[0:29] thank you

[1:13] foreign

[3:10] [Music]

[3:19] foreign

[3:20] [Music]

[3:50] foreign

[4:33] thank you

[5:05] foreign

[6:25] thank you

[6:35] [Music]

[6:49] foreign

[8:06] [Music]

[8:18] meeting to order for Monday October 3rd

[8:21] 2022 our first committee is finance Mr

[8:24] Williams

[8:26] thank you so I'd like the call to order

[8:28] the finance committee there's three

[8:29] items on the agenda tonight first call

[8:32] for public hearing for the 2021

[8:33] Consolidated annual performance and

[8:36] evaluation report on October 11th and

[8:39] that will be spoken by Kristen yeah

[8:46] this is very formal um Dan if you just

[8:50] go up to the corner you see that little

[8:53] yeah there you go

[8:55] um we're going to be talking quickly

[8:57] about the Consolidated annual

[9:00] performance and evaluation report or the

[9:02] Caper this measures our accomplishments

[9:05] on our HUD funding through the Community

[9:07] Development block grant the home funds

[9:09] and the emergency Solutions Grant funds

[9:13] um in addition to this was our cdbg CB

[9:16] funds or the stimulus funds that came

[9:19] through Care Act cares act to fund

[9:21] different things in response to the

[9:22] pandemic

[9:24] um so essentially we had three major

[9:26] goals in our Consolidated plan The

[9:28] Five-Year Plan this was to enhance

[9:30] housing opportunities expand economic

[9:33] and Workforce Development and strengthen

[9:35] local neighborhoods so the first goal in

[9:39] the enhancing housing opportunities

[9:42] within the program Year from July 1st

[9:45] 2021 to June 30th 2022 that's what this

[9:48] report is kind of measuring and it's also good to keep in mind that

[9:52] funding kind of spans over multiple

[9:54] years sometimes depending on the project

[9:56] so it's kind of a pointy time between

[9:58] those dates you know what what projects

[10:01] occurred and what funding did we spend

[10:03] so we did 15 demolitions a week and

[10:07] instructors throughout the city

[10:09] there were 15 owner-occupied rehabs with

[10:12] our partners at their Community

[10:14] neighborhoods

[10:15] we worked with Habitat for Humanity to

[10:18] do a few builds throughout the city

[10:20] which were infill projects one of which

[10:23] was a vacant property that was turned

[10:25] into an owner occupied property it was a

[10:27] rental unit to kind of offset the costs

[10:29] there in Eastern Ave

[10:31] so that was exciting

[10:34] um through the Mount Pleasant Outreach

[10:36] project scap provided 24 households with

[10:40] tenant training responsibilities and

[10:42] legal assistance as a result they

[10:44] secured improvements in their living

[10:46] conditions there were 74 residents that

[10:49] received Services which included the

[10:51] homeless prevention and Rapid rehousing

[10:53] programs

[10:55] um in addition the first time whole

[10:56] homebuyer program for down payment

[10:58] assistance and closing costs was

[11:01] overseen by Better Community

[11:03] neighborhoods as well and the Bethesda

[11:05] house tenant-based rental assistance

[11:07] program served 19 participants and

[11:10] provided 50 000 of rental assistance and

[11:13] this is just another project safe Inc

[11:15] providingly accessible sidewalk to their

[11:18] educational recreation facility

[11:23] um

[11:24] yep and this is just some of the

[11:26] community outreach that's done this was

[11:29] an open house that's safe income did as

[11:31] well

[11:33] um so we had a pause in our construction

[11:36] skills training program during the

[11:38] pandemic but it was restarted so we had

[11:40] 10 new program participants

[11:43] um and there was various workshops and

[11:45] job fairs and skills training

[11:47] um this was in partnership with the

[11:49] literally Arsenal again just trying to

[11:51] connect the trades and the jobs that are

[11:53] available with the people who are

[11:54] learning these skills

[11:56] um so they can can join the workforce in

[11:58] meaningful ways

[12:01] um in addition resources for the city's

[12:04] painting program uh

[12:06] you know paid approximately a mile of

[12:08] roads in our neighborhood revitalization

[12:10] strategy area and in addition as part of

[12:14] the economic development

[12:16] um we worked with the Community Loan

[12:19] Fund to provide small business grants

[12:21] through our cdbg CD funding I think it

[12:24] was over it was close to four hundred

[12:27] thousand dollars in Grants that helped

[12:28] over 60 small businesses

[12:32] um in addition you can keep calm down

[12:35] um through the strengthening local

[12:37] neighborhoods we we have the

[12:39] collaborative tree program in

[12:40] partnership with Community fathers sjta

[12:43] Retreat Schenectady in the city last

[12:46] summer they planted 50 trees as part of

[12:48] this program and this summer they did a

[12:49] hundred so it's been we've seen and

[12:52] scaled up it's involved with youth

[12:54] employment and skills training we're

[12:56] really excited to see the progress that

[12:58] continues to happen now that we have our

[13:00] community forestry plan that was just

[13:02] completed

[13:04] um and then we the Hamilton Hill Art

[13:08] Center completed their Sculpture Park

[13:10] which this is an image from that as many

[13:13] of you may have seen it's been a

[13:15] transformation in the neighborhood of

[13:17] formerly vacant site that now is a

[13:20] Community Asset

[13:21] um that was part of the thriving

[13:22] neighborhoods challenge

[13:24] and then at Orchard Park we had the park

[13:28] improvements that were completed and

[13:29] then in addition this Fitness court that

[13:31] was installed as well to basically

[13:35] benefit City residents of all ages

[13:37] through the different programming that's

[13:38] happening there

[13:40] um and then the the youth Coalition

[13:43] supported a lot of youth programs

[13:46] over the year and in addition the

