okay to convert gas light into electric
and whereas his son Donald served as
president CEO from 1982 to 1993 he grew
a residential business and expanded into
Light commercial industry grandson Larry
stepped into lead from 1993 to 2008
under his leadership the company grew to
become the largest electrical
contracting firm in the area and whereas
the business is now located as at 135
Area Boulevard and the current president
CEO Chris has been driving the business
Forest since 2008 and like his presor
cessors is leaving his mark on some of
the Region's most significant buildings
and whereas for a 100 years connecti
hardware and electric has been lighting
up the capital region as a premier Union
El electrical contractor four
generations ofans have proudly been at
the home of SKC hardware and electric
and each generation has put its mark on
the community the business has evolved
immensely over the past 100 years and on
October 25th they celebrated their 100y
year
anniversary now therefore resolve that
SKC city council and Mayor Gary R
McCarthy do by hereby paus into
deliberations to graduate SKC hardware
and electric on celebrating 100 Years of
business in the city of concy and to
wish them contined success for many
years quite the accomplishment you so
this resolution was previously passed at
a earlier council meeting so there's no
motion recom needed would you like to
congratulations no it's been an honor
working in the city my whole career and
uh being with everybody in this room
working together and uh keeping our
business our employees our customers
happy um it's very appreciative of city
council recognize our efforts and uh I
love being a part of the community in
the city's connectivity
so thank you another 100
years I don't know about that but uh
thank you so much for the honor we we so
appreciate it it's been a long journey
and um here we are 2023 100 years
later no I guess what more could be said
after another 100 years right like to
present
this take
picture thank you
again
item number eight is the resolution
recognizing breast cancer awareness
month and I'd like to call on council
member Patrick to present this
resolution and if I could ask you two to
please join us up here Madame President
may I have the floor you have the floor
thank
you
hello so breast cancer awareness month
was actually in October um but we're
going to recognize that uh this evening
whereas breast cancer affects one in
eight women in the United States every
year and 2.3 million women worldwide and
whereas about 30% of early stage breast
cancers eventually metastasize spread to
parts of the body away from the breast
and there is a need for more research
about Med metatastic
disease and whereas according to the
Centers for Disease Control and
prevention breast cancer is the most
common form of cancer diagnosed among
women and the second highest cause of
cancer death among women women and
although not as common men can get
breast cancer as well and whereas
regular breast self- exams and annual
medical exam and mammograms are
important Tools in breast cancer
detection especially early detection
when cancers may be more treatable and
whereas me mamography an x-ray of the
human breast is recognized as the single
most effective method of detecting
breast changes that may be cancerous
long before physical symptoms can be
seen or felt and whereas in May
2023 the US preventive Services Task
Force issued a draft update to its
mamogram recommendations proposing that
women at average risk of breast cancer
start mammograms at age 40 and have a
mamogram every other year and whereas if
you are at higher than average risk for
breast cancer have dense breast or have
had breast cancer in the past your
doctor May recommend that you also get
other breast Imaging tests such as
breast MRI or ultrasound
and whereas in order to facilitate early
diagnosis and prompt treatment of breast
cancer in women and men public education
awareness and understanding of the
disease is necessary now therefore be it
resolved that the connected city council
and Mayor Gary AR McCarthy hereby pause
in their deliberations to remind
individuals to speak to their health
care providers about breast cancer
screening and in remembrance of those
who have lost their lives to breast
cancer and in support of those who are
currently fighting this disease and of
the more than 3.5 million breast cancer
survivors in the United States um we
pause to recognize breast cancer
awareness month and I want to just
mention that our skanect fire department
has a uh Cancer Foundation our our two
officers here are representing uh that
here this evening and I'd love to ask
you if you would uh take the microphone
uh may I uh get a motion to pass this
resolution you make the motion I'll make the motion okay and may I have a
second second by Mr Farley all those in
favor I motion passes
congratulations uh tonight we're here on
behalf of disc connected firefighters
Cancer Foundation as everyone knows in
this room cancer does not discriminate
specifically breast cancer um we are
very honored and proud to be the
recipients of this award so thank you
very much thank you would you like to
see
thank you so
much thank you thank you thank you very
much thank you again
okay I'd like to ask for approval of the
minutes from October 23rd
2023 mve by Mr
Williams moved by Mr Williams second by
Miss Patrick all those in favor I
the clerk could please read any
Communications and
petitions Communications presented to
