City Council

MINUTES OF THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE SCHENECTADY CITY COUNCIL January 28, 2013 The Meeting was called to order by the Council President Margaret King at 7:05 p.m. in Room 209, City Council Chambers at City Hall. Ms. King called on Helga Schroeter to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. The City Clerk called the roll and the following members of the City Council answered to be present: Present – Council members Leesa Perazzo, Marion Porterfield, Carl Erikson, Margaret C. King, and Vincent Riggi Absent – Denise Brucker and Barbara Blanchard, Councilmember Also Present –City Clerk Charles W. Thorne, Assistant Corporation Counsel Carol G. Falotico and Mayor Gary R. McCarthy. At this point, Ms. King asked if there were no objections, she would like to take Agenda Item number 16 out of order. There were no objections. Ms. Porterfield invited members affiliated with the Vale Cemetery tribute inside the rail to accept the resolution. Ms. Porterfield read Resolution No. 2013 – 08. The resolution was moved by Ms. Porterfield and seconded by Mr. Erikson. The resolution passed unanimously. Resolution No. 2013 – 008 – A Resolution in Tribute of the Vale Cemetery as a Member of the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom for the burial site in the African American Ancestral Burial Ground. Recipients included; Walter Simpkins, Julia Holcomb, Neil Yetwin and Dr. Bernard McEvoy. Each expressed their appreciation and noted the benefits of community partnerships. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1. Abandon Streets in the Cheltingham Avenue Landfill and in the area between Kalberg and Steinmetz Park Seeing no speakers signed up to speak City Council, Ms. King declared the Public Hearing closed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Ms. King asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the January 14, 2013 meeting as submitted by the Clerk; Ms. Perazzo made a motion to approve, Ms. Porterfield seconded the motion. COMMUNICATIONS: Official: From the Mayor a list of appointments dated Monday, January 28, 2013 Schenectady City Council Minutes January 28, 2013 Page 2 of 5 General: Receipt of American Legion letter of thanks for rental money received from the City of Schenectady. Petitions: None COMMITTEE REPORTS: None PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR (LEGISLATIVE ITEMS) Ms. King invited all who wished to address the Legislative Agenda to come forward. The following speakers rose to be heard and their remarks are summarized: Phil Grigsby – Noted article in the Gazette related to the Police Review Board. Stated support for the Community Police Review Board noted the benefits of keeping the board, opportunity for oversight and provided some historical context. He acknowledged some administrative issues, noting one canceled meeting due to lack of attendance. He recommended updating ordinance to assist with filling vacancies moving forward. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on amending the agenda item for amending the civilian police review board ordinance. I am glad this is moving ahead. In general I support the changes. It is important to keep the board. There is various chatter about it not being needed because the City was no longer under federal review. Every community needs such a board. We need it because of the history here. Every system that is watched gets better. Because they are in place, things will get better, or at least it is a helpful influence by its existence even though it is usually operating out of the public limelight. Hopefully the board in the future can be strengthened. As a community historian, and the last one around to work with the late Commissioner Mills on setting this thing up, I also want to remind all us that much of the reasons that you hear about difficulty with the board getting quorums, etc. have been administrative issues. They have not been problems often with the ordinance itself. Without repeating issues in the past, let me simply say that if this administration is committed to act in a timely way on both resignations and new recommendations, then the CPRB can function appropriately. His discussion at the committee meeting about membership was about just keeping SUN and eliminating all neighborhood associations in terms of membership. That is also what I recommended (cf my note of 7/2010). Philosophically if you are going to omit one, omit both; or if you keep one, you keep both. Then you have to fuss with numbers. At one point some time ago the HHNA was not operational, now it is. But it is just simpler to have a representative from SUN representing the neighborhoods. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Connie Richardson –Reference an article in the paper related to the Police Review Board, clarifying the last meeting was the only meeting without a quorum. She noted we do need to fill the vacancies that are left. Would like to figure out who is representing who to help with appointments, and good cooperation with the police department. Seeing no other speakers come forward, Ms. King declared the Privilege of the Floor on the Legislative Agenda closed. Schenectady City Council Minutes January 28, 2013 Page 3 of 5 INTRODUCTION OF AND ACTION UPON LOCAL LAWS, ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS: Ms. Perazzo made a motion that Council approves the Consent Agenda and the motion was seconded by Mr. Erickson. Consent Agenda – Resolution No. 2013 – 009 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2013 – 010 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2013 – 011 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2013 – 012 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2013 – 013 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2013 – 014 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2013 – 015 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2013 – 016 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2013 – 017 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2013 – 018 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2013 – 019 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2013 – 020 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2013 – 021 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2013 – 022 – A Resolution Authorizing the City to Commence the Sale of a Property Located at 1108 Albany Street as Part of the HOMES Contractor Program. The motion was moved by Mr. Erikson and seconded by Ms. Perazzo 4:1:2 Voting AYE: Erickson, King, Perazzo, Porterfield Voting NAY: Riggi Absent: Blanchard, Brucker Ms. Perazzo - HOMES program is wonderful and innovated. Lots of publicity around the first project, she clarified Mr. Shilling, the Mayor and Codes Department have the best interests of the city and safety in mind. She noted Mr. Pappis had a troubled background, but she does not believe that would hinder him moving forward, noting he was properly vetted with other safety nets present along the way. She also understands Mr. Pappis’s current