[13:49] partnership with boys and girls club is

[13:51] instrumental in providing some of the

[13:52] summer programs like here at UCF Packard

[13:54] Bush Hill there's some assignments and

[13:56] then of course the the swimming lessons

[13:59] and programs that happen

[14:01] um throughout the city parks over the

[14:04] summer which is just really impactful to

[14:06] keep kids engaged during that time

[14:10] um and then this is just a snapshot of

[14:13] the design of Jerry Burrell Park which

[14:15] started last year and is out to bid

[14:17] right now so we'll see where the numbers

[14:18] come back and we'll look forward to

[14:20] continuing that investment moving

[14:22] forward

[14:24] um

[14:25] just an image from Community meetings

[14:27] and we do try to there you can see

[14:29] Sylvia out there like we try to get

[14:31] engaged in the events happening and make

[14:33] sure and making sure that we're kind of

[14:35] listening to the needs and responding

[14:37] through our goals and what we're

[14:38] investing in so that's it

[14:41] um

[14:42] one of the main things for tonight is

[14:45] just to announce the 15-day public

[14:47] comment period for the keeper which is

[14:49] posted online it's going to be today

[14:51] October 3rd through Tuesday October 18th

[14:54] and there will be a public hearing

[14:56] scheduled for next Tuesday October 11th

[14:58] at seven o'clock at the general city

[15:01] council meeting

[15:04] thank you any questions or comments from

[15:06] the table

[15:10] cycling all in favor

[15:12] moving to the next item is a reminder of

[15:16] the 2023 budget there's the public

[15:18] hearing on October 11 2022

[15:22] offer any further comments or questions

[15:23] regarding such

[15:25] it's perfect

[15:26] um so Mr bear and I think Mr Baron sent

[15:29] us the dates I just want to know that

[15:30] the public the public know what the

[15:32] dates are that we'll be reading October

[15:34] 13th is our first October 18th October

[15:37] 19th October 20th uh and October 21st if

[15:41] needed so I believe this can be we'll be

[15:44] posted on our website thank you and the

[15:47] last item will be a discussion for noise

[15:49] violation follow-up by Mr County so this

[15:53] is a continuing issue with noise we left

[15:57] it the last time with some of the

[16:00] technology pieces and Mr coluccio is

[16:03] going to do a presentation

[16:05] [Music]

[16:08] it's it's uh

[16:14] it's a another short presentation so uh

[16:19] as you know we've installed a number of

[16:21] uh smart technology pieces in the city

[16:25] the analytic cameras that have a number

[16:29] of features including

[16:32] um integrated microphone so one of the

[16:35] things that came up with was how we

[16:38] could use these microphones to analyze

[16:41] noise and actually pick out where

[16:45] violations are in the city so I asked

[16:48] the company that they were working with

[16:50] in one of the companies you typically

[16:52] did

[16:53] to give us an understanding of this

[16:56] newer device that they that we have

[16:59] installed out there and what the roadmap

[17:02] is for the sound handling so they're

[17:04] providing me a very short

[17:06] slideshow that I'll go through

[17:12] they're going to develop this Sound

[17:14] Processing engine

[17:16] leopard watching the microphones that

[17:20] are located in the hubs on top of the

[17:22] street lights

[17:23] um on board let's see what else they

[17:26] said uh they will be doing uh processing

[17:29] on board they're not going to

[17:31] upload the audio the um

[17:35] the machine that's mounted on top of the

[17:37] street light has the intelligence to

[17:39] analyze the information and determine

[17:41] exactly what it is and then that'll be

[17:45] able to send the information back to it

[17:47] wherever we alignment whether it's

[17:49] dispatch or to the desk sergeant to tell

[17:54] them where an issue may be out in the

[17:57] city so they're all GPS GPS located

[18:00] they're able to do some sort of

[18:03] triangulation which can narrow down the

[18:07] location out of the sound based on

[18:09] multiple different units that are out

[18:11] there and they can also because there

[18:14] are cameras on it as well depending

[18:17] again depending on where the location is

[18:19] take a screenshot of that location to

[18:22] see what's going on in that area

[18:25] they also talked about uh LPR slice of

[18:28] the paint reader potential it does not

[18:31] work with the cameras that they have

[18:33] there now because the cameras are

[18:35] installed so high but um this bullet is

[18:38] about the potential to install a second

[18:41] one attached to this unit and then mount

[18:45] it over on the pole

[18:47] so this is the timeline of uh when you

[18:51] expect that we have this up and running

[18:53] so

[18:54] um

[18:55] to generate an alarm based on the sound

[18:59] increase first quarter of 2023 I'm going

[19:04] to skip over the LPR for now but the

[19:06] classification of sound events uh is

[19:09] second quarter of 2023 so just so you

[19:12] understand what that means if it didn't

[19:15] explain it well in the beginning they're

[19:17] just going to be able to tell you where

[19:19] the increase in the noise level is so if

[19:23] the normal testicles are here and it

[19:25] spikes up to a certain amount then it's

[19:27] going to give us a notification that

[19:29] there's enough tentative and then

[19:32] in bullet number three a quarter two of

[19:35] 2023 they'll be able to classify the

[19:38] sounds meaning they'll know if it's a

[19:40] glass shattering and gunshot if it's a a

[19:43] car backfiring

[19:45] um I don't have a lot of detail on how in depth they're gonna go but

[19:51] that would be the idea that they would

[19:54] be able to look at them individually and

[19:56] determine what they are and send uh you

[19:59] know keep track of them and send a

[20:02] message back to wherever we wanted to go

[20:04] [Music]

