CITY OFFICIALS Mayor Dayton J. King Presiding

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1 MINUTES FOR A REGULAR MEETING OF THE GLOVERSVILLE COMMON COUNCIL TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, :00PM; COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OFFICIALS Mayor Dayton J. King Presiding Councilman-At-Large - James H. Robinson - present Ward 1 - Robin Wentworth - present Ward 2 - Arthur Simonds - present Ward 3 - Stephen Mahoney - present Ward 4 - Ellen L. Anadio - present Ward 5 - Jay Zarrelli - present Ward 6 - Wrandy Siarkowski - present Department Heads Present: City Assessor Joni Dennie, City Attorney Anthony Casale, City Clerk Susan Semione, Commissioner of Finance Bruce Van Genderen, Deputy Commissioner of Finance Tammie Weiterschan, DPW Director Kevin Jones, Fire Chief Thomas Groff, Police Chief Donald Van Deusen, Transit Mobility Manager William Walrath Department Heads Not Present: Mayor King called the meeting to order at 6:03PM COUNCIL ROLL CALL via the Clerk 7 Present PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE FOLLOWED BY A MOMENT OF SILENCE SPEAKER Mayor King asked for a Motion to set the rules aside to allow Michael Teetz to speak regarding a proposed property swap agreement in the downtown area. Councilman Simonds made a Motion to set the rules aside to allow Michael Teetz to speak; seconded by Councilman Siarkowski. Michael Teetz, a realtor on South Main Street, stated that he was representing Two Great Guys Realty owner David Eager. He asked the City to participate in a land swap to help benefit an apartment project located at South Main Street which would require additional parking. He distributed a schematic to the Council and explained that the City could take possession of the greenspace next to the Leader-Herald where the annual tree lighting ceremony is held which is currently owned by Two Great Guys in exchange for the two parcels owned by the City between the S. Main Street building housing Buck s Pizza and the Leader-Herald building on E. Fulton Street which could be used to construct more parking spaces with a retaining wall. Mr. Teetz suggested that the City and Mr. Eager share the expense of constructing a retaining wall. Councilwoman Wentworth asked DPW Director Jones to advise the Council of an estimated price for the proposed retaining wall at the next meeting. DPW Director Jones stated that he has seen a preliminary site plan prepared by Engineer Darrin Romeyn and would provide the information to the Council. Mr. Teetz suggested the retaining wall could be addressed at a later date. He explained that Mr. Eager has been cited for code violations at South Main Street and currently the project at S. Main Street was on hold while he addressed that issue. Councilman-at-Large Robinson made a Motion to set the rules back in place; seconded by Councilwoman Anadio. 1

2 PUBLIC SESSION Mayor King advised: Members of the public wishing to address Council regarding any agenda item or other city business will be permitted to speak for a maximum of three (3) minutes. Please do not direct remarks or questions directly to any specific Council member, city official, or presiding officer, as there is no exchange of dialogue during this portion of the meeting. Personally offensive, abusive, slanderous, or boisterous remarks will not be allowed. Mayor King opened the Public Session at 6:15PM. No one chose to speak and Mayor King closed the Public Session at 6:16PM. AUDIT ELLEN ANADIO Councilman-at-Large Robinson and Councilwoman Anadio performed the August 24, 2015 Audit covering the period of July 23, 2015 to August 20, The following was reported: A-General Fund $1,137, G-Sewer Fund $ 210, H-Capital Projects Fund $ 162, T&A Fund $ 437, TOTAL $1,948, Councilman Siarkowski made a Motion to approve the audit; seconded by Councilman Zarrelli. COMMUNICATION FROM MAYOR & OTHER CITY OFFICIALS MAYOR DAYTON KING -Water Board Appointment Mayor King noted that he received a letter dated May 17 th from Water Board Commissioner Mauro that Water Board Member Wayne McCann would be moving out of state and resigning effective August 18 th. He noted that Water Department Superintendent Satterlee recommended appointing Peter Semione to the Board to fill Mr. McCann s term until the next general election in Councilman-at-Large Robinson made a Motion to accept the Mayor s appointment of Peter Semione to the Water Board; seconded by Councilman Mahoney. -Signs on Terraces Mayor King asked Council Members if they were interested in changing City Code to allow posting of signs on terraces. He noted it is more prevalent during election season. Councilman Siarkowski stated he was against signs on terraces; noting it could pose difficulty for persons getting in/out of vehicles parked on the streets. He noted this is an ongoing situation with more violations occurring during election season and advised the traffic circle at Wal-Mart is currently inundated with illegally posted signs. Councilwoman Wentworth stated that the City has a long standing issue with signs on terraces that are put there and left for long periods noting the same eyesore exists for garage sale postings on utility poles. She referenced a large six foot sign posted on a tree recently that had to be removed. She noted signs cannot be posted on City property without Council approval. City Attorney Casale noted that signs on terraces are not malice related. He asked the print and radio media in attendance to put the word out that signs are not allowed on terraces in the City of Gloversville. 2

