[0:00] [Music]

[0:28] yeah

[0:31] [Music]

[0:43] [Applause]

[0:44] [Music]

[0:52] I'd like to all call the order the city

[0:54] Caucus meeting for Monday February 26

[0:58] 2024 we have have 22 items for original

[1:01] consideration if the clerk would please

[1:03] read item number

[1:04] one item number one a public hearing for

[1:08] regarding Central Parkway sidewalk

[1:10] Improvement project discuss in committee

[1:12] with objection on

[1:15] consent okay I'm sorry we have three

[1:18] public

[1:19] hearings we have three public

[1:21] hearings one one public hearing

[1:26] okay item number one for original

[1:30] consideration item number one for

[1:32] original consideration a resolution

[1:34] calling for a public hearing to amend

[1:36] city code Chapter 93 civilian police

[1:39] revie review board section six term

[1:42] limits holdovers and vacancy discussing

[1:45] committee with the objection on consent

[1:46] item number two item number two for

[1:48] original consideration a resolution

[1:50] calling for a public hearing creating a

[1:51] special assessment District on a portion

[1:53] of North College Street discussed in

[1:56] committee with objection on consent item

[1:58] number three item number three for

[1:59] original consideration a resolution

[2:01] supporting assembly Bill a 7652 and

[2:04] Senate Bill s

[2:05] 7546 authorizing the city of connec to

[2:08] establish a speed camera enforcement

[2:10] demonstration program in school zones

[2:13] discussed in committee with objection on

[2:14] consent item number four item number

[2:16] four for original consideration a

[2:19] resolution in support of assembly Bill a

[2:21] 7653 and Senate Bill s

[2:24] 7545 relating to adjudications and owner

[2:27] liability of traffic control signals

[2:30] discussed and committee with objection

[2:31] on consent item number five item number

[2:34] five for original consideration a

[2:35] resolution in support of bills A

[2:38] 7656 and S

[2:40] 7547 requiring a petition in summary

[2:43] proceeding to recover possessions of

[2:45] real property in the city of concy to

[2:47] allege proof of compliance with local

[2:49] laws requiring rental residential

[2:51] property registration and lure discussed

[2:54] in committee with objection on consent

[2:56] item number six item number six for

[2:57] original consideration a resolution

[2:59] support accorting assembly Bill a758 and

[3:02] Senate Bill s

[3:04] 7409 to increase the membership of the

[3:06] special district operation and

[3:07] development committee the dsad and dsic

[3:11] discussed in committee with objection

[3:13] and on consent item number seven item

[3:15] number seven for original consideration

[3:17] a resolution authorizing the Department

[3:19] of Finance to make budget amendment to

[3:21] the 2024 operating budget discussed in

[3:24] committee with the objection on consent

[3:26] item number eight item number eight for

[3:27] original consideration a resolution app

[3:29] joing Christopher Marney to the ethics

[3:31] board roll call by Miss

[3:34] Toro item number nine item number nine

[3:37] for original consideration a resolution

[3:39] confirming the appointments of Anthony

[3:42] Fowler as the primary representative and

[3:44] Arthur Butler as the alternate

[3:46] representative of the Human Rights

[3:48] Commission to the civilian police review

[3:49] board discussed in committee with

[3:51] objection on consent item number 10 item

[3:54] number 10 for original consideration a

[3:56] resolution accepting a donation of a

[3:58] 2021 board Mach e fully electric vehicle

[4:01] from Metro Ford for use by the connected

[4:03] Police Department discuss in committee

[4:05] with objection on consent item number 11 for original

[4:09] consideration a resolution authorizing

[4:11] the mayor to enter into intermunicipal

[4:13] cooperation agreement with connected

[4:15] County for the distribution of funding

[4:17] awarded by the New York state division

[4:19] of Criminal Justice Services to support

[4:21] local enforcement agencies discussed in

[4:24] committee without objection on consent

[4:25] item number 12 item number 12 for

[4:27] original consideration a resolution tion

[4:29] authorizing the sale of a vacant lot on

[4:31] 8 Grand Street for $8,000 discussed in

[4:34] committee without objection on consent

[4:36] item number 13 item number 13 for

[4:38] original consideration a resolution

[4:40] authorizing the sale of a vacant lot on

[4:42] 8 Wagner Avenue for

[4:44] $2,500 discussed in committee with

[4:47] objection on consent item number

[4:49] 13 item number 14 for original

[4:52] consideration a resolution authorizing

[4:54] the sale of 504 Page Street for

[4:57] $35,000 discuss in committee with the

[4:59] objection on consent item number 15 item

[5:02] number 15 for original consideration a

[5:04] resolution authorizing the sale of 801

[5:06] Holland Road for

[5:08] $445,000 discussed in committee with

[5:10] objection on consent item number

[5:13] 17 item number

[5:16] 16 for for original consideration a

[5:20] resolution authorizing the settlement of

[5:21] a claim by State Farm Mutual automobile

[5:25] insurance company as subor of Sandra

[5:28] Stapleton thank you item number 17 item

[5:31] number 17 for original consideration a

[5:33] resolution recognizing women's History

[5:35] Month this uh item will be taken out of

[5:37] order presented by council member

[5:39] Patrick item number 18 item item number

[5:42] 18 for original consideration a

[5:44] resolution recognizing David darano of

[5:47] Metro Ford Sales this item will be taken

[5:49] out of order and presented by council

[5:51] member muin item number 19 item number

[5:54] 19 for original consideration a

[5:57] resolution recognizing James Griffin for

[5:59] his 40 4 years of service in the city of

[6:01] SKC thank you this item will be taken

[6:03] out of order and presented by myself

[6:05] item number 20 item number 20 for

[6:08] original consideration a resolution

[6:10] authorizing the issuance of revocable

[6:11] permit number 680 to Meer restaurant for

[6:14] a sign that will overhang the city's

[6:16] right of way at 500 State streets

[6:17] connected New York discuss in committee

[6:20] without objection on consent item number

[6:22] 21 item number 21 for original

[6:24] consideration a resolution authorizing

[6:26] the issuance of revocable permit number

[6:28] 681 one to pierce Renewables for a sign

[6:31] that will overhang the city's RightWay

[6:33] at 155 area boulevards connected New

[6:36] York discuss in committee with objection

[6:38] on consent item number 22 item number 22

[6:41] under contract and Supply a resolution

[6:43] awarding the bid and contract for the

[6:45] connty municipal golf course Golf Road

[6:48] Maintenance building electrical upgrades

[6:50] to BW Electrical Services LLC in the

[6:54] amount of

[6:55] 8,855 $56 and no discuss in committee