[20:05] and uh the last one is location of the

[20:08] sound events they'll be able to

[20:09] geolocate so that

[20:12] um if if the ideas were not going to go

[20:15] uh immediately out there to find out

[20:18] what's going on with these increased

[20:20] noise if we track it on a GPS located

[20:23] map and we can look at the history we

[20:26] can find out if it's something that

[20:28] happens on a regular basis there and uh

[20:30] you know then look for extra controls to

[20:34] go out there and uh

[20:36] try to eliminate those issues

[20:39] [Music]

[20:41] any questions

[20:44] did you have a

[20:47] potentially going to Executive sessions

[20:49] to show you some exact locations of

[20:52] where these devices are if you're

[20:54] interested you can do that

[20:57] thanks coach any questions or comments

[21:00] from the table Miss Brookfield so I

[21:03] wanted you if you talked about the

[21:04] Patrols in in terms of them going out

[21:08] so what are we have recorded and talk to

[21:11] valleys because you know that we um we

[21:13] generally have uh the tier system where

[21:15] there's priority fall and so where would

[21:18] this fall in terms of that yeah so so

[21:20] obviously we're not at that point yet

[21:22] but I mean for me to look at it I

[21:24] believe that uh understanding where

[21:27] these noise events occur and having that

[21:30] data on a map that uh you know for in

[21:32] the neighborhood officers to routinely

[21:35] look at during you know certain time

[21:37] periods that it happens you know that

[21:39] would be the first step in my mind but

[21:41] obviously that would be the council

[21:43] mayor into the police department's

[21:45] determination on how they build these

[21:47] things

[21:47] thank you

[21:49] just

[21:50] we've looked at a couple of these shot

[21:53] spotters one that has

[21:55] more I think General recognition they

[21:59] only focus on gunshot detection this use

[22:03] the term microphones really more

[22:06] appropriate terms acoustical sensor

[22:08] where microphone viewed more is just the

[22:12] range of the human voice

[22:14] these are all sound events so it could

[22:17] be an auto accident could be other

[22:18] alarms uh it's a more sophisticated

[22:22] analysis and they're looking to develop

[22:25] that as part of their deployment Here in

[22:27] Schenectady

[22:28] with the other things that we're doing

[22:30] so how do you manage these

[22:33] events uh maybe create a level of

[22:36] deterrence and then appropriately use

[22:38] you know Public Safety resources to

[22:42] find

[22:43] problem areas or

[22:46] people who choose to do things that are

[22:49] less than desirable to their neighbors

[22:52] so I was also asked to see if I could

[22:55] find out what pricing would be if we do

[22:57] not have that at this point but what

[23:00] they did tell us obviously is we already

[23:02] have the

[23:05] microphone's analytic sensors built into

[23:08] the unit so it's strictly firmware

[23:10] updates that it has to be made to the

[23:14] unit and then you're probably a software

[23:16] as a service charge for uh them to

[23:19] analyze that the sounds and then provide

[23:23] the feedback to us

[23:25] Mr Farley so my question is kind of more

[23:28] along the lines of us are

[23:30] you know obligation to kind of balance

[23:32] Public Safety balance the tension

[23:34] between Public Safety and um privacy as

[23:37] well right so when I hear you know

[23:39] something like that like so I guess like

[23:41] are these microphones are they able to

[23:43] pick up like a consonants conversation

[23:45] that they were having that's the first

[23:47] thing I said that they do not record

[23:49] that audio what they're doing is they're

[23:51] taking that right up in that street

[23:53] light head and analyzing that

[23:55] information and just and just sending

[23:57] the text of what that is back to a

[24:00] dashboard and or email over to uh you

[24:04] know whoever we deemed

[24:06] um to obtain that so you know we are not

[24:08] collecting that audio information right

[24:11] because as I understood you were saying

[24:13] like there's this this kind of just a

[24:15] graduating thing so there's at this

[24:18] level at first you know it's just going

[24:20] to be sound detection and things like

[24:21] that so I was just my question was more

[24:23] along the lines of you know as we go to move to different

[24:28] parts of it as it starts to they're

[24:30] developing this

[24:31] um

[24:32] recording the recording someone's

[24:34] conversation but being able to hear

[24:36] somebody's conversation two different

[24:37] things so I guess I'm wondering

[24:39] um do does the technology as it stands

[24:41] right now have the ability to

[24:44] listen on to someone's conversation I

[24:47] would imagine that they would have the

[24:50] ability to build something that does

[24:52] that but it is not available to us nor

[24:54] has ever been discussed because they're

[24:56] accomplishing out of a you know personal

[24:59] uh information as well so they they want

[25:02] to be able to use this throughout the

[25:04] country and

[25:06] um obviously don't want to get into any

[25:08] kind of a personal data but it does

[25:12] takes the normal background noise who

[25:13] have normal traffic there's one level

[25:15] and it looks for events for things spike

[25:19] out of it and then taking that sound and

[25:24] developing a unique signature from it so

[25:26] that you know what it is it's an auto

[25:28] accident is it a gunshot could it be

[25:31] thunder like what's happening or car

[25:34] back

[25:35] was that kind of audio that that would

[25:38] be so much data you know if you try to

[25:40] be able to try to transfer that from

