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[0:34] foreign
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[4:11] 23.
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[4:26] first committee is Public Safety I think
[4:29] you'd like to call from safety
[4:30] committee's order we have three items on
[4:32] the agendas tonight first of which is
[4:34] the acceptance of the state and
[4:35] Municipal facilities program granted by
[4:38] Chief cooker
[4:39] thank you
[4:43] good evening good evening here before
[4:46] you tonight to ask for two things
[4:49] they're connected so I'll talk about
[4:51] both at the same time
[4:52] we have been partnering with catapult
[4:55] games over the last three and a half
[4:57] years
[4:58] to help them along with the community
[5:01] build a platform called brpd which is a
[5:05] virtual reality de-escalation training
[5:08] tool
[5:10] um that has again been built by catapult
[5:12] games and the community with the
[5:14] community's input
[5:16] the owner of the company catapult games
[5:18] Dane Jennings has offered the police
[5:21] department a significant discount if we
[5:23] enter into a two-year contract
[5:27] at a contract amount would be seventy
[5:29] thousand dollars
[5:31] we previously had
[5:33] [Music]
[5:35] previously dedicated
[5:37] roughly if I can find my paperwork here
[5:42] what I did with it
[5:44] we had previously dedicated a uh a Jag
[5:48] award from jax21 25
[5:52] 000. roughly 25 000 range
[5:55] I think it was a sword of 25 000.
[5:58] um which which left us a bit short for
[6:00] the seventy thousand dollars and uh from
[6:03] uh assemblyman Santa Barbara had been
[6:06] involved in this development he'd
[6:07] attended some of the some of the
[6:09] workshops and he had expressed interest
[6:11] in helping us and he came through with a
[6:13] 50 000 Sam Grant to help offset the cost
[6:17] of the seventy thousand dollars so our
[6:19] plan is to is to use the the Jag funding
[6:23] of roughly 23 000 and change with the
[6:25] fifty thousand dollar CM Grant uh upside
[6:28] you're right twenty five thousand one
[6:30] sixty eight was the Jag Grant so we have
[6:33] roughly 75 000 in uh in funding to put
[6:37] towards this program with seventy
[6:39] thousand going towards entering into an
[6:41] agreement with catapult games for the
[6:44] software as a service that includes the
[6:46] equipment
[6:47] and um and then the remaining funds we
[6:50] would use
[6:52] um to put on the community events where
[6:54] we plan to utilize this training to
[6:57] bring to the community to have the
[6:59] community be the end user on the
[7:01] de-escalation with the police officer
[7:03] and then we will flip roles at the
[7:05] Community member see what it's like to
[7:08] have to de-escalate a situation where
[7:10] the police officer will be the uh the
[7:12] person that is uh is on the other end of
[7:15] it so my request now would be to uh to accept the Sam Grant of fifty
[7:21] thousand dollars and the second request
[7:23] would be to enter into the agreement
[7:25] with catapult games for the seventy
[7:28] thousand dollar
[7:30] contract for the software as a service
[7:33] question
[7:35] to comments
[7:51] have any questions or comments regarding
[7:53] answering the agreement with checkbook
[7:55] news this word for me so Chief we did
[7:57] have a discussion could you just talk a
[7:58] little bit about how um axon has some of
[8:01] these same capabilities and what the um
[8:03] you know what will happen after this
[8:05] money runs out with the intentions of
[8:07] that sure
[8:08] um so uh we had entered into this
[8:11] partnership with catapult games again
[8:13] three and a half years ago and in that
[8:15] span of time
[8:17] um we we recognize the need to replace
[8:19] our body cameras and that's what got
[8:21] brought us down the roadway of entering
[8:22] into an agreement with axon axons
[8:25] officer safety plan was a bundled
[8:28] service where VR training was also
[8:32] included when you bundle everything
[8:34] between the tasers and the body worn
[8:36] cameras effectively we got the virtual
[8:39] reality training for free however we had
[8:41] already gone down the road working with
[8:43] catapult games so I did not want to
[8:45] abandon that that's why we've um we're
[8:48] doing both simultaneously we're using
[8:50] the axon virtual reality training for a
[8:54] variety of different things including
[8:56] the escalation however the difference is that catapult games is built by our
[9:02] community and it's also specific to
[9:05] de-escalation training with a two-way
[9:08] user Street rather than putting the
[9:10] virtual reality on and just interacting
[9:12] individually you're interacting with
[9:15] another person on the other side and no
[9:17] two scenarios are going to be the same
[9:20] So the plan is is to we're going to use
[9:22] it for the two years and we're going to
[9:23] see if there's a value in maintaining
[9:26] two separate programs or if there isn't
[9:28] then we will certainly have to go with
[9:31] the one that's free most likely which is
[9:33] the axon one if we don't see the value
[9:36] and maintaining the catapult games but
[9:39] we're hopeful for is that we'll we will
[9:42] continue building it with catapult and
[9:43] find Value in it because there it is a
[9:46] local company that built basically built
[9:50] this for us and we're hoping that we see
[9:52] the value and that you know two years
[9:54] from now we're back before you asking
[9:56] you to continue it
[10:00] I know that there were many many
[10:02] Community discussions
[10:04] um I know that Mr Rivas I think hosted
[10:06] multiple events that the community came
[10:09] to so it had positive feedback from
[10:11] folks that attended those events is that
[10:15] yeah yeah Will Rivas was involved in it
[10:18] um so was Mr Benitez who helped share
[10:20] our we did she he moderated our police
[10:22] reform uh reinvention conversations and
[10:27] then there was many other people
[10:28] involved in this even from Albany that
[10:32] were involved so they so we have a more
[10:34] of a regional approach to building this
[10:35] but we were we were the lead on it it
[10:37] was really our community that took the
[10:39] lead on and giving feedback so that I I
[10:43] know that everybody that's involved in
[10:45] this is very excited about the program
[10:48] but you know I kind of build a woman
[10:50] special for saying so she probably would
[10:52] remember us saving some time together
[10:54] with some young man in the boys and
[10:56] girls club and we're kind of talking
[10:57] about I'm just this very uh In This Very
[11:00] topic and I'm wondering do you see this
[11:02] as a tool to
[11:04] um as more of a an engagement tool for
[11:08] maybe for like some of the youth
[11:09] population maybe some of the something
[11:13] applicable to the partnership that's
[11:14] been online right now with the school
[11:16] district or do you see this as just you
[11:18] know more or less than the de-escalation
[11:21] uh tool that in his people can just kind
[11:24] of get that experimental piece
[11:27] I'm the police officer and I see this as
[11:29] training
[11:31] um coupled with the the engagement end
[11:33] on the community and I see this as
[11:35] engagement and I really want to be able
[11:37] to reach every age group that's in our
[11:40] community
[11:41] um from the from the youth to adults to
[11:44] our seniors I think that's important for
[11:46] everybody to understand
[11:48] the challenges that we as police
[11:50] officers face especially the
[11:52] de-escalation challenges but also we
[11:55] want to learn from all those three
[11:56] different groups what it's like to to
[11:58] have to practice different skills on
[12:00] de-escalation and I'm not going to lie
[12:02] I'm going to use this as a recruitment
[12:04] tool also when I go to the schools and
[12:06] colleges and maybe even out in the adult
[12:08] community to show that you know this is
[12:11] a job that is is professionalism that it
[12:15] uses many different disciplines to be
[12:17] effective and it's a very rewarding job
[12:20] to have so I I do want to use it as a
[12:22] recruiting tool we'll bring it to our
[12:23] recruiting events but even when we're
[12:25] out there talking to them to our youth
[12:27] tell them to start thinking about the
[12:29] career in law enforcement
[12:33] I deferred to Mr farluki sure thank you
[12:36] mayor so I was wondering do you see this
[12:39] um in a connection with the hiring of
[12:42] the mental health professional
[12:44] that we approved class budget do you see
[12:46] like this time maybe like but then
[12:47] they're overall because I'm thinking
[12:48] de-escalation that might be something
[12:50] that
[12:51] um Falls within that will help
[12:53] sure and that's the beauty of this is
[12:55] that um you know that professional or
[12:57] anybody that has experience in that
[12:59] space can sit on the other end of it and train an officer on on the
[13:04] challenges so there's so many different
[13:06] scenarios that can happen but we could
[13:08] have somebody that just dealt with a
[13:09] scenario last night and wants to
[13:11] simulate that in a virtual reality
[13:13] training that when you give these
[13:14] commands they're replicating what was
[13:16] given as a way to just you know train on
[13:19] different things because no two
[13:21] scenarios are ever the same
[13:22] [Music]
[13:24] thank you Mr chairman and again people
[13:27] have to be cognizant of keeping the back
[13:30] of your mind while we have to be talking
[13:32] about policing and Public Safety tonight
[13:35] this is applicable over a wide range of
[13:39] applications for training so it might be
[13:42] the paramedics could be the Bureau of
[13:44] service
[13:47] simulating just interactions with the
[13:49] public coming in and whether it might be
[13:53] in the city clerk's office or in finance
[13:55] or other areas so it's part of the
[13:59] transformation in how education is done
[14:03] not only we're looking in the city but
[14:06] in college platforms and schools and so
[14:09] that we're fortunate to have a local
[14:11] company to work with the chief has been
[14:13] a leader in terms of implementing this
[14:15] at the same time we're looking at those
[14:18] options down the road again to leverage
[14:21] that so that the headsets some of the
[14:25] equipment that may end up being
[14:27] purchased now through the police
[14:30] department again could be used in the
[14:32] fire department for other training
[14:34] opportunities
[14:36] any other questions or comments
[14:39] I also definitely thank you chief for
[14:41] the efforts that you and your department
[14:42] are making that broaden our awarenesses
[14:45] both as law enforcement professionals
[14:46] and as community members that we can
[14:48] truly work together so if there are no
[14:51] other questions or comments second what
[14:54] was your favorite all right thank you very much and the third item
[14:58] on the agenda is a college hearing to
[15:00] amend chapter of 186-16 in the city code
[15:03] fires and smoking prohibited and city
[15:06] parks exceptions injured thank you
[15:10] um obviously
[15:12] um the council knows that the use of
[15:14] marijuana and cabinet Canada products
[15:17] have been legalized and it's being
[15:19] regulated in the state of New York there
[15:21] are obviously a lot of restrictions that
[15:22] apply to the use of those products as
[15:24] well as tobacco products New York State
[15:27] amended public health law state law to
[15:29] prohibit smoking in public parks the
[15:31] enforcement of the state law however is
[15:33] left with the County Board of Health
[15:35] there is language in the public health
[15:37] law though that allows municipalities to
[15:40] adopt and enforce local laws to prohibit
[15:42] smoking and vaping for example that so
[15:44] long as they're consistent with the
[15:45] state laws currently city code
[15:50] 186-16b states that no person shall
[15:52] smoke within city parks but we Define to
[15:55] smoke as being to burn a lighted cigar
[15:58] cigarette or pipe or to use any other
[16:00] matter or substance which contains
[16:02] tobacco so obviously it does not address
[16:04] because at the time it was enacted the
[16:07] legalization of marijuana and cannabis
[16:09] products and also electronic cigarettes
[16:12] so in order to be consistent with the