[6:59] with that objection on consent if

[7:01] there's nothing more to come before the

[7:02] city council caucus I ask for a motion

[7:04] to

[7:05] adjourn move by Mr mudar and second by

[7:07] Miss Patrick all in favor we are

[7:09] adjourned I'd like to call to order the

[7:11] city council meeting for Monday February

[7:13] 26

[7:15] 2024 if you just please all rise for the

[7:20] invocation we don't have one anyone here

[7:22] today so I will be offering the

[7:24] invocation father we come before you and

[7:27] ask that you will be here in the

[7:29] presence Lord as we conduct the business

[7:31] of the city we thank you for everyone

[7:33] who has assembled here Lord we thank you

[7:35] for the public coming out we thank you

[7:36] for all the staff that is here and ask

[7:39] that you will um be with us as we

[7:40] conduct this business Lord and just

[7:42] watch over us continuously as we go

[7:44] about our daily lives we thank you for

[7:46] all that you have blessed us with God we

[7:47] thank you for the opportunity to

[7:49] recognize an employee who has given a

[7:51] number of years of service to the city

[7:53] we ask that you bless him and his family

[7:55] and all of his co-workers that he leaves

[7:56] here in the city that you will continue

[7:58] to allow allow them to do the work uh of

[8:01] the city and thank them we want to thank

[8:02] them for their service these and all

[8:04] blessings we ask in your name

[8:06] amen I would ask for Nancy D statue to

[8:09] lead us in the Pledge of

[8:13] Allegiance

[8:15] Al United States of

[8:19] America stands

[8:22] na indivisible liy and justice for all

[8:27] thank

[8:28] you

[8:35] just before before um um Mr Williams

[8:38] collects the all of the signature Sheets

[8:40] if there's anyone who wants to sign up

[8:42] to discuss the public hearing which is

[8:44] about Central Parkway if you haven't

[8:46] signed up on the public hearing we'll

[8:48] give you an opportunity to do that at

[8:49] this

[8:58] time

[9:21] thank

[9:23] you the clerk would please call the

[9:26] role Mr Toro

[9:29] here Mr Farley's absent Mr manini's

[9:32] absent M Mr

[9:34] mataran Miss Patrick here Mr Williams

[9:38] here M pfield here thank you we have

[9:41] three out of out of order resolutions

[9:43] resolution number 17 women's women's

[9:47] resolution for women's History Month I'd

[9:48] like to call on council member Patrick

[9:49] to present this

[9:58] resolution

[10:12] Madame President may I have the floor

[10:14] you have the floor ma'am thank

[10:16] you hello um so March is women's history

[10:21] month and I'm pleased to be able to

[10:22] present this resolution to recognize and

[10:24] celebrate women's History Month whereas

[10:27] in 1980 president presid Jimmy Carter

[10:30] designated the first week of March as

[10:32] National Women's history week noting

[10:34] that quote the achievements leadership

[10:37] courage strength and love of the women

[10:40] who built America was as vital as that

[10:43] of men whose names we know so well and

[10:47] whereas since 1987 women's history month

[10:50] has been officially recognized by the

[10:52] United States Congress and celebrated

[10:54] during March and whereas women's history

[10:58] month is dedicated ated to the

[10:59] accomplishments and achievements of

[11:01] women of every race class and ethnic

[11:04] background throughout United States

[11:06] history that are often overlooked and

[11:09] whereas the theme for 2024's women's

[11:12] history month is women who advocate for

[11:15] Equity diversity and inclusion

[11:17] recognizing women throughout the country

[11:20] who understand that for a positive

[11:22] future we need to eliminate bias and

[11:24] discrimination entirely from our lives

[11:27] and institutions

[11:29] and whereas women from every background

[11:31] have long realized that an uneven

[11:34] playing field will never bring equality

[11:36] or Justice and have courageously

[11:38] advocated for fairness in our

[11:40] institutions and our social

[11:42] interactions and whereas recognizing the

[11:45] achievements of women in all facets of

[11:48] life science Community government

[11:52] literature art sports medicine has a

[11:55] huge impact on the development of

[11:58] self-respect and new opportunities for

[12:00] girls and young women and whereas women

[12:04] have been inspirational leaders not only

[12:06] in advancing their own rights of

[12:08] suffrage and equal opportunity but also

[12:10] in other social justice movements

[12:12] including the Abolitionist Movement the

[12:14] industrial labor movement the civil

[12:17] rights movement and the gay rights

[12:18] movement now therefore be it resolved

[12:21] that the Mayor Gary arm macarthy and

[12:23] City Council of the city of skincity do

[12:26] hereby pause in their deliberations to

[12:28] recog ize and celebrate women's History

[12:31] Month in March 2024 and acknowledge and

[12:34] salute the critical role that women have

[12:36] played in the development success and

[12:38] achievements of skincity and the United

[12:42] States so may I make this

[12:45] motion you need a second

[12:47] please all those in favor I

[12:49] congratulations the motion passes thank

[12:53] you so I'd like to introduce M Kora

[12:56] Schroeder who works for representative

[12:58] Paul TKO and I'd like her to say a few

[13:00] words about a women's March that's

[13:01] happening this week and accept this

[13:03] resolution on behalf of the city thank

[13:06] you thank you very much carmell Patrick

[13:08] and thank you city council and thank you

[13:10] mayor McCarthy so real quick hello good

[13:12] evening everyone as Carmel so graciously

[13:14] said I am cor schroer and I want to not

[13:17] take up too much time but I wanted to

[13:19] make a significant announcement and that

[13:23] announcement is that this Sunday which

[13:26] is March 3rd the first Sunday of the

[13:28] month

[13:29] my friend Tammy and I Tammy say hello we

[13:32] have put together we got our heads

[13:34] together and we thought and we thought

[13:35] and we said hey let's do a March for

[13:38] women for all that Carmel said I'm not

[13:40] going to reread this but take a moment

[13:43] to think of a woman in your life of

[13:46] women who have been in your life and

[13:48] women who have allowed your life to

[13:51] progress over the thousands of years

[13:54] women have been here so March 3rd which

[13:57] is the Sunday at 9 900 a.m. here on the

[14:00] steps of City Hall we will begin a March to celebrate women

[14:07] and I would love to see everybody there

[14:09] you do not have to be from SKC you can

[14:12] be from wherever you do not have to be a

[14:15] woman you can come and just celebrate with a banner celebrate with

[14:21] your family celebrate with a shirt

[14:24] celebrate and remember women for to for

[14:28] March is women's history month thank

[14:33] [Applause]