[25:42] these units so it's definitely

[25:45] I'm aware

[25:48] any other questions so to uh Mr

[25:52] coluccio's point with the classification

[25:54] of sound events there's a fairly

[25:56] substantial

[25:58] um

[25:59] application going on right now to

[26:02] identify these and get them into the AI

[26:04] environment in order to make those

[26:06] classifications so that's coming pretty

[26:08] rapidly if if it's not already here and

[26:11] could you just speak briefly about the

[26:14] lower technology and how they might be

[26:16] able to integrate those with what we

[26:19] have that's obviously much more

[26:21] sophisticated sure well I mean Aurora

[26:24] technology is for those of you that

[26:27] don't know it's a communication standard

[26:29] you're able to put a couple of three

[26:33] four gateways through the entire city

[26:35] and then connect different types of

[26:38] devices

[26:40] that you're looking to try to get

[26:42] feedback from so those different devices

[26:44] if there's just so many of them out

[26:47] there they could be border sensors

[26:50] temperature sensors smoke detectors uh

[26:53] there's a uh flood sensors you're going

[26:56] to look at it to measure the height of

[26:59] the the river and you know exactly you

[27:02] know hour by hour what the level is

[27:05] there's just so many things out there

[27:06] that you uh connect and again the

[27:09] advantage is it's very low power so you

[27:11] can use batteries that they can be

[27:13] Standalone battery units that

[27:17] lasts for a very long time as well

[27:28] any other questions or comments so while

[27:31] this certainly isn't the uh end-all

[27:34] be-all solution to the noise issue that

[27:36] we have it is the beginning

[27:39] um

[27:39] it's one of the biggest complaints I

[27:41] think we all receive and uh it is a

[27:44] starting point to try to at least

[27:48] alleviate some of the issues that we

[27:50] hear in the name it's a tool a tool a

[27:55] tool just like you would be using um to

[27:57] determine where police Falls are

[28:00] throughout the neighborhood or the

[28:02] higher call to understand if there's

[28:04] something you know going on in

[28:06] particular area so if you have this

[28:07] information and um you know it gives us

[28:11] the ability to enforce it better and

[28:13] improve the quality of life for our

[28:15] residents

[28:18] oh thank you Mr Kutcher for the local

[28:20] assistance so my guess is uh Miss mainly

[28:24] for Andrew Luck so well why do we need

[28:26] to go into executive session to to talk

[28:29] about where the where they're placed at

[28:31] that's just my question why would we

[28:32] have to do that

[28:34] well

[28:35] there is

[28:36] five minutes

[28:38] obviously the location of cameras

[28:42] um is you know you can obviously see

[28:45] them but in terms of direction of the

[28:46] cameras there's certainly Public Safety

[28:48] considerations that need to be taken

[28:51] into consideration

[28:53] um when reviewing the cameras to see

[28:55] what type of cameras they are and their

[28:57] placement on the particular polls

[29:02] um because they are used obviously for

[29:04] law enforcement investigations and so

[29:06] forth

[29:10] so thank you Mr cliche for the brief

[29:12] definitely one of my questions I don't

[29:14] know if councilman follow me is able to

[29:15] answer definitely as we hear more about

[29:18] expansive and immersive technology like

[29:20] becoming more technologically advanced

[29:22] action net service line hopefully on my

[29:26] own it's premature it's going to be

[29:27] coming to our Police Department so it's

[29:29] trying to understand is this tool of

[29:31] resource able to be integrative into

[29:33] that or is it to some lesser degree

[29:36] maybe duplicated so I don't know if

[29:39] that's been open to but just definitely

[29:41] since we're looking at potentially

[29:42] spending more dollars I would want to

[29:44] make sure that we're maximizing range

[29:47] I mean you know I don't believe this

[29:49] either to be honest with you because I

[29:52] think it's a supplemental device that uh

[29:55] you know again is not something that we

[29:57] currently are using we don't have the

[29:59] ability to provide that kind of

[30:01] information

[30:02] um

[30:02] certainly the ability to use it for

[30:06] gunshot detection would be huge for us I

[30:09] don't have the numbers and I certainly

[30:11] don't want to speak for the police

[30:12] department but I believe uh 50 UH 60 70

[30:16] percent of gunshots vote undetected

[30:19] uh that's because people think other

[30:22] people report them they don't know their

[30:24] gunshots there's a lot out there

[30:26] historically from what I've read from

[30:29] different cities that uh

[30:31] have the reports and unreported gunshots

[30:36] good point uh Miss Colleen Did you have

[30:39] any intent with this discussion right

[30:40] now

[30:41] not at this point I think it's something

[30:43] we'll keep addressing maybe once a month

[30:47] or so because it is such a big issue and

[30:50] uh you know routinely get comments and

[30:54] complaints about noise so we'll keep

[30:57] this on the agenda I mean quarter one at

[30:59] 23 is not that far away you know it'll

[31:01] be here before you know it so I'll be

[31:03] more than happy to keep an eye on it

[31:06] follow it up and come and talk to you

[31:08] again with the set so we can keep going

[31:12] that's up to you I mean if you're

[31:14] interested fine we can do it another

[31:15] time everyone

[31:19] thank you

[31:20] because we've recessity so I say recess

[31:23] to exact position

[31:25] oh emotional recess second all in favor

[31:42] [Music]

