City Council

August 18, 2018 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Meeting Recreation Center 11:00 AM 11:00 AM CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL SALUTE TO FLAG PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD / 15 MINUTES PRESENTATION CONSENT AGENDA MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT 1. Discussion: City Hall Fire ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time FINANCE DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT 1. Nothing at this time SUPERVISORS 1. Nothing at this time. ADJOURN City Council Meeting 8/18/18 August 18, 2018 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Meeting Recreation Center 11:00 AM PRESENT: Meg Kelly, Mayor Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance Anthony Scirocco, Commissioner of DPW Peter Martin, Commissioner of DPS STAFF PRESENT: Lisa Shields, Deputy Mayor Mike Sharp, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Maire Masterson, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Joe O’Neill, Deputy Commissioner, DPW John Daley, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Vincent DeLeonardis Tara Gaston, Supervisor EXCUSED: John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Matthew Veitch, 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. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Kelly called the meeting to order at 11:05 a.m. PUBLIC COMENT Mayor Kelly said the public comment period is limited to a total of 15 minutes and individuals are limited to two minutes. Mayor Kelly opened the public comment period at 11:06 p.m. Darlene McGraw of Saratoga Springs thanked the Council for holding the meeting this morning. Mayor Kelly closed the public comment period at 11:07 a.m. Page 2 of 5 City Council Meeting 8/18/18 MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Mayor Kelly advised City Hall was struck by lightning last night around 7 p.m. Each commissioner will need to determine how this will affect their department but business will not be interrupted. She thanked all who have been assisting with this situation; the group of people worked together and the emergency plan worked. Commissioner Martin stated parts of his department had significant damage. The Police Department on the ground level was not damaged. He has concerns about continued operation. Chief Veitch stated most importantly no one was injured. The Police Department had minor disruptions and sent everything down to the County as they didn’t know where the water was going to go. There is no impact on their operation and they have moved back into the building. Chief Williams advised the Fire Department was on the scene within 3 minutes as they were answering nd other calls. They activated the 2 alarm and AMA. The attic was full of smoke – zero visibility. The water was coming from the attic through the roof drains. He explained how the fire started and stated the insulation in the attic prevented the fire from moving. There was about a few hundred gallons of water put on the fire by the Fire Department, the rest was from the storm and roof drain. Overall everything worked the way it was supposed to. Mayor Kelly asked if people were in the building at the time. Chief Williams advised there was a band and people dancing on the third floor. Marilyn Rivers, director of risk and safety, advised the emergency response team has been deployed. The City has a robust plan and additional members were deployed. The County deployed and offered resources. Many City employees have been here all night. There is extensive water damage and have established a claim. The City has full historic loss coverage. Mayor Kelly also thanked Billy Benton for bringing in his crew in the middle of the night to install a new PVC pipe to stop the water from coming in the building. Commissioner Scirocco stated when DPW did work recently in the ceiling of the Music Hall they installed a cat-walk. That cat-walk helped the Fire Department extinguish the fire. There was mostly water damage on the south side of the building. They called in the city electrician to shut down the power to parts of the building. They also called in Simplex Grinnell to re-charge the sprinkler system. They are having a structural engineer come in to evaluate the integrity of the building and Quick Response is calling in a company (Spectrum) to perform an air quality test. He thanked all the first responders. Everything worked well. Commissioner Madigan stated she is prepared to make emergency appropriations if needed. The mayor must first declare this an emergency. Mayor Kelly moved and Commissioner Martin seconded to add an item to the mayor’s agenda asking for authorization for the mayor to sign a contract with Quick Response Restoration for emergency restoration services in response to the City Hall fire on 8/18/18. Ayes – All Mayor Kelly moved and Commissioner Madigan seconded to authorize the mayor to sign a contract with Quick Response. Ayes – All Page 3 of 5 City Council Meeting 8/18/18 Mayor Kelly moved and Commissioner Martin seconded to declare a local state of emergency. A state of emergency is hereby declared in City Hall effective 8/18/18 at 11:30 a.m. This state of emergency has been declared due to the fire at City Hall. This situation threatens public safety. This is a state of emergency that shall remain in effect until rescinded by subsequent order. As a representative of the City, I, Meg Kelly, mayor of the City of Saratoga Springs exercise the authority given me under section 24 of the New York State Executive Law to preserve the public safety and hereby render all required and available assistance vital to security, wellbeing, and health of the citizens of this City. I hereby direct all departments and agencies of the City of Saratoga Springs to take whatever steps necessary to protect life, property, and public infrastructure, and provide such emergency assistance as deemed necessary. Ayes - All Mayor Kelly moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to close City Hall on Monday, August 20, 2018 and additional days as deemed necessary. Ayes – All ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Nothing at this time. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Commissioner Madigan advised they need to make sure people are paid. They are also in a collection time for sewer and water bills. Commissioner Madigan moved and Commissioner Scirocco seconded to add an item to her agenda for emergency appropriations according to the Charter section 4.4.11. Ayes – All Commissioner Madigan moved and Commissioner Martin seconded that it is lawful for the Council on the occurrence of an emergency and declaration of emergency of the Council to appropriate from funds not otherwise designated for specific purposes for the payment of expenses created by such emergency as has been declared. This is in accordance with our own City Charter, Finance Section 4.4.11. This does mean if City Hall is declared as an emergency and will be closed on Monday, we have the authority to move forward and pay those employees that are affected. This will also give us the ability to make emergency appropriations going forward if needed. Ayes – All PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Commissioner Scirocco advised DPW has a message board they will put up in front of City Hall advising it is closed until further notice. Page 4 of 5 City Council Meeting 8/18/18 PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT Commissioner Martin stated the Emergency Management Plan will now be in effect since declaring an emergency. Part of this plan is to appoint an emergency management coordinator. He appointed Chief Williams. Commissioner Martin also advised he just received notification from Pittsfield Communication that our radio tower and back-up radio equipment took a direct hit from the lightning strike last night. It will not affect our operation but back-up equipment is most likely gone. SUPERVISORS Nothing at this time. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Kelly reminded all that the pre-agenda meeting will be held here at the Recreation Center at 9:30 a.m. Monday morning. There being no further business, Mayor Kelly adjourned the meeting at 11:30 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 9/4/18 Vote: 5 - 0 Page 5 of 5