[16:15] restrictions of New York state public
[16:17] health law to give our local law
[16:20] enforcement the ability to enforce those
[16:22] rules and as opposed to relating of
[16:24] relying on the County Board of Health
[16:27] I'm looking to
[16:29] requesting a call for public hearing and
[16:33] as it relates to those definitions
[16:35] relying on the definitions provided in
[16:38] state law as opposed to creating our own
[16:40] definitions so that would consistent
[16:43] with New York state law
[16:45] thank you Mr chairman I guess the
[16:48] Corporation Council to put this on I had
[16:51] a complaint from a citizen who was so
[16:53] walking his dog that his name is Eric
[16:56] Clifford
[17:01] I wanted to follow up on your citizens
[17:04] complaint
[17:07] any other questions or comments and
[17:10] you're not going to get a motion so
[17:12] second all in favor
[17:16] for the policy Committee hearing on in
[17:19] the election for adjourn so second
[17:21] favorite
[17:24] thank you call to auto finance so the
[17:27] first item is authorization for the
[17:29] mayor to enter into an agreement with
[17:31] Community with all the fund or the
[17:32] capital regioning for two hundred
[17:35] thousand dollars for small business
[17:36] assistance program
[17:40] all right
[17:46] good evening
[17:47] um so we're just here completed our five
[17:50] day public comment period which was
[17:52] required under the CBG CD rules
[17:55] um we received no comments
[17:58] um so at this point in time we're just
[17:59] looking for authorization to enter
[18:01] contract with uh
[18:07] to for small business systems
[18:11] questions any questions
[18:15] Mr Gray the last time we did some
[18:17] allocation can you give us a little
[18:19] about did you receive any feedback from
[18:22] the community in terms of how the
[18:23] program rolled out and were there any
[18:25] coupling in terms of people not getting
[18:27] adequate funding
[18:30] um I mean the by environment programs
[18:33] people were happy to get the funding we
[18:35] provided them lastly we provided grants
[18:37] up to ten thousand dollars on we're
[18:39] going to discuss the The Loan Fund would
[18:41] make sense to restrict it to that limit
[18:43] this time or not
[18:45] um obviously there's plenty of
[18:46] businesses that would have liked and
[18:47] received more money and there wasn't
[18:49] enough money to go around to all
[18:52] businesses that requested money
[18:55] but overall the business that received
[18:56] it was well received it helped I think
[18:59] we assisted over 64 businesses
[19:05] go ahead so are you aware whether those
[19:07] businesses or those folks are still in
[19:09] business or how they're doing this point
[19:11] is there any level of process to the to
[19:13] the loans
[19:15] um we had been following up
[19:16] um I think much of that had been kind of
[19:18] done through Ron Garfield's office okay
[19:21] um I believe that the ones that I can
[19:23] think of off the top of my head that I
[19:25] know got the loans are by and large
[19:26] still in business and still operating
[19:28] yeah
[19:30] thank you
[19:32] okay so for small businesses have who
[19:36] have previously received a loan
[19:38] um what what that play into the
[19:40] determination of who was eligible for
[19:42] this time around and that effort to kind
[19:43] of like
[19:45] um Cast Away internet and have more
[19:47] people take advantage of it or is it
[19:49] just pretty much the urban thinking I
[19:51] mean that you're just going to kind of
[19:52] go in line with the same metric units
[19:55] last time
[19:56] um well so last time it was you couldn't
[19:59] have received other sources of funding
[20:01] okay so like we prioritize businesses
[20:03] that didn't get
[20:05] PPE money or other other sources of
[20:08] funding
[20:09] um this time I imagine how this kind of
[20:11] the same guidelines we would start
[20:13] probably with businesses that that
[20:15] didn't receive money last time
[20:17] um we haven't you know started
[20:19] soliciting businesses yet and Publishing
[20:22] a program so
[20:23] it was kind of hard to say who's going
[20:25] to reply but generally speaking we would
[20:27] start with people that didn't get it
[20:28] before
[20:30] um and then you know people still needed
[20:32] additional assistance we would look at
[20:33] those applications as well
[20:36] any other questions
[20:38] move it second all in favor all right
[20:42] thank you
[20:45] the next item is the higher ground
[20:47] Worship Center 8801 Stanley Street
[20:49] Louisville property tax inference and
[20:52] penalty
[20:54] so far
[20:57] good evening everyone good evening uh
[21:00] the corporation council's office was
[21:02] contacted by an attorney representing
[21:03] Higher Ground Worship Center their
[21:05] religious nonprofit corporation they
[21:07] purchased a property uh in 2008 which
[21:11] resulted in a lapse of their religious
[21:14] property tax exemption through March of
[21:17] the following year in 2009 this resulted
[21:20] in about a six thousand dollar tax
[21:21] liability in the corporation did not pay
[21:23] it so it was named and is now currently
[21:27] an interim tax Corp
[21:29] in order for the municipality to apply
[21:32] any kind of religious exemption
[21:35] retroactively would require State
[21:37] Legislative approval so rather than do
[21:39] this the corporation has opted to pay
[21:41] the back taxes but it now seeks a waiver
[21:43] of the interest and penalties which
[21:45] amounts to about 17
[21:47] 000 eighteen thousand dollars from 2009
[21:50] to date and that would bring them
[21:54] current on their on their taxes and pull
[21:56] them out of the in-run
[21:58] um and they are fully tax exempt now
[22:00] they have been since 2009.
[22:04] questions
[22:06] good thanks
[22:08] um in good faith and it shows up here on
[22:10] the next page of your packet
[22:12] um they have made a payment
[22:15] um recently
[22:16] um really it was last week I believe uh
[22:19] so they paid a substantial amount of the
[22:22] total amount of the
[22:24] um of the principal
[22:26] um obviously there's still some residual
[22:27] that they'll have to pay
[22:29] um you know unfortunately the state law
[22:32] that was enacted didn't cover this
[22:34] property it was not specific to this
[22:36] property it's one of those unfortunate
[22:37] things
[22:39] um so you know and this is not a
[22:42] property
[22:43] um that would if the city were to take
[22:45] in foreclosure it's not you know
[22:48] I want to say that there's no use for
[22:50] the property but I think it's better
[22:51] served with the church
[22:58] any other questions
[23:00] I'll move it second all in favor all
[23:02] right thank you
[23:05] the next item is a location of
[23:07] additional American Rescue plan act
[23:09] funds for the construction of the
[23:12] Central Park Pool credit and Facilities
[23:15] uh
[23:21] okay Mr Wilson who is uh
[23:24] going to manage the project in San
[23:28] Antonio Associates
[23:30] Dan is here to answer questions go
[23:33] through the process how it got there the
[23:36] committing and
[23:38] do you want to take anything
[23:46] did you want to start since you guys
[23:49] were here from the beginning yeah
[23:53] all right here we are that microphone is
[23:55] for the people at home Pat all right in
[23:58] this week that's what I was going to say
[24:00] because I tend to project pretty well
[24:01] anyway how you folks doing
[24:04] um last time I was here we talked about
[24:06] a project I think it was in December of
[24:09] 2021 uh the potential for Central Park
[24:12] Pool and we were looking at a concept
[24:16] that would be around five million
[24:17] dollars so if you look at kind of where
[24:21] the renderings were land to where we are
[24:23] today there has been a lot of input from
[24:27] the community there was a committee that
[24:29] came on board looked for a number of
[24:31] additional improvements
[24:33] obviously we've been dealing with the
[24:35] construction costs so we built we ended
[24:38] up doing a design of something that was
[24:40] more significant than what we originally
[24:42] planned on but if you look at what we
[24:44] came up with it's really a benchmark
[24:47] project it's kind of a legacy project
[24:49] it's kind of a once in a generational
[24:52] thing and we were encouraged by the
[24:55] committee to make this somebody that
[24:57] would be generational not just a pool
[24:59] but really a destination so that's what
[25:03] we ended up with and then we went
[25:05] through the process of putting it up to
[25:07] bid and we got bids back and there's a
[25:10] number of challenges with respect to
[25:11] Penny right now first of all there's a
[25:14] number of issues with construction costs
[25:16] there's issues with respect to some of
[25:18] the requirements for the city which can
[25:20] be a challenge and is scared some
[25:22] bidders away but we work very hard to
[25:24] get bitters in and we ended up with bid
[25:26] prices working with Tom and twna from
[25:29] Schenectady to get a project that we
[25:33] could wrap our heads around that was I
[25:35] think around
[25:36] is it nine million dollars for the
[25:39] contingencies yeah eight million yeah so the project has grown the project is
[25:46] bigger it's more exceptional than it was
[25:48] before
[25:50] um but the prices are what they are and
[25:52] I will tell you in the business of
[25:54] design and construction nothing is
[25:56] coming in where it's under cost
[25:58] estimated so the challenge really is
[26:01] justifying where we are and we had a
[26:04] very highly credible uh bidders that
[26:08] were thoroughly vetted we came in we're
[26:10] very comfortable with where the prices
[26:11] are Tom's company is uh absolutely
[26:14] experts in this field of bid evaluation
[26:17] construction management so now we're
[26:20] standing here talking and we're glad to
[26:22] address any questions that you have with
[26:25] respect to how we add to this point
[26:27] but we do have good costs that were
[26:30] higher than were anticipated however the
[26:33] project we discussed with you in
[26:35] December of 2021 is not the project we
[26:39] have today it's bigger and frankly it's
[26:41] better
[26:44] any questions please you just mentioned
[26:47] the the new cause for the overall
[26:48] project is just just over 8 million
[26:51] dollars yes and that's including a
[26:53] contingency
[26:54] at what percentage of contingency area 8
[26:57] million twenty one thousand is the uh
[27:00] agricultural bids that came in and I
[27:03] think Chris put eight or eight percent
[27:04] on top of that he did put an eight
[27:07] percent containment but eight million 21
[27:11] 000 plus 8 plus soft costs
[27:15] so
[27:28] X
[27:32] says yeah
[27:42] um so thank you for for coming again
[27:44] sure and I want you to know I know I'm
[27:46] fully supported the project but I have
[27:48] to tell you really shock that the Dublin
[27:51] doubling price than what you originally
[27:53] um came with and you did mention that so
[27:57] these are add-ons this is not that it's
[27:59] double enticed based on your original
[28:00] design but because so many things were
[28:03] added our there's there's actually three picks okay to add
[28:09] into the cost First of all the scope was
[28:12] increased there were additions
[28:15] um and secondly the construction costs
[28:18] are highly volatile and third our
[28:20] estimates are based on just you know
[28:24] just no dealing with
[28:27] um uh labor unions and any sort of any
[28:31] sort of challenges dealing with the city
[28:33] of apprenticeship program stuff that
[28:36] some some uh contractors don't have so
[28:39] that is a challenge and so those things
[28:42] added up
[28:43] and with inflation kind of got us to a
[28:46] million dollars
[28:47] but the scope is greater than it was
[28:50] previously
[28:54] do you find municipalities that just go
[28:57] like kind of halfway or whatever or
[28:59] sorry in the future that they really
[29:01] didn't put everything out there one time
[29:03] in one time only well I work I work
[29:06] almost solely with municipalities
[29:07] throughout the state right and what we
[29:11] have done historically is when there's a
[29:14] hard cap in terms of spending you try to
[29:16] phase it unfortunately this project
[29:19] doesn't
[29:20] provide itself to be something that can
[29:22] be phased the the thing we do with our
