City Council

NILNUTES OF THE REGULAmY SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE SGHENECTADY CITY COUNCIL June 22,2015 The City Council Meeting \nJascalled to order by the City Council President Margaret King at 7:04 p,m. in Room 209, City Council Chambers at City Hall. Ms. King asked Pundit Ramnaresh Buchama from the Schenectady Hindu Vedic D h i c Temple to provide the invocation. Ms. King then called on Tammy Bell Lence to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. The City Clerk called the roll and the following members of the Gity Council answered to be present: Present - Council members, John Ferrari, Margaret King. Ed Kosiur, John Mootooveren, Leesa Perazzo, Marion Porterfield, and Vincent Riggi Also Present - Gity Clerk Charles Thorne, Corporation Counsel Carl Falotico and Commissioner Wame Bennett At this point, Ms. King asked if there were no objections, she would like to take agenda item number f I & 13 out of order. There were no ob-jections. Resolution No. 2015 - 158 - A Resolution Recognizing Tammy Bell Lence's 15 Years of Service in Downtown Schenectady. - T a m y Bell was on band and extended her gratitude for the recognition by the Mayor and City Council. The resolution was moved by Ms. Perazzo and seconded by Ms. Porterfield The resolution passed unanimously. Resolution No. 2015 - 159 - A Resolution Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Villa Italia. - Bobby Mallozzi, his father and daughter were on hand and they extended thier gratitude for the recopition by the Mayor and City Council. The resolution was rnoved by Mr. Ferrari and seconded by Mr. Mootooveren. The resolution passed unanimously. PUBLIC HEARINGS: M"VIS King asked for a motion to *prove the minutes from the June 8,20 15 Council meetings as submitted by the Deputy City Clerk; Mr. Koslur made a motion to approve "ce minutes, Mr. Mootooveren seconded the motion, From the City Engineer, a Letter recommending the award and purckasc o f "manhole frames and c m srs and catch basin frames and gates." General: None Schenec'tady City Council Minutes June 22,207 5 i Page 2 of 5 Petitions: None COMMITTEE REPORTS Marion Porterfield, Health & Recreation - Noted the Recreation Advisory Comission continues to move fomard regarding their assessment of City parks and resulting endations to the City. The Commission will be meeting again this week and she looks forward to sharing further updates soon. PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR (LEGISLATIVE ITEMS) Ms. King invited all who wished to address the Legislative Agenda to come forward: iMary McClaine, Schenectady - "Does Council know anything more about Agenda item #15; Manhole frames and covers and catch basin frames and gratesmesides the name of the company &om which the City is making the purchase and the cost? Does the City hocv what it is going to get for $41$8 1.90? In other words, how many covers, gates, frames, etc. are included in the purchase? m a t kind of materials are they made of? How thick are they? Will they have a City logo? Will they be stamped with a pattern? f didn't receive any other literature about this purchase, only what is written on tonight's agenda which is the name of the company and the cost? Did you receive more information? Do you know what you are getting for your money? The covers the City has now are quite elaborate and very nice. My nei&bor has one on his property and he bas made it the focal point of a portion of his flower bed. The manhole covers are wodh preserving ri&t now, they rust bleeds thou& and they always look dirty. Can some kind of clear polyurethane or dull msto-leum paint be brushed on them to avoid the corrosion"?t certainly would be an improvement over rusty manhole covers and grates and keep with the goal of beautifying neighborhoods. Please give these suggestions your consideration," Seeing no other speakers come forward, Ms. King declared the Privilege of the Floor on the Legislative Agenda closed. INTRODUCTION OF AND ACTION UPON LOCAL LAWS, ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS: Mr. Kosiur made a motion that Council approves the Consent Agenda and the motion was seconded by Mr, Mootooveren. Consent Agenda - Ordinance No, 201 5 - 09 adopted Unanimously Ordinance No. 20I5 - 19.......................................A d o p t L'nanimously Resolution No.201 5 --- 160 .................... . ...........Adopted Unanimously Resolution No, 20 15 - 161 ...................................*AdoptedUnanimously Resolution No.201 5 - 16%...................................-Adopted Unanimously Resolution No, 20 15 --- 163 ...................................sAd~pted Lnanimously Resolution No. 2015 - I64 ................................. --A4d~gted Unanimously Res~l~li ~ n201 5 - I65 ...................................-A4d~pted No. Unanimously Resolution No. 20 4.5- i 66 ...................................Adopted li'nanimously Resohtfon So.201 5 - 167 .................... .........Adopted e'nanirnousiry Resslut~onho, 20 15 - 168 ..................................Adopted k;nanimousi.y ResoIutron KO, 201 5 - CS - 19 .............................Adopted Umanrmously Schenectady Gity Councii Minutes June 22,201 5 1 Page 3 of 5 A Resolution Authorking the City of Sefienectzndy to Settle a Tax Certiorari Case for PO80 Van Velsen Street. 