City Council

BIINUTES OF THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE SCHENEGTADU CITY 68UMCfL July 13,2015 The City Council Meeting was called 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 Rev. Dave Chetrm from Sbree Canesh Mandir of Schenectady to provide the invocation. Ms. King then called on Tony Buonome to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. The Deputy City Clerk called the roll and the follou~ingmembers of the City 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 - Deputy City Clerk Chad Putman, Corporation Counsel Carl Falotico and Mayor Gary Mecarthy At h i s point, Ms. King noted there were no Ceremonial Resolutions to be taken out of order. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Ms. King asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the June 8: 2015 Council meetings as submitted by the City Clerk; Mr. Ferrari made a motion to approve the minutes, Mr. Mootooveren seconded the motion. Communications Presented to the City Council for Monday July 13,2015 Official: From the Mayor a list of appointments dated July 13.201 5, A letter h r n David Fronk, Director of Operations recommending the award o f the "Demolition and Debris Removal o f Select Vacant Buildings in the City of Sehenectady pursuant to the HUB 108 Loan Guarantee Demolition Program'" to Dakota Environmental Semites, General: None Petitions: Xone C0RI"kIITTEE REPOR'TS Marion Porterfield, Health & Recreatson - Noted the 2ecse;ar-:on.Ad~rsoryCornrn~ssnonhas held rneetrngs w t h Clry staff111an effod to move commlssaor, recommendat~snsfo~ward.She extended her gatrtude to the Cornm~ssronersfor the~rungo~ngw o k . Scheneclady City Council Minutes July 13, 204 5 / Page 2 of 5 PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR (LEGISLATIVE ITEMS) Ms. King invited all who wished to address the Legislative Agenda to come fomard: Seeing no speakers come fornard, Ms. King declared the Privilege of the Floor on the Legislative Agenda closed. INTRODUCTION OF AND ACTION UPON LOCAL LAWS, OWINANCES 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. 2015 - I 1 .......................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 20 15 - 170 ...................................& o p t Unanimously Resolution No. 20 15 - 17 2 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2015 - 172 ....................... A d o p t Unanimously Resolution No. 2015 - 1 73 ................................. Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2015 - 174" .................................*AdoptedUnanimously Resolution No. 20 15 - 175 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 20 15 - 176 ....................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2015 - 177 ....................................M o p e Unanimously Resolution No. 20 15 - 178 ................................... Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 20 15 - 179 .................................. Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2015 - 180 ..................................Adopted Unanimously Resolution No. 2015 - 181 ..................... . .......... . A d o p t Unanimously Resolution No, 2015 - CS - 20 ............................ Adopted Unanimously *City Council amended the resolution to read, 'Wereas, the City Council supports the Mayor in the application for this grant, and if the City is awarded the grant, seeks to authorize acceptance of the titnds so work can begin as quickly as possible." Ms. Porterfield made the motion to amend the resolution which was seconded by Mr. Mootooveren, There were no objections to move the item to the consent agenda. PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR: Ms, King invited all who wished to address the City Cormcil on any matter of City business to come fonvard. The following speakers rose to be heard and their remarks are surnma~zed: Anthony Garota, Scheneetady - Noted the City Council passed a resolution related to Gun Violence Awaeness in June and in the weeks to follow there were two \iolen"Lrnctdences in the City, He added the Police are doing their job and that he respects all Law enforcement and the public should as well, He added there was a recent Potice Depafiment ceremony at Proctors recomazing certain officers o f distinguished senlice and noted there was one Council member in attendance. He added the Mayor was in attendance but an% ed late, Jason Planek, Schenectady - Noted the Xffimatite Action presenkatlon conflicts with the tnfomiatlon he has related to the Cities compliance regarding award-ing BID contracts, He added the project thresh-nold i s 9 5 rn~llronand not 10 million, He noted the presentation c~tedwomen owned businesses but did not ~ncludestatistics on the workforce. He asked nf the busnnesses are Schenectady City Council Minutes July 13, 2015 1 Page 3 of 5 hirrng minority population to meet the 15 percent minimum. He added the City needs to complete an economic disparities study and that the state has difkrent goals than the feds. He noted the round-about project does not include one minority or person with disability and this is symbolic of a pattern the City engages in which needs to be addressed. He then reminded residents of the casino job fair taking place on July 18 at Schenectady County Community College. John Polimeni, Schenectady - Noted a collaborative project related to non-profit housing efforts in the City. Organizational participation includes Habitat for Humanity, Better Neighborhoods, Community Builders and the Community Land Trust. He noted the group will be hosting a street clean up on July 18 on Schenectady Street. He noted a letter is going out to residence on Schenectady Street to encourage participation. He provided the contact infomation for the above organizations if residents need additional information. Tony Buonome, Schenectady - Noted concerns related to fireworks going off within the City. I-ie noted that Schenectady County approved the sale of sparklers in response to new state-wide legislation legalizing them. He added that he called emergency dispatch related to ongoing fireworks in his neighborhood. He noted that over the holiday weekend that fireworks were going off at 3:00 a.m. which he added is ridiculous. He asked the City Comcil to do something. Greg Saver, Schenectady - Noted concerns related to flooding in the Stockade. We referenced New Vork State Rising and the availability of funding for flood plain and watershed management. He noted the City has received notice that it will receive funding througb the program. He stressed concerns