[29:25] parks
[29:26] is that the the the the investment in in
[29:30] soft infrastructure like Parks always
[29:33] gets a very strong uh return on
[29:35] investment between seven to one or nine
[29:38] to one is the return on investment with
[29:41] respect to people coming to the parks
[29:43] people tend not to regret the money
[29:46] that's been invested
[29:48] um you know we we we frankly did a
[29:51] project a few years ago in Amsterdam
[29:53] which was a bridge uh pedestrian bridge
[29:56] over the river which no one could
[29:58] understand why it was there it gets a
[30:01] quarter of a million people a year now
[30:04] so you know if if I were to you know I
[30:08] recommend it to every one of our
[30:09] Municipal clients when the Arca funding
[30:12] became available to go for it because
[30:14] this opportunity is generational and the
[30:17] cost is greater but it is going to have
[30:19] an even greater impact on the community
[30:22] with the final result thank you we're
[30:24] very proud of this side yeah
[30:27] go ahead please I just want to say I'm
[30:30] very supportive of this project I think
[30:32] that the expanded scope also I think in terms because of some of the meetings
[30:37] I mean multiple meetings which such a
[30:40] large group of community members were
[30:42] able to voice what they wanted to see as
[30:45] part of this project but the project I
[30:47] was going to say Legacy as well
[30:49] um but the project just in terms of the
[30:52] numbers of Youth served by this by this
[30:56] project are just going to be
[30:57] astronomical especially over Generations
[30:59] as well as the youth that we employ to
[31:03] not only the youth that will take
[31:04] advantage of the pool but the youth that
[31:07] we employ but the other parts of it the
[31:11] road work the parking all those other
[31:14] aspects are going to only enhance what
[31:16] already is considered a jewel of our
[31:18] city in terms of how it will assist the
[31:21] other parts of the park like the tennis
[31:24] courts like music Haven
[31:26] um you know the other the other ass
[31:27] aspects of everything that so many
[31:30] people throughout the city well you
[31:32] enjoy you know I I have two responses to
[31:34] that first of all our most successful
[31:37] parks are the ones in which the
[31:39] community is very actively engaged and
[31:42] this committee was very actively engaged
[31:44] we met for a number of months on this
[31:46] and they're kept being things added you
[31:49] know we didn't originally plan on having
[31:50] a hill removed but now you go up there
[31:53] and you go up to Central Park and you
[31:55] look and you go oh you can see a diamond
[31:57] in the background boy that's beautiful I
[31:59] didn't realize that was there it helps
[32:02] connect that part there's there's so
[32:05] many pieces to that Park that people
[32:07] aren't aware of this helps just bring
[32:09] people there and get a greater
[32:11] understanding of the other elements and
[32:14] uh activities that are available at the
[32:16] park and I think this is kind of like
[32:18] the launching point for the park to be
[32:20] even more than it currently is and the the second thing I would say is you
[32:27] know it's just the the opportunity to do
[32:31] a project like this is just it's just
[32:33] really special and and I think this is
[32:36] something that can be generational in
[32:38] terms of the impact on the community and
[32:40] the youth in that in this community
[32:41] particularly in that area
[32:45] so you didn't mention about Community
[32:47] inputs or it is a individual community
[32:50] members or organizations within our
[32:52] community I have both it was
[32:56] a son
[32:58] the uh
[33:01] Woodlawn preserve and stuff that were
[33:04] Boys and Girls Club to manage it uh
[33:07] trying to think who else was there music
[33:11] Haven yes Representatives the greenhouse is there yeah
[33:18] we also have the uh the folks with the
[33:21] uh the disc golf
[33:23] they were they were Parkers are in the
[33:25] whole two holes with one hole was
[33:28] relocated there's a few that are going
[33:30] to be impacted but fortunately they were
[33:32] great to work with and frankly the the
[33:37] um the the person that was participating
[33:38] from the boys and girls club was of
[33:40] Great Value because we were looking to
[33:42] put these these uh
[33:44] make it so it's user friendly for all
[33:46] the programs
[33:48] um that they have and so that's where we
[33:50] ended up with the ultimate design
[33:55] I think I think if I'm speaking myself
[33:58] as people I think all of those support
[34:00] can you fooled in Central Park Islam
[34:03] with a Jew but the thing that is uh
[34:04] getting us here today is the hard
[34:06] question of moving from 5 million to
[34:09] 10.1 million
[34:11] it's still originally we are allocated
[34:13] five million dollars a month we're
[34:15] asking for 10.1 million so those are the
[34:18] hard questions I ask in you and your
[34:19] hair to answer those questions but
[34:20] that's right my final question of that
[34:22] is if we were to proceed with this
[34:24] project can you give us a breakdown of
[34:26] the timeline the project timeline
[34:28] well I think I think Tom you might be
[34:30] the person to answer that I mean
[34:31] probably yeah it doesn't uh we would if
[34:36] we awarded contracts we'd start as soon
[34:38] as possible the weather breaks these
[34:40] guys are ready to go
[34:42] um I think the contract I think it's end
[34:44] of September is when uh looks like it
[34:46] would be complete and we don't see a
[34:48] problem with that completed in September
[34:50] of this year yes
[34:57] foreign
[35:01] closing down the old pool what happens
[35:03] with that
[35:05] well that hasn't been addressed oh thank
[35:07] you yeah thank you thank you that has
[35:10] not been addressed the closing down in
[35:12] the old rule right now the ECU will love
[35:14] it but I mean looking at a future use of
[35:17] it there's a lot of potential things
[35:19] that could be done in that space and it
[35:21] could be taking back some of it to help
[35:23] crew you know have have a more
[35:25] Consolidated Iroquois Lake and kind of a
[35:28] Great Lawn there there's a lot of ideas
[35:30] but but then again ma'am that that
[35:32] involves going back to you know a
[35:35] committee getting Community input what
[35:37] the city wants the most successful
[35:39] projects we've ever worked on are the
[35:42] ones in which the city is actively
[35:43] involved in the programming
[35:45] well I would 100 agree with that and so
[35:48] the reason we're asking all these
[35:49] questions we weren't apprised of all the
[35:51] additions that you're talking about
[35:54] to us you know so that's why you know
[35:56] you're asking me here tonight so there
[35:59] would be an additional cost to do the
[36:00] work around the old pool so that's not
[36:02] included in this class so if we that's
[36:04] what we want to do with the opal then
[36:06] we're going to invert more costs that is
[36:08] correct okay
[36:09] um so in terms of the things that were
[36:11] added
[36:13] is there anything if like I know there
[36:15] was a wish list clearly from the
[36:17] committee who said like let's just give
[36:18] everything Bells whistles and then bells
[36:20] on top of the whistles so if if they're
[36:23] realistically is there anything that we
[36:26] could really have done about and still
[36:27] make this a state-of-the-art project
[36:30] I I think hindsight is always 20 20.
[36:35] um but where the design is now if
[36:38] anything were to be pulled out in a
[36:40] redesigned to occur it would probably
[36:43] take up half of that cost for the
[36:45] redesign and then if you look at that
[36:48] cost in 20 it's as opposed to 2023 if
[36:51] the construction is done in 2024 you
[36:54] might have you you might lose the rest
[36:56] of that benefit so the way construction
[36:58] costs are moving I think it's best I I
[37:02] think it's probably the wisest decision
[37:04] for the committee to to go forward with
[37:06] this rather than to agreement
[37:09] and
[37:11] part of the challenges the bidding
[37:14] environment how the market is right now
[37:16] and in order to do a substantial
[37:18] redesign you'd probably have to go up a
[37:21] bit you you'd be looking and re-bidding
[37:24] it
[37:25] when you rebid it it all starts over
[37:27] again everybody's seen everybody's
[37:29] number if you I'm making things up if
[37:32] you want to pull 250 000 out of removing
[37:36] something well you got to design what
[37:38] goes back number one
[37:40] number two we right now have the GC
[37:43] complaining because they're having a
[37:44] hard time holding their structural steel
[37:46] numbers it's very volatile very volatile
[37:49] I cannot stand here and say if you pull
[37:51] 250 000 out you go out to rebid in four
[37:54] or five months it won't come in more and
[37:57] you've lost
[37:58] so we had a project in Albany last year
[38:02] the guy asked me you know what what is
[38:05] your advice on a fitting strategy I said
[38:07] well my crystal ball says bid it as soon
[38:10] as you possibly can and get your bids in
[38:12] so that if worse comes worse you can bid
[38:14] it twice which you do not want to do in
[38:17] this environment from our perspective so
[38:19] that that's my concern and the other and
[38:22] when when you re-bid you have to you
[38:24] know as I said the numbers are out there
[38:27] it I stopped a long time ago trying to
[38:29] decide what everybody else's strategy is
[38:32] going to be but I know crazy things will
[38:34] happen so we uh and I'll say here
[38:37] um we stand before you with some some of
[38:40] the the best contractors that we have
[38:43] worked with we worked with jerson on the
[38:45] pump station I personally worked with
[38:48] jerson on the uh
[38:50] I'm very Services 25 million the head of
[38:52] schedule under budget we work we know
[38:54] those guys
[38:56] um and and all the other there's the RMB
[38:59] and I think O'Connell electric Rock
[39:02] Solid guys
[39:03] so we're
[39:06] sort of comfortable ready to go we
[39:08] understand the questions and completely
[39:11] get it
[39:12] but there's a catch every time you want
[39:15] to Ravel you start to pull the string
[39:17] you know so I agree with any other any
[39:20] other question yeah the mayor said
[39:21] something about um you would explain
[39:22] about concrete and that was one of the
[39:25] reasons that's a cost increased yes it's
[39:29] um Let me let me address that that's one
[39:31] of
[39:32] and I have a Mark here there's probably
[39:34] one of nine things that were more than
[39:37] 20 off I think concrete's gone up it I'm
[39:42] gonna say 30 to 40 percent in the last
[39:44] six to seven months the Northeast has
[39:46] hit harder than a lot of the other parts
[39:48] of the country
[39:50] um we know that polypropylene adhesives
[39:54] uh any any uh the iso insulation goes on
[39:59] the roofs is up gypsum is way up
[40:03] um steel right now is sort of I can't
[40:06] say it's stabilized but it's it's
[40:08] volatile in terms of then they're
[40:10] complaining that they they're concerned
[40:12] about getting the steel and they're
[40:13] pushing us right now like we're counting
[40:16] the days for the award and those you
[40:18] know they got 45 days for the award
[40:20] we're going to get a phone call is this
[40:22] a go or not because they got the steel
[40:24] guys pressure in them so concrete is
[40:27] absolutely up uh asphalt last year went
[40:30] up 10 percent we expected to go to
[40:32] another again another time
[40:34] now um You said like this is really
[40:37] fancy and all this so are we using are
[40:39] we using concrete that's like above and
[40:41] beyond normal concrete are we going with
[40:42] any of that colored stuff and all of
[40:44] that and does that include the car yes
[40:47] that's uh I think I think we have blue
[40:49] some some colored concrete especially
[40:52] the splash the splash pad area it's not
[40:54] a colored concrete is not cheaper it's
[40:57] included
[40:59] um that is something you you could you
[41:01] could turn it off and not do it without
[41:03] probably rebidding um you might be you
[41:07] might save twenty thousand dollars
[41:09] it's not it's not a wholesale change but
[41:12] it you know it goes in the right
[41:13] direction that's for sure if that's the
[41:15] concern
