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[5:07] I'd like to call to order the city C
[5:09] council conf meeting for January 8th
[5:14] 2024 we have two items for original
[5:17] consideration if the clerk would please
[5:19] read item number
[5:23] one
[5:25] number
[5:28] resol
[5:40] transp Federal and appropriating funds
[5:43] foran Street Bridge rehab rehabilitation
[5:46] New York State Department of
[5:47] Transportation pin number
[5:50] 17623 discussed in committee with
[5:52] objection on consent item number two for original
[5:56] consideration a resolution recognizing
[5:58] the contrition of 518 elevated and
[6:02] recognized in January as National
[6:04] mentoring month this item will be taken
[6:06] out of order and presented by councilman
[6:08] Williams if there's nothing more to come
[6:10] before the city council caucus I ask for
[6:11] a motion to
[6:14] adjourn all those in
[6:18] favor I'd like to call for the city
[6:20] council meeting for Monday January 8th
[6:23] 2024 and I'd like to call on Riven Amari
[6:26] to do the
[6:28] invitation
[6:31] Dr Martin Luther King whose birthday we
[6:33] celebrate in the coming weeks is quoted
[6:35] to have said as
[6:46] ear
[6:49] the
[6:51] nonviolence of the
[6:58] Beloved
[7:20] many hopes and aspirations of the
[7:22] community that led struggles for civil
[7:24] rights for all our square a project of
[7:28] the commission of religion and race of
[7:29] the United Methodist Church identifies
[7:32] 25 traits of the Beloved Community First
[7:35] suggested by Dr Arthur Wright As We
[7:38] Gather in prayer this evening there are
[7:40] five of those traits I'd like to
[7:42] highlight to encourage the legislative
[7:44] and governance leadership of this body
[7:46] for our beloveds concy the Beloved
[7:49] Community is expressed in the following
[7:50] ways one exhibits personal authenticity
[7:53] true respect and validation of others
[7:56] two recognition and affirmation not
[7:59] eradication of difference three builds
[8:03] increasing levels of trust and works to
[8:05] avoid fear of difference and others four
[8:08] focuses energy on removing evil forces
[8:11] not destroying persons and five promotes
[8:14] human rights and works to create a
[8:16] non-racist society would you join me in
[8:20] prayer omniscient everpresent and all
[8:24] powerful source of goodness We Gather
[8:26] this evening asking that you bestow on
[8:28] these your children your gifts of Peace
[8:32] wisdom fellowship and strength we pray
[8:36] that these values of Beloved Community
[8:38] those who inspired in Josiah Roy Martin
[8:41] Luther King and Arthur Wright will
[8:43] continue to inspire our work and
[8:45] Leadership with this community Inspire
[8:48] us all I pray and Inspire these your
[8:51] children the president of the council
[8:53] and the council members the mayor and
[8:55] everyone who labors to govern the
[8:58] municipality with with your presence and
[9:01] as Paul the Apostle encouraged the
[9:03] church in Philippi this your servants
[9:06] may be encouraged if anything is
[9:08] excellent and if anything is admirable
[9:10] focus on all your thoughts on these
[9:12] things all that is true all that is Holy
[9:16] all that is just all that is pure all
[9:19] that is lovely and all that is worthy of
[9:21] Praise may it be so in the name of
[9:25] everything that is Holy good and
[9:26] righteous amen amen thank you Reverend
[9:30] I'd like to call on councilman Miss
[9:32] Mancini to Alle in the
[9:34] pledge I pledge
[9:49] aliice thank
[9:53] you if the clerk could please complete
[9:55] the Roll
[9:58] Call
[10:01] Mr muon Mr
[10:04] Toro Mr Farley is
[10:07] absent Mr
[10:09] Williams Miss
[10:12] Patrick M Mancini here and Miss
[10:16] Porterfield
[10:19] here we have one out of order resolution
[10:21] recognizing the contributions of 518
[10:24] elevated and I'd like to call on
[10:26] councilman Williams to present this
[10:28] resolution
[10:32] those of us those are here to accept it
[10:34] please join us behind the
[10:41] rail come behind the rail on the other
[10:44] side yes thank
[10:49] you I beg your pardon oh of course yes I
[10:54] thought you were coming to be
[10:58] a
[11:04] I have the floor you have the floor sir