3 Councilman Mahoney stated that if a sign is posted on a terrace illegally, someone should call the candidate or realtor and report it and request it be removed. He noted the signs are unsightly on the terrace. Councilman Simonds noted that currently the Code Enforcement Officer is allowed to remove the signs posted on poles and terraces. He noted that perhaps the Fire Department could print and distribute literature which reflects City Code to properties in violation of such postings. TRANSIT MOBILITY MANAGER WILLIAM WALRATH -Department Update Transit Mobility Manager William Walrath stated that a driver left last week and he has posted the opening in the Leader-Herald classified ads with good response. Mr. Walrath stated that he has been fully trained on the new Medicaid billing system called EPACES. He noted processing is extremely time consuming and his department is currently backlogged 1,500 claims to be entered. He noted all transportation providers must utilize this system to be paid and explained that he received training for the billing system in late July and mid-august and the State just made the necessary prior authorization codes available on August 4 th. He noted one driver has been doing data entry when the schedule allows and the department secretary is not able to process claims due to other daily tasks. He asked that a temporary service be hired to catch up on the backlogged paperwork from June-current. He noted that when a claim is over 90 days old there is a process for payment that is different than the normal data entry procedure. Councilman Zarrelli asked the Commissioner of Finance to provide an estimated cost of a temporary agency doing the data entry versus the cost of having a City employee taking on the task. Commissioner of Finance Van Genderen advised that currently the City has one part time employee in his department that may be interested in taking on the data entry project. He further explained that it is important to ensure that a part-time employee did not receive more than 30 hours per week as it could affect insurance coverage through Obama Care. Councilwomen Anadio and Wentworth asked that information from an outside temporary agency be obtained and shared with the Council. Regarding the topic of the recent Transit DOT Audit, Councilwoman Anadio asked Mr. Walrath for a copy of his reply to their findings. Mr. Walrath noted that he had put the information in every Council member s mailbox. No Council members recollected receiving the document and asked for a copy for review. CITY ATTORNEY CASALE -Request for an Executive Session City Attorney Casale noted that he would like a Motion at the end of the Meeting for an Executive Session to discuss Proposed/Pending Litigation. -Request for a Public Hearing City Attorney Casale advised that he would prepare an Ordinance for the 09/08/15 Council Meeting to facilitate moving forward with the order for demolition of a dangerous building at 211 North Main Street. He asked that a Motion for a Public Hearing be made to consider the proposed Ordinance for building demolition. Councilwoman Wentworth made a Motion to schedule a Public Hearing for September 8 th at 6PM regarding the proposed Ordinance to order the demolition of the structure at 211 North Main Street; seconded by Councilwoman Anadio. 3