[14:54] [Laughter]

[14:57] you

[15:03] you're

[15:08] [Music]

[15:15] woman it's okay it's okay it's okay I'm

[15:19] right here in the back

[15:27] everybody

[15:40] [Applause]

[15:54] the next out of out of order resolution

[15:56] is a resolution recognizing James

[15:58] Griffin for for his 40 years of service

[15:59] to the city of skincity and I ask

[16:01] council member muar to please take the

[16:04] uh

[16:18] Podium I'd like to invite Mr Griffin and

[16:21] everyone coming him behind the rail

[16:24] please it's his moment

[16:27] okay

[16:30] may I have the floor yes all right you

[16:32] can come closer you can come closer

[16:34] right there you came

[16:35] in um well before I read the official

[16:38] resolution I just want to say a couple

[16:39] of things U because I've known you for a

[16:41] very long time and uh you and my brother

[16:43] friends and so I remember Jim store and

[16:45] all the stuff in the neighborhood so you

[16:47] know it really gives me great pleasure

[16:49] and I wanted to be the person to be able

[16:50] to present this to

[16:52] you and on top of that the reason that I

[16:55] actually knew about it is because your

[16:56] co-workers thought so highly of you

[16:59] that they reached out and said hey he's

[17:00] retiring we're going to miss him but

[17:02] we'd like for the council to do

[17:04] resolution so I think that speaks very

[17:06] highly of who you are as a person not

[17:08] that I didn't already know but the

[17:09] people that you would spent 40 years not

[17:11] the entire 40 some of them but the

[17:13] people that you worked with dayt Day

[17:15] thought it not robbery to reach out and

[17:17] to say you know we'd like for him to be

[17:20] recognized so I know that we talked and

[17:23] you said give you your flowers while

[17:24] you're here so tonight you're getting

[17:26] your flowers not literally we try that

[17:28] but anyway that's another conversation

[17:30] but so tonight we'd like to give you the

[17:31] flowers on behalf of your co-workers who

[17:33] brought your name forward and also the

[17:35] city

[17:40] council whereas James Griffin began his

[17:43] career with the city of skincity on SE

[17:45] September 17th

[17:47] 1984 and whereas James Griffin served

[17:50] his country for three years in the

[17:51] United States Army as a combat engineer

[17:54] 12b 12b before joining the city

[17:57] Workforce and whereas James Works 28

[18:00] years in the Bureau of service streets

[18:01] department Paving streets filling

[18:03] potholes plowing snow and sweeping

[18:06] streets and whereas James worked 12

[18:08] years in the sewer department his

[18:10] responsibilities included inspecting

[18:12] condition of sewer lines for leaks Russ

[18:14] spots and other defects installing new

[18:17] sewer line sewer lines and repairing

[18:19] existing ones inst installing new water

[18:22] mains and repairing existing ones

[18:24] repairs to manholes catch basins and

[18:26] other structures in the sewer system

[18:29] and whereas his continuous commitment to

[18:31] excellent during his many years of

[18:32] service this city earned him the respect

[18:34] of his co-workers who had this to say

[18:36] about him quote I really enjoyed working

[18:39] with Griff he's funny conscient

[18:42] conscientious and a good guy he's one of

[18:45] the few left from the good old days and

[18:47] I mean good in Old in a good way and

[18:50] whereas another cooworker said I only

[18:53] speak for myself James is a w a wise and

[18:56] compassionate man who worked hard and

[18:58] played harder as he truly enjoys the

[19:00] Finer Things in life James enjoys joking

[19:03] and laughing as much as he loved a good

[19:05] debate whether for sharing or acquiring

[19:07] wisdom and knowledge we were blessed to

[19:10] have gotten to know him over the years

[19:12] and we wish him all the best as he

[19:13] enters his new exciting chapter of his

[19:17] life end quote and whereas the duties

[19:20] James performed though not glamorous

[19:22] were essential to the operation of the

[19:24] city he made a maintained a strong work

[19:26] ethic showed dedication and hard work

[19:29] throughout his long career which has

[19:31] been instrumental to the city City's

[19:33] success now therefore be resolved that

[19:36] the SKC city council and Mayor Gary R

[19:38] McCarthy do hereby pause in their

[19:40] deliberations to recognize James Griffin

[19:43] for his 40 years of service in the city

[19:45] of skincity and congratulate him and

[19:47] wish him well on his retirement I'd like

[19:50] to move this can I have a

[19:52] second um all in favor I I motion is

[19:56] passed congratulations

[20:02] thank you very

[20:27] much

[20:57] spe

[21:20] than you

[21:27] than

[21:46] the next out out of order resolution is

[21:49] item number 18 a resolution recognizing

[21:51] David darano of Metro Ford Sales I'd

[21:54] like to call on council member muon toe