[11:05] all right before I begin with this
[11:07] resolution I would just like to outline
[11:09] that I am a a direct recipient of
[11:11] mentorship and although not this program
[11:13] to definitely the generosity of a
[11:15] community of individuals that felt it in
[11:18] their best interest to impart some
[11:19] wisdom on a young individual like myself
[11:21] so I'm very honored to you presenting
[11:23] this
[11:24] today so today a resolution recognizing
[11:27] the contributions of 518 elevated and
[11:30] recognizing January as National Mentor
[11:32] mentoring month whereas 518 elevated was
[11:35] founded in 1997 as Capital Region
[11:37] sponsor a scholar in Alban New York and
[11:40] whereas 518 elevated now covers all of
[11:43] the counties that Encompass the capital
[11:45] region of New York and has graduated
[11:47] over 350 people through its program and
[11:50] who have earned a post-secondary degree
[11:52] and whereas 518 elevated is now known
[11:55] for its specialized programs mentoring
[11:57] professional guidance and academic and
[12:00] financial support for qualifying
[12:01] participants in the Capitol region and
[12:04] whereas by assembling a network of
[12:05] Business Leaders educational Advocates
[12:08] and dedicated volunteers promising youth
[12:10] are provided opportunities and access to
[12:13] higher education that may be otherwise
[12:15] unid unavailable and whereas 518
[12:18] elevated has promoted mentoring through
[12:20] its partway Pathways to college program
[12:23] engaging members of the community to
[12:25] participate and share networks knowledge
[12:28] and expertise with with students from
[12:29] across the region and whereas January is
[12:32] known as National mentoring month an
[12:34] annual campaign dedicated to raising
[12:36] awareness about the power and impact of
[12:39] mentoring and to recognize and honor the
[12:42] contributions of mentors now therefore
[12:44] be it resolved that the conc city
[12:46] council and Mayor Gary R McCarthy do
[12:49] hereby pause in their deliberation to
[12:50] recognize 518 elevated staff and
[12:53] volunteers for their continued
[12:55] dedication to providing Equitable
[12:57] educational opportunities to St students
[12:59] and work ready adults in the capital
[13:01] region including skty and applaud 510
[13:04] elevated for its accomplishments in the
[13:06] city and county of skty and the capitol
[13:11] region and I'd like to move a resolution
[13:14] I need a second please second all those
[13:17] in favor I congratulations to
[13:24] passes I didn't know I get to say
[13:27] anything thank you very very much um the
[13:30] work that we do is a testament you know
[13:33] as he said um mentoring brings students
[13:37] opportunities exposure and networks that
[13:39] they may not get otherwise so we're
[13:41] happy to continue that in the city of
[13:43] SKC and Beyond and thank you for
[13:45] recognizing um us and the volunteers and
[13:48] the organization we are honored thank
[13:50] you thank
[13:54] you and I'd also like to um thank our
[13:57] director of development Miss Alexandria
[13:59] Carver for bringing this to our
[14:00] attention so we could pass so we could
[14:02] have this
[14:05] resolution any need approval of the
[14:07] minutes for uh December 26th and January
[14:10] 2nd
[14:12] 2024 second by Mr Williams all those in
[14:15] favor I ask the clerk to please read any
[14:18] Communications and
[14:22] petitions Communications presented to
[14:24] the city council for Monday January 8th
[14:26] 2024 under official from the mayor a
[14:28] list of appointments dated January 8th
[14:31] 2024 under General from Thomas Kennedy
[14:34] SKC GOP chair and email regarding a
[14:37] closed meeting held by the Council on
[14:40] December 28 2023 at 5:30 stating that
[14:43] this meeting was a violation of the New
[14:45] York State opens meeting law and under
[14:47] petitions there were
[14:50] none thank you I call on city council
[14:53] members for any committee
[14:57] reports this time we have privilege of
[14:59] the floor um related to the legislative
[15:01] agenda and I have no one signed up to
[15:03] speak so I declare the public comment on
[15:05] the legislative agenda
[15:08] closed as for approval of the