[31:50] foreign

[31:52] [Music]

[32:06] government operations and we have one

[32:09] agenda item and it has around implicit

[32:12] virus training

[32:14] [Music]

[32:15] um

[32:16] yes so um well we almost happened lately

[32:21] we also know that back in the well maybe

[32:24] you don't remember but we did have the

[32:26] discussion around this very similar

[32:28] thing in March and unfortunately we're

[32:32] here again so clearly there's a need for

[32:34] it and so

[32:37] um I was you know after our last

[32:38] discussion which we kind of had some of

[32:40] that discussion at this table

[32:43] it obviously has not resolved things to

[32:46] the point that they need to be resolved

[32:47] so weak so that we as a council can move

[32:49] along effectively and make sure that

[32:51] things are getting done without all this

[32:52] being let's just following is the

[32:54] inviting that's clearly been out there

[32:56] in the public and all of that

[32:58] um so even though some things are

[32:59] getting done they are not getting done

[33:02] probably as smoothly as they could so

[33:06] we're back here again and um I as I said

[33:09] in March we should have we should

[33:11] consider implicit bias training now I'm

[33:13] highly recommending that we do that and

[33:15] that we find a an organization that

[33:18] first of all that is not none of us are

[33:20] really connected to I know that we've

[33:21] had some local groups doing it in

[33:23] Niskayuna but those are all people that

[33:26] we know are connected on one level or

[33:27] another so to find an organization that

[33:30] will come in and to do this training I'm

[33:33] recommending that and I would like

[33:34] feedback from the Council on that I will

[33:36] be talking to HR in terms of training

[33:39] dollars because it's not going to be

[33:41] free but it is I believe necessary and

[33:44] so I'm opening that up for discussion

[33:46] and how if others have thoughts on that

[33:49] or or suggestions or just want to

[33:52] discuss it in general

[33:57] yeah I think that you know it's

[34:00] definitely something I need to do I

[34:03] think that you know we are saying words

[34:06] and often you know

[34:07] if you say something and not have the

[34:10] same understanding of the term that

[34:11] we're using so I think that you know we

[34:13] need to have some shared understanding

[34:15] of words and Concepts and how they apply

[34:17] and I think that

[34:18] none of us is above uh perpetuating on a

[34:23] certain ideology or outcome whether

[34:27] that's conscious or unconsciously so I

[34:29] think that it's really important you

[34:31] know and I think the content Point

[34:32] around like in fighting I think that

[34:35] we all are adults and we all have you

[34:38] know even in our different jobs and

[34:40] things like that we've had problems I'm

[34:42] sure with people at our job I'm sure the

[34:45] public can relate to that but I think

[34:46] that you still go to work and you still

[34:48] do your job right and I think that this

[34:50] just would just put us in a position to

[34:52] do our job more effectively and looking

[34:55] through the appropriate lens as we make

[34:57] very vital decisions that impact the

[34:59] material conditions of people that live

[35:00] here I'm poor

[35:09] um so I would be in support of it as

[35:12] well I think that you know we were in

[35:14] support of it back in March as well so

[35:16] um I do think that um work for us as

[35:19] Leaders to be able to explore

[35:22] um you know whether it's about different

[35:25] religions whether it's about different

[35:26] economic backgrounds which comes up a

[35:29] lot

[35:30] um genders Etc I think that it would be helpful for us I think it

[35:34] would be helpful for all the leaders

[35:36] within the city

[35:37] um so it might be worthwhile for HR to

[35:41] actually be asked if they would put

[35:43] together some implicit bias training

[35:46] that many people in the city

[35:49] departments as well as city council

[35:51] would take part in so I would be

[35:54] supportive of it

[36:00] Council and not include the larger

[36:03] audience that you suggested because

[36:05] we're dealing with what's going on right

[36:06] now with the council I'm not saying

[36:08] that's not a good idea I have however I

[36:09] think it needs to be separate and apart

[36:11] from what we do here as a council and we

[36:14] make sure that we focus that we knit

[36:16] together this relationship and and do

[36:18] what we need to do as a council so if

[36:20] they want to do it outside and we for

[36:22] the staff in terms of the staff we don't

[36:24] we can't speak to that that has to be

[36:25] something that the mayor says yes it can

[36:27] or cannot happen

[36:28] so um so for me it's really about us

[36:31] making sure that as a council because

[36:33] that's right now with the what the

[36:35] situation is it needs to be addressed

[36:40] um so again I would be um in support of

[36:43] any program

[36:44] um that helps unify the council

[36:46] um I was in favor of it and we all spoke

[36:48] about it and we're waiting for it to

[36:50] happen prior to all this I know a lot of

[36:53] things going on so I would definitely be

[36:55] in support of of any type of training be

[36:58] very useful to all of us

[37:02] any further discussion

[37:04] so at this point in time I will look at

[37:07] look out you know reach out and look at

[37:09] look for firms that do it that are kind

[37:10] of local so that and and how we can pay

[37:12] for it and all that so I invite all of

[37:14] anybody else who wants to do that and to

[37:16] forward that information should bring

[37:18] that forward and then move that um as as

[37:21] quickly as possible sister my name is so

[37:25] suggestion that the human resources

[37:27] department don't do it we might be able

[37:29] to have the city insurance company pay

[37:32] for all this training as they do with

[37:34] some of the other trainings so that

[37:36] might be something that would be

[37:39] beneficial and then that could also then

[37:41] hopefully be extended to every single

[37:43] City employee

[37:45] so I think I I think that's a good

[37:48] suggestion and also

[37:50] as far as R we have a very unique um

[37:52] responsibility the decisions that we

[37:55] make so and you know

[37:57] make sure that we have a

[38:00] um a training that is responsive to our

[38:02] need and it really kind of removes some

[38:06] of the layers and helps us understand

[38:07] how our own life experiences and

[38:10] ideologies show up in the decision we

[38:13] make um and I think that that's a

[38:15] different training or different

[38:17] professional development than kind of

[38:19] the larger

[38:20] um

[38:21] uh that larger audience but they

[38:23] definitely work together and they

[38:25] definitely can you know kind of um can

[38:28] build off each other but I think that we

[38:29] have a really

[38:31] um

[38:32] we have to be intentional about making

[38:34] sure that we are

[38:36] getting some information that helps us

[38:38] better make the decisions that we're

[38:40] making and so I want to you know make

[38:43] sure that we we don't conflate those two

[38:44] things because kind of to your point but

[38:46] so I don't think it's either or it's a

[38:48] yes and I think we're all on the same

[38:49] page which is a good thing on honest so

[38:52] Mr Williams just for records since

[38:54] everyone else spoke because it was

[38:55] appropriate for me to add my two cents I

[38:57] think whenever you discuss a training I

[38:59] think the positive is it provides you

[39:01] the opportunity to pause and then

[39:03] reflect and then provide you the tools

[39:05] and resources to be able to

[39:07] strategically address some issues moving

[39:09] forward so I definitely would not be

[39:11] opposed to that and I definitely look

[39:13] forward to hearing more discussions

[39:14] about this and I appreciate um support

[39:17] field putting this on agenda

[39:19] [Music]