[21:57] present this resolution

[22:23] Madam president you have the

[22:25] floor a resolution recognizing in Dave

[22:28] darano of Metro Ford Sales whereas the

[22:32] SKC School District wanted to obtain SKC

[22:36] police engagement officer to interact

[22:38] positively with student and the

[22:40] community and whereas to advance the New

[22:43] York State Police reform and reinvention

[22:46] collaborative plan as approved by

[22:48] disconnected AC school on March 22nd

[22:52] 2021 and whereas in compliance with

[22:55] regulation from the commissioner of

[22:57] Education a written contract between the

[22:59] connected school district and the

[23:01] connected police Community engagement

[23:04] officer was drafted and whereas this

[23:07] contract was signed by mayor kri

[23:09] McCarthy and superintendent annabal

[23:11] solar establishing this connected police

[23:14] Community engagement officer program and

[23:17] whereas the conc police department

[23:19] desired to expand this successful

[23:21] program and develop new Community

[23:24] Partnership to F the goals of this

[23:27] conected school district district and

[23:28] the community engagement officer program

[23:31] and whereas Community engagement officer

[23:33] Sergeant Charles ronfeld with the goal

[23:36] to increase positive interaction to

[23:38] raise awareness to this connected Police

[23:41] Department work in the schools and to

[23:44] develop new partnership in the community

[23:46] as Metro Ford Sales Inc if they were

[23:50] interested in partnering to support the

[23:52] program and whereas David di Rano of

[23:56] Metro forward Inc seeing value in

[23:58] supporting the program and the City of

[24:01] skinc police department

[24:03] provide to the community generous offer

[24:06] to donate a 2021 Ford Mustang Mai

[24:11] electric car and whereas on March 20th

[24:14] 2024 the vehicle was brought to the city

[24:16] skinc police department and to the

[24:19] skincity council committee meeting for a

[24:21] visual

[24:23] inspection whereas this donation will

[24:25] enhance the program provide more

[24:27] positive interaction with the student at

[24:30] disc connected school district and

[24:32] increase the efficiency of Officer

[24:35] response within the school district

[24:37] ultimately serving student their family

[24:40] and the community now therefore be it

[24:42] resolved that the Mayor Gary AR McCarthy

[24:46] and the city council do hereby pause in

[24:48] their deliberation to recognize David

[24:51] dariano of Metro Ford sale Inc for your

[24:54] donation to our Police Department

[24:57] community in engagement officer program

[25:00] Madame President I move this may I have

[25:02] a second second by Miss Patrick all in

[25:04] favor I motion passes

[25:15] congratulations I wasn't aware I had to

[25:18] speak Metro Ford has been in concy doing

[25:21] business for 45 years and we've been

[25:24] protected by the police our children

[25:26] have been educated by the school

[25:27] district

[25:28] it's an honor to be able to do

[25:30] this as a parent a lot of times you

[25:33] don't get a pat on the back for doing

[25:34] things raising your children and I know

[25:36] in police force in school district

[25:38] there's not a lot of pats on the back

[25:40] but this is our way of just giving

[25:42] back like he said it came down it was it

[25:44] was an email that came over to our

[25:46] office and said would you like to donate

[25:47] a

[25:49] car and we we got the email and our our

[25:52] CPA happened to be there when we got the

[25:55] email doing some end of the year stuff

[25:56] and I walked in and I said it's is this

[25:58] possible can we donate a car he did some

[26:00] numbers and such and he says yeah you're

[26:02] in a position to be able to do this so

[26:04] it was perfect timing it was we we

[26:05] didn't think of it it wasn't us the um

[26:08] any recognition isn't for me personally

[26:10] it's it's for all the hardworking people

[26:12] at Metro Ford and all the hardworking

[26:13] people here I mean the city it's a great

[26:15] City we're glad to be part of it

[26:17] couldn't be couldn't be more proud to

[26:19] give this and to donate it and Mustang

[26:22] Mach e all electric what better car for

[26:24] the electric

[26:26] city

[26:27] [Applause]

[26:35] thank you and thank you for the

[26:51] donation what was he

[26:52] [Music]

[26:56] saying

[27:03] we have one public hearing tonight and I

[27:05] just want to remind everyone that the

[27:07] public uh time for the public hearing is

[27:09] has been extended to four minutes and

[27:12] ask everyone to respectfully only speak

[27:14] on the topic of the public hearing thank

[27:17] you this time I ask for approval of the

[27:19] minutes from February 2012th

[27:26] 20124 mooved by m Mr Williams second by

[27:29] Mr M all in favor

[27:36] I okay all right public hearing number

[27:41] one I'm

[27:45] sorry

[27:49] [Music]