that the City is planning to use the money for parks. Rather he suggested the City should develop guidelines for the historic district othewise residents will be taking action individually. We closed by asking the City to take action to preserve the historic district. Richard Unger, Schenectady - Asked the City to get undenvay regarding the development of a plan to mitigate flooding in the historic stockade. He noted the Historic Commission is meeting tonight at the same time as the City Council meeting and he asked why he is being forced to choose between meetings. He added it would be a more transparent process if the meetings were held at different times. Carol Delamonte, Scbenectady - Noted her affiliation with the Stockade Association and urged City leaders to utilize flood plain management funds to complete a study to preseme the historic Stockade d i s t ~ e t .She noted a presentation by Stockade residents created more questions than answers such as, is flooding inevitable. She noted Federal insurance allows for other options than residents raising their homes. She noted that residents are left to engage in individual responses if the City does not act on a collective basis, She closed by asking the City to fund a comprehensive long tern comm~nllyplan regarding water mitigation in the Stockde distllek, Frank \Vicks, Schenectady - Noted last year there were demonstrations against police in major c~tlesin the country. He added the demonstrations were about police brutality, Regarding local events he noted the ease o f Chuck Parker who was assaulted by police and pepper sprayed, He then suggested the comrn~nityjoin together for corrective action, He advised the charges should be dropped against Mr. Prxrker. He added Mr, Parker i s a good citizen who helps his gandmother and other community programs. He noted Mr. Parker desemes an apology and should be compensated 53r h o st wages, He closed by noting the Mayor should consider firing the Police Chief who oversaw events.. &larva Isaacs, Schenectady - Highlighted the recent basketball tournamen%between the Schenectady Police Department and resident youth rn the Hamalton H11-i nei&&orhood. She Scheneclady City Council Minutes July 13, 2015 / Page 4 of 5 noted the event was wonderful and she thanked all the organizers for their efforts. She added that it's tmportmt to talk about what's going on in the community. 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 he can't remember a time when the use of fireworks in the City was as bad as it has been over the last few weeks. He noted he heard reports of fireworks going off at 3:00 a.m. in the Bellevue neighborhood. He noted that he has received many caHs and emails related to concerns about excessive fireworks going off in neighborhoods. He added that Schenectady County opened the issue by approving the sale of sparkers following recently passed New Uork State legislation doing the same. He added there appears to be confusion about what is legal and what isn't. He noted the importance of mutual respect and common sense. He asked about enforcement related to illegal fireworks and the issuance of tickets and penalties. He asked if it was time to take another look. He then noted the request of Stockade residents to request a study related to Rood mitigation is reasonable and would help to alleviate fears. He then added the Mont Camel Italian Festival and Schenectady County Summer Nights events were a success. He thanked all the volunteers and noted the events are something to be proud of, Ms. Porterfield - Noted she has received phone calls and emails related to excessive fireworks in nei&borhoods thoughout the City. She added there seemed to be more fireworks this year to the extent she questioned if residents are aware of what is legal. She then noted there was a recent Police and community forum, covered by the news media, which allowed for the expression of different views. She added recent studies found that Scheneetady County minorities are 3 times more likely to be incarcerated. She added this indicates more work needs to be done and will take the community and police corning together. She noted the Police and youth basketball tournament is a good start and was highlighted in the newspaper this past week. She noted the basketball toumment will continue with games to be held at Jerry Burrell Park on July 18, 26thand August 1 and 2ndwhich will be the championship game. She thanked all the organizers. She noted a Read Out Load event will take place on August 8 Gom 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. with the author. She added the event is free and open to the public. She noted the Rivers Casino will host a job fair on July 18 from 8:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. She noted that more infomation can be found the the Rivers website and free bus sewice will be provide, She added that on July 17 there will be a vendor infomation event related to the Casino with a focus OM wrlnofity owned vendors taking place a"r3:O 0.m- She noted the Summer Nigfit event was a success and that her sister was in town and was really impressed with the event. hfapor iMcCarthy - Noted the Mont Camel itallan Festival i s a tradition in Mont Pleasant and that the Summer Ni&ts event continues to grow each year. We added the City was awarded $100,000 for ;a study related to micro-Mds and sustainable power. He noted his appreciation to the organizers ;and padicipants in the Police - youth baskehall tournament taking place in Hamilton Hill. He noted there will be I I new Police officers going into to the academy which last six months. He noted the New Uork Rising funds i s part o f a 3 million dollar package and that the City has no formal position at this time. He noted the N.Ferry Street pump station has been approved h r the desim phase and that it will be an ongoing dynamic process with the neighborhood, \Is, King - Noted Suamer Ni&ts was a success, She clarified the Wirrers Casino job fair is an opportunity for residents and interested partres to learn more about the a\fai.lablejob Scheneclady Gity Council Minutes July 13 3,2015 i Page 5 of 5 opportunities and related qualifications. The event urill give residents an opportunity to get started on cvrnpfeting required training and prepare for the jab openings when they are aliailable. Adjourned: Seeing no further business to come be-fore the City Council, Ms. King asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was moved by Mr. Kosiur and seconded by Ms. Porterfield and the meeting adjourned at 7:47 p.m. Sehenectady Deputy Gity Clerk