[39:21] again it's time for the discussion so um

[39:24] in two weeks I'll bring it back with the

[39:26] information that we talked about again

[39:27] if anyone has a suggestions please email

[39:29] them to me okay and I will speak with HR

[39:32] regarding um possible opportunity to

[39:34] class to cover the cost okay thank you

[39:38] okay

[39:41] with that I will uh

[39:49] thank you

[39:52] call the order stage development

[39:53] planning we have six items on the agenda

[39:56] uh the first item is the ceremonial

[39:58] resolution for Italian American Heritage

[40:00] and culture month Mr palomini we do this

[40:03] every year

[40:04] um

[40:05] this would just be the same thing we

[40:07] usually do but it will be presented at

[40:09] the sons of Italy celebration I believe

[40:12] it's October 15th

[40:15] oh it's better

[40:20] second all those in favor aye

[40:23] okay next item on the agenda is a

[40:25] ceremony resolution Rotary International

[40:28] World polio day yes this is Patrick

[40:30] thank you on October 24th which is a

[40:33] date that we meet uh is actually World

[40:36] polio day Rotary International has been

[40:38] for years

[40:40] um invested in on trying to eradicate

[40:43] polio from our world we came very very

[40:46] close to doing so and for some reason

[40:48] it's popping back up again probably with

[40:50] in relation to the vaccination piece

[40:53] um that's why it's happening our

[40:55] Schenectady rotary clubs in general all

[40:58] do work raise money have programs

[41:00] educational programs Etc

[41:03] so I'd like to ask that we have a

[41:07] resolution that we would present on

[41:09] October 24th to members of the sky the

[41:11] president and the polio chair of the

[41:14] Schenectady Rotary Club

[41:16] any discussion

[41:19] so moved second always

[41:24] I'm three it starts with me anti-linear

[41:26] action plan

[41:28] um Mr Toro Ms Patrick Mr Palmyra

[41:32] I can start

[41:34] um so a couple of weeks ago we we gave

[41:37] you all the um the it starts with me

[41:40] anti-litter action plan and we were

[41:43] basically just looking for some feedback

[41:44] and your thoughts on some of the ideas

[41:47] and suggestions

[41:48] um we'd like to move forward with some

[41:50] of these so that's another piece that we

[41:52] look for your

[41:54] ideas on you know some of this to pull

[41:56] out but you know sort of from Big

[41:58] Picture general what did you think uh

[42:00] down to what are some of the things that

[42:02] we could start with

[42:04] um so I leave it open to discussion if

[42:07] you haven't started starting point that

[42:09] you were thinking about

[42:12] um I think that in terms of some of the

[42:14] lower hanging fruit one one of the

[42:16] things um that I think would be

[42:18] um not easy but one of the lower hanging

[42:22] fruit I guess I should say would be the

[42:24] idea of talking to businesses in the

[42:26] city and perhaps requiring that business

[42:29] small businesses in the city have their

[42:31] trash cans put out in front of them

[42:34] um so they would be required I mean that

[42:36] would be something we really would need

[42:37] to talk about as a council to require

[42:40] businesses to have trash receptive

[42:42] receptacles and to be responsible for

[42:45] making sure that the front of their area

[42:48] of their business is kept clean I think

[42:51] we all probably see that at different

[42:53] sites around around the city that

[42:55] sometimes it's just you know a ton of

[42:57] trash out in front of some of our small

[42:59] businesses so that was one of the areas

[43:00] that I was thinking about

[43:02] and I don't know if you want to add

[43:05] anything here um I thought we would pull

[43:07] from that at first seeing that

[43:09] the trash cans and also

[43:12] um just designating perhaps an employee

[43:14] during some off time after a few

[43:17] McDonald's back in high school and

[43:18] things and Stewart shops especially have

[43:21] someone out there all the time picking

[43:22] up the trash and then presenting them

[43:24] with a certificate maybe once a month or

[43:27] something

[43:27] quite a few I'm sure we all drive around

[43:30] the city and there's

[43:33] multiple times a day

[43:36] um

[43:36] a lot of businesses just don't seem to

[43:39] care and kind of chain businesses too

[43:41] and what's it take just to go out and

[43:43] pick up a few pieces of trash

[43:45] and put it in a plastic bag receptacles

[43:48] aren't expensive and um you know

[43:51] appropriate receptacles I know um

[43:55] I know Metroplex does fund sometimes a

[43:58] few of them they just did a whole bunch

[44:00] on Crane Street again those are all

[44:01] things we're looking into but just in

[44:03] the meanwhile just you know stopping in

[44:05] businesses getting a list asking them

[44:07] just to pick up on a daily basis and you

[44:10] know at the end of the month we you know

[44:11] go we present a certificate you know

[44:13] thanks for keeping the neighborhood

[44:15] clean so that's where I thought we were

[44:16] we could pull from which wouldn't be

[44:18] much money at all at first so

[44:20] yeah I think the garbage cans is

[44:23] something that is a good starting point

[44:25] for discussion