[27:51] you public hearing number one regarding

[27:54] the Central Parkway sidewalk Improvement

[27:57] project

[27:59] I have four people signed up to

[28:01] speak Florence

[28:14] mcconville hello

[28:17] everyone um it's been many years since

[28:20] I've been in here but uh I'm glad to be

[28:23] back um I live on Central

[28:25] Parkway and um happy that the city is

[28:28] going to be doing the

[28:30] sidewalks um my only concern is the

[28:33] water that gets in front of my house

[28:37] I've had many serious conditions

[28:40] excessive water coming into the house my

[28:44] furnace breaking the house sinking a

[28:46] little bit and uh the sewer problems but

[28:51] um I think this will all get fixed with

[28:53] the

[28:54] new excitement of putting the sidewalk

[28:57] in and fixing the street and the curbs

[29:01] so that's all I have to say and I'm

[29:04] happy that the city is doing this and um

[29:09] I have nothing else to say thank you

[29:11] very much thank

[29:15] you uh Janice

[29:25] Thompson good evening everyone can you

[29:29] hear me yes it down a little

[29:32] bit uh yes I'm really glad we're having

[29:35] the work done on our streets I have a

[29:37] few questions uh they're not long ones

[29:41] uh my first question is how much is the

[29:44] city paying towards

[29:48] our sidewalks and

[29:50] curves the city itself how how much are

[29:53] they paying does anyone know that answer

[29:56] so ma'am today t tonight you just have

[29:57] an opportunity to be heard publicly on

[29:59] your comments if you have any questions

[30:02] specifically we need um email those

[30:04] questions and they they can be answered

[30:06] tonight we'd like to hear your comments

[30:08] we did deliver um packets to all of the

[30:10] individuals on Central Parkway but

[30:12] tonight we will not be able to answer

[30:13] questions from here we'll just hear your

[30:15] comments you can ask your questions and

[30:17] we will record them and get them

[30:18] answered for you okay so all of my

[30:23] comments are a

[30:25] question so I can't get any answers on

[30:29] those not tonight but if you'd like to hand in those questions

[30:32] we'll make sure that they are answered

[30:33] for you as long as you have the contact

[30:35] information there if you want to answer

[30:37] your questions out loud so everyone can

[30:39] hear them you're welcome to do that okay

[30:41] so so my next question is there's a

[30:45] slight difference between the principal

[30:48] on the 10-year plan as opposed to the

[30:51] 15-year plan minor but it's $110

[30:55] difference and I just wondered why that

[30:58] is my third question is the travel Lane

[31:03] is 2 feet shorter than what exists now

[31:09] would that be narrowed on both sides of

[31:12] the street and is it because of

[31:16] something with the curves and the

[31:18] sidewalks that are making it necessary

[31:21] to to narrow the travel

[31:24] Lane those are my questions and I just

[31:27] wondered how many people from Central

[31:28] Parkway are here

[31:31] tonight have everyone from Central

[31:33] Parkway could raise your

[31:35] hand there they are I'm just G to count

[31:50] them okay if you'd like to hand in your

[31:52] looks like 16 about thank you if you'd

[31:55] like to hand in your questions so we

[31:57] have have them in writing we'll take

[31:58] them from you I'll do that you want me

[32:01] to do that now yes okay well it's on the

[32:03] front of my sheet so it's okay as long

[32:06] as they're and you can get it back

[32:10] okay they're on the right three thank

[32:14] you thank you very much thank

[32:20] you Julie

[32:26] peretto

[32:27] hello good evening I'm Julie parado I'm

[32:30] here with my husband we both own a house

[32:32] together on Central Parkway um and I'm

[32:35] really really happy that this initiative

[32:37] is moving forward um we love the

[32:39] neighborhood we've lived there for about

[32:40] seven years and I think it's really

[32:42] going to increase the walkability of the

[32:44] neighborhood and really help with safety

[32:47] for the people who walk um so and I

[32:51] really appreciate also the payment plan

[32:52] I think that's going to be very helpful

[32:54] but I did have some concerns about the

[32:56] concept and the the plan that was chosen

[32:58] that I wanted to voice um we noticed

[33:00] that it's taking away the street parking

[33:03] and um that is it's narrowing the

[33:07] driving and taking away the on street

[33:10] parking and I know that for us when we

[33:12] went to purchase our home we took street

[33:15] parking into consideration for when we

[33:18] had family gatherings and holidays um

[33:22] and it's just going to be an

[33:23] inconvenience for us to have to have our

[33:25] friends and family park a block or two

[33:27] down and then walk to our home um and

[33:32] you know that was a big factor as well

[33:33] when we were home buying so I it we

[33:37] don't want to move we love our

[33:38] neighborhood but when we go to resell

[33:40] our house in the future I just worry

[33:43] about how that may impact our the cost

[33:45] that we will get for our house um not

[33:48] having that street parking available um

[33:51] so I guess my question is you know I

[33:54] want the the sidewalk initiative we want

[33:57] the upgrade um but is there a way that

[33:59] we can be looking at other Concepts and

[34:01] plans to be able to keep the on street

[34:03] parking and that was it thank you so

[34:05] much for your time thank

[34:10] you Jessica

[34:17] badulla hello I'm not used to not facing

[34:22] all the people usually when I lead

[34:24] things um so I've never been anything

[34:27] like this before um I live at 875

[34:30] Central Parkway so right on the corner

[34:32] it's the very first nice house ma'am you

[34:34] have to fit you have to address that the

[34:36] very first nice house over on the side

[34:40] um when I was asked to sign the petition

[34:43] for this project I'll be honest I wasn't

[34:45] paying attention because I'm not used to

[34:47] people coming to my door I keep to

[34:49] myself and you know whatever she was

[34:51] proposing seemed fine enough signed it

[34:53] the end um I what I didn't realize is

[34:56] that I was being asked to pay for my own

[35:00] sidewalk uh and I'm not in a position to

[35:02] be able to do that if I had that amount

[35:04] of money I would probably fix my garage

[35:07] over the summer there was um someone

[35:10] stole a vehicle and then parked it in my

[35:13] three car garage so I got called while I

[35:16] was out of my home by the police to ask

[35:18] me to come home and see what this stolen

[35:20] car was about I didn't have the money to

[35:21] fix the um garage door and so there's uh

[35:25] wood in front of it

[35:27] and

[35:28] um yeah I'm all for like improving the

[35:31] neighborhood certainly certainly we all

[35:33] want to have a nicer neighborhood but

[35:35] what I'm concerned about is one I can't

[35:37] pay for another sidewalk two are we

[35:39] going to make it so welcoming for people

[35:41] to be walking down the street that

[35:42] they'll have uh more packages stolen

[35:45] from my front porch am I going to have

[35:47] my car broken into more times than it

[35:49] already has been in the last eight years

[35:52] so yeah I'm pretty upset about it I'm 42

[35:56] years old and I've never voluntarily

[35:57] come into a government building to speak

[35:59] publicly and here I am I guess that's

[36:02] all I have to say thank you oh wait no I have another thing because I still