4 COMMISSIONER OF FINANCE VAN GENDEREN -IT Hire for Police Department Commissioner of Finance Van Genderen noted that on August 5 th he, along with Deputy Commissioner Weiterschan met with the Personnel Committee and Police Chief Van Deusen regarding hiring an IT person for the Police Department. He stated that the discussion included hiring retiring (08/31/15) Police Captain Anthony Clay as the IT vendor at a rate of $33.65 per hour, not exceeding $10,000 for the year 2015 and allocating $30,000 per year after that. Commissioner Van Genderen stated that he would bring a Resolution for services to a meeting in the near future. He explained that there is no conflict with Civil Service for this position as Mr. Clay would be a retired City employee and now acting as a vendor. DPW DIRECTOR KEVIN JONES -Solar Proposals DPW Director Kevin Jones advised that engineering firm Greenman-Pedersen analyzed three separate proposals for solar power systems and found SolarCity s proposal to be the most beneficial for the City over the twenty year term of the Contract. He estimated a savings of $80,000-$100,000 annually with a potential to save $2.95 million over twenty years. Councilwoman Wentworth stated that she found the conclusion made by Greenman-Pedersen for a solar panel system from SolarCity to be most financially favorable for the City and would like to move forward with a Contract for services. All Council Members were in favor of moving forward with SolarCity as the City s solar provider to be built at the former Gloversville Landfill located on East Fulton Street Extension. DPW Director Jones stated he would forward the Contract to City Attorney Casale for review and have a Resolution available for the 09/08/15 Council Meeting. -Lighting at Wohlfarth s Pond Park DPW Director Jones was asked by Councilwoman Wentworth to assess the newly installed LED lighting at Wohlfarth s Pond Park to see if some of the lighting could be shut off. She explained that the new LED s are significantly brighter than the other bulbs and compared the new lighting to an airport runway. DPW Director Jones advised he would have the City Electrician assess the Park in the evening. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 07/28/15 Regular Meeting 08/11/15 Work Session Meeting Councilwoman Anadio made a Motion to approve the Council meeting minutes as a whole; seconded by Councilman-at-Large Robinson. LEGISLATION Intro R-1 RESOLUTION TO AWARD THE CONCRETE APRON REPLACEMENT PROJECT FOR THE GLOVERSVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT BUILDING Motion made by Councilman Simonds; seconded by Councilman Siarkowski. Discussion: Mayor King and Fire Chief Groff both thanked the Department of Public Works for their assistance in removing the existing 8 of concrete/rebar. It was estimated that $40,000 was saved by having DPW do the work to prepare the area for the new concrete apron. Intro R-2 RESOLUTION TO SOLICIT SEALED BIDS FOR PURCHASE OF A NEW FIRE DEPARTMENT COMMAND VEHICLE Motion made by Councilman Simonds; seconded by Councilman-at-Large Robinson. 4

5 Intro R-3 RESOLUTION TO SOLICIT SEALED BIDS FOR THE SALE OF SURPLUS EQUIPMENT Motion made by Councilman Siarkowski; seconded by Councilman Simonds. Intro R-4 RESOLUTION TO TRANSFER A SURPLUS 1986 ATHEY FORCE-FEED LOADER TO THE TOWN OF JOHNSTOWN Motion made by Councilman Simonds; seconded by Councilman Siarkowski. Intro R-5 RESOLUTION TO AWARD REPAIRS OF THE HARRISON STREET BRIDGE AND AUTHORIZE THE COMMISSIONER OF FINANCE TO MAKE A BUDGET MODIFICATION TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS Motion made by Councilwoman Wentworth; seconded by Councilwoman Anadio. Intro R-6 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSIONER OF FINANCE TO EXECUTE A BUDGET MODIFICATON RELATED TO REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM FOR A REMODELING PROJECT Motion made by Councilman-at-Large Robinson; seconded by Councilman Simonds. Intro R-7 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSIONER OF FINANCE TO EXTEND THE $150,000 LOAN REPAYMENT DATE FROM THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AGENCY Motion made by Councilwoman Anadio; seconded by Councilman Siarkowski. Intro R-8 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING DESIGNATED HANDICAP PARKING AT 121 OAKLAND AVENUE Motion made by Councilman Simonds; seconded by Councilwoman Anadio. MISCELLANEOUS EXECUTIVE SESSION 6:46PM-7:30PM Councilman Siarkowski made a Motion to go into an Executive Session at 6:46PM to discuss Proposed/Pending Litigation; seconded by Councilwoman Anadio. Councilman Siarkowski made a Motion to allow City Attorney Casale, Fire Chief Groff and DPW Director Jones to be present in the Executive Session; seconded by Councilwoman Anadio. City Attorney Casale, Fire Chief Groff and DPW Director Jones exited the meeting at 7:25PM. Councilman Siarkowski made a Motion to end the Executive Session at 7:30PM; seconded by Councilman Zarrelli. Councilwoman Wentworth made a Motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:30PM; seconded by Councilwoman Anadio. Susan Semione, City Clerk 5