City Council

March 14, 2022 CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting 474 Broadway 9:00 AM PRESENT: Ron Kim, Mayor Dillon Moran, Commissioner of Accounts Anthony Scirocco, Commissioner of Department of Public Works Jim Montagnino, Commissioner of Department of Public Safety STAFF PRESENT: Angela Rella, Deputy Mayor Heather Crocker, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Stacy Connors, Deputy Commissioner, Accounts Joe O’Neill, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Public Works Jason Tetu, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Public Safety EXCUSED: Minita Sanghvi, Commissioner of Finance Matthew Veitch, Supervisor Tara Gaston, Supervisor CALL TO ORDER Mayor Kim called the meeting to order at 9:02 a.m. PUBLIC HEARING 1. 2022 Water and Sewer Rates – Commissioner Scirocco advised the resolution establishes the rates the support the respective budgets. Both budgets are user supported. The adopted 2022 water budget is $4,446,539 and the adopted sewer budget is $5,108,828. 2. Amend Chapter 136 – Outdoor Dining- No comments. 3. Caroline Street Traffic Control- No comments. 4. Civilian Review Board - No comments. 5. Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) – Local Law #2 of 2022- No comments. 6. Weibel Avenue PUD Amendment- No comments. PRESENTATION 1. CDTA Update on CDPHP Cycle 2. Community Development Citizen’s Advisory Committee 2022 Community Development Block Grant Annual Action Plan Recommendations 3. Saratoga Arts Center 4. West Ave Special Assessment District (WASAD) Annual Report 2021 CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approval of 3/1/2022 City Council Meeting Minutes 2. Approve Budget Transfers – Regular City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting March 14, 2022 3. Approve Budget Transfers – Capital 4. Approve Budget Amendments - Insurance 5. Approve Payroll 3/4/22 $430,942.89 6. Approve Payroll 3/11/22 $650,057.03 7. Approve Mid-Warrant – 2021 21MWDE12 $8,495.02 8. Approve Mid-Warrant – 2022 22MWMAR1 $4,313,195.58 9. Approve Warrant – 2022 22MAR2 $1,263,847.34 No comments. MAYOR’S DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Adopt Local Law No. 2 (UDO) No comments. Announcement: Appointment of Alternate to Zoning Board of Appeals Mayor Kim announced he will be appointing Alice Smith to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Announcement: Appointment to Community Development Citizen Advisory Committee Mayor Kim announced he will be appointing Kristen Dart to the Community Development Citizen Advisory Committee. Set Public Hearing: Community Development Block Grant Annual Action Plan Recommendations No comments. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Saratoga County Office for the Aging Nutrition Agreement 2022 No comments. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Saratoga County Office of the Aging Transportation Agreement 2022 No comments. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Construction Contract with Rifenburg Contracting Corp. No comments. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Contract Addendum with Greenman Pedersen, Inc. No comments. Discussion and Vote: Resolution for Construction Inspection/Construction Support and construction Phase of the SGT Downtown Connector Trail No comments. Mayor Kim added a couple items to his agenda as follows: Page 2 of 6 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting March 14, 2022 Discussion: How the City Can Help Ukraine in the War Effort. Mayor Kim advised there are some residents that would like the City to sever ties with Chekhov Russia. Mayor Kim is more inclined to send a letter to the mayor to say we encourage them to do what they can to convince the Russian government to take steps rather than simply cut them off. There is a city in western Ukraine that is similar to Saratoga Springs that we may be able to enter into a relationship with them. Deputy Rella added the following announcements: in honor of women’s history month, the League of Women Voters (LWV) is having a zoom meeting and there is a proclamation for gambling awareness month. Commissioner Montagnino advised the Ukrainian church in Watervliet is setting up a webpage for people to volunteer to house Ukrainian refugees. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Approval of Resolution to Appoint Marriage Officer Commissioner Moran advised that former Mayor Mike Lenz has asked to officiate a wedding. Award of Bid: Saratoga Greenbelt Downtown Connector Trail Construction to Rifenburg Contracting Corp. No comments. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Records Management Grant Application, Supporting Documents, and Submit Application to New York State Archives No comments. Discussion and Vote: Amend Chapter 136 of the City Code – Outdoor Dining Commissioner Moran advised they are ready to take the vote on this tomorrow evening. Commissioner Scirocco stated the resolution is redundant and waiting for the City Council to approve is going to delay the decision by two weeks. The Council should try to take away the layers of bureaucracy and expedite the process. Commissioner Moran advised that was in response to a concern brought forward by Commissioner Montagnino. The idea was to have a list of all the permits issued in the past weeks and place the list on the Consent Agenda. Commissioner Montagnino stated the intent was to have the City Council transfer some of its administrative power to an administrative body and would be more of a ratification than the act of approval. Commissioner Scirocco advised the Charter is clear regarding right-of-ways being governed by the Commissioner of Public Works. Council continued discussion of who should be included in the approval process. Commissioner Moran stated he doesn’t want a committee but wants to have the people like himself and Commissioner Scirocco, who are responsible to the community, making the approval. The document will be changed so that the Outdoor Dining Committee will include a member from the Department of Public Page 3 of 6 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting March 14, 2022 Safety, the director of risk and safety, a member from the Mayor’s Department and a member from the Finance Department. The Committee will need to have an odd number of people. Commissioner Moran advised he sent an e-mail Saturday to the Council stating the executive order from the State of New York for outdoor dining is going to expire July 7, 2022. He is working on this with Assemblywoman Woerner. Ithaca codified the use of and sale of alcohol on city property within their permit process. If the City passes a local ordinance that allows the consumption and sale through a permitting process, next year and subsequent years, this will not be an issue. The City will appeal to New York State to extend. Commissioner Moran would like to add an item to his agenda for the City to send a letter to the governor on this. Award of Bid: Hazardous Material Testing to Ambient Environmental, Inc. No comments. Update: COVID and Planned City Activities No comments. Commissioner Moran added an item to his agenda to acknowledge Celtic Treasures for their 30 years of business in the City. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Agreement with Mindcentric for Zimbra Networking Project Mayor Kim stated he is not interested in having the City invest more money in Zimbra. Deputy Crocker stated IT is putting together the plan to migrate the City away from Zimbra. Discussion and Vote: Budget Transfers – Payroll No comments. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Approval to Adopt 2022 Water and Sewer Rate Resolution No comments. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Contract with Navistar, Inc. for Heavy Duty Class 4- 7 & Class 8 Heavy Duty Trucks Commissioner Scirocco stated this is to purchase four dump trucks for the City. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Contract with Ambient Environmental for Hazardous Materials Testing & Monitoring Services No comments. Page 4 of 6 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting March 14, 2022 Discussion and Vote: Approval to Adopt Department of Public Works Contractual Template Updates Commissioner Scirocco advised they updated their five rental agreements. Discussion and Vote: Approval to Reimburse Victoria Garganda for Spirit of Life Plaque Commissioner Scirocco advised that many years ago this plaque disappeared. Victoria Garganda found the plaque in an antique store and purchased it for $450. Once the City reimburses her, Ms. Garganda will return the plaque. Announcement: 2021 Department of Public Works Annual Report No comments. PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Contract with Dr. Jason Bernad as Medical Director Commissioner Montagnino advised Dr. Bernad provides services to the Fire Department for training of EMTs and paramedics. Discussion and Vote: Authorization for Mayor to Sign Contract with Metro Ford Commissioner Montagnino advised five dealerships bid on these products with Metro Ford being the lowest bidder. Commissioner Montagnino added the following items: 1. Approval of payment to Axon Corp. This contract is for 10 years for cloud storage of data from surveillance cameras and body cams, and tasers. 2. Discussion and vote for Caroline Street traffic controls. 3. Discussion and vote to authorize the mayor to sign MOU between the City and the firefighters union. This MOU will allow a transferee to retain their longevity but the employee would still have to serve 15 years or more to be eligible for lifetime health. 4. Annual report for the Department of Public Safety will be uploaded today. 5. Discussion and vote to re-allocate resources Phase 1. There are no individuals above the rank of sergeant working weekends and he is looking to get an additional sergeant on the streets without adding to the budget. Mayor Kim added an item to his agenda regarding OGS for fire station #3. Mayor Kim announced the State of the City will be held Saturday, March 19 at 11 a.m. in the Music Hall. Congressman Tonko will attend the event and speak. The City Council will not be speaking. SUPERVISORS Mayor Kim advised the supervisors are not present. Matthew Veitch 1. Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership 2. NYSAC Legislative Conference Tara Page 5 of 6 City Council Pre-Agenda Meeting March 14, 2022 1. COVID-19 Update 2. NYSAC Legislative Conference ADJOURN Mayor Kim adjourned the meeting at 10:08 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Ribis Clerk Approved: 4/19/2022 Vote: 4 - 0 Page 6 of 6