position. She noted this (1108 Albany St) is a new situation and also unique, but feels comfortable voting in favor knowing Mr. Shilling has vetted properly (voting: AYE) Ms. Porterfield - She noted the HOMES program is excellent. However, (1108 Albany St) is one that did not come with back up legislation. Noting she needs more information to help make an informed decision. She noted, we were able to review additional material tonight, which was helpful. She is requesting we have back up information with the legislation when asked to vote to be able to make an informed decision. (voting: AYE) Mr. Erikson – Noted the HOMES program has no typical situation and oddities are to be expected. He noted the need to roll with the punches and figure out creative solutions. He noted he is in favor of the program. (voted: AYE) Schenectady City Council Minutes January 28, 2013 Page 4 of 5 Mr. Riggi – Reported he is in favor of the HOMES program and has attended press conferences related to it. He clarified he is not in favor of not getting enough information to make an informed decision. Tonight we did get back up information but just minutes before the Council meeting. Noting he needs the information in advance and tonight was not soon enough and for that reason he state he vote. (voted: NAY) Ms. King – Noted for the reasons stated by her colleagues, she is in favor. (voted: AYE) PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR: Ms. King invited all who wished to address the City Council on any matter of City business to come forward. The following speakers rose to be heard and their remarks are summarized: Donald J Birch Jr., Schenectady – Noted he is doing research into petitions, seeing a lot of weakness, gave an example related to someone seeking help through proper procedures and protocol. Noted he has evidence to back him up, but feels he was ridiculed, however he continues to comply evidence. He noted his issue with the minutes, transcription vs. summary. Concerns about lacking information in a summary vs. the details of a transcript. Spoke about his desire to seek justice and being circumventing. He noted this Corporation Council has been professional, the last was not. Reported his desire to be professional and for police to be required to have camera’s recording their interactions and for that to be available on the internet. Marva Isaacs, Schenectady – Shared the Hamilton Hill Neighborhood Association Community Awards dinner will be taking place on Saturday, March 23 at 5:30 pm at Proctors Theatre Fennimore Gallery. Tickets are $15 and contact number is 518-728-8419. Mary McClaine, Schenectady – Tonight I am going to use my three minutes to give a State of the Council Report, as I perceive it. First, the Mayor hired a new Finance Commissioner. Her salary is the same as the one who left and a $10,000 – one time hiring bonus) was also offered to her because, the poor thing stood to lose her union pork from accumulated sick time. No Council person objected to the salary package when the Mayor announced it. Big salaries for others mean high taxes for the rest of us. On another item – at the last Council Meeting (1-14-13) a Council member said he would go to the press for transparency’s sake. This article states that the Councilman caused a tie when he voted for Ms. Porterfield. As a result of his tie vote she became a member of this body. Her presence here has embroiled the City in the family’s ethical issue, which involves $60,000 of taxpayer’s money. Where was the background check on this one? Regarding the Pappas’ case. People can be rehabilitated. The same Councilman became ensnared in a couple’s marital dispute. Consequently an innovative City project was aborted. Why didn’t someone bother to find out why a wife wanted to rat on her husband? Was she disgruntled? On more thing – the Democratic Caucus; if I were sitting in on of those Council seats I would have pressed the issue. It may be legal to caucus in New York State, but the Constitution doesn’t mention Democratic Caucuses. It does say: representation to the people. A duly elected official has the authority and the right to participate in all aspects of the political process. I could go on and on with this report but my time is up. Folks, I don’t make up the negatives, I just talk about them. Seeing no other speakers to come before the City Council, Ms. King declared the Privilege of the Floor closed regarding City Business. Schenectady City Council Minutes January 28, 2013 Page 5 of 5 MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS OF THE COUNCIL Ms. Perazzo – Reference Gazette article on the continuation of the Police Review Board and statements she made at a City Committee meeting on January 22 which were assigned to another City Council member inaccurately. She noted her objective is to have a discussion about the board clarifying she is in favor of keeping the board. Mr. Riggi – Thanked the City Workers (especially those working outdoors) who have been out working in the cold weather in the last few weeks, noting ongoing quality services despite the cold. Mr. Erikson – Clarified the City Council has not yet voted on the changes to 2013 budget lines referenced earlier by an above noted resident. Noted the budget legislation is going back to Committee for more discussion. Ms. Porterfield – Question asked last wk regarding Carver construction. Provide info today on two contracts specifically related to Carver and the MWBE standards. (1) Nov 2012 for $276,572.00 met (12 percent with women and minority, nearly 11% was achieved) (2) next contract was for paving and it was for 1.352 million, MWBE achieved was less than 1 %. Mayor McCarthy – Noted the “HOMES” acronym (Home Ownership Made Easy in Schenectady) encompasses a number of efforts. He noted the ongoing support of the Council related to his program is appreciated. Then referenced part of this umbrella program includes one process which addresses foreclosures including city owned properties known to be distressed and come with multiple issues. Goal is to format with no set package yet. He asked the City Council to ask him for more information as needed to help with their decision process. He also noted the Police Review Board maybe experiencing a turning point following performance improvements within the department. He sees the role of the Police Review Board as less adversarial today and more so as an advocate. If allegations of impropriety arise, he wants to know about it and will deal with it. However, noting this is more of an exception, the department is currently offering high quality services. He then encouraged residents to shovel their sidewalks and around fire hydrants if there is significant snow accumulation. Peggy King – Congratulations to the Mayor on the 100th home sale and the Key to the City program. ADJOURNED: Seeing no further business to come before the City Council, Ms. King asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting, moved by Mr. Erikson and seconded by Ms. Perazzo at 7:53 p.m. A true record By Charles W. Thorne Schenectady City Clerk