[44:27] um requiring that these businesses have

[44:30] them but also maintain them because we

[44:33] all know businesses that have them and

[44:34] there's garbage everywhere because

[44:37] they're not emptying them so that's a

[44:39] big problem and perhaps an easy starting

[44:42] point where we can all get on board is

[44:45] the certificates of a business saying

[44:48] yeah I'm agreeing to these whatever

[44:50] principles and they have the certificate

[44:54] that they can present and display that

[44:58] they're part of this and that that might

[45:01] be an easy starting point and then the

[45:03] discussion of the garbage cans have

[45:05] obviously take perhaps a little bit more

[45:07] but I would imagine most of us could

[45:11] you know with some tweaking get on board

[45:13] with things like that

[45:17] Mr Williams so I don't know if I'd go as

[45:20] far as to say this business is not

[45:21] caring and they're working at Ortho New

[45:23] York and downtown Schenectady sometimes

[45:25] the wind will just blow trash so I think

[45:27] some of it is just displaced

[45:28] accountability where some people may be

[45:30] expecting the city to clean it up

[45:31] however the city is functioning with the

[45:34] business owners need to take it and

[45:35] address that themselves I think having

[45:37] business owners identify that yes this

[45:40] will be a aspect of your storefront that

[45:43] you will maintain is appropriate so I

[45:46] definitely think that this would be a

[45:48] good start definitely with having trust

[45:50] receptacles present I think the only

[45:51] thing that I want to make sure is that

[45:53] there was a an outline for removing said

[45:56] trash or if it is not picked up in a

[45:58] timely manner who would ultimately have

[46:00] to maintain it just because we could

[46:01] ultimately make the situation worse by

[46:04] piling up the trash only to tip over and

[46:06] blow down the street which I would not

[46:08] want to happen

[46:10] so in terms of the the signal the

[46:13] signage that you're talking about you're

[46:15] talking about something coming up from

[46:16] the mayor's office that says from the

[46:18] central city of Schenectady so it's

[46:19] through the mayor's office

[46:21] it doesn't really matter but there's

[46:24] examples and uh in the packet

[46:28] um just something a business saying you

[46:30] know what these are the principles we

[46:32] agreed to and uh we want to keep our

[46:36] establishment clean and we're displaying

[46:39] this as you know we're on board that's

[46:42] and it sends a message to the patronage

[46:46] that yeah this business is going to keep

[46:49] try to keep it clean and we should do

[46:51] our part hopefully and put it in the

[46:53] garbage can

[46:54] so as I mentioned before if you talk to

[46:56] Mr Pond and I'm not sure if you did at

[46:58] this point because there's been some

[46:59] ongoing discussion uh regarding trash

[47:03] and how much of it and all that and part

[47:05] of that discussion was around the

[47:06] businesses that's why I was wondering if

[47:08] you and I actually haven't I haven't

[47:09] spoken to him yet so I know that he um

[47:13] this the mayor

[47:15] um and myself and um

[47:17] Mr O'Hearn have met and that was that

[47:19] was part of the discussion so that's why

[47:21] I wanted to make sure that if there's an

[47:23] overlap there that we are all talking

[47:25] the same language and moving in the same

[47:27] direction yeah we would have to make

[47:28] sure of that so yeah um I will make

[47:30] myself a note and and do that

[47:35] I don't know that if he has seen this

[47:38] proposal I haven't given it to him oh I

[47:41] don't know okay Carl do you have Mr

[47:44] Williams do you have one I wasn't sure

[47:46] because you weren't here at the last

[47:47] okay I brought an extra copy in case

[47:52] would you any other but oh sorry

[47:55] but I think it's one thing we all can

[47:57] agree on is that something needs to be

[47:59] done I mean to keep the trash out the streets

[48:02] and as far as receptacles I mean every

[48:05] city trash can again Mr Williams good

[48:08] point uh the one in front of front of my

[48:10] business

[48:11] um is empty by the city so again on

[48:15] who's supplying the receptacles would

[48:17] depend on who would need to empty them

[48:19] so I would think well

[48:22] get a beat on that as well yeah but it's

[48:25] something that really needs to start I

[48:27] can speak to that when we put them out

[48:28] in our in our community

[48:30] um they were the city workers had to do

[48:32] it yes so which is why as I said before

[48:34] I went to meet with them and talk to

[48:36] them you're going to have 28 more trash

[48:37] cans now to empty so if we're talking

[48:40] about the businesses and asking the

[48:42] business which I think is makes sense

[48:43] asking them to be responsible they have

[48:45] to put out trash anyway right so just

[48:47] you know emptying that it would just be

[48:49] one other bag and I know that um well

[48:53] there's a particular business that I

[48:54] heard from the other days they don't

[48:55] want trash in front of their business

[48:56] and he's like can you move the trash can

[48:58] because it wasn't being empty so uh so