[41:16] but
[41:17] the blue concrete is also part of the
[41:19] design that matches the tile on the
[41:21] outside it's sort of cool but you know
[41:23] those
[41:24] absolutely something that could be like
[41:26] I said the only thing I would add to
[41:27] what Tom says you know in this business
[41:31] when when like the stimulus funding
[41:33] started coming out we kept looking for a
[41:35] point where it was going to add
[41:37] and it was like okay hold on you know
[41:40] hold your money spend it now you're
[41:44] going to be able to get more bang for
[41:45] your buck we're not seeing the drop off
[41:47] in the construction industry there is so
[41:50] much public money funding these projects
[41:52] unfortunately we don't we don't see it
[41:54] dipping
[41:55] um probably it's as strong as I've ever
[41:57] seen the market I know we're as busy as
[41:59] we've ever have been
[42:01] um Our advice to our Municipal clients
[42:03] is try to get the project you can right
[42:05] now and move forward because we don't
[42:08] know what next year is going to be like
[42:09] and and I'm sorry go ahead
[42:13] I was just I was just going to say that
[42:15] to piggyback on to what what Dan just
[42:17] said it's um
[42:20] the guys are generally a big picture
[42:22] we're commercial construction managers
[42:24] we we operate in Albany Schenectady
[42:27] manly a few other places
[42:30] um guys are loading up on Municipal work
[42:32] the private work they're they're not
[42:34] hanging their head on so much because
[42:36] it's that's a little shaky as as
[42:38] everybody knows with the economy where
[42:40] it's heading so these got you know it's
[42:42] not their first clam bag they know that
[42:44] they want to load up on middle school
[42:45] work and that's what that's what people
[42:47] are doing so the concern I have big
[42:49] picture not for this project for other
[42:52] projects we have other public bids
[42:53] coming up and that is get your beds in
[42:56] get it done because then these guys stop
[42:58] bidding and you're only as strong as
[43:01] your week you know your your bidders
[43:03] list really
[43:05] So to that very point I don't want to
[43:07] speak lightly of it and growing up as a
[43:09] kid and we'd get x amount of money to go
[43:11] to McDonald's and my mom would say you
[43:13] can get whatever you want as long as it
[43:15] doesn't go over this dollar amount so I
[43:17] understand the the consists with trying
[43:19] to make sure we maximize uh the
[43:22] potential for this pool area my biggest
[43:24] concern is truly if we are trying to
[43:27] stretch this arpa funding
[43:29] how much rest of the project exists
[43:32] because it'll be nice to have a very
[43:34] lavishing pool area but if we want to
[43:37] still have this other unfinished uh pool
[43:39] that's just sitting if we have this
[43:41] casino building that still needs to be
[43:43] renovated if the pathways and paveways
[43:46] still need to be addressed what is going
[43:48] to be left that we are now responsible
[43:50] because we have invested this much money
[43:52] into to complete or we're just going to
[43:55] have a half project well I can't I can't
[43:57] speak on the city's budget okay what's
[43:59] playing
[44:00] um but uh but there's there's always
[44:02] opportunities for grant funding that's
[44:05] right um and because we work with a lot
[44:07] of communities with respect to exactly
[44:09] that doing doing those you know you can
[44:12] deal with though you can deal with
[44:14] oprhp with respect to Grants for the
[44:16] casino building you can look with DEC
[44:19] with respect to potential grants for
[44:22] repurposing Iroquois Lake In The Swim
[44:25] area I think the things are to remember
[44:27] about what's the central our goal is
[44:30] going to be is it's going to be a
[44:32] destination which is a good thing
[44:34] because the more people you come have
[44:37] coming to that area the more interest
[44:39] you're going to get in Central Park Pool
[44:41] in the ear it is for you to get
[44:43] additional monies for additional
[44:45] projects at Central apartments
[44:52] so pick back on your question and just
[44:54] follow up on that when we were having
[44:56] all these discussion with these
[44:58] community members and organizations did
[45:00] we let them know that we have a budget
[45:02] of five million dollars
[45:06] no because we didn't go back to that
[45:09] original number until most of this work
[45:11] had been put in place
[45:14] and In fairness you don't know what the
[45:18] number is until you get all the input
[45:20] and then you put the design together
[45:22] so you didn't we didn't know that said
[45:25] okay that gets us to you and that's the
[45:27] term we call Value imaginary
[45:29] and what we wanted to do is put all the
[45:32] pieces in and then kind of see where we
[45:34] were with respect to the original
[45:36] guideline of five million dollars but as
[45:39] you can see it's it's more of a project
[45:42] than it was when we were talking about
[45:44] it as a five million dollar project no
[45:46] understand understand what you're saying
[45:48] there but at Highland we we take all the
[45:50] information we take all the input from
[45:52] the community we put them together in a
[45:54] drawing we take it back to them and we
[45:56] say okay this is going to cost 10
[45:58] million I'll instead of 5 million
[46:00] dollars
[46:00] Where Do We Stand do we just go over the
[46:03] community input rather than us coming to
[46:06] a compromise and a solution to say we
[46:08] have five million dollars or we're just
[46:10] going to go ahead regardless and spend
[46:12] 10.1 million dollars no I respect your
[46:14] possession it's I absolutely do because
[46:17] it's like we got the community in but
[46:19] this is where the dollar is and you
[46:21] folks have to make the decision and you
[46:24] know it's not an easy decision and we
[46:25] respect that
[46:29] yeah
[46:30] go ahead decide so you say uh I don't
[46:34] know whether you're able to speak to
[46:35] this what portion of the entire Central
[46:37] Park uh redesign will be remaining after
[46:41] we address this pool area in our
[46:43] facilities
[46:44] well a lot of items of connectivity are
[46:47] addressed because there's a new road to
[46:50] access ways and stuff so you're really
[46:52] improving the connectivity of Central
[46:54] Park just by putting this part in place
[46:56] it's not the end at all right there's a
[46:59] number of descending projects that will
[47:01] come from us none of them are going to
[47:02] be eight million dollars but there's a number of other projects which
[47:06] would probably be very manageable chunks
[47:09] to get funding for them changing for for
[47:13] kind of so it's set up
[47:15] oh absolutely yeah that's the one nice
[47:18] thing about this the pool is it it's it
[47:22] also addresses the need for you know
[47:24] locker rooms and restrooms for the
[47:27] tennis courts which was good I hate a
[47:30] lot of use
[47:31] and if you had to put a number to that
[47:33] would you say that's 10 would you say
[47:35] that's 30 remaining
[47:37] oh in terms of the other pieces versus
[47:40] well you know a lot of that depends on
[47:42] what you want because we don't have a
[47:44] broad master plan for everything to be
[47:48] done at the park because you you can put
[47:51] a broad concept together but then you
[47:53] want to look at these things piece by
[47:54] piece in terms of what does the
[47:56] community want here do you want an area
[47:58] for picnics do you want more playground
[48:01] area do you you know do you want more
[48:04] pickleball do you want other things do
[48:06] you want a skating area tough to tough
[48:09] to do this year but those those sorts of
[48:12] things it has to be addressed that way
[48:13] to kind of do a piecemeal once you have
[48:16] the infrastructure in place but we
[48:18] really think having another destination
[48:20] at the for the as the pool which can
[48:23] also serve to benefit the tennis court
[48:26] area is going to help activate that
[48:29] whole area and I think that you
[48:31] cued in on one of the important aspects
[48:33] of limiting scope expansion for that
[48:36] very reason we can have whatever we can
[48:38] afford to pay for and absolutely I think
[48:41] and making sure this resource reaches as
[48:44] many people as possible or visitors and
[48:46] patrons absolutely but we want to make
[48:48] sure we're not overspending in this one
[48:50] area and then we're having to schedule
[48:52] them to get things included on the back
[48:55] I I really appreciate the position but I can tell you frankly from my
[48:59] experience working with parks and
[49:01] communities
[49:02] I have never heard a client or a
[49:05] community complain that too much was
[49:07] spent they often lament the fact that
[49:10] not enough was wish we didn't cut this
[49:13] corner here wish we didn't do that
[49:15] that's that's just I've been looking
[49:18] back at hindsight I've seen that a lot
[49:21] thank you
[49:22] hey Mr chairman to begin we have
[49:25] taking these components if you look at
[49:28] adion which you know like a few years it
[49:31] was an embarrassment dirtfield
[49:33] systematically lined up the money and I
[49:36] will tell you I'll take most of the
[49:38] credit for putting that in place and
[49:40] making it happen
[49:42] you look at the upgrades we've done in
[49:44] the music Haven you look at the upgrades
[49:46] that we've done at the golf course these
[49:49] are not routine Municipal facilities
[49:51] anymore they are entities that the
[49:55] region looks at you look at the
[49:57] volunteers that go into the Rose Garden
[49:59] you look at the activity that's
[50:01] happening at the greenhouse we're
[50:04] setting the standards of things that are
[50:06] happening within this community and
[50:08] within the region and this swimming
[50:10] facility is going to complement that
[50:15] you you mentioned earlier about Brands
[50:18] this project might be prime for friends
[50:20] is that something that you can help the
[50:22] city oh absolutely I don't know if the
[50:25] city needs our help the city the city is
[50:27] very good at doing these things but we really enjoy the relationship we've
[50:32] worked with the city on a number of
[50:33] projects over the last time you will
[50:35] engage with us we absolutely can support
[50:37] that in any way
[50:42] so um one of you mentioned the soft
[50:45] costs that weren't in there before
[51:00] um my other question is there's clearly
[51:03] going to be a lot of work that you've
[51:04] done here you you've um accepted bids
[51:07] from the various contractors
[51:09] in terms of your mwbe participation
[51:14] what are your guidelines on that and
[51:15] where are you with that
[51:17] um it was it was part of mid package in
[51:20] terms of the requirements each of the
[51:22] contractors filled it out I I don't I
[51:24] can't recall the percentage off the top
[51:26] of my head but we did have a
[51:27] conversation with um the main contractor
[51:30] jerson and Ron and Ron was working with
[51:34] these guys in the past again on the pump
[51:36] station and uh
[51:39] I again I don't know the percentages but
[51:42] they should be in the package
[51:44] um each of these guys are required to
[51:46] fill it out I think Jersey I I don't
[51:48] want to quote numbers because I I've got
[51:49] a
[51:50] contract because I'm dealing with these
[51:52] days so
[51:53] um but they filled it out and it was
[51:55] part of the bid package just like the um
[51:58] just like their number again
[52:01] so um Mr Wellington put in contingency
[52:04] for changeovers at eight percent which
[52:07] was a 641 680. so
[52:12] you know we've already double the price
[52:16] we I think what we're looking for is an
[52:17] assurance that it's not going to now
[52:19] increase more
[52:22] my crystal ball
[52:25] um so so let's recruit the the
[52:30] project 100 design
[52:34] you could you could go in with a
[52:37] slightly lower contingency that would be
[52:39] comfortable however this is a big
[52:42] earthworm project it's as soon as you
[52:45] start talking about earthwork there's no
[52:46] drawing that shows where the rocks are
[52:48] buried and you can't do borings every
[52:51] two feet to a triple A you know exactly
[52:54] what's going on so because it's a big
[52:55] earthwork project
[52:57] I I leaned towards and I was part of the