[36:06] have four minutes I am a single mother

[36:08] and I am a widow to a active duty Navy

[36:12] serviceman and I was able to purchase

[36:14] this home from the settlement that I

[36:16] received from his active duty

[36:18] death that was my introduction to

[36:20] Central Parkway and here we are eight

[36:22] years later I don't have any money left

[36:25] thanks thank you

[36:29] I don't have anyone else signed up to

[36:30] speak this public hearing so I declare

[36:32] the public hearing

[36:34] closed I'll ask the clerk to read any

[36:36] Communications and

[36:44] petitions Communications presented to

[36:47] the city council for Monday February 26

[36:50] 2024 under official For Mayor Gary AR

[36:52] McCarthy a list of appointments dated

[36:54] February 26 2024

[36:57] under General from Dave Connelly and

[36:59] Michael Murphy an email with questions

[37:02] and suggestions for the Central Parkway

[37:04] sidewalk Improvement program and from

[37:07] Rich and Mary Joe HCK an email in

[37:09] support of the Central Parkway sidewalk

[37:11] Improvement program under petitions

[37:13] there were none thank you as on council

[37:17] members to provide any committee

[37:20] reports this time we'll have priv

[37:22] privilege of the floor related to the

[37:24] legislative agenda and I have no one

[37:26] signs up to speak so I declare the

[37:29] public comment on the legislative agenda

[37:32] closed this time I ask for approval of

[37:34] the legislative consent

[37:36] agenda move by Mr Williams second by Mr

[37:39] M all in favor I we do have one roll

[37:43] call vote

[37:49] resolution resolution number

[37:54] eight if the clerk would please read

[37:56] item number

[38:01] eight item number eight for original

[38:03] consideration a resolution appointing

[38:05] Christopher Marney to the ethics

[38:08] board I need a

[38:13] motion moveed by Mr Williams

[38:21] second it has to be

[38:24] seconded second by miss miss

[38:27] rck any discussion on this

[38:31] item Mr

[38:39] Williams uh so I I really want to make

[38:42] sure I my comments are received in kind

[38:45] I think it is a poor show of sound

[38:48] judgment to refuse an individual that is

[38:51] volunteering to assist in filling a

[38:53] vacancy especially in committees and

[38:56] board boards throughout our city where

[38:57] we've highlighted that uh participation

[39:00] is an ongoing challenge uh to this point

[39:03] I have still not heard any uh comments

[39:06] or feedback with respect to why uh this

[39:08] individual would not be an appropriate

[39:10] member of this board um but again I feel

[39:13] as local officials it is our

[39:15] responsibility to make sure we are not

[39:17] only advocating to the community and the

[39:19] residents alike but to make sure we also

[39:21] justify our opinions and decisions when

[39:24] they in fact uh go against um

[39:27] something with respect to to to this so

[39:29] I think

[39:31] displaying our uh lack of consideration

[39:34] to why this individual would not be a

[39:36] good fit I think is not the

[39:39] collaborative government that I seek to

[39:41] be a part of and I would hope that as a

[39:44] body uh we can understand the

[39:46] ramifications of saying to the community

[39:48] no and not offering a resolution forward

[39:52] or identifying what areas make this

[39:55] individual not an appropriate candidate

[39:57] to fulfill that

[39:59] position is there any further

[40:02] discussion seeing none I'll ask the

[40:04] clerk to call the role Mr Toro

[40:09] no Mr muin yes Miss Patrick

[40:15] no Mr Williams yes M Porterfield yes the

[40:21] item fails you need we need four

[40:23] affirmative votes to pass our piece of

[40:25] resolution so the item fails it's 3

[40:30] to2 this time we have priv privilege of

[40:34] the floor regarding General City

[40:35] business I have three people signed up

[40:37] to speak first person is Fred de

[40:45] roer hello hello my name is uh Fred

[40:48] Rocher I'm a nurse at Ellis Hospital

[40:52] I've been a nurse for going on 28 years

[40:54] now I worked at St Claire's for and then

[40:56] came over at L's Hospital in 2008 so

[40:59] I've been a nurse in this community for

[41:02] a long time and what I'm coming up here

[41:04] to talk about as a member of Ellis

[41:06] Hospital but also as a member of the

[41:08] executive committee for the nurses Union

[41:10] at Ellis Hospital I want to make you all

[41:13] here aware of what's going on with our

[41:15] negotiations that are currently um going

[41:18] on over the last year we've been

[41:21] negotiating and we normally negotiate

[41:23] with Ellis Hospital management and it's

[41:25] just simply Ellis Hospital it is

[41:27] different now they have Opera management

[41:29] is Trinity Healthcare a billion dooll

[41:32] company that's Nationwide um their point

[41:35] person Deb

[41:36] Solomon comes around she told us at a

[41:39] meeting that basically Trinity brings

[41:42] her around when they need help with

[41:43] labor problems so apparently the nurses

[41:46] now are a labor problem to Trinity um

[41:49] this is we have a lot of great managers

[41:51] at Ellis but this upper management with

[41:53] Trinity is very much a problem they're

[41:55] trying to they're very they're cutting

[41:57] services you can look to rents SL County

[42:00] um with the bdet Women's Center they've

[42:02] already cut services at Ellis Ben Alis

[42:05] hospital that you may not even know

[42:06] about we don't you know since the

[42:08] pandemic they've cut the pediatric

[42:10] department they've cut Med surge beds

[42:13] there's less beds there than just four

[42:15] years ago when we had this pandemic

[42:17] there's less beds there there's less

[42:18] beds in the emergency room there's half

[42:20] the Adult Psychiatric beds um they have

[42:24] done this with no remorse or no

[42:26] conscious of the community that's why I

[42:28] want you know their idea they're not for

[42:30] profit and they don't act like that