the city council for Monday November 13
2023 under official from the mayor a
list of appointments dated November 13th
2023 under General there were none and
under petitions there were none thank
you I'd like to call on council members
to provide any committee
reports any committee
reports this time we'll have privilege
of Flor related to the legislative
agenda and I have one person signed up
to speak Robert
Sanders good evening mayor council
members
um I see uh number two original
consideration for public hearing on uh
the Upper Union Street um I understand
this great leaders businesses and you
always got to do your thing up there but
how however where I live in woodon okay
there's Kings Road and I'm sure you've
heard a lot about that there's you know
where I live in saraphi apartments
there's Megan Gardens there's Court
Royal there's a lot of traffic going
down that road it's just not the traffic
but we don't get anything like this one
bit at all now I don't know if the wood
laon leader has to apply for that but
why is your union always getting it you
know um that's my main
question uh haven't spoken in a while so
I'm a little bit
nervous but it's important that on Kings
Road there's been some things and I know
this is
about you know about Union Street but if
there was another
egress for you for the people going down
Kings Road there would be no speeding
problem I said that to the president at city council I texted her
and I told her that so I wanted to say
that and Mr parley lived over woodl for
some time he knows what I'm saying so
it's not woodon it's not you know Union
Street it's bellw it's the starcade
everybody has an issue I just wanted to
say that it's a good idea and next year
I think everybody should get on the
action thank you thank
you I have now no one else signed up to
speak so I declared the public comment
on the legislative agenda
closed I'll ask for approval of the
consent leg legislative consent
agenda motion by Mr Farley second by m
Mr mudar all in favor I thank
you
to provide information on how the number
and location of tobacco retailers
matters to Community Health in August I
spoke about the disproportionate
presence of tobacco retailers in
low-income neighborhoods with Hamilton
Hill having more than five times the
tobacco retailers per capita as nkuna in
September my colleague presented on the
fact that low in communities have a
higher proportion of tobacco retailers
located near schools increasing youth
exposure to Tobacco marketing and
promotion and increasing the likelihood
of tobacco use among youth in October I
spoke about the importance of
considering all retailers that sell
tobacco and vape shops in the city not
just vape and smoke shops that primarily
sell these products today I bring you
preliminary data gathered in the city of
SKC that supports the fact that the
location and density of all licensed
tobacco retailers including convenience
stores gas stations discount and grocery
stores influence young people to start
and hinder young adults who want to quit
from
quitting our team just completed visits
to 31 licensed tobacco retailers located
within 1500 ft of one or more schools
and the highest poverty ZIP codes in the
city of
sken we observed an alarming number of
violations of state law 16 were related
to the sale of flavor Vapes containing
nicotine which was banned by state law
in um last year and then 19 related to
the display of exterior tobacco ads
which are also banned by state law
within a th000 feet of schools all have
been or 1500 feet of schools I'm sorry
all have been reported to the concy
County Public Health
Services we also observed an alarming
amount of marketing and promotion that
were perfectly legal legal legal but not
necessarily good and actually not good
for Public Health and we observe tobacco
displays that take up one half or more
of the space behind the checkout counter
in 75% of the stores we visited and
that's important because everybody has
to come to the checkout and that's where
young people and people who are trying
to quit um have to go in order to check
out of the store we also observed
exterior and interior ads that were
disproportionately for flavored cigars
and cigaros which are increasingly
popular among high school students
particularly among African-American male
youth
we also observed that all the stores
almost all the stores sold flavored
cigars and cigaros in packages that sell
for $150 or less this leaves tobacco
products that are all too affordable for
young people and they're very sensitive
to price and that's very
affordable uh we're currently compiling
a document that will provide details and
photos of what we observed in the field
and at a future meeting we plan to take
you on a visual tour of that tobacco
marketing and promotion and what
actually looks like in the highest
poverty neighborhoods in the city of
skty and why it has such a profound
impact on the people who live there we
look forward to sharing our findings in
more detail and welcome the opportunity
to Dialogue on the various ways in which
other communities across the state and
the nation have been addressing the
health inequities resulting from the
abundance of tobacco marketing and
promotion in lower income neighborhoods
thank you so much thank
you Robert
Sanders
good evening my name is Robert Sanders I
live in the city of
SKC
um I would just like to follow up on the
last speaker because uh myself I smoked
four cigarettes my whole life long I
don't drink it anymore I haven't drank