[52:59] eight percent decision in that session
[53:02] but discussion and she said it's Chris's
[53:04] decision
[53:05] um
[53:06] I'm very comfortable the eight percent
[53:08] now now if it was
[53:12] if the substrata wasn't really
[53:14] understood I'd be I'd be a little more
[53:18] nervous about the eight percent because
[53:19] it's such a big dirt work job however
[53:21] they just did
[53:23] um in the mass excavation and it's
[53:25] generally insane it's beautiful soil it's and so unless
[53:32] there is some burial ground we don't
[53:34] know you know and I hate to even say it
[53:37] but it could have stranger things have
[53:39] happened
[53:39] um I don't I don't I am not concerned
[53:42] with that Ampersand I'm very comfortable
[53:44] going into this yeah very comfortable my
[53:46] you know my experience I I my
[53:49] experiences is environmental engineer so
[53:52] I've done boring solve around the
[53:53] country and this was some of the most
[53:55] consistent Sans I've seen uh we were
[53:58] also involved with the the golf course
[54:01] and I have a high level of confidence
[54:04] because we saw that we aren't going to
[54:07] get any anomalies specific to the
[54:10] subsurface however as Tom would say you
[54:13] never know until you know and and but I
[54:16] at this point I would say confidence
[54:19] levels are high that we wouldn't get
[54:21] eight percent the other thing I want to
[54:22] add
[54:23] um as soon as you ask me that question I
[54:25] think about who the who the um
[54:28] the parent load bitters are well the low
[54:29] bitters they're all solid guys that we
[54:32] know can deliver and we've had
[54:34] experience with it so we're that much
[54:36] more comfortable they're not they're not
[54:39] change order artists you know they do
[54:41] their job and uh we hope and we're there
[54:43] as construction managers to hold their
[54:45] feet to the fire our job is to protect
[54:47] the city against strange or less
[54:49] interests yeah but with these this gang
[54:51] I'm not too worried about it
[54:53] and I knew there was one bitter that we
[54:55] didn't actually we didn't have a bid you
[54:56] had to go back to the Planters website
[54:58] yeah so so
[55:00] um
[55:01] the general contractor the plumber the
[55:04] electrician we all got bids for HVAC we
[55:06] got no bids okay okay that affords us
[55:10] the opportunity to then request
[55:11] proposals so we our strategy was we
[55:14] requested proposals from the plumbers
[55:16] that did bid that also do adrac
[55:21] and honestly we have a good relationship
[55:24] with these guys so they didn't actually
[55:26] really want a bid on it because it's
[55:27] such a small package they're bidding on
[55:30] you know fifty thousand dollar thing and
[55:32] they got that much paperwork to do so
[55:35] slightly reluctant we we certain we uh
[55:38] enticed them a bit on it and so the the
[55:41] good news is the the plumber that's
[55:44] they've got the the plumbing bed is is
[55:47] low bidder on the proposal was Fed so
[55:51] it's the same guy and that's exactly
[55:53] what happened just by chance on the on
[55:56] the pump stations and again ideal if you
[55:59] can have the plumber in the mechanic I'd
[56:01] be the same same guy that is one big
[56:03] issue that's resolved so that's that's
[56:06] really good news so so yeah it's a good
[56:08] question but that was
[56:10] um accept the proposals because we had
[56:12] no public bids
[56:14] thank you I have two news
[56:19] so
[56:21] my statements last question is that
[56:25] what how I'm understanding is that the
[56:28] project itself didn't double in cost it
[56:30] wasn't the project that don't make cost
[56:32] it was the expansion of the scope you
[56:35] know the watch then
[56:37] um got us to where we're at uh for the
[56:38] most part right because it is
[56:41] that and the market markets
[56:45] at all okay so I so you know I believe
[56:49] uh Mr one was saying that uh usually
[56:52] there's a 10 on contingency there oh
[56:55] it's not uncommon and I think right now
[56:59] when we're you know my concern is that
[57:02] because this has doubled in cost due to
[57:07] um the market as well as the additional
[57:08] rate we have to make sure that we're
[57:10] paying really close attention to that
[57:12] and is that why the eight percent is is
[57:16] there instead of the normal 10 or is
[57:18] this just kind of it
[57:22] go ahead
[57:25] if the council Awards it says
[57:28] presented to you these guys are in place
[57:31] and they're going to bring this in on
[57:34] time
[57:35] and at least on budget and I hope it'll
[57:39] come in under budget and I expect that
[57:41] from Wilson and Saratoga Associates you
[57:44] know they're ones that we work with and
[57:46] you know we're all working together
[57:47] sometimes
[57:49] the discussions are a little bit more
[57:51] heated but they're going to live up to
[57:53] these obligations do it in a timely
[57:55] fashion and within this existing budget
[57:59] I have no problem with that and and then
[58:02] the 10 that's not necessary you know I
[58:04] don't know the context of that statement
[58:06] and you know this is what we do for a
[58:08] living we're the ones that put we didn't
[58:10] put this budget together we got we got
[58:12] involved in the bitter you know The
[58:13] Bitter End but
[58:14] um it's usually it really depends if you tell me the drawings are at 70
[58:19] percent
[58:20] 10 if you tell me the drawing chart 100
[58:23] we're done and we're on the street
[58:24] bidding you can reduce it and that and
[58:27] then it's not a it's not a science it's
[58:29] more it's actually more of an art you're
[58:31] like ah there's a lot of dirt work but
[58:33] the dirt work is this yeah based on four
[58:36] years experience
[58:37] um
[58:39] eight percent and I'm I I will
[58:44] I'm comfortable with that going into
[58:46] this I'm comfortable that with that sand
[58:48] and how what we think we know
[58:50] and and solid contractors that um
[58:56] they're not gonna you know they're we've
[58:57] just worked together they you know last
[59:00] job we did that I ran with with the city
[59:03] was Bureau of services and it was I had
[59:04] a schedule and under the adjusted budget
[59:07] uh somebody reminded me of that and I'm
[59:09] like oh I didn't know it was an option
[59:10] to do it otherwise it was a lot of hard
[59:13] work to get it done on your budget and
[59:15] had a schedule you know so yeah you
[59:17] definitely answered my question I was
[59:18] just wondering what are the variables
[59:20] that are considered between that eight
[59:21] and ten percent yeah no it sounds like
[59:22] the same like once you know the more
[59:24] further along you get in the project you
[59:26] know more so you're able to right kind
[59:28] of pinpoint right right and I'm exactly
[59:31] and you know there's it's very dynamic
[59:33] as you go there's also there's
[59:35] opportunities as you can go that might
[59:37] that we could address as we go
[59:40] um and you can adjust that going it
[59:42] might even come in much much less right
[59:45] well we know we know which way you want
[59:49] it to head and that's our game you know
[59:50] look you know our
[59:53] you know we have a certain fee what I
[59:56] like to do at the end of the end of the
[59:57] game we keep score we keep score every
[1:00:00] change order we keep score at the end of
[1:00:01] the day we like to walk in and say see
[1:00:03] this is how much we save yeah and so
[1:00:07] that is our game and uh you know we're
[1:00:11] again working hopefully with guys and
[1:00:13] gals that we can we can work with as we
[1:00:15] go forward on us
[1:00:17] so I'd say assuming um the chairship for
[1:00:20] this committee uh just being very
[1:00:21] candidly I appreciate both of me being
[1:00:23] present and the work that your teams
[1:00:24] have done I would say before I feel
[1:00:26] comfortable voting in favor of moving
[1:00:29] these monies I would like to hear from
[1:00:30] our city engineer especially from an
[1:00:33] understanding of wanting to recognize
[1:00:34] what aspects of the entire project still
[1:00:37] exist and as you mentioned there are
[1:00:39] some great opportunities still existing
[1:00:40] where is he get them on the phone he's
[1:00:43] on vacation yeah he's on the he's alive
[1:00:45] delaying the
[1:00:47] projects so you can get them on the
[1:00:51] phone seriously let's try the challenges
[1:00:54] were down about 45 days and we start
[1:00:56] losing
[1:00:57] contractors
[1:00:59] um
[1:01:04] I thought it was like tomorrow
[1:01:08] we were tracking the 45 days it's
[1:01:12] you know
[1:01:16] so I um for me I just wanted to make
[1:01:18] sure that it comes in on September 20
[1:01:21] 23. that we're there yeah
[1:01:25] um we you know we brought Wilson Times
[1:01:28] too because
[1:01:30] the Saratoga recommended that TWA be
[1:01:33] brought in specific for what they had in
[1:01:36] construction that uh construction
[1:01:38] management and value engineering because
[1:01:40] we've worked with them and they
[1:01:42] absolutely
[1:01:44] watch every penny that's spent and make
[1:01:47] sure it's spent wisely and we thought
[1:01:48] that was in the best interest in the
[1:01:50] city so I'd say before I was cut off I
[1:01:52] think the rest of my comment was going
[1:01:53] to be would that posing any continued
[1:01:56] issues with the funny university project
[1:01:58] so if you're saying that 45 days is
[1:02:00] already spent up is that what I'm
[1:02:02] hearing well what happens is the bids
[1:02:04] come in right and the contractors they
[1:02:07] have to hold they have to hold their bid
[1:02:09] for 45 days and then and then after that
[1:02:12] 45 days if you don't award they they get
[1:02:15] to decide and we already know that the
[1:02:18] construction was concerned that there's
[1:02:21] still a guy who wouldn't hold their
[1:02:22] numbers because it's very volatile so
[1:02:26] I'm not feeling very comfortable but
[1:02:29] you know and I'm not I remember the
[1:02:33] question was what day are we in I know
[1:02:35] the re the question is what day are we
[1:02:38] in so I know we're really close to the
[1:02:40] 45 days and today now two weeks we bring
[1:02:43] as well as well
[1:02:45] 26 7 6 is a Sunday right right that's
[1:02:49] when the 45 days comes up will they give
[1:02:51] us one more day it's
[1:02:54] somebody will get wallet on the phone
[1:02:58] and be able to answer your questions Mr
[1:03:00] counseling
[1:03:02] well I think
[1:03:05] she had that I'm sorry I think we had
[1:03:09] that opportunity to give our questions
[1:03:11] to Mr wrong if you let us know that he
[1:03:13] was going to be on vacation this week
[1:03:14] and then if we got any questions given
[1:03:16] all the material that he gave us
[1:03:18] um that we were to contact him last week
[1:03:20] before he left for vacation so I
[1:03:23] personally just have to say I mean
[1:03:25] especially given the level of community
[1:03:27] input over months for this project and
[1:03:31] the numbers of people
[1:03:33] in all areas of our city that will be
[1:03:36] benefiting from the use of this for me
[1:03:38] like and you know as chair of the parks
[1:03:41] committee here
[1:03:43] um I have to say that I would be so
[1:03:45] proud to be on a city council that
[1:03:48] actually approved this kind of project
[1:03:50] which long after we're gone uh not just
[1:03:53] as a city council but probably on this
[1:03:55] Earth will still be enjoyed by the
[1:03:58] residents of this city
[1:04:00] um so I I know I'm not on the finance
[1:04:02] committee so I don't get to vote this
[1:04:04] evening but I really encour encourage my
[1:04:06] colleagues to vote in favor of this
[1:04:09] project because I just think it has you
[1:04:11] know long lasting benefits for so many
[1:04:14] people in our city including water
[1:04:16] safety employment
[1:04:18] um you know just Health hot summers a
[1:04:21] lot of the kids that use our pool
[1:04:24] um you know don't have that kind of
[1:04:26] opportunity at home to be able to cool
[1:04:28] down with people with the pool so I just
[1:04:32] really encourage the three of you to
[1:04:34] vote in favor of this project this
[1:04:36] evening
[1:04:37] this question
[1:04:40] I'm sorry what three are you referring
[1:04:41] to the three people that are on the
[1:04:43] committee I think Mr Williams
[1:04:45] Oh I thought you said I thought that you