[49:02] businesses are clearly concerned about

[49:04] that um so yes but we just have to make

[49:06] sure who's going to be responsible so

[49:08] and I also know that

[49:11] the Sweet Streets we proceed to think

[49:13] that the trash that's in the street gets

[49:16] all done by the collectible street

[49:17] sweeper but it doesn't necessarily

[49:19] because

[49:20] probably the next day there's more there

[49:21] right right after they've already gone

[49:23] through so we definitely need to you

[49:25] know I'm not sure exactly what your list

[49:27] of priorities and how you want to

[49:28] prioritize and where you want to start

[49:29] but definitely I 100 agree it's

[49:33] something we've been battling for a long

[49:34] time that we need to continue to move

[49:36] forward Mr Farley yeah so what I what I

[49:39] like about what you guys presented on at

[49:42] our last meeting was that this is a

[49:43] multi-pronged approach here and I think

[49:46] that we don't want to live you know

[49:49] the great be the enemy of the good or

[49:51] very personally we just want to say like

[49:52] so you know

[49:54] it is a good opportunity for the city to

[49:56] collaborate with business owners and I

[49:59] would say

[50:00] I would think most reasonable business

[50:02] owners you know if they recognize that

[50:06] we are paying attention and we're saying

[50:09] hey you know this is expectation for you

[50:10] to do business in the city and if you're

[50:13] doing business responsibility and you're

[50:17] upholding these values then a way to

[50:20] celebrate people I think to incentivize

[50:22] behavior is always a good thing

[50:24] um so

[50:26] you know we do have to be mindful about

[50:28] you know small businesses and you know

[50:30] one thing about our small business you

[50:32] never have enough money you never have

[50:33] enough time so we want to make sure that

[50:36] we're our expectations are in line with

[50:38] them and we're looking ways to support

[50:39] them through that but I think that it

[50:42] doesn't have to be you know it can it

[50:45] you know we can start with just you know

[50:48] conversations with business owners like

[50:49] hey this is the effort that we're trying

[50:51] to do and I think this isn't something

[50:53] that's necessarily new so maybe just

[50:55] like re-energizing that conversation can

[50:57] help refocus people and I think once we

[50:59] start drawing attention to it and good

[51:01] attention to those who are complying

[51:03] um then I think that we're off to a good

[51:04] start so I say you know I don't know

[51:06] exactly where you want to start but I

[51:08] would say you know even if are as we're

[51:11] trying to recording City efforts and

[51:13] things like that maybe just

[51:15] you know

[51:17] uh you know a block at a time or just

[51:20] focus on a couple blocks of the time

[51:21] engaging business owners just saying hey

[51:23] this is something that they were talking

[51:25] about we want our own make sure that you

[51:27] guys are paying attention to it we're

[51:29] paying attention to it and recognizing

[51:30] people who are you know being good

[51:32] citizens

[51:33] I think we could do that that doesn't

[51:35] cost anything

[51:37] and also housing developments because we

[51:39] have some neighborhoods have quite a few

[51:42] um some and some do better than others

[51:43] in terms of keeping their area clean and

[51:46] most of them have maintenance apps that

[51:47] they can send out to do that

[51:52] yes

[51:53] um thank you

[51:55] um so I guess

[51:56] um this is good feedback I think one of

[51:58] the things that I haven't mentioned this

[52:01] to MS detoro MR Paul many but I think

[52:04] maybe a good Next Step also might be to

[52:05] put some of this into more of a timeline

[52:08] um and uh as you say probably set some

[52:11] priorities um and maybe add some budget

[52:13] figures as well

[52:15] to some of this in areas where there

[52:18] might be for example some of the

[52:20] equipment that is outlined in here as

[52:24] possibilities I'm looking at Mr Mr

[52:27] O'Hearn

[52:28] um you know there obviously would be

[52:30] budget implications for some of the

[52:31] equipment so

[52:33] we'll talk about that as well and come

[52:36] back

[52:36] okay and if anybody has any further

[52:40] comments or suggestions please let us

[52:42] know

[52:44] so do you want this back on in two weeks

[52:45] oh I'm sorry uh yeah I'd say two weeks

[52:48] yep

[52:49] I was just gonna suggest that in that

[52:52] time span that we're all that we're

[52:54] working together as I think this is

[52:57] something that we all understand to be a

[52:59] high priority that we all have common

[53:02] ideas and thoughts around this I think

[53:04] this will be a great opportunity for us

[53:06] not to um side over the conversations

[53:08] and report it out just kind of like

[53:10] and as things are happening but let's

[53:12] take advantage of this to kind of throw

[53:14] some momentum and work together as a

[53:16] full Council to represents

[53:20] foreign

[53:26] agenda are sale property sales so we

[53:30] will be going to Executive session and

[53:33] asking any members of the public to

[53:35] leave

Schenectady City Council Committee Meeting, October 3, 2022

Transcript