[42:33] they're acting for profit even though

[42:34] there's less beds in that hospital right

[42:37] now there's less nurses than there was

[42:39] four years ago too so the nurses now

[42:42] take care of more patients I work in a

[42:44] crisis unit the nurses in the ER when I

[42:47] worked through the pandemic in the ER we

[42:49] had less patients then than we do now um

[42:52] there's less beds in the ER so there's

[42:54] more people waiting there's longer wait

[42:55] times than I've ever over 20 years in

[42:58] the ER there's longer wait times than

[42:59] I've ever

[43:01] seen they do not listen with

[43:04] negotiations they're very much trying to

[43:07] um they aren't offering us anything to

[43:09] be quite honest they're they're talking

[43:11] about retaining nurses and they're

[43:13] cutting our benefits saying that they

[43:15] are they've looked throughout the

[43:16] community and ours are above average so

[43:18] they need to cut them um they've cut

[43:21] them for their other workers who don't

[43:22] have a voice but we're not going to let

[43:25] that happen to us talk about I was a

[43:27] former St Claire's person we all know

[43:28] about the St Clair's pension so they are

[43:31] asking us to sign off on selling out our

[43:33] pensioners that was frozen in 2006 and

[43:36] they want as part of negotiations us to

[43:38] write that off so they can sell that off

[43:40] they it's not a problem to them

[43:42] financially they want to get rid of it

[43:44] to clear the books for Trinity to fully

[43:46] take over because they aren't not for

[43:48] profit they are for profit and they

[43:51] aren't good for this community and we

[43:53] are going to need everybody to be aware

[43:55] of this as we go forward and that's what

[43:56] we're here for today thank you thank

[44:00] you Z

[44:06] zip good evening I my name is Don zip I

[44:09] am actually a resident here in connected

[44:12] east city um I am also an Alis employee

[44:16] but I am a Belleview Women's Center

[44:19] employee I am the President of our

[44:22] bargaining unit for nna I sit at the um

[44:25] negotiation table I stand on the line

[44:27] for all my fellow nurses and even more

[44:29] so for my patients and for my babies

[44:32] that I take care of in the ncu um I am

[44:35] here because as we are um embarking upon

[44:39] this merger my real concern is Woman's

[44:42] Health it seems to be under major attack

[44:44] within the United States if anybody has

[44:46] been paying attention to the news across

[44:48] the country it is very scary and it is

[44:51] now hitting the capital region um I was

[44:55] applaud the the um stand for women and

[44:58] for women's rights and for women and

[45:00] what they've done in um history well it

[45:02] is our time to stand as the women at

[45:04] bellevie woman's Center and as a

[45:06] hospital that takes care of women and

[45:09] that is something that is really

[45:10] important one of the things that I want

[45:12] to bring to the Forefront is that Paul

[45:14] mlon actually spoke yesterday at a local

[45:17] church in The Stockade and spoke to the

[45:19] community there and when he was

[45:22] addressed and asked about the services

[45:24] that he was going to be um that have

[45:26] been taken away and continue to be

[45:28] discussed and being taken away his

[45:31] phrase on quote was we can't be

[45:34] everything to everyone the problem is is

[45:37] we need to be what is important for the

[45:39] people of this community we cannot

[45:42] afford to lose any more services we need

[45:45] to watch what they've done with berett

[45:47] because the Health Care Health the

[45:49] Catholic Health Care system is literally

[45:51] dismantling Health Care for Women across

[45:54] the country and in New York state down

[45:56] on Long Island they've closed maternity

[45:58] Wars in New York City they're attempting

[46:00] to close maternity Wars these are the

[46:03] Catholic Health Care Systems again we

[46:06] cannot afford he said that don't worry

[46:08] women who are in labor don't take the

[46:11] cabs to the

[46:13] hospitals I have to tell you women in

[46:15] labor take anything that they can I have

[46:18] actually caught babies in the circle in

[46:21] front of Belleview in a in a taxi cab so

[46:24] you know what Paul

[46:26] women take cabs when they're in labor

[46:29] and if we keep reducing the things that

[46:32] we need in our community we are going to

[46:34] be at a great loss we are putting

[46:36] mothers and babies at risk by doing this

[46:39] Trinity is actually sitting at our table

[46:42] looking to take more and more and more

[46:44] away from us the nurses and for our

[46:47] patients we have a deficit of

[46:48] approximately 20% on nursing staffing

[46:52] that means your nurses are taking on

[46:54] anywhere from six to 10 patients when

[46:57] they should only be taking four and that

[46:59] is a very scary thing because it's our

[47:01] family members that are in the hospital

[47:03] that are being taken care of and they

[47:05] are being they're not getting the

[47:06] quality care that they require so I'm

[47:09] begging and I'm coming to you guys to

[47:11] stand on our behalf and and advocate for

[47:15] the nurses and for the patients and the

[47:16] people of skincity thank you thank

[47:23] you Jennifer Lipman

[47:28] hi my name is Jenny um I'm not from this

[47:30] AA but my family is firmly planted here

[47:32] my husband works at Union College I'm a

[47:34] nurse in the same Department as Fred the

[47:36] emergency room at Ellis Hospital and our

[47:38] kids are in school here and we mean to

[47:40] be here um I'm just joining this group

[47:44] and wanting to talk about Staffing uh

[47:46] you know I'm mostly focused just on the

[47:49] day-to-day taking care of people as a

[47:50] nurse Fred has been actively involved in

[47:52] the negotiations but it's gone on for

[47:55] more than a year that they're trying to

[47:57] get our contract negotiated and for me I started like when the pandemic was