[1:04:48] said that you were now the chair of the
[1:04:49] committee for the evening assuming chair
[1:04:50] responsibility yes yes
[1:04:53] two people
[1:04:55] oh I'm sorry I thought that Mr Paul and
[1:04:57] my name is Miss Porterfield and no no
[1:04:59] okay sorry about that so let's see here
[1:05:02] okay um so I just sort of so I'll start
[1:05:05] saying what I said when I started
[1:05:07] speaking that I'm fully supported this
[1:05:08] project and I just want to be clear it
[1:05:10] wasn't why Community was there was a committee that was formed
[1:05:13] and I have no objection for that but I
[1:05:15] don't want it to be understood that
[1:05:16] there was this you know we went from
[1:05:18] Community to community community that's
[1:05:19] not what happened there were
[1:05:20] representing some Community who formed
[1:05:22] the committee so let's you know um you
[1:05:24] know just be clear with that
[1:05:26] um
[1:05:27] so and I just really uh for me again we
[1:05:31] did not have the opportunity to hear
[1:05:33] about the expanded
[1:05:36] uh project that's expanded plan which is
[1:05:39] why I felt like I needed to hear more if
[1:05:42] you see the dollar uh amount of her
[1:05:45] project you know go from one percent and
[1:05:48] then it's doubled 100 I think it's fair
[1:05:50] to ask for an explanation for that so
[1:05:52] which is you know why I wanted you to
[1:05:54] come today to to ask to get that
[1:05:57] explanation so it's not about not being
[1:05:59] against the project it's about making
[1:06:01] sure we're clear because we are making
[1:06:02] decisions financial decisions
[1:06:07] so that that's 100 clear so um that's
[1:06:11] what I wanted to say and I did I did you
[1:06:13] know send questions to Mr Wallen
[1:06:16] um got those responses so um here we are
[1:06:20] today I'm I also am not on the committee
[1:06:22] so I don't get to vote well I'm going to
[1:06:24] make a motion to move this forward
[1:06:26] especially before I think it's important
[1:06:28] to say that there's yet again another
[1:06:30] instance where the council is being
[1:06:32] directed I absolutely do not want to be
[1:06:34] the constructionist or anything holding
[1:06:37] up these efforts I can understand the
[1:06:39] investment that was made by both the
[1:06:41] community and yourselves so I appreciate
[1:06:43] that my hesitation again is just making
[1:06:45] sure we can find the other aspects of it
[1:06:47] but with the motion I will support it
[1:06:49] um all those in favor
[1:06:51] aye aye promotion to return
[1:06:54] so I would say definitely it's making
[1:06:57] sure that as a council these
[1:07:00] conversations are brought in real time I
[1:07:03] imagine that would alleviate any of
[1:07:05] these instances continuing for
[1:07:07] can I get a motion to start amazing
[1:07:11] [Music]
[1:07:12] I was a additional comment and ask for
[1:07:14] it so remember which one of his emotion
[1:07:16] you were supposed to either not prove it
[1:07:18] or go gentlemen emotion second Paul's a
[1:07:22] favorite for your turn
[1:07:24] thank you I'd like to call the Florida
[1:07:26] City development and planning
[1:07:28] so
[1:07:30] thank you thank you both for coming in
[1:07:32] the explanations
[1:07:35] all right all right thank you so we have
[1:07:39] uh seven items on the agenda
[1:07:42] uh these first item is to
[1:07:46] um oops I'm sorry
[1:07:48] government officers
[1:07:52] sure okay so I'd like to call the order
[1:07:55] of operations we have one agenda item
[1:07:57] that's a reminder that amended to
[1:07:59] chapter 161 is connected to city code
[1:08:01] regarding the collection of white goods
[1:08:04] um uh public hearing will be held on uh
[1:08:07] 227 2023
[1:08:12] any questions comments on that
[1:08:16] I like the next motion
[1:08:19] no I don't need much better
[1:08:24] modification okay that's just a reminder
[1:08:26] okay
[1:08:28] any questions
[1:08:39] thinking now reconvene City development
[1:08:42] planning we do have seven items on the
[1:08:44] agenda the first item on the agenda is
[1:08:46] to award and bid the contract for the
[1:08:48] Central Park Pool
[1:08:50] Etc we just had a lengthy conversation
[1:08:52] about funding it
[1:08:54] um
[1:08:55] so Mr Wallen is not here is there
[1:08:58] someone here to speak to this for Mr
[1:09:00] Wallen
[1:09:01] I'm more than willing to address any
[1:09:03] issue that you have questions
[1:09:06] are there any questions with regarding
[1:09:08] the state and contract you just heard a
[1:09:10] very thorough explanation any questions
[1:09:14] I'll move it I'll second all's in favor
[1:09:17] aye aye and the second item on the
[1:09:20] agenda is the award admit contract for
[1:09:21] the Central Park Pool spray pad Etc
[1:09:24] contact to MC to
[1:09:27] um RMB mechanical and the amount of
[1:09:30] fifty three thousand dollars yeah
[1:09:34] second all's in favor bye
[1:09:37] uh the third I'm on the agenda is the
[1:09:40] ceremony recognition uh ceremony
[1:09:42] resolution recognizing women's History
[1:09:44] Month
[1:09:46] Etc yes March's women's history month
[1:09:49] and so as we've done in the past I'd
[1:09:51] like to
[1:09:52] um have a resolution recognizing that
[1:09:56] so I'd like to use that all right I'll
[1:09:58] second all in favor
[1:10:00] item number four is going to be
[1:10:02] postponed
[1:10:04] item number five uh creative outdoor
[1:10:07] presentation on outdoor garbage
[1:10:08] collecting bins Mr palomini yes last
[1:10:11] time we had a presentation by Mr Diamond
[1:10:13] from create about George about garbage
[1:10:16] cans to put around the city but also
[1:10:19] generate some Revenue let me give us a
[1:10:22] question surrounding that I did ask and
[1:10:26] he said all depends upon the cost of the
[1:10:30] ads themselves but generally speaking
[1:10:33] for the size of our city and the number
[1:10:35] of cans that would be put out anywhere
[1:10:37] from ten to fifteen thousand dollars
[1:10:39] would be generated in revenue for the
[1:10:41] city so we would have those cans put
[1:10:46] around the city hopefully to deal with
[1:10:49] some of the issues in regards to litter
[1:10:52] Mr Golden and his staff looked into the
[1:10:57] legality of it for the city he said it's
[1:11:00] okay
[1:11:01] yeah just for the sake of discussion
[1:11:04] um we don't see any legal impediments
[1:11:06] for moving ahead with this
[1:11:08] and so therefore I would recommend that
[1:11:11] we authorize the mayor to enter
[1:11:12] contracts with creative outdoor for
[1:11:15] these garbage cans
[1:11:18] so 10 to 15 000 per year yes
[1:11:24] and um so they said it would have to be
[1:11:26] about 40 garbage cans
[1:11:28] is what I'm doing I think that would be
[1:11:31] something the mayor would negotiate but
[1:11:32] he said minimum for you after I remember
[1:11:35] what and
[1:11:37] um and I as I also understand it needs
[1:11:39] to be in high trafficked areas
[1:11:41] yes but I think that's also something
[1:11:43] that the mayor could negotiate with
[1:11:45] higher traffic areas okay
[1:11:49] look at this it's what I call some of
[1:11:51] the obvious areas so you're going up
[1:11:54] Albany Street Craig Street Crane Street
[1:11:56] areas of downtown Eastern Avenue Van
[1:11:59] Rank and
[1:12:00] uh would be
[1:12:03] areas that they would be able to agree
[1:12:06] with us in terms of the best placement
[1:12:07] of it
[1:12:09] well for me I would like to see a plan
[1:12:12] of exactly where they're going to go
[1:12:15] um and
[1:12:16] yeah I would like to see a plan of where
[1:12:18] they're going to go and he definitely
[1:12:19] said high traffic areas and I there's
[1:12:21] actually actually I got some information
[1:12:22] that was really specific about that so
[1:12:24] they wouldn't be in residential areas so
[1:12:26] I'd like to see a plan where we replace
[1:12:28] these
[1:12:29] um so do you want some in residential
[1:12:31] areas or not
[1:12:36] quite frankly I think that that's
[1:12:37] another conversation that is maybe could
[1:12:39] be out there for the public to have a
[1:12:41] discussion regarding uh it's not just
[1:12:43] you know what I would like to see there
[1:12:44] but I definitely if we're talking about
[1:12:46] high traffic areas I would definitely
[1:12:47] like to see where that is going to be
[1:12:50] and do we even get to that 40 number
[1:12:52] considering that so I would like to see
[1:12:54] a plan from this organization
[1:12:56] um and and definitely some feedback for
[1:12:59] what they've seen in similar size cities
[1:13:01] in terms of that
[1:13:03] um before we 100 commit to it not that
[1:13:06] we don't have a problem with litter we
[1:13:07] all know that we do I don't know that
[1:13:10] this particular very large
[1:13:14] piece of equipment is is
[1:13:18] ideal
[1:13:19] so I would really like to see a plan on
[1:13:21] that before we move forward with that
[1:13:23] that's mine I'll send your questions
[1:13:26] along the email and I'll see if he will
[1:13:28] address those I will say that this goes
[1:13:31] hand in hand with the litter proposal
[1:13:33] program that was put forward and the
[1:13:35] council got behind and furthermore the
[1:13:40] garbage cans are free instead of using
[1:13:42] other resources that we could be using
[1:13:44] for other efforts around the city this
[1:13:48] would be something that we could get for
[1:13:50] free and bring in money so send your
[1:13:52] questions along and I'll be happy to try
[1:13:54] to get those addressed
[1:13:56] I'll make sure that I'll send them
[1:13:58] through Miss Michael like we do
[1:13:59] everything and then they can they can
[1:14:00] move forward
[1:14:02] um that's my concern about that and I
[1:14:05] would like to see if it's anyone else
[1:14:06] that has any questions or concerns
[1:14:07] regarding this
[1:14:10] so I I actually
[1:14:12] um you know after listen to the
[1:14:13] presentation
[1:14:14] um I think it sounds like a really good
[1:14:17] absolutely opportunity
[1:14:19] um but I definitely would think that would be we'd see like kind of a
[1:14:24] proposal where you know where the garden
[1:14:27] that's a pretty reasonable expectation I
[1:14:29] don't understand think that you need to
[1:14:30] ask for that I thought that'd be
[1:14:31] something that naturally happened but
[1:14:33] quite honestly I I I appreciate the
[1:14:36] information that was sharing I think
[1:14:37] this is a good opportunity
[1:14:39] um so um yeah I'd like to see that
[1:14:41] information to make sure that it's a fit
[1:14:44] um for our city and that the city
[1:14:46] residents or something that that they
[1:14:48] will be buying as well so
[1:14:51] thank you
[1:14:51] it's important thing is that um that
[1:14:54] kind of a plan would that be coming from
[1:14:56] the vendor or would that be coming from
[1:14:57] the
[1:14:58] mayor and his team honestly I think how
[1:15:01] I understood was you would enter in a
[1:15:03] contract negotiations this city would
[1:15:06] say well we don't want to camp here yeah
[1:15:09] we might want to hear and working hand
[1:15:11] in hand with the vendor so I'm not even
[1:15:13] sure I understand what you're saying but
[1:15:16] not not even sure that's even possible
[1:15:18] without there being some sort of
[1:15:20] negotiation to happen
[1:15:22] all right
[1:15:25] so yeah
[1:15:27] so I would generally expect that that
[1:15:31] those conversations happen and what I
[1:15:33] wouldn't want to do is say it said you
[1:15:35] know if we agreed that we're going to
[1:15:37] get 40 uh something cans and then uh
[1:15:41] we're looking at the proposed placement
[1:15:43] of those cans up now you know there
[1:15:46] isn't enough real estate to do that
[1:15:49] um in a way that uh is effective and now
[1:15:52] we're looking at all possibly these six
[1:15:56] or seven cans you know won't go for uh
[1:15:59] population online or won't happen that
[1:16:02] way and then we have and then and then
[1:16:04] maybe this just isn't the fit for us or
[1:16:06] other than that's what I was proposing
[1:16:08] um again this is something that I happen
[1:16:10] to
[1:16:11] um agree and support
[1:16:14] um and
[1:16:16] that's why I'm the question that I'm
[1:16:18] asking I think is pretty is it is a
[1:16:21] question around how do we make sure that
[1:16:23] we have all the information clear so
[1:16:24] when we do this thing that I think is a
[1:16:26] good idea it's done in the best possible