[15:10] legislative consent agenda need a motion
[15:13] Miss Patrick second by Mr muin all in
[15:16] favor
[15:17] I we'll now have privilege of the floor
[15:20] related to the to General City business
[15:23] and again I have no one signed up to
[15:25] speak so if there's someone here that
[15:27] doesn't know the process and wanted to
[15:29] speak okay all right then um if you
[15:33] would just come to the
[15:39] microphone and we would need to state
[15:41] your name and I need to let you know
[15:43] that you have three minutes to speak uh good good uh actually good night my
[15:48] name is Andre Gerard uh some people know
[15:51] me as AKA uh triple
[15:54] OG um I am uh the founder the CEO as as
[15:58] well as the executive director of a
[16:01] business called gang affiliated
[16:03] nonviolent guidance over here in
[16:06] skincity um I'm making a diligent effort
[16:09] um to give back to the community of
[16:12] which once I I was um part of
[16:16] Destruction um at 51 years old uh my
[16:20] calling is to reduce violence um I am
[16:23] very active in the community they know
[16:25] me um I haven't I have issues with find
[16:29] financing uh my business I have been
[16:31] recently attacked by um you know um the
[16:35] sheriff department they decided to take
[16:37] away the community
[16:39] Unity um you know I I purchased a
[16:42] community Unity truck to help you know
[16:45] um provide food you know and uh hats and
[16:48] shirts you know to to the community that
[16:50] I'm reducing violence in and uh I have a
[16:55] lot of support but I noticed that I get
[16:58] I'm loved and I'm hated you know I I
[17:00] just and then I I don't know or I'm not
[17:04] properly um I would say um I know
[17:08] there's money and there's resources that
[17:11] would be much happy that I am taking uh
[17:14] a leading role in uh reducing violence
[17:17] in conc and when I say violence I am
[17:20] promoting hugs no slugs and you know I
[17:23] had just have a way of you know
[17:26] interacting with the youth when they see
[17:28] gang affiliated nonviolent guidance I
[17:31] mean they just they just come to me and
[17:35] just explain to me the things that is
[17:37] going on I have stopped a lot of murders
[17:40] violence uh stabbings I can tell you
[17:43] that there's a lot of domestic violence
[17:45] in connecti and all I am striving to do
[17:48] is my part and um my name is Andre
[17:52] Gerard um I am rightwing working class I
[17:56] am GOP my business other business is
[18:00] called uh black Republican movement
[18:03] ww.com you can go and lo log on and find
[18:06] out more about black Republican
[18:08] movement.com here in skan in the
[18:12] 518 um uh I I'm just grateful to be able
[18:16] to uh you know do cookouts and reach out
[18:20] to the people out here in skincity who
[18:22] are homeless who are veterans uh who are
[18:25] going through issues with addiction and
[18:28] stuff like that I just I'm out in the
[18:30] streets and I also have secular
[18:33] knowledge on a different level so it's
[18:35] just you know I just know how to uh
[18:37] interact with the people I just that you
[18:40] know um it's just terrible what's going
[18:43] on it's a very crisis is a terrible
[18:45] crisis of violence in uh skan and uh if
[18:49] it's not addressed properly um it's
[18:51] going to end up like another you know
[18:53] Albany or you know Troy and hopefully uh
[18:57] you know um I can help with you know get
[19:00] some resources to reach out to the youth
[19:03] because you know when they don't have
[19:04] activities on recreational things to uh
[19:08] participate and they just uh you know
[19:11] find you know themselves in
[19:13] trouble thank
[19:19] you Elizabeth
[19:25] Walsh good evening all my my name is
[19:28] Elizabeth Walsh I reside in The Stockade
[19:30] neighborhood I come before you today not
[19:32] only as a resident of The Stockade
[19:34] neighborhood but also as a planner who's
[19:36] committed to advocating for walkable
[19:38] vibrant neighborhoods and climate
[19:40] resilient regions where everyone can
[19:42] Thrive a little over a year ago I moved
[19:45] here from Denver Colorado where I taught
[19:46] Community Development at the University
[19:48] of Colorado University of Denver this is
