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 where
as 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
predecessors is leaving his mark on some
of the Region's most significant
buildings and whereas for a 100 years
connec hardware and electric has been
lighting up the capital region as a
premier Union El electrical contractor
four generations of spans have proudly
been at the home of skincity hardware
and electric and each generation has put
its Mark in the community the business
has evolved immensely over the past 100
years and on October 25th they
celebrated their 100y year
anniversary now therefore it be resolved
that SKC city council and Mayor Gary R
McCarthy du by hereby paus into
deliberations to gradually concy
hardware and electric on celebrating 100
Years of business in the city's connec
and to wish them continued success for
many years quite the accomplishment
would you so this resolution was
previously passed at a earlier council
meeting so there's no motion Rec needed
would you like to congratul
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 connecting
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 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 to 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 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 and
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 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 diseas is
necessary now therefore be it resolved
that the sked city council and Mayor
Gary R 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 skinc 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 U may I uh get a
motion to pass this resolution you make
the motion I'll make the motion okay and
so 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 connect 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 to
see thank you so
much thank you thank you very much thank
you
again I'd like to ask for approval of
the minutes from October 23rd
20123 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 13
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 committee
report this time we'll have privilege of
the floor 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 all now I don't know
if the woodon 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
King's Road there's been some things and
I notic is
about you know about Union Street but if
there was another ESS for you for the
people going down Kings Road there would
be no speeding problem I said that to
the president at the city council I
texted her and I told her that so I
wanted to say that and Mr parley lived
over in Wood La for some time he knows
what I'm saying so it's not wood law
it's not you know Union Street it's
Belleview it's The Stockade everybody
has an issue I just want 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 declare 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 Mr mudaron all in favor I thank
you uh now we'll have privilege of the
floor regarding General City business
and I have two people signed up to
speak jeie
or good evening mayor and council
members I'm jeie or I know you've seen
me here before I'm the program manager
for Capital District tobacco feed
communities and for the past few months
I know that the city council has been
considering how to address the
proliferation of smoke and vape shops in
the city whether it's through moratorium
or through zoning and my colleague and I
have been attending these meetings to
provide information on how the number
and location of tobacco retailers
matters to Community Health and 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 Nuna in September my colleague
presented on the fact that low income
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 on 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
within5 UND ft of one or more schools
and the highest poverty ZIP codes in the
city of
SKC we observed an alarming number of
violations of state law 16 were related
to the sale of flavored 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 1,000 ft of schools all have been
or 1500 ft of schools I'm sorry all have
been reported to the connected 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 it 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
iniquities 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 lifelong I
don't drink anymore I haven't drank 5
years 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 that'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 epsol 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 want 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 it's 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 on just two pills and I told
them for 25 years that it's was being
overdosed not till I saw something by
Angela 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's 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 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 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 see 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 everyone a
Happy Thanksgiving uh coming up next
week as well 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 while designing
Healthy Communities by uh increasing the
likelihood of healthy choices and um
decreasing the likelihood of unhealthy
choices and anytime you have a community
that it's easier to get um uh tobacco
product than as 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 practives but but um just
being mindful of the setting conditions
for healthy Community thank
you
mayor thank you madam president
appreciate everyone that came out uh
also want to thank everyone who uh came
out and Tuesday and voted encourage
everyone to come out next Saturday for
the holiday parade as we kick off the uh
season in downtown SKC to 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 the 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 Mancini and also the mayor to
uh on being reelected so um as we move
forward we have other things to do and
for those of the were 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 say we are
much closer than we've been in week 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'd just like to say Happy
Thanksgiving to everyone and with that
I'll ask for a motion to adjourn moveed
by Miss Patrick second by Mr M all in
favor we're adjourn thank
you have a nice Thanksgiving