[1:16:28] manner
[1:16:29] yeah trying to demonstrate how we so the
[1:16:31] Kelly school was the final ability to
[1:16:34] reject garbage can placement
[1:16:37] so
[1:16:39] slippers that's not that's not what I'm
[1:16:41] saying what I'm saying is we definitely
[1:16:43] want garbage cans is this the best
[1:16:45] choice and you know that's what I'm
[1:16:48] saying so we clearly want garbage cans
[1:16:51] uh many communities including mine
[1:16:54] put garbage cans all over the city so we
[1:16:56] know there's a need for it doesn't mean
[1:16:57] that every um everything is an absolute
[1:17:00] fit so can we take a look at what that
[1:17:02] looks like that's what I'm saying
[1:17:06] I guess then what would your proposal be
[1:17:08] otherwise so that we could look into
[1:17:11] this what you brought forward was for us
[1:17:13] to consider this and what I'm asking you
[1:17:15] for is to ask the folks who brought
[1:17:18] forward what their plan would look like
[1:17:20] for our city based on the size of the
[1:17:22] city the high traffic areas
[1:17:24] and if you would like to for another
[1:17:26] vendor to come forward I'm sure that we
[1:17:27] can look into that and have that happen
[1:17:29] as well I understand what you're saying
[1:17:31] what I was asking is what other proposal
[1:17:34] do you have because right now this is
[1:17:36] all we really have if you have something
[1:17:38] else then we can look into this
[1:17:40] um and to expect them to come in and say
[1:17:43] we're going to put garbage cans here and
[1:17:45] here without the negotiation just isn't
[1:17:48] going to happen properly now I'll check
[1:17:50] and ask but I'm just asking you what
[1:17:53] proposal or plan do you have so then
[1:17:55] maybe I can look into that and see if
[1:17:57] there's something else well if there's
[1:17:59] other vendors and generally speaking
[1:18:01] when there's this kind of thing that
[1:18:02] happens there are three people that can
[1:18:03] take a look at so and this is not as I'm
[1:18:06] sure that this is not something that's a Soulful Soul person you know that does
[1:18:10] that so if you want to bring two others
[1:18:12] which is reasonable we'll get look at
[1:18:14] all three of them and see which makes
[1:18:15] the most sense for the city well if you
[1:18:17] have something with your questions to
[1:18:19] Miss Michael please pass along on the
[1:18:21] plan
[1:18:22] thank you
[1:18:26] Mr Clark yeah I just
[1:18:29] think that we have to look at this that
[1:18:32] um two things can be true here people
[1:18:34] okay and everything doesn't have to be
[1:18:36] you know uh
[1:18:38] power struggle and I think that
[1:18:41] um
[1:18:41] what we're ended up doing right now is
[1:18:43] that I think it's a pretty reasonable
[1:18:46] question and so two things can be true
[1:18:49] it's a reasonable request to see like
[1:18:51] what this might look like in the city
[1:18:53] before we you know move forward and
[1:18:55] enter into a contract and we can still
[1:18:57] support the initiative because we think
[1:18:58] it's a good idea we are more than
[1:19:00] capable of doing that um collectively as
[1:19:02] a buyer so let's my comment it really is
[1:19:06] let's focus our energy there that's what
[1:19:08] we need to be doing no one's disagreeing
[1:19:10] with the on that Mr Farley she missed
[1:19:12] Porterfield indicated that there were
[1:19:14] some other proposals or plans and all I
[1:19:17] was asking for is that you know let us
[1:19:18] know and maybe we can look into it
[1:19:20] that's all that was said it wasn't
[1:19:22] anything about trying not to
[1:19:25] bring forward a plan of where cans might
[1:19:27] go it was there was a comment made about
[1:19:30] other plans so if there's something else
[1:19:33] out there or other proposals let us know
[1:19:36] so that we can try to work on that
[1:19:38] that's all of us right I I understood
[1:19:41] the question to be around the plan
[1:19:43] that's existing in front of us that's
[1:19:45] our understood it but in that energy and
[1:19:48] in that Spirit pretty pretty solid
[1:19:50] reasonable question and does not mean
[1:19:52] that um that there's an opposition to
[1:19:55] the plan so
[1:19:56] and I didn't say there were other
[1:19:57] proposal I simply asked for a outline of
[1:20:00] what this one would look like so just to
[1:20:01] make sure we're 100 clear you did bring
[1:20:03] up the point that there could be others
[1:20:04] and if we want to bring up others in we
[1:20:07] certainly can do that as well it was not
[1:20:08] an objection plan just what it's going
[1:20:10] to look like
[1:20:12] so we can bring that back I'll make sure
[1:20:14] I have my questions
[1:20:15] um most forward to Ms Michael so that
[1:20:17] they can be answered by this vendor and
[1:20:20] um and perhaps if there's other vendors
[1:20:22] who may want to have an interest in them
[1:20:24] and then we can bring this back um this
[1:20:26] problem would you like it back in two
[1:20:27] weeks yes
[1:20:28] then we'll bring it back in two weeks
[1:20:32] the next item is discussion of
[1:20:34] Abandonment and sale of a large Street
[1:20:36] Mr Brown
[1:20:49] thank you
[1:20:55] this discussion item is about the
[1:20:57] abandonment and the sale of large Street is a small Street that's
[1:21:01] located between 633 and 651 Lansing
[1:21:04] Street we in the past have received
[1:21:08] multiple complaints regarding people
[1:21:10] attempting to dump trash on the land
[1:21:12] that we own that is at the end of large
[1:21:14] Street
[1:21:15] and our city staff has addressed it
[1:21:17] multiple times the owners at 60 33
[1:21:21] Lancing Street as well as the owners at
[1:21:23] 651 Lansing Street have approached the
[1:21:26] city about potentially purchasing it in
[1:21:29] order for that to occur we would have to
[1:21:31] abandon that in order to create it as a
[1:21:33] partial to sell
[1:21:35] one of the owners at 633 Lansing Street
[1:21:39] would need a portion of that land if it
[1:21:42] were to be parceled off in order to
[1:21:43] access his garages and the other owner
[1:21:46] would like to use the additional space
[1:21:48] to provide parking for the tenants at
[1:21:50] that location at 651 Lansing
[1:21:53] any questions
[1:21:54] Mr Golden sorry I just want to add a
[1:21:57] little bit more to this um you know I
[1:21:58] had a chance to meet with the owners
[1:22:00] with Mr Brown uh this is one of those
[1:22:02] there's nothing really to move today
[1:22:04] it's just discussion item
[1:22:05] um because we can't even start the
[1:22:07] abandonment process until we have a
[1:22:09] survey these owners have agreed to pay
[1:22:12] all the costs to the city for you know
[1:22:15] preparing the
[1:22:17] um the survey which is going to run them
[1:22:19] you know over a thousand dollars I'm
[1:22:21] going to guess just based on the size of
[1:22:24] this area of Street in the city would be
[1:22:26] potentially abandoning they would also
[1:22:29] agreed to
[1:22:30] all costs related to recording any
[1:22:33] documents which would be Deeds they will
[1:22:37] pay for that so they're going to be on
[1:22:39] the hook for all the costs out of pocket
[1:22:42] the issue that they had was they wanted
[1:22:45] before they wanted to go pay for a
[1:22:46] survey to start this process and then
[1:22:48] bring it to the council later on they
[1:22:50] wanted to know if the council was
[1:22:52] supportive of this of this by this mini
[1:22:55] project
[1:22:56] I will say the Straight is not in the
[1:23:00] best of shape I did we didn't have a
[1:23:01] chance to talk to Mr Wallen about it
[1:23:03] it's a very small street there's really nothing fronting
[1:23:06] um you know this brought this street uh
[1:23:09] it's really the sides of both of these
[1:23:10] properties as Mr Brown indicated the
[1:23:13] cost to repave this area would be I
[1:23:16] think Mr Wallen indicated upwards of two
[1:23:18] hundred thousand dollars just for that
[1:23:21] little tiny piece which nobody really
[1:23:22] benefits from and as Mr Brown indicated
[1:23:25] there's a considerable amount a
[1:23:26] considerable amount of dumping dumping
[1:23:28] going on there and the city has put
[1:23:30] these cement blockades to prevent The
[1:23:33] Dumping going on there so the the
[1:23:36] request today is just to get informal
[1:23:38] support to go ahead with this
[1:23:40] abandonment and this project to
[1:23:42] eventually allow these Property Owners
[1:23:45] to buy what would be abandoned by
[1:23:48] dividing it in half
[1:23:50] thank you
[1:23:51] discussion from council members and
[1:23:55] get in favor against
[1:23:57] support
[1:23:59] is there anyone in the objection that we
[1:24:01] would support this request
[1:24:05] okay thank you
[1:24:08] all right thank you uh the final item on
[1:24:12] this on the city development planning is
[1:24:14] sale of 35 moisten Street a vacant lot
[1:24:16] which would be an executive session
[1:24:20] so at this time I ask for a motion to
[1:24:22] adjourn City development planning so
[1:24:24] moved I mean I'm sorry reset so second
[1:24:27] all in favor
[1:24:30] so um I'd like to open claims
[1:24:34] um there are three items on the agenda
[1:24:36] for claims
[1:24:37] um all three of these items need to be
[1:24:39] discussed in executive session before we
[1:24:41] go on Executive session I have something
[1:24:43] I'd like to bring forward for claims
[1:24:46] oh okay
[1:24:47] um
[1:24:48] typically we do Personnel issues and
[1:24:51] claims
[1:24:53] um
[1:24:53] there's been serious allegations against
[1:24:56] Mr Farley we know that
[1:24:58] it's incumbent upon us as a body we have
[1:25:03] an issue of serious allegations against
[1:25:07] one of our members
[1:25:08] there needs to be an investigation and
[1:25:12] as our council president calling on you
[1:25:15] to call for an investigation so Mr
[1:25:18] Farley can have his name cleared and
[1:25:20] then there's nothing pointing over his
[1:25:22] head or if there's something found
[1:25:25] that's determined there's something
[1:25:27] either unethical or illegal then that
[1:25:30] can be addressed
[1:25:32] but I think it's very important for us
[1:25:34] to be transparent in this body to make
[1:25:37] sure that we have this addressed and I'm
[1:25:38] calling on you as our council president
[1:25:40] to call for an investigation
[1:25:43] so I'm not sure which what you're
[1:25:44] talking about specifically but let me
[1:25:46] say this let me say that in terms of the
[1:25:49] Consulting contract
[1:25:51] that was entered into the school
[1:25:52] district was very clear that there was
[1:25:54] nothing illegal it was not against the
[1:25:56] policy they were 100 clear when he um
[1:26:00] when he they signed him hired him as an
[1:26:02] employee that he already has a
[1:26:03] Consulting contract there was nothing
[1:26:05] illegal there so there's and and in
[1:26:08] addition to that it's already been
[1:26:09] referred to the State Board of Education
[1:26:11] who will look into it and if there's
[1:26:13] anything illegal it's up to them to make
[1:26:15] that decision so that process has
[1:26:16] already taken place
[1:26:17] all right but this we don't have ethics
[1:26:20] bot yes we do have a board at least
[1:26:22] Ethics Committee on this Council we have
[1:26:25] one in the city in the city yes well
[1:26:28] then I'm asking you to call for an
[1:26:30] investigation have the Ethics Committee
[1:26:32] look into it that way Mr Farley can at
[1:26:35] least have his name cleared and we can
[1:26:37] move forward because we are getting
[1:26:39] questions on this and you know it's
[1:26:43] something that should be looked into and
[1:26:45] while it is a school of board matter
[1:26:47] it's not
[1:26:48] a school issue it's not a no-show job
[1:26:52] situation this is public money and then
[1:26:54] there's some other issues with perhaps
[1:26:57] taxation issues that's something that is
[1:27:01] an Ethics issue and it should be looked
[1:27:03] into and again if Mr Farley's got no
[1:27:07] issue with this then he should have his
[1:27:09] he deserves to have his name cleared and
[1:27:11] I think that would need to be a request
[1:27:12] for Mr Farley and let's just also keep
[1:27:14] in mind that these things took place
[1:27:16] before Mr Farley was seated as this
[1:27:19] council at this Council so that's not
[1:27:22] these are not things that took place as
[1:27:24] a councilman
