City Council

April 19, 2021 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting 10:00 AM (via Zoom) PRESENT: Meg Kelly, Mayor Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Anthony Scirocco, Commissioner of DPW Robin Dalton, Commissioner of DPS STAFF PRESENT: Lisa Shields, Deputy Mayor Maire Masterson, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Eileen Finneran, Deputy Commissioner, DPS Vince DeLeonardis, City Attorney EXCUSED: Deidre Ladd, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Joe O’Neill, Deputy Commissioner, DPW Matthew Veitch, Supervisor Tara Gaston, Supervisor CALL TO ORDER Mayor Kelly called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. Amend Chapter 225 – Alternate Side Parking on Clinton Street – no comments. 2. Amend Chapter 225 – Parking Prohibited on Adams Road – no comments. 3. Saratoga Springs Community Development Citizens Advisory Committee Recommendations for the 2021 Annual Block Grant Action Plan – no comments. PRESENTATION Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) – Final Draft Release Mayor Kelly advised Cammiros will be at the City Council meeting tomorrow night to present the final draft. There will be public presentations via zoom on April 21 st at 2 p.m., April 22nd at 9:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The final draft will be uploaded to the City’s website today. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approval of 3/31/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes 2. Approval of 3/31/2021 City Council Meeting Transcript 3. Approval of 4/5/2021 Pre-Agenda Meeting Minutes City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting 4/19/2021 4. Approval of 4/6/2021 City Council Meeting Minutes 5. Approve Use of Insurance Reserve Resolution #4 6. Approve Budget Amendments – Insurance 7. Approve Budget Amendments – Insurance Reserve #4 8. Approve Budget Amendments – Regular (Increases) 9. Approve Budget Transfers – Insurance 10. Approve Transfers - Regular 11. Approve Payroll 4/16/21 $472,258.76 12. Approve Payroll 4/09/21 $514,980.06 13. Approve Mid-Warrant - 2021 21MWAPR1 $879,004.20 14. Approve Warrant - 2021 21APR2 $299,796.85 No comments. MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Announcement: 2022 Capital Program Committee Meetings No comments. Announcement: Geyser Road Trail Opening Day – Thursday, April 22 nd – Earth Day No comments. Discussion and Vote: Approval to Pay a Portion of Invoice #3880 Nelcorp Electrical Contracting Corp. Mayor Kelly advised the Saratoga Springs School District will pay 50% of the cost. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign the 2021 State of New York Department of Health Renewal Application for a Permit to Operate Camp Saradac No comments. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign the Contract with All American Arena Products for Vernon Arena Dasher Boards No comments. Discussion and Vote: SEQR for Missing Links Project No comments. Discussion and Vote: Approval for Mayor to Sign DEC01-T00972GG-3350000 Contract for EV Vehicle Reimbursement No comments. Discussion and Vote: Zoning Amendment Request, Merit for Review and Referral for Advisory Opinions – YMCA PUD Vince DeLeonardis, city attorney, advised the YMCA is looking ad additional permitted uses. Page 2 of 6 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting 4/19/2021 ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Commissioner Franck advised he will be adding an item to remind the public grievance day is May 25 th. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Update – City Finances No comments. Discussion: SiFi Networks Broadband – Citywide Broadband Project Moving Forward Commissioner Madigan advised as of last week we are at a standstill waiting for DPW to sign off on a standard engineering design. The benefits of this project far outweigh any work required. We have been working with SiFi for almost 5 years. It seems like we are at a standstill with DPW. Commissioner Scirocco stated they reached out to them a number of times. They are going to be ripping up all the City streets and they have asked them for a set of stamped detailed engineer plans but have not received them. They have reached out to cities they have worked in and those cities are telling them not to do this. Commissioner Madigan stated Commissioner Scirocco never followed back up with them to advise of the reference he got in November. It’s a complicated project and they will be micro trenching on every City street. If DPW doesn’t approve the standard contract, this project will go away as early as today. Commissioner Scirocco stated it is a big mistake for the City to get involved with this at this time. They are not giving us what engineering has asked for. If Commissioner Madigan would sit with him and review the feedback, she would see it is not good. Commissioner Madigan stated Commissioner Scirocco did received a stamped document on April 8 th. Commissioner Scirocco