City Council

:MINUTES OF THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE SCHENECTADY CITY COUNCIL January 25, 2016 was called to order by the Council President Perazzo at Council Chambers at City Hall. Better Ms. Slater to lead the Pledge Allegiance. members the City Council answered to members, Edward Kosiur, John Mootooveren, Leesa Perazzo, John Polimeni, Riggi to Resolution Recognizing 23 years of service to the City by Philip Dodge. Tennessee Resolution No. 2016-8 - Resolution Recognizing City Waste & Recycling Collection Crews as 1st Responders. Members the Waste & Recycling Collection Crew were on hand and they extended their gratitude for the recognition by the Mayor and City Council. The resolution was moved by Mr. Polimeni and seconded by Ms. Porterfield. The resolution passed unanimously.  Minutes 61 Petitions: COMMITTEE REPORTS ct"..+?>ri to meet again. She noted at new funding in 2016 budget and is interested redevelopment six parks depending on the needed investment and allocation of funding. She noted commission is hosting monthly meetings and residents can submit neighborhood parks for consideration. She added that Orchard Park recently received $354,000 in funding for redevelopment. noted renovation cost for Orchard Park is million Mr. Polimeni, Administrative Efficiency - continued on developing an employee do tremenO!)us work the public. He added He PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR (LEGISLATIVE ITEMS) to ~F,'-'JlH..u.• to come TnT'''!,I1'n term is used as a backdoor process to not bid contracts. He noted then noted staff has came out with Request For Proposals noted the RFP's should come back to City Council to do follow up hearing should have been offered as well. Seeing no other speakers come forward, Ms. Perazzo declared the Privilege of the Floor on the Legislative Agenda closed. INTRODUCTION OF UPON LOCAL LAWS, ORDINANCES AND  Council Minutes 6/ PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR: on matter to speakers rose to be are summarized: Anthony Carota, Schenectady his condolences to Mayor McCarthy on the passing of his mother. He then shared a recent experience he had at Ellis Hospital's emergency room was from p.m. till 11 :30 He noted he sought care due to lower back and had around 10:30 p.m. He added at one time the city had two hospitals and now we one mega hospital. He noted in Albany there are four to five hospitals. He asked why is there only one room in the city of Schenectady? He added with more than 60,000 the we need another ER in the city to ease the burden. He closed by noting we people with chronic illness who are in need of care. residents have just four weeks to tum in their Star He city home owners to utilize the '-'HAenac> last four years to their property taxes elODmem which includes a 30 percent hiring rate. Mary McClaine, am outraged the Mayor would parade a General Electric m of community after that company took away the medical coverage from its retired veterans - husband included. After the company made the announcement, I wondered why Council did not take a position in support of its constituency. Now I know why, you had this man in the wings waiting to make the city smart. Mr. Mayor, I will match my husband's brains with your CEO's anytime. My family made a lot of sacrifices for the General Electric Company.  Minutes 20161 of 5 can '-'LUAU!','" '-''-''C<U'-U the ER, but regarding it was a state commission that made He noted he has two announcements including Schenectady Little League hosting an open registration on February from 11 :00 a.m. until 2:00 at Boulevard Bowl on Erie Blvd. He added this is the only little league in the city. He then announced the Jack Falvo be hosting another benefit Jack's Place which include a breakfast buffet on February 7 at the Guilderland from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 He noted tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for kids. Ms. Porterfield Extended condolences to Mayor McCarthy on the loss of his mother and ~,-,',-un.'" member John Ferrari on the loss of his grandmother. She then noted on January 27th the Schenectady Gazette will host an Open Government forum at Schenectady County Community added the event starts at 7 :00 p.m. is free and open to the public. She then reported to awareness on disproportionate state education funding district "-'-U'VVL to taxes been questions related to the fee charged to residents which v-vB"""" to 2.4 percent or more with a credit card payment. He added more to are available on the city website. He noted the city is planning to make this information available on the front of the tax bill in addition to the back to help avoid confusion. He closed by noting this fee is collected by the credit card company and that historically the city has covered the expense. Mr. Polimeni - Noted the Bridge Christian Church will host a Sleep Out for the homeless with an additional $50,000 to complete a homeless shelter. He added  6 Adjourned: ;:)eICIIll:!cnO Ms. '--'VUH'-.-U. a to adjourn the was Riggi and seconded by Mr. Mootooveren and the meeting adjourned at 7:38 By Charles Thorne Schenectady City Clerk