City Council

MINUTES OF THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE SCHENECTADY COUNCIL October 13, 2015 The Council Meeting was caned to order by the City Council President Margaret at 7:03 p.m. Room City Chambers at King asked Rev. Kelleher to the invocation. King then called on Cliff Brucker to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Deputy City called the roll and the following members of City Council answered to be Present Council members, John Ferrari, Margaret King, Kosiur, John Mootooveren, Leesa !-'pr'r:F7r;'A Marion and Vincent Clerk Chad Putman, Corporation and Resolution No. 2015-263 - A Resolution Declaring October to be Italian-American Heritage Month. Representatives the Sons Italy were on hand they extended their gratitude Mr. seconded ~"U'HnlVH passed Resolution No. 2015-264 - A Resolution Recognizing the tOoth Anniversary of the Sons of Italy Lodge 321. Representatives from the Sons ofItaly were on hand and they extended their gratitude for recognition the Mayor and City Council. The resolution was moved by Ms. Riggi and seconded by Mr. Ferrari. The resolution passed unanimously. Resolution No. 2015-265 A Resolution Recognizing "Schenectady's the Place" to be the Official City Song. on  Minutes October 5i 2 was PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1. Regarding the Proposed 2016 Budget Jason Planck, Schenectady - Noted the Housing Coordinator is receiving a $9,000 increase and he asked why? He noted there is a of pay increases in the Development office related to this position. He then spoke on the CDBG funds in the and noted the Affirmative Action officer is not complying with mandates. then spoke on the distribution funding in relation to handicap surcharges and added half to the and the other half to the county. He noted the fund should have around $28,000 disability parking. no ","'vH'.!", come the hearing to be "'j~'0v'''. Regarding the abandonment of Water Street Steve Strichamen, ~'J<U"''''' to 'VH.,LJ\JH come forward, public to APPROVAL OF MINUTES: asked a motion to approve the minutes the September 5 meeting as submitted by the City Clerk; Ms. Porterfield made a motion to amend the minutes to reflect the Hamilton Neighborhood Association hosted its monthly meeting (not ~LUCL""U meeting); Mr. Kosiur made a motion to approve the minutes with the amendment, Mr. Mootooveren seconded the motion. Communications Presented to the City Council for Monday October13, 2015 Official:  Minutes October 2015 on INTRODUCTION OF AND ACTION UPON LOCAL LAWS, ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS: Mr. Kosiur made a motion that Council approves the ~~uu'v.n Agenda and O1r,.,,,.,,,,, was seconded Consent Agenda - Resolution 2015 - 268 Unanimously Resolution 2015 269 Unanimously Resolution No. 5 - 270 Unanimously Resolution 2015 271 Unanimously 5 Unanimously 5- Unanimously 5 5 PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR: to the Council on matter of to speakers rose to be heard and their are Dave Monty, Schenectady - Noted owns Side by Side Storage at 1524 Crane Street and has rn"~"U'{1 more than $1 million dollars the business and surrounding landscaping. He an open and ribbon cutting on October 1i h 11 :00 a.m, to 4:00 p.m. He noted new black top, handicap access and further development to come, He noted the event is free and open to the public. Jason Planck, Schenectady Noted that October is Disability Employment Awareness Month adding it's important to bring awareness to the number of jobs not in the city, He noted there is a seven percent participation rate related to contracts and hiring persons with disabilities, He added Schenectady County is the worst in the state related to hiring persons with disabilities. He noted the Gazette reported that Metroplex falsified documents related to the jobs report adding that  Council 3,2015 4 of 5 colors are out-of-place on the lawn of a no up the wrong place. Another point at the ~~HU"U an agenda item was about streets and sidewalks. No one mentioned beautification or final look of a finished project. The City Engineer stressed functionalism Council memoiers talked cost. 1 mentioned two weeks the city needs a beautification committee, people embrace the comprehensive plan and make all neighborhoods look beautiful." Joy Hall, Schenectady - Noted concerns about city sidewalks and added that gaps are unsafe pedestrians. She asked city to the sidewalks before someone gets hurt. Mohamed Hafez, Schenectady - on October 10 he attended a coffee hour with the mayor at Ferrari's and asked questions about what services have been provided to Mt. Pleasant. He noted he asked questions about the casino and police presence in Mt Pleasant He noted he asked details Mt Pleasant has received for parks with street and sidewalks Mt. Pleasant is not getting the investment dollars like he sees mayor addressed rental certificate challenges as a '~"'~"JA including consent the landlord, tenant or ajudge's order. added Code Endorsement should not be able to a landlord for not allowing inspections which IS a closed by noting miss-information was the Bellevue debate to crime levels around the Pittsburg, PA casino. no other Council, Ms. King declared Privilege of the "'''','' ...''-< regarding MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS OF THE COUNCIL Ms. Perazzo - Noted Schenectady's Puzzle's Bakery & Cafe was featured on the national CBS nightly news on Saturday. She noted that Puzzles employs persons with disabilities including autism. She added the business is a great model for the city and nation. She noted Give Graffiti the Brush wrapped up its 3rd season. She added the last project including covering graffiti off Michigan Avenue near the 1-890 off ramp. She noted she often gets asked about how often locations get re-tagged and she said most stay clean otherwise program participants will go back and cover them up again. She then noted she has been asked to be Chair of the Vale Park Task  201 I IS to r"'''MA''''''''' to an speaker Pleasant blighted properties demolished including 1150 Cutler Street, (48) projects over 1 million dollars, or are scheduled to in 201 Quackenbush Park will benefit new playground equipment which comes out of the 2015 capital budget. closed by extending the appreciation of the Schenectady Premiere Cricket League to mayor Councilwoman for participating their award presentation event over weekend. appreciation to the City for their ongoing sympathies to the family and friends O'Brien who passed cancer. was a asset to Schenectady Deputy City Clerk