2015 - 169 The motion was moved by Mr. Kosiur and seconded by Mr. Mootooveren, 6:0:1 Voting AYE: Ferrari. King, Kosiur, Mootooveren, Perazzo, & Porterfield Voting NAY: None Abstain: Riggi Mr. Riggi - Noted his abstention is based on his close personal relationship with the owner of 1080 Van Velsen Street. PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR: Ms. King invited all who wished to address the Gity Council on any matter of City business to come fonvard, The follokving speakers rose to be heard and their remarks are summarized: Anthony Carota, Schenectady - Noted Juneteenth & Italian American Festival took place over the weekend. He noted there have been sih-lations on Craig Street where individuals have been questions by City Police officers and the individual walked away. He added there is a video on Facebook were the crowd gathered and theatened the cops. Then he spoke about a boarded up building on Nott Terrace which he said is known to be an active crack house in the City. He added the building is near the museum and Annie Shaffer Building where youth and seniors live and attend. He asked the City Council what kind of message they are trying to send to the community. He asked if the message is one of caring about the City and people or if the message is more negative in tone. Jason Planek, Schenectady - Noted the Planning Commission approved some of the projects related to the Mohawk harbor site. He added its disconcerting that the Planning Commission approved plans that are not handicap accessible. He noted the commission approved a staircases to the river, He asked how much money is going into this project. He also asked how much of the planned housing will be affordable and accessible. He added that he is hoping the Council will look at these issues moving forward. He noted this is the anniversary of the homestead court decision which related to a person with a disability filing a lawsuit because be was put into a g o u p home and not allowed the opportunity to live in his community, As a result of the suite he noted the state was required to allow the individual to move out of the g o u p home. He added this case stands in opposition to warehousing disabled kdividuals. He added "chat nursing and group homes cost more than residents Irking, at home. He closed by noting it also boasts individual moral to live at home, Mama lesracs. Schenectady - Noted on June 27""the Hamil.tcrn Hill Neigl.thni-hood Associat.ioa will host its annual block party, She added that Paige Street will host i t s Tag Sale atthe same rime. She closed by inviting everyone to come out, John Polimeni, Scheneckady - Noted in she wake of South Camline tragedy goodness 1s overcorning evil, He added there sill be a prayer meeting and bible study at Bethel AME Church on June 24 ad 7100pm. He added the service \villi focus on remernbe~ngthose killed in a South Carolina church. He noted that Better Nei&borhood Inc. will be "nhtlng a fundraiser on June 25 at 5130 p.m. He added tickets are $25 sn a&Svanceor $30 ah the door. He noted that BSI helps to pro\ 1c4equalrr> affordable horaslrrg fur those ulrh I:m~tedresources, He added the orga~~nzat~on 1s grassroots :n nature and supports nenghbborhsod ree'lta'8izatrion, Schenectady City Council Minutes June 22,201 5 / Page 4 of 5 Eunice Chouffi, Schenectady - Noted she has not beard anything related to the Civilian Police Review Board. Noted she Listens to meeting on OSM and at least three times per year the board would give a tvritten report to the Council. She noted she has asked Council member Mootooveren to give a report arid she has heard nothing. She added that she has heard three members have IeFt and been replaced. She would like to hear a detailed report on the status of the board. She closed by noting she tried to Iisten to the Committee meeting last month but due to the fan she could not hear anything and is asking to have them replaced so she can hear. Frank Wicks, Schenectady - "The best of America was exhibited last week in Charleston, South Carolina. A white supremacist joined bible study group at a black church and kills the minister and eight other worshipers with his glock revolver. The grieving families gather and forgive the assassin. A local example of the worst sins of our country can be seen on a YouTube video, posted by the Daily Gazette and entitled "Schenectady man pepper sprayed and tasered by Police", It shows Schenectady Police Chief Brian Kilcullen on June 3 as a witness to the brutality. which makes him directly responsible for the illegal search and tmmped up charges, that imprisoned the victim for six days without a hearing. The June 10 (article) Gazette identifies the black male victim of the police brutality as 22 year old Shaquille Parker. He works in the mail room ofthe Daily Gazette, and helps his mother care for her gandchildren. A greater tragedy is that another black male has been unfairly targeted and added to the shameflu1 nurnber of incarcerated black men, or with arrest and criminal records for trivial violations with no victims. Human decency calls for the Mayor and City Council to promptly and humbly apologize to the victim and his family. The Mayor. who appoints the Police Chief, takes an oath to uphold the law including the Constitution and Bill of Rights that protects citizens against illegal search. Thus Police Chief Kilcullen should be fired." Mohamed Hafez, Schenectady - Noted that he read the Mayor's column entitled, "Don't let the critics fool you". He noted the critics are not trying to fool anyone. He noted that the Mayor didn't say that Seneca