[19:51] the first time in 25 years of living in
[19:53] urban neighborhoods that I've not been
[19:55] able to safely walk bike or take a bus
[19:57] to meet all of my we basic
[19:59] needs uh thankfully with your
[20:02] collaborative leadership with uh all
[20:04] sorts of public sector Civic and private
[20:07] Partners uh and your strategic
[20:09] Investments a future of Transit oriented
[20:12] sustainable development is on the
[20:14] horizon thank you for all you have done
[20:16] in collaboration with County officials
[20:18] to support Transit oriented development
[20:20] one of the key priorities from the scnc
[20:22] 2020 comprehensive
[20:24] plan
[20:26] um pardon me
[20:28] which was adopted in 2008 it's been so
[20:32] exciting to see the Gateway Mobility Pub
[20:34] the Region's first major M multimodal
[20:37] Transportation Hub adopted at State and
[20:39] Church Streets now it's easier than ever
[20:41] for SKC residents and visitors to
[20:43] conveniently and comfortably access A
[20:46] diversity of Mobility options including
[20:49] access to over 10 major bus lines as
[20:51] well as a bike and scooter share program
[20:54] and parking for electric vehicles and
[20:55] personal bikes now people can get get
[20:58] off a bus hop on to a bike and access
[21:00] all of what downtown SKC has to offer
[21:03] well the new Gateway Mobility Hub is
[21:05] really exciting it's also important to
[21:07] remember that activating multimodal
[21:09] Mobility hubs like these requires a
[21:12] larger Equitable Transit oriented
[21:14] development strategy people are only
[21:17] free from dependence on automobiles
[21:19] where they can easily access all their
[21:21] basic weekly needs near Transit stops
[21:24] for instance commuters are much more
[21:25] likely to use a bus when they know that
[21:27] they can make a quick stop at the
[21:28] grocery store before they hat back and
[21:30] the bus at the end of the day to go home
[21:33] surely that's one of the many reasons
[21:35] that the 20120 comprehensive plans
[21:37] implementation strategy recommended to
[21:40] make it a priority to quote identify
[21:42] locations and complete a feasibility
[21:45] study for an inner city grocery store
[21:48] although we all know that downtown skd
[21:50] has not had a downtown grocery store in
[21:51] 20 years more than 20 years it's
[21:54] important to recognize that City staff
[21:55] and elected leaders have been really diligent in moving that plan
[22:00] forward there have been several
[22:01] completed uh feasibility analyses that
[22:03] reveal that a grocery store located very
[22:06] close to the mobility Hub is not only
[22:08] feasible but would also significantly
[22:10] contribute to our local economy and to
[22:12] the Community Health of surrounding
[22:14] neighborhoods thankfully we also know
[22:16] that there's tremendous momentum under
[22:18] the way thanks to the Thousand Members
[22:21] Plus of the Electric City Co-Op and you
[22:25] all for investing in the co-op a million
[22:27] dollar of arpa money along with the 3
[22:29] million committed from the county the
[22:32] other great news is that the county of
[22:33] SKC now owns an impressive assemblage of
[22:37] parcels oh that's time yes you can
[22:42] finish your sentence but then I need you
[22:43] to summarize and an impressive
[22:46] assemblage of parcels immediately next
[22:48] to the Gateway Mobility Hub um which is
[22:51] an unparalleled opportunity to
[22:53] collaborate to attract the uses that can
[22:55] really support Equitable Transit
[22:57] oriented development
[22:58] thanks thank
[23:00] you I have no one else signed up to
[23:02] speak so I declare the public comment of
[23:04] City business
[23:06] closed any miscellaneous business of the
[23:09] council Mr
[23:18] Williams uh good evening thank you
[23:20] although we haven't experienced a lot of
[23:22] snow I thought it was important to just
[23:23] take a moment uh to appreciate the uh
[23:26] Investments uh that have been made um
[23:29] yesterday there was a lot of that was uh
[23:32] present within our city and I want to
[23:34] remind the residents that it wasn't a
[23:35] coincidence that our roadways and
[23:37] streets were paved in most instances