stated he hasn’t gotten it. Commissioner Madigan asked if they can just move this to the next step. Commissioner Scriocco stated micro trenching does not work well in this environment. He is not opposed to the project but he can’t move forward without the document they are looking for. Vince DeLeonardis, city attorney, stated the engineers need to be satisfied with the standard details that have been provided by SiFi. There was question as to whether or not they were stamped by a certified engineer. Commissioner Madigan stated they should meet otherwise they will pull the plug. Discussion and Vote: Temporary Hiring Freeze Commissioner Madigan advised she would like to put a hiring freeze in place. This does not mean zero hiring or zero replacement hires. She asked Lynn Bachner to meet with each department to determine their priorities and then she will work with the Council to outline the priorities. Some departments cut too much. Commissioner Dalton asked who specifically cut too much. Commissioner Madigan stated the Police Department. They don’t have any money to put anyone in the police academy right now. Page 3 of 6 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting 4/19/2021 Commissioner Dalton stated they cut back because they were told to cut back to bare bones last year. Commissioner Madigan stated she doesn’t believe a vote is required for a hiring freeze, that is the power of the Finance Commissioner. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Re: Grant to the City of Saratoga Springs from the New York State Economic Development Corporation (ESD) to be Administered by the New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation (NYSTEC) for a PILOT Program Re: the Construction and Implementation of LED Streetlights Incorporating Public WiFi and Video Analytics Commissioner Madigan advised the City received a grant from New York State Empire State Development to establish PILOT programs for construction and implementation of LED streetlights. This involves multiple partners. An MOU will satisfy current requirements. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for the Mayor to Sign Agreement with Crown Castle Fiber, LLC for Ethernet Services No comments. Discussion and Vote: Budget Transfers – Contingency No comments. Discussion and Vote: Budget Transfers – Payroll No comments. Commissioner Madigan advised she may add an item to her agenda regarding the sale of metal shelving to Greenfield Fire District. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Announcement: Update on Tree No comments. Discussion and Vote: Approval to Reimburse Employee #2675 in the Amount of $230.00 No comments. Discussion and Vote: Approval to Reimburse Employee #278 in the Amount of $324.50 No comments. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Contract with Environmental Soil Management of New York, LLC for $264.25 No comments. Discussion and vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Change Order #15 with DLC Electric, LLC No comments. Discussion and Vote: Approval to Pay Invoice #12467 to MLB in the Amount of $4,208.31 Page 4 of 6 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting 4/19/2021 No comments. Announcement: Department of Public Works Facebook Page No comments. Announcement: Milling and Paving Schedule No comments. Proclamation: City of Saratoga Springs Arbor Day No comments. Discussion and Vote: Accept Donation from Sustainable Saratoga for Trees No comments. Announcement: Update on Phase I Street Tree Inventory & Maintenance Plan No comments. PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Amend Chapter 225, Section 225-81 of the City Code No comments. Discussion and Vote: Amend Chapter 225, Section 225-94 of the City Code No comments. Appointment: City Health Officer No comments. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Contract with Empire Ambulance Commissioner Dalton advised this is annual contract. Discussion and Vote: Accept Donations for the SSPD K9 Unit Commissioner Dalton advised the donations came from various individuals and organizations. SUPERVISORS Mayor Kelly read the agenda items for the supervisors for the supervisors into the record as follows: Supervisor Veitch 1. County DPW Geyser Road Paving Project 2. Stop DWO 2021 Amounts 3. Deer Hunting Pilot Program Page 5 of 6 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting 4/19/2021 Tara Gaston 1. COVID-19 Update 2. Public Health Expansion 3. Saratoga County Women in Government Leadership Program EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Kelly moved and Commissioner Franck seconded to move into executive session regarding collective bargaining negotiations, Saratoga Springs PBA at 10:45 a.m. Ayes – All The City Council returned at 10:51 a.m. Mayor Kelly announced no decisions were made to report to the public. ADJOURN Mayor Kelly adjourned the meeting at 10:51 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 5/4/2021 Vote: 5 - 0 Page 6 of 6