County signed a tax agreement for $45 million over twenty years. He added this is more than what the City will be getting with a tax agreement. He added the City has no guarantee that Rush Street gaming will not fight for a share of the taxes collected or file for a tax reassessment. He noted the Mayor reports that the City is getting more that the small town and county agreement combined. He noted 890 people live in this small town but over 65,000 live in Schenectady and we will never get more money per capita than the small town with the agreement. The Cities per capital share i s $94 compared to thousands of dollars the small town is getting with the ageement. He noted the host community crafted an agreement and got the developer to sign it, He added that Seneca County also secured a memorandum of understanding which included plans to assist with pf-oblern gambling, He noted the Mayor didn't lift a finger related to this ageenrent and that most o f the money i s coming from the state. He added the small town gets an "1for '' their efforls. He closed by noting he is trying to get the Mayor to s i g ~ an a ~ e e m e n tto protect the City kom the negative impact of the casino, Mary Rlcelairze, Schenectady - ""Iive in Scheneetady on a short street not much longer than the length o f a football field. T h i s month the City made an attempt to fix my street but the job wras not done ri@t, Et eryone received a notice &om the City not to park on the shoulder o f the street whrle the work was being done but the shoulder o f the street was not paved. The result is horrible, The City engineer told me "he ems not "aeauli@ing anphing. We was %kinga. street"", When this City fells me it carnot fix my street properly because it doesn? have the money, Z hink that I S vulgar because this city can find e.; esy nickel it vcants for union contracts. The policemen's o i ert~mma:budget alone i s more &an a mlPY on dollars evey; sear, Earlser t h ~ syear you gave couples;, c ~ t y\.inricers with TWO income households, yearig. Bifet~mebonuses o f 94,000. But the City didn? hate m n e y to fix my lrttle street properly so that rt looked good when the Scheneclady City Council Minutes June 22,2015 / Page 5 of 5 job was completed. What this situation says to me is that City Council is not performing its duty according to the tenants of the Comprehensive Plan. A docment that Council ordered back in 2005, took six years to complete and cost the taxpayers $500,000. Beautification means nothing to you either for my street or any place else in the City. Who made the call for the hanging baskets? V?ho decided how many to order and where to place them? Some poles have two hanging baskets. Some poles don't have any on the same street. Some poles have a flag and a basket, some poles only have flags. There is no unifomity to anphing all hodge-podge. Not pretty. It wouldn't happen in Cooperstown or Saratoga. Such a situation is not from a lack of money. It means someone's taste is all in his feet. Council is not doing its job, period." Seeing no other speakers to come before the City Council, Ms. King declared the Privilege of the Floor closed regarding City Business. MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS OF THE COUNCIL Mr. Riggi- Noted concems related to air conditioner noise in City Hall room 110 with regards to Committee meetings, He noted the noise interferes with his ability to hear the business of the Council. He added he has been told that participants in the Plaming Commission meeting, which also meets in room 1 10, lumed off the air conditioner in order to conduct: business which left the room hot and stuffy. He noted follow sip with the Mayor related to his concems and reports he was told the issue is being triaged. He noted having a quiet air conditioner in room I 1O is a priority and he would be willing to look at a budget re-appropriation if necessary. He noted that St. Anthony's hosted a successful Italian Festa event this past weekend. He added that Mt. Camel will host it's Italian Festival on July 10, 11, 12. Ms, Porterfield -Noted her condolences to all the families in South Carolina tnrpacted by the recent tragic shooting. She added that her mother is tkom S. Carolina and given that the victims' families where able to demonstrate forgiveness following such a tragic loss is powerful. She added there will be a vigil in Schenectady following the tragedy at 540 Mumford St. on June 23. Residents are encouraged to attend, lend their support and prayers. She then extended her gratitude to all those who participated in the Juneteenth event. She added the Hamilton Hill Block Party will take place on June ~ 7 ~ tkom" 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. along with a tag sale on Paige Street during the day as well. Ms. King - Noted the City of Schenectady was awarded a perfect score of 100 from the U,S. Departnnent of Housing 8G Urban Development related to the City's lead based paint hazard @;rant.She extended her congatulations to aII the festival organizers who hosted events over the past weekend. Some of which have already been noted and she added the S"rrawbew Festival and Gay Pride Festival were a success as t;ve21, Adjourned: Seeing no further business to come before the City Council, Ms, KIM^ asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting, The motion was moved by Mr. Mosius and seconded by klr, Rig@ and the meeting adjourned at 7 4 8 p.m, By Charles Thsrra-e