some changes there. He also feels tax payer money should only be used to explain the proposal and the present form of city government is. PRESENTATION Loughberry Lake and Route 50 Dam Spillway Project – Schnabel Engineering Commissioner Scirocco stated this presentation is being done by our engineers; Schnabel (Greg Daviero) and our city engineer, Tim Wales. Tim Wales stated this project is directly related to the Loughberry Lake Dam. Rt. 50 goes right over our dam so we are responsible to make sure we take care of the integrity of the dam. Greg Daviero of Schnabel Engineering covered topics such as the dam location, history of the dam, engineering assessment, and next steps. The dam was originally constructed as a railroad embankment and evolved over the years into a dam. The engineering assessment done reviewed historical records, inspected the condition of the dam, evaluated the impact if the dam failed, what the spillway capacity is, determination of how safely can the lake be lowered, stability of dam under required condition, and what needs to be done and the cost. The total cost of the project is $7.3 million. The City can talk with DOT as Page 4 of 10 City Council Meeting 5/02/17 they have done some work on the dam in the past and may be able to help here. (copy of presentation attached) 2016 Preliminary – Year End Financial Report Commissioner Madigan stated this report has been filed with the state, City Clerk’s Office, and is on the City’s website. The Finance Office is preparing the 2016 financial statements for an audit that will start on May 15, 2017. Once that audit has been completed, the audited figures will be released. The General Fund Balance as of 12/31/16 is $15,483,000 of which $9,009,000 is unrestricted and unassigned; $6,474,000 is restricted, assigned or non-spendable. The General Fund has a deficit of $1,056,000. The unrestricted/unassigned fund balance is predicted to fall within the acceptable range of 10 – 25%. Sales tax increased from 2015 by 3.2% but was less than the 2016 adopted budget by $292,000. Hotel room occupancy tax decreased by 1.2% from 2015 and was $68,000 less than the 2016 adopted budget. Utilities gross receipt tax declined for the second consecutive year and was $77,000 less than the 2016 adopted budget. Franchise fees increased by 4% in 2016 and exceeded the 2016 adopted budget by $23,000. Ambulance fees increased in 2016 by $123,000 and exceeded the 2016 budget by $206,000. Admission tax decreased by 6% from 2015 but just missed the 2016 budgeted amount by $1,000. The VLT Aid for 2016 was the same as 2015 and 2014. The City will receive the full amount of VLT Aid for 2017. Mortgage tax decreased by 3% from 2015 and did not meet the amount budgeted for 2016. Overall, the total general fund revenues in 2016 were less than 2015 and $2.9 million less than budget for 2016. The City expected to have an operating deficit and finished with only a $1 million dollar operating deficit. Health insurance costs increased 3.75% from 2015 but were $206,000 less than the revised budget. Retirement costs increase 6% for police and fire but decreased by 19% for other employees. The 2016 actual retirement expenses met the budgeted amount. Social security was more than 2015 but less than budgeted in 2016. Overtime costs decreased in 2016 by 14.7% and less than budgeted for 2016. Compensatory payments increased by 29% from 2015 but were less than budgeted for 2016. The total general fund expenses were $607,000 more than in 2015 but $3.2 million less than budgeted for 2016. The water fund ended 2016 with a positive assigned unappropriated fund balance of $2,906,000. This is the fifth consecutive year the water fund reported an operating surplus. The sewer fund assigned unappropriated balance for 2016 was $1,831,000 and is the seventh consecutive year the fund reported an operating surplus. The City Center’s fund balance as of December 31, 2015 was $19,114,000 of which $6,504,000 was restricted for capital projects and the remainder was restricted for City Center operations. The City’s debt limit was $76,515,000 as of December 31, 2016 leaving $39,766,000 available for future bonding. The City’s cash balance as of December 31, 2016 in the General Fund was $362,000 more than in 2015. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Yepsen moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to accept the consent agenda as follows: 1. Approve Budget Transfers - Regular 2. Approval of 4/17/17 Pre-Agenda Meeting Minutes 3. Approval of 4/18/17 City Council Meeting Minutes 4. Approve Budget Amendments (Increases) 5. Approve Payroll: 4/28/17 $478,217.66 6. Approve Payroll: 4/21/17 $510,632.43 7. Approve Resolution for Use of Insurance Reserve #4 8. Approve Warrant: 2017 – 17MAY1: $160,439.30 9. Approve Warrant: 2017 Mid – 17MWAPR2: $11,634.53 Page 5 of 10 City Council Meeting 5/02/17 Ayes – All MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Accept Donation of Property at 209 South Broadway Owned by Crown Oil #1 Company, Inc. Appraised at $340,000 (17-139) Mayor Yepsen advised she would like to update the wording of this item to say Authorization for the Mayor to Sign the Memorandum of Understanding with the Crown Oil Company. Mayor Yepsen moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to authorize the mayor to sign the memorandum of understanding with the Crown Oil Company. Tony Izzo advised before the Council votes to accept the donation we want to look into the land since there was a gas station on that property at one time. Matt Veitch, president of the Open Space Committee, advised it is not the purview of their Committee to decide how this piece of property should be used. They had ideas of it being a pocket park. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Community Development Citizen Advisory Committee’s Recommendations to the City Council (17-140) Mayor Yepsen moved and Commissioner Madigan seconded to approve the Community Development Citizen Advisory Committee’s recommendations. Richard Ferguson, chair of the Community Development Advisory Committee, advised they reviewed the applications very carefully. The final decision on the recommendations is the Council’s. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: SEQRA Negative Declaration – Loughberry Lake Purchase of Land (17-141) Tony Izzo advised at the last meeting he neglected to ask the Council to issue a negative declaration for the parcels being purchased. Mayor Yepsen moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to approve SEQRA negative declaration Loughberry Lake purchase of land. Ayes – All Announcement: DOT Grant Award: Downtown Connector Mayor Yepsen announced the City has received the award of the DOT grant in the amount of $1.5 million. Announcement: Bikeshare Update Mayor Yepsen announced the bikeshare program will be launched this summer. Legislative Update: Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner Mayor Yepsen introduced Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner. Page 6 of 10 City Council Meeting 5/02/17 Assemblywoman Woerner stated the state budget is $163 billion dollars. About 1/3 of the money comes from the federal government. She advised VLT funding will be maintained at the same level for this coming year. The 3 funding priorities included education; water infrastructure; and housing. The City should see an increase in CHIPS funding. There is a new capital fund for small cultural institutions; monies for mental health facilities; and money for security updates. The middle class tax cut goes into effect this year. There was worker’s compensation reform in the budget to bring down the cost in worker’s compensation. The age for criminal responsibility was raised from 16 to 18. She also advised Uber is coming in July. There will not be any local regulations on this as DMV will be issuing the regulations. NYRA has been privatized and the new board is being formed. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Award of Bid: Lake Avenue Fire Station Air Conditioning to Collins Mechanical (17-142) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Mathiesen seconded to award the bid for the Lake Avenue fire Station Air Conditioning to Collins Mechanical in the amount of $113,000. Funding is lines: H3146952 / 52000 / 1186; H3146952 / 52000 / 1174; and A3143414 / 54610. Ayes – All Award of Bid: Police Dispatch Architectural Services to QPK Design (17-143) Commissioner Franck moved and Commissioner Mathiesen seconded to award the bid for the Police Dispatch Architectural Services to QPK Design in the amount of $38,500. Funding is in line: H3146952 / 52000 / 1245. Ayes – All Announcement: Grievance Class – May 9, 2107 th Commissioner Franck announced the grievance class will be held this year on Tuesday, May 9 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Room. Residents are invited to attend to learn how to correctly fill out the application to grieve their assessment and understand the process. Announcement: Grievance Day – May 23, 2017 Commissioner Franck announced Grievance Day is Tuesday, May 23, 2017. There are 3 sessions in which grievances are heard: 9 am – noon; 1 pm – 4 pm; and 7 pm to 9 pm in the City Council Room. Questions can be directed to the Assessment Office. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Announcement: Appointment of Deputy Commissioner of Finance, Susan Dugan-Armstrong Commissioner Madigan announced the appointment of Susan Dugan-Armstrong to the position of Deputy Commissioner of Finance. Commissioner Madigan thanked Lynn Bachner, former deputy commissioner, for all the work she did for the City and her. Announcement: National Grid Proposes New Delivery Prices Beginning April 2018 Page 7 of 10 City Council Meeting 5/02/17 Commissioner Madigan announced National Grid has filed a proposal to increase their delivery prices. Current rates will be frozen through May 31, 2018. They are doing this to update customer needs and area growth. A handout was presented to the Council and is attached. Discussion: 2018 Adopted State Budget Summary Commissioner Madigan advised most of this was covered previously. She was told CHIPS funding will remain at current year levels. VLT money will be funded at current year level as well. Presentation: Saratoga Smart City Website – www.saratogasmartcity.com Commissioner Madigan stated the website is available for people to review. There is a section for news. Discussion: Smart City Parking and Public WiFi Commissioner Madigan advised Smart City Parking and Public WiFi are 2 initiatives the Smart City Commission is working on. A handout was provided regarding Smart City Street Parking and is attached. There are 1,300 on street parking spaces and 1,300 off street parking spaces. The parking issue has risen to a severe status. The Commission is working on a smart parking initiative and focusing on sensors and a parking ability application. Commissioner Madigan introduced to the Council a Congress Park public WiFi project. The Casino is being looked at as a wide area network router. It shouldn’t cost more than $5,000 to have public WiFi in Congress Park. Discussion and Vote: Budget Transfers – Payroll (17-144) Commissioner Madigan moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to approve the budget transfers – payroll which were distributed with the agenda. Ayes - All PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign Agreement Addendum #1 with Creighton Manning Engineering for the Woodlawn Avenue Water Main Replacement (17-145) Commissioner Scirocco stated the addendum is for additional construction inspection time. Commissioner Scirocco moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to authorize the mayor to sign agreement addendum #1 for the Woodlawn Avenue water main replacement in the amount of $21,400. Ayes – All Announcement: Update Night & Day Urns in Congress Park and the Pan Statue in the Italian Garden Congress Park Commissioner Scirocco announced the Day & Night urns and the Pan statue have been installed in Congress Park. DPW was able to restore the urns in house but the statue had to be sent out. The urns and the statue were damaged on 2 separate occasions of vandalism. Page 8 of 10 City Council Meeting 5/02/17 PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT Set Public Hearing: Amend Chapter 225 of the City Code Article IX, Schedules, Subsection 225-77, Schedule XII: Stop Intersections Commissioner Mathiesen set a public hearing for Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at 6:55 p.m. Set Public Hearing: Amend Chapter 225 of the City Code Article IX, Schedules Subsection 225-26, Schedule I: Traffic Control Signals Commissioner Mathiesen set a public hearing for Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at 6:50 p.m. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Lease Agreement with WDC of Upstate New York, LLC (17-146) Commissioner Mathiesen stated this is for a lease of a building in Wilton for the Police Department to do training. Commissioner Mathiesen moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to authorize the mayor to sign the lease agreement with WDC of Upstate New York, LLC. Ayes – All Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Contract with Collins Mechanical (17-147) Commissioner Mathiesen moved and Commissioner Madigan seconded to authorize the mayor to sign a contract with Collins Mechanical in the amount of $113,000. Ayes – All Announcement: City Council Workshop on SPA Housing Ordinance on May 4, 2017 at 1 p.m. in City Council Room Commissioner Mathiesen announced a workshop on the SPA Housing Ordinance will be held on May 4, 2017 at 1 p.m. in the City Council Room. Discussion: Responses to My Letter Dated April 6, 2017 Seeking Property for a Fire/EMS Facility th Commissioner Mathiesen advised he sent a letter on April 6 to property owners asking if any of them had land they would be interested in selling for the purpose of a new fire/EMS facility for the east ridge. He has received 3 responses and scheduling meetings with those property owners. SUPERVISORS Matt Veitch Saratoga County Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Veitch reported the County has been dealing with space needs within their buildings. The County has multiple buildings in various parts of the county. Facilities for most of the departments are becoming too small. They are looking at their overall space needs. Peter Martin Page 9 of 10 City Council Meeting 5/02/17 Senior Advisory Committee th Supervisor Martin reported the annual senior luncheon will be held on May 19 at the City Center. The Senior Advisory Committee is putting together a forum where they will be able to meet with various officials to express their concerns. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Mayor Yepsen adjourned the meeting at 9:36 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 5/16/17 Vote: 5 - 0 Page 10 of 10