[23:39] Equitable fashion I wanted to take a
[23:41] moment to I think it's easier to
[23:43] criticize uh sometime so I wanted to
[23:45] deliberately take a moment to just
[23:46] appreciate the uh investment uh that our
[23:48] office of General Services makes to
[23:50] ensure that our roadways are always uh
[23:53] clean and drivable for our residents um
[23:55] but I also wanted to identify that as as
[23:58] I was putting out trash out front of my
[23:59] house today uh regardless of the weather
[24:02] conditions heat rail heat rain hail or
[24:05] snow um our uh sanitation department uh
[24:09] does an exceptional job with removing
[24:10] all of that and uh I know during our
[24:13] budget season uh we definitely
[24:15] deliberated at length about how to fund
[24:17] that resource but I think it's safe to
[24:18] say at no point do we undervalue uh that resources ability to meet the needs
[24:23] of our growing city uh to both uh our uh
[24:26] Street um plowing efforts during our
[24:28] winter seasons and also to our
[24:30] sanitation department I sincerely wanted
[24:32] to just say thank you for the hard work
[24:34] I think we're do another snowfall either
[24:36] today or tomorrow uh so everyone please
[24:38] be safe uh and also intentionally if you
[24:41] live around a school zone please make
[24:43] sure you are cleaning your Pathways uh
[24:45] in a lot of instances there are um
[24:47] families that are transiting into
[24:49] schools uh by foot and what makes it
[24:51] more difficult during our seasonal
[24:53] weathers is having ice or unpaid
[24:55] walkways so although it might be in
[24:58] consideration to yourself please make
[24:59] sure you are not inhibiting um or or uh
[25:03] putting in place any more obstacles that
[25:05] are preventing our younger uh students
[25:07] from reaching and getting a formal
[25:09] education daily thank you thank
[25:13] you
[25:16] mayor thank you Madame President uh and
[25:19] followup to uh councilor member Williams
[25:22] uh had the uh snowstorm got through that
[25:25] pretty good the forecast for tomorrow has uh some snow starting in
[25:30] the afternoon changing to rain there may
[25:33] be an inch or two so it could be
[25:35] significant but they're also
[25:37] forecasting uh wind gusts that may
[25:39] approach 50 mil an hour so there's a
[25:42] chance for trees to come down power
[25:44] lines to come down and we just have
[25:47] people be cognizant of that and be
[25:50] cautious always treat a utility line as
[25:53] it being a live electric line and if you
[25:56] do lose power see down uh telephone poll
[26:01] trees or anything to make sure you call
[26:03] National Grid or
[26:06] 911 thank you madam president thank you
[26:08] mayor I'd like to thank everyone that
[26:10] came out this evening to um make their
[26:13] concerns uh known to the city council
[26:16] and um I also want to thank all the city
[26:18] council members I I think we're off to a
[26:20] good start and welcome to Mr manini and
[26:23] thank you for leading the pledge today
[26:25] so um you know I'm looking forward to
[26:27] all the work that we'll be able to do
[26:28] collectively and collaboratively with
[26:30] the mayor for the city of scetti so I'm
[26:32] excited about
[26:33] 2024 just want to remind everyone that
[26:35] next Monday is Martin Luther King is
[26:37] Martin Luther King day is observed so we
[26:39] will not be having our committee meeting
[26:41] on that Monday but instead on Tuesday so
[26:44] Monday's a holiday so would and there's
[26:46] a few observations around the capital
[26:48] region for those of you who want to take
[26:50] out the time to um to do that and let's
[26:53] just as we um celebrate Martin P King's
[26:56] birthday let us just remember what he
[26:58] stood for and that it's not just a day
[27:00] to observe but absolutely to believe in
[27:03] what he preached in terms of um working
[27:06] together and the Beloved Community thank
[27:08] you very much and with that I'd ask for
[27:10] a motion to
[27:13] adjourn I move by move by Mr Williams
[27:17] second by Mr Mancini all those in favor
[27:20] I we're adjourned have a good
[27:23] evening oh I kept them longer than they
[27:25] wanted to
[27:26] stay
[27:28] you're not us a chance