[1:27:26] excuse me let me just stop right here
[1:27:28] you started this by saying it's a
[1:27:30] personal issue it should be discussed in
[1:27:33] claim or in executive sessions however
[1:27:38] not in claims there's no claim against
[1:27:39] Mr Farley by anyone I said we usually do
[1:27:43] Personnel matters in clients but yet you
[1:27:45] want to discuss this particular one in
[1:27:47] public
[1:27:48] I didn't ask for it to be discussed in
[1:27:50] uh exactly Obsession I said it should be
[1:27:53] disgusting claims no one's discussing
[1:27:56] whether he's illegal unethical or not
[1:27:59] we're just calling for an investigation
[1:28:02] of whether he has done something or not
[1:28:05] done something there's a huge issue
[1:28:07] difference there okay so just a couple
[1:28:11] questions because I think that this is
[1:28:12] definitely
[1:28:14] um clearly something that um is a tad
[1:28:16] bizarre that you introduced that at this
[1:28:18] juncture of our standing committee
[1:28:20] meeting um I think that that's pretty
[1:28:22] telling us to follow me however
[1:28:24] um you say that that you know the
[1:28:28] question around ethics and transparency
[1:28:29] all information that has been talked
[1:28:32] about this is all public information I
[1:28:34] don't think that you can get more
[1:28:36] transparent than that
[1:28:38] um and I I just again I find it kind of
[1:28:41] odd that you would uh trying to
[1:28:43] interject this into this phase of our
[1:28:45] committee meeting and you're saying that
[1:28:47] we
[1:28:48] language you just used a couple minutes
[1:28:49] ago was that we are calling for an
[1:28:52] investigation and I would like to say I
[1:28:55] oh
[1:28:56] your I'll fix what I said I I just would
[1:29:00] like to would like to be clear about
[1:29:02] that um
[1:29:04] uh president porterfield's point the
[1:29:06] school district themselves was pretty
[1:29:08] clear that you know that this was
[1:29:10] nothing that uh that's even alleged
[1:29:14] um was illegal and I personally did not
[1:29:16] violate any standing policy that um that
[1:29:19] was uh on the books in the school
[1:29:21] district so with these things being said
[1:29:24] um what enterpack means that you know
[1:29:26] there's a there's an element to uh
[1:29:29] Chicago grandstanding almost
[1:29:30] criminalized
[1:29:32] um well there is there is so you're
[1:29:35] saying so Salon clear you're saying that
[1:29:37] there is no element no not from you
[1:29:42] right that's what you're saying right
[1:29:43] because you can speak to yourself I'm
[1:29:44] speaking of it myself so I will continue
[1:29:45] on my point so there is an element of of
[1:29:49] that that we've seen um from the GOP you
[1:29:51] know we're in a strong effort to try to
[1:29:53] criminalize uh myself and others you
[1:29:56] know around very significant things
[1:29:58] since I've been in this seat uh you know
[1:30:00] there has been claims uh but uh
[1:30:04] hate meal to me my colleagues I've been
[1:30:07] uh accused of being I think I was a I'm
[1:30:11] gonna make sure I go through the whole
[1:30:12] family I was a drug dealer
[1:30:14] um someone that would hurt children
[1:30:17] then now
[1:30:19] of defrauding that these type of things
[1:30:23] is exactly to my early point is what you
[1:30:25] call criminalization and it is all
[1:30:28] political theater and
[1:30:31] I just think that it's pretty rich
[1:30:34] um from considering the sources um I you
[1:30:37] know you know all color people are
[1:30:40] criminals and I think that we really
[1:30:42] need to deal with the issues in the
[1:30:45] appropriate way of introducing this at
[1:30:47] this time again is another way to try to
[1:30:51] spin up a news story
[1:30:55] speaking Spanish story but the people's
[1:30:59] connected me didn't collect me for a
[1:31:01] positive story or a negative story that
[1:31:04] elected me because of my 20 years over
[1:31:06] 20 years of consistent leadership and
[1:31:09] dedication to my community and that's
[1:31:12] not something that is really going to
[1:31:14] change based on the criminalization of
[1:31:17] myself or any other people on this so
[1:31:20] with that I appreciate um your concern
[1:31:23] to clear my name is that's how you're
[1:31:25] framing I'm not really sure
[1:31:27] um but I again I think it it not only is
[1:31:30] it bizarre but it's equally bizarre as
[1:31:33] it is really unsettling and the tension
[1:31:36] is not lost on me and I don't think
[1:31:38] anybody else was witnessing this in this
[1:31:39] moment thank you
[1:31:41] so this is not bizarre because we
[1:31:44] usually do Personnel matters during this
[1:31:46] time and claims and quite frankly when
[1:31:50] there's
[1:31:51] public money in play whether we're
[1:31:54] talking about paying taxes or school
[1:31:57] money which is public both local federal
[1:32:01] and state
[1:32:02] and there's serious accusations and
[1:32:05] people are calling us and saying what's
[1:32:08] the deal what's going on
[1:32:10] are there issues going on with Council
[1:32:13] money or not
[1:32:14] I don't know I personally don't think so
[1:32:18] um excuse me excuse me let me just
[1:32:20] interrupt you I'm not sure no I'm not
[1:32:22] sure what the council money means
[1:32:23] because we all get city council money in
[1:32:26] terms of the budget and that's what I'm
[1:32:28] talking about so in terms is this
[1:32:30] another allegation
[1:32:32] that's somebody okay so somebody did
[1:32:34] call and asked about that then no wait a
[1:32:37] minute Mr Farley was right I interrupted
[1:32:39] him and I let him speak and he was right
[1:32:42] I was wrong
[1:32:44] I'm not finished when I'm done you're
[1:32:46] able to speak all right and then we're
[1:32:48] going to end this conversation because
[1:32:51] um you know we as I said I am going to
[1:32:53] interrupt you here the school district
[1:32:55] is or someone has already said that this
[1:32:57] is being investigated by the state and
[1:32:59] State School Board
[1:33:00] that's it and if there's an
[1:33:02] investigation regarding taxes New York
[1:33:04] state tax department has a an arm that
[1:33:06] does that
[1:33:07] so then as the leader of the city
[1:33:09] council you're saying we should not ask
[1:33:12] for an investigation of one of our
[1:33:14] members of serious
[1:33:16] improprietary allegations of public
[1:33:18] funds I'm saying those investigations
[1:33:20] are taking place by the bodies that are
[1:33:22] involved ethics ethics is up to this
[1:33:26] Bible so you're either saying yes or no no
[1:33:29] I'm asking you and listen and I'm also
[1:33:33] investigation or even either answer yes
[1:33:36] or no my answer is awesome
[1:33:39] excuse me you don't you don't get to
[1:33:41] sell me yes or no I'm telling you why
[1:33:44] you do it all the time
[1:33:46] I think you do okay it doesn't well
[1:33:49] that's your opinion I'm telling you this
[1:33:51] that there's already been it's already
[1:33:52] been turned over to the State Board of
[1:33:55] Education it's New York State uh
[1:33:58] Department of Taxation Fields there
[1:33:59] needs to be investigation they will do
[1:34:01] that so then the answer to question to
[1:34:04] you from you that is
[1:34:06] the answer to your question is it's
[1:34:08] being investigated that is the answer to
[1:34:10] your question and I'm asking for this
[1:34:12] you as our library why do we need
[1:34:15] additional investigations if they're
[1:34:16] already being done because this is our
[1:34:18] body and we're the city government and
[1:34:21] people are asking questions what are you
[1:34:23] guys going to do about it and if we
[1:34:25] don't investigate ourselves in terms of
[1:34:28] public money then there's no
[1:34:30] accountability I disagree with that and
[1:34:33] you and you can answer the people that
[1:34:35] there are investigations taking place
[1:34:36] already so then your answer to my
[1:34:38] questions my answer to your question is
[1:34:40] no your investigations are taking place
[1:34:42] you will not put words in my mouth that
[1:34:43] is my answer because everybody can see
[1:34:46] what the answer is I think it's just
[1:34:48] important um for me at this point to
[1:34:51] just really
[1:34:52] um highlight the fact that
[1:34:55] these type of tactics are really really
[1:34:59] like morrising
[1:35:02] um and Mr probably mean when you
[1:35:04] introduce something into a conversation
[1:35:06] to say nope you know people are asking
[1:35:08] me about city council money and just and
[1:35:12] then to say oh you know all right you
[1:35:15] know is there something going on there I
[1:35:17] don't know that is again another dog
[1:35:20] whistle and you have been consistent um
[1:35:23] with your doll whistles and your you
[1:35:27] know really attempts to try to
[1:35:29] criminalize certain people
[1:35:31] um that are on the city council and I
[1:35:33] happen to be one of those people again
[1:35:36] our business of the city is what I would
[1:35:40] much rather be spacing our time on
[1:35:43] um not wasting our time on with this but
[1:35:45] really dedicating to that just like
[1:35:47] earlier Mr probably meaning when we're
[1:35:49] talking about
[1:35:50] garbage cans and trying to figure out
[1:35:53] where the place you know where the place
[1:35:55] them are and then and get a clear
[1:35:56] picture of that instead of accepting the
[1:35:59] fact like okay that's that's a
[1:36:01] reasonable question and let's do this we
[1:36:03] try to turn that into a power struggle
[1:36:05] you are clearly are an obstructionist
[1:36:07] and this is just you uh perpetuating
[1:36:10] that behavior and I really would
[1:36:12] appreciate um if you at least had the
[1:36:14] integrity and if they need to just say
[1:36:17] what's really on your mind stop trying
[1:36:18] to proud of the people called me and
[1:36:20] said and I don't know on this answer and
[1:36:22] just really be who you say you are but
[1:36:24] that's why people have their faith in me
[1:36:25] thank you you're welcome but the
[1:36:27] Integrity of this council is an aimed
[1:36:30] we're each of us you don't like it
[1:36:32] that's for you to dislike or not like
[1:36:35] you want to talk about obstructionists
[1:36:37] there's been nothing brought forward
[1:36:39] from many members of this Council but
[1:36:41] when they are they're consistently
[1:36:43] objected to and that is proven all you
[1:36:46] gotta do is watch the meetings there's
[1:36:48] been a literate proposal that's been all
[1:36:51] kinds of issues with uh specific stuff
[1:36:54] that really had nothing to do with the
[1:36:56] literate proposal itself there's been
[1:36:58] obstruction of other issues that we
[1:37:01] brought forward so we can talk about
[1:37:03] obstructionists or not but the fact is
[1:37:06] there were allegations made and they
[1:37:08] deserved some sort of hearing now
[1:37:11] whether or not they're true or not isn't
[1:37:15] for me to determine you to determine is
[1:37:18] for somebody else to determine that's
[1:37:20] why there would be an investigation and
[1:37:23] you want to talk about dog whistles
[1:37:24] you're the one that blows the dog
[1:37:26] whistles every time because it's
[1:37:29] distract and deflect from an issue of
[1:37:32] seriousness and that's what's going on
[1:37:34] here and continuously happens every time
[1:37:38] something happens there is a distract
[1:37:41] and deflect method
[1:37:43] so with that I'll be done Miss Miss
[1:37:46] Patrick do you want to move over the
[1:37:48] place I do yep so we have three items on
[1:37:51] the agenda
[1:37:52] um one
[1:37:54] um is Safeco Insurance
[1:37:56] ASO Jonathan Miller versus the city of
[1:37:59] Schenectady the next is ramen and Paulie
[1:38:01] versus city of Schenectady and the final
[1:38:03] one is Southside Development LLC versus
[1:38:06] city of Schenectady all three of these
[1:38:08] need to be addressed in executive
[1:38:11] session they all yes and the reason why
[1:38:13] you want to go to Executive session has
[1:38:16] to do with negotiating settlements of
[1:38:18] litigation which is an exception to the
[1:38:21] open meetings law the purposes of
[1:38:23] executive session thank you so I'd like
[1:38:25] to
[1:38:26] um call us to be able to go into
[1:38:29] executive session may I have a motion
[1:38:31] for that so
[1:38:33] um
[1:38:34] I need a second I'm sorry okay okay
[1:38:38] so we're going to go into the executive
[1:38:41] session