five years um but cigarettes cigars all
these things are probably no good for
you I I smoke cigar every now and then
but it's constitutional okay no matter
what you think no matter how you do it
it's constitutional you can do this now
I'm not saying that we should put out
ads they put out ads for gambling at the
casino it's not the most healthiest
thing for you but everybody has a
freedom of choice I always hear my body
my choice okay that's for everybody okay
now besides just that I want to go on to
another thing
um you gave the uh resolution away for
breast cancer awareness month um that
you said was last uh month it was this
month is for epilepsy EPS epilepsy
awareness month okay you have the right
colors
on that's the color you know so um I was
trying to find a tie that color I
couldn't do it but I wanted to let you
know that because so many people suffer
from this ailment and well there's a
month for everything and I'm sure you
guys know it because you hand out the
resolutions be St Patrick's Day for the
Hibernians epilepsy is something that's
uncontrollable okay and when I say that
I mean it like this myself they had me
on all this medication they had and now
I'm down like just two pills and I've
told them for 25 years that I was being
overdosed not until I saw something by
Angel Santa Barbara when he held out a
Nar narcon thing that I know that I was
taking too much medicine so I feel so
much better today I am so much better
today but it's just a stigma around
epilepsy people neurological conditions
you know we tend to shake a little more
get a little nervous odd things like
that but it is something that's major
not only in New York state but you know
I should have hit the lottery because
one in a million get it one in a million
get the lottery but it's something
that's this month the color is purple so
in two weeks I'll be back okay I'll see
you all in purple have a good day thank
you I have no one else signed up up to
speak so I declare the public comment of
City business
closed this time we'll have
miscellaneous business from the
council Miss
Patrick I just want to thank everyone um
who came out to vote last week it's very
important in our democracy that folks do
vote so for everyone that did cast their
vote uh thank you very much and um hope
everyone will continue to do so in
upcoming elections uh as the years go by
and I just want to wish every everyone a
Happy Thanksgiving uh coming up next
week as well uh thank you thank you Mr
Farley thank you madam president I just
want to again Echo thank everyone for
coming out to speak I think um some
information uh that we heard today was
uh pretty compelling that and you know I
urge uh my uh council members and the
broader Community to just think about
ways that we can um increase the
likelihood of having a healthy Community
I for one and all I'm all about freedom
of choice for people I also know that um
depending on the proximity um of
available things in your community that
can increase your likelihood to make a
unhealthy Choice by just mere proximity
and we want to make sure that we're
being mindful um that we are uh
designing um because city is in
continual in design more designing
Healthy Communities by uh increasing the
likelihood of healthy choices and um
decreasing the likelihood of unhealthy
choices and any time you have a
community that it's easier to get um uh
tobacco product than is a Apple then
that's not really uh the type of
community that's not the setting
conditions for a healthy Community um
and with that respect understanding that
we all make unhealthy choices from time
to time because that is with our
prerogatives but um just being mindful
of the setting conditions for healthy
Community thank
you
mayor thank you Madame President
appreciate everyone that came out uh
also want to thank everyone who uh came
out on Tuesday and voted encourage
everyone to come out next Saturday for
the holiday parade as we kick off the uh
season in downtown skty come out enjoy
the parade uh and then come back during
the season to take advantage of the
venues and the different activities that
are happening not only in downtown but
throughout the city of SKC thank you
madam president thank you I'd also like
to thank everyone that came out tonight
and also to all of the voters that came
out to uh take part in doing their civic
um Duty and I'd like to congratulate uh
the reelected council members as well as
our council member elect Joe manini and
also it's the mayor to uh on being
reelected so um as we move forward we
have other things to do and for those of
you are watching earlier I'm just going
to mention that we are still in our
budget
talks and uh we do have another meeting
coming up but we anticipate that it will
be done within the week that's that's
our anticipation I have to to say we are
much closer than we've been in weeks so
uh keep I know that people have been
sending at least to me comments and you
know what things they're they have to
say about how we're doing on the budget
so you know continue to do that um but
you know our goal is to do the absolute
best budget for our city residents our
businesses that are here and also to
make sure that we um we are able to
carry on the business of the city so uh
just know that we are continuing to do
that work and i' just like to say Happy
Thanksgiving to everyone and with that
I'll ask for a motion to adjourn move by
Miss Patrick second by Mr M all in favor
we're adjourn thank
you have nice
Thanksgiving