[48:02] just beginning to unfold in 20120 and

[48:06] um about a year into my job we lost a

[48:09] tremendous percentage of our nurses it

[48:12] was like the travel boom when nurses

[48:13] could make three to four times as much

[48:15] as a staff nurse and I was so upset to

[48:19] see the the just this beautiful teamwork

[48:23] when in the emergency room people come

[48:24] in with heart attacks and people run

[48:26] together and and they know each other's

[48:28] strengths and they're you know literally

[48:29] saving people's lives working together

[48:31] and when I saw my sta the the the staff

[48:34] people that I really looked up to that I

[48:35] need to learn from disappearing I wrote

[48:37] to like all the top leadership at the

[48:39] hospital and our board and everything

[48:41] and I heard back from one person which

[48:43] was the department um the head of our

[48:45] department the emergency department he

[48:46] said well these things kind of come and

[48:47] go it'll it'll iron itself out this High

[48:50] money it's going to P ped out and we'll

[48:53] kind of get a stable staff again but you

[48:55] know two two and a half years later we

[48:57] are heavily dependent on travel nurses

[49:00] and they're bringing in some lovely

[49:01] nurses they're really experienced great

[49:03] nurses but they have no connection to

[49:05] skincity they don't know our people

[49:06] they'll be here for a short time then

[49:07] they move oh I'm going to go do skiing

[49:09] in Colorado next and that's really not

[49:11] what we need we need a stable body of

[49:13] nurses to take care of our community I I

[49:15] see my neighbors all the time in the Ed

[49:18] and what we lost just during my short

[49:21] time here at Ellis with so much staff

[49:24] synchronicity got broken up and the

[49:27] hospital has not managed to put it back

[49:29] together we're just heavily dependent on

[49:31] nurses that have no connection to this

[49:33] place and if it takes us more than a

[49:36] year and the nurses that are negotiating

[49:39] this contract say they are insulting us

[49:41] when we're asking about they're taking

[49:43] benefits away they're they're trying to

[49:46] talk their way out of these stabing

[49:48] ratio things I mean I've barely known

[49:49] anything but you run for 12 hours you

[49:52] don't pee you don't eat you're you feel

[49:54] so guilty because you can't take good

[49:55] care of people because you're so

[49:58] overloaded it's dangerous you know and I

[50:00] mean that's kind of basic if we don't

[50:02] have enough nurses like you'd think we'd

[50:04] want to try to make it decent that

[50:06] nurses could take good care of people

[50:08] and and having a contract where there's

[50:10] decent Staffing and and and wages that

[50:13] people agree are reasonable seems like a

[50:15] great place to start so that's what I

[50:17] wanted to speak in support of thank you

[50:20] thank

[50:24] you I have no one else signed up to

[50:26] speak so I declare the public comment of

[50:29] City business

[50:32] closed any miscellaneous business from

[50:34] the

[50:36] council Mr

[50:40] muin thank you Madame President I would

[50:43] like to um thank all the homeowners from

[50:45] Central Parkway who showed up here

[50:46] tonight thank you um for your effort and

[50:49] I want to especially thank the organizer

[50:52] who has brought us to this point here to

[50:54] make Central Parkway sidewalk and Street

[50:57] Improvement a reality so thank you to

[50:59] the organizer thank you to all the

[51:01] homeowners for um gra this um this

[51:04] evening and to voice your concern all

[51:07] the questions on the email that was

[51:09] submitted our city engineer will address

[51:11] those and as we move forward the next

[51:13] couple of week we will share more

[51:15] information and uh we will um get you

[51:17] involved in terms of um getting that

[51:20] message over to you as we move forward

[51:22] uh to make this happen for you in

[51:24] Central Parkway um just a reminder um

[51:27] for the seniors exemptions are due um

[51:31] before March 4st so don't wait on March

[51:33] for to file your exemption does the

[51:36] enhance um senior um exemption and also

[51:39] um the senior lwi income exemption we

[51:44] recently um um increased the um the

[51:47] exemption so to give more um advantage

[51:51] to the seniors in our city and I hope

[51:53] that they take advantage of it so please file your enhan exemption and

[51:59] your senior exemption before March 4th

[52:01] thank you madam president thank you Mr

[52:04] mutar Miss Patrick thank you um I just

[52:07] wanted to remind folks um and I hope

[52:10] that the mayor will mention this as well

[52:11] but um I've had calls from several

[52:14] different residents in different

[52:15] neighborhoods over the last just the

[52:16] last few days uh talking about the

[52:19] litter issue and the fact that people

[52:20] are putting their trash out when they

[52:22] shouldn't be putting their trash out um

[52:24] you really need to pay attention to the

[52:26] trash schedule especially right now when

[52:28] you know there's a lot of big wind out

[52:30] there and you know you can drive up and

[52:32] down the streets and see the trash sort

[52:34] of floating around um so we're all here

[52:37] to take those calls I continue to you

[52:40] know then pass that information on to

[52:42] our office of General services but

[52:44] really um I just really implore folks to

[52:48] uh think about the trash schedule put

[52:50] your trash out only when you're supposed

[52:51] to put your trash out um and make sure

[52:54] that it's secure um uh especially right

[52:56] now during the during the winter months

[52:58] although it doesn't seem like winter

[52:59] right now uh given our weather our

[53:02] beautiful weather this week but please

[53:04] uh pay attention to that thank you thank

[53:08] you

[53:10] mayor thank you madam president I again

[53:13] appreciate everyone coming out tonight

[53:15] in the uh consensus seems to be for

[53:19] Central Parkway to leave it basically

[53:21] the way it is the discussion has been to

[53:24] narrow the travel Lane by approximately

[53:27] 2 feet that has not been cast in stone

[53:31] and part of this process is to have your

[53:33] input tonight and uh just ongoing

[53:37] discussions for that final design

[53:39] that'll service the needs of the

[53:41] residents and again make it attractive

[53:44] and uh hopefully increase the value of

[53:47] the

[53:48] properties uh for council member uh

[53:52] Patrick yes encourage people to follow

[53:54] the litter schedule ual appreciate

[53:57] council member Doro and council

[53:59] president porterfield's time as we're

[54:01] working on reviewing the trash policies

[54:04] in the city and trying to uh make

[54:06] modifications to uh appropriate allocate

[54:10] some of the costs the people that abuse

[54:12] the system and it doesn't take much

[54:16] effort to pick up a little bit of litter

[54:17] make sure your cans are sealed and

[54:19] tightened up because everybody benefits

[54:21] from

[54:22] that also the sky police Department uh

[54:26] is going to start another uh civilian

[54:29] police academy on March 5th and there

[54:33] are still slots available in that so

[54:35] that people who may want to participate

[54:38] in that uh gain a greater knowledge of

[54:40] the police operations and their

[54:42] Community involvement should uh contact

[54:45] uh officer Andrew danal at the SKC

[54:48] Police Department thank you madam

[54:51] president thank you mayor uh I'd like to

[54:53] thank everyone for coming

[54:57] can we revisit

[55:02] appointment you said that we needed four

[55:05] you need four yes that's correct that is

[55:07] correct okay thank

[55:09] you it's a majority for to pass anything

[55:12] there are some things that take five but

[55:14] it takes a simple

[55:17] majority uh again I'd like to thank

[55:19] everyone for coming out tonight I

[55:21] appreciate you coming bringing your

[55:22] concerns forward and for this show going

[55:25] from people from Central Parkway I

[55:26] believe it was 16 is what Miss Thompson

[55:28] said so thank you for coming out and the

[55:30] mayor has already spoken about the

[55:32] process um I want to thank the um

[55:35] individuals that came from Nisa today to

[55:37] talk about the concerns that are going

[55:39] on there appreciate you coming and

[55:40] bringing these things to our attention

[55:42] yet we've been reading about we know

[55:43] about it but appreciate you coming out

[55:45] and coming to speak to us regarding

[55:48] that uh Mr muirin talked about the um

[55:51] star exemption so just so just so you

[55:53] know March 1st is this Friday I know it

[55:55] doesn't sound it sounds far away but

[55:57] it's Friday so if you know seniors that

[55:59] need to get their exemption in it's this

[56:01] Friday and lastly as uh Miss schroer was

[56:05] here to talk about the women's March

[56:06] this Sunday I guess it starts on City

[56:08] Hall steps at 9:00 A.M on Sunday so

[56:10] those of you that want to March I don't

[56:12] know what the weather's going to be like

[56:13] so check before you come whether you

[56:15] need to bundle up or dress

[56:17] down if there's nothing else to come

[56:19] before this Council I'd like to ask for

[56:20] a motion to adjourn move by Miss Patrick

[56:23] second by Mr Williams all those in favor

[56:26] I we are adjourned thank

[56:36] you

Schenectady City Council Meeting, February 26, 2024

Transcript