[Music]
he
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I'd like to all call for connect the
city council committee meeting for
Monday April 15 2024 um the first item
on the agenda was to be an update on
first quarter financials uh
unfortunately Mr gamma could not be here
tonight however each of you should have
received a print out of all the U
financials for the first quarter so this
will give you an opportunity to um
review them and if you have any
questions um formulate those and send
those forward through Miss Michael who
will then forward them on and then um in
the beginning of may we will have him
actually come and just go through it
with us with us and additionally I just
want to thank everyone that came last
week to come to the nikom webinar on
funding your government and I think it's
going to be helpful to us as we um go
through this and you know quarterly to
make sure that when we get to the budget
season again it's a much smoother
process in 2024 That's My Hope um the
next uh item would be the waste
committee presentation uh I'll turn that
over to Mayor McCarthy thanks Madam
president uh thank city clerk I made
copies of the
uh local law dealing with
waste uh posties for city council I
think we have those in our package I
think that one's yeah we have that we
put that one they put that one our
packet yeah
okay two different ones it's no it's an
EXT one oh okay that's a uh just a
working draft of some of the possible
amendments and this is a quick summary
sheet
the council
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members we went through the uh budget
process uh which was uh not quite as
smooth as any of us would have liked uh
one of those points of
contention was trash Fe we have really
within the city is connectivity a great
service that we provide for the
residents that has evolved over time uh
from uh was the last big waste
controversy was uh in the 70s when uh
the service of the city was the garbage
men would go into the back of your house
pick up the garbage bring it out to the
curb empty it and then return the can to
the rear of your property or wherever
you stored it and to increase the
efficiency they ended the carry back
service which uh created
again considerable public uh debate and
uh discussion uh we somehow got through
that and continued to go forward
but if you look at the city code
today it really doesn't reflect the
reality within the market so and they
talk about and Paul fund is here also
they had some additives to my narrative
there are things in terms of uh criteria
that's supposed to be at the curb
supposed to be clear bags supposed to be
certain criteria for material that is
put out there and
the reality in the market uh in the
field does not reflect what's in the
code so where part of this has been the
discussion on the fee structure we have
to look fundamentally at what the uh law
says and what the criteria for garbage
collection is and there's some state
regulations that are coming out now that
are being updated from DEC in terms of the criteria that uh we use for
garbage collection one of the items is
electronic based that we're not supposed
to pick that up anymore so if that has
to uh be handled in a separate
uh
process but in our discussions that uh
council president sent there uh council
members of
Toro uh one of the things things talk
about consistently is that we have to do
part of this as an education campaign so
it's to tell people what the service is
but to make them aware of some of the
cost some of the efficiencies some of
the inefficiencies and how do you
improve the
overall delivery of service and
hopefully reduce the cost and we have
the peripheral image of the city which
is litter where it's out there it's far
too prevalent and how do we uh get
people to assume some responsibility to
take care of their own uh property their
own building help out a little bit on
their block because everybody doing a
little bit makes a big difference and uh
about a decade ago we had started a
campaign here begins with me it starts
with me and I believe that that is still
the basis for something that we could do
where we ask people to help out a little
bit uh we did a video which is available
where you take the it starts with me the
M you flip it over and as opposed to me
it becomes we so that uh it's a
community
involvement but if you look at the uh
education campaign as an ongoing effort
uh something we have to map out ask for
everybody's support and it really goes
beyond what we can do just from city
employees it has to be broad-based
Community engagement that makes sense
that people buy
into the next component is are the
penalties today waste violation uh is a
the waste penalty is a violation I'm
going to ask the council
in this process and determine what the
timing is is to change that where the
current one for garbage that's generated
outside the city is brought in here is
treated only as a violation that that be
moved to an unclassified misdemeanor so
that the penalty the fine structure is
stronger and that we're sending a
message that we're going to take that
seriously in terms of holding people
accountable and creating a level of
deterrence so that we're not having
people take advantage of the resources
within the city where they're not
contributing to reducing the
cost
uh tell the council have to look at and
decide our collection containers and
we've had a lot of discussionin the
committee uh the simpler thing is the
old tin garbage can that everybody had
uh that you put it out it was kind of a
standard size now there's a wide variety
of items that are available on the
market where you can I think still get
some of the old fashioned aluminum
garbage cans but most of them are
plastic uh they have removable tops they
have tops that are hinged some that are
rectangle some that are
circular
uh what are we going to set as a
standard
for people so that they know what uh is
acceptable here and fits in the overall
plan for uh waste collection and
Disposal and it's both for we call
garbage for the MSW the municipal Solid
Waste uh and
recyclables and uh we're all aware that
uh wasn't that long ago recyclables we
made a little bit of money
or they cost us a little bit of money
but we basically broke even today the
recyclables are about $9 a ton more than
MSW uh and it's something where the
market can shift dramatically in that as
technology improves or the value of some
of the products
shifts uh but we have to be uh aware of
those scenarios and how do we plan
and be able to deal with what's
happening today in the market then also
build enough flexibility in our
collection process in fee structure to
take advantage of shifts in the market
uh down the road uh UNL here you know we
can do the cans bags different scenarios
that we have to look at come up with a
scenario that everybody would agree to
but the uh collection of the actual
material the MS W is the general term
for municipal Solid Waste other major
components that we have to uh talk about
and decide how we're going to deal with
are the yard waste the recyclables which
we used to refer to as tin plastic and
glass and then paper and
those again some of the Metal Products
are actually increasing in value now we
had a little discussion uh last year
with the
uh white
goods coming on the uh schedule now we
only pick them up one day a month we're
still virtually not picking any of those
up because the value in the market is
gone so that Scrappers pick them up
other people take it and uh we used to
have that with uh paper when we did the
source separation when the price of
paper was up people would put their
paper out and Crews would go around to
pick it up and the containers are empty
they go what's the empty container doing
out the curve well it's people went
around picked it
up uh and then the other side of it is
the
electronics which can be uh very
expensive
to uh dispose of uh they can be hard to
recycle there are value in a lot of
these in terms of component parts and
some of the uh Market is Shifting in
that for uh we're getting rid of those
Paul now it's a pretty much a break even
Point yes we lose a little bit in terms
of uh where we used to have to pay for
that the market has shifted so that
again it's more of a break even uh I say
break even it's not costing his money
but we have to have the staff uh compile
all the stuff shrink wrap it put on a
pallet so there's a a labor Factor there
that uh we shouldn't
Overlook and then it's coming up with a
uh process that people can understand
and feel comfortable with in a fee
structure currently we're
$288 a pickup Point uh there are some
discounts in that for uh individuals who
uh
handicap veterans
seniors uh we have to look at a base fee
with additional fees based on quantity
and volume and so discussion where
everybody agrees the what the staff
refer to in a slanging manner is the
jackpots where you pull up in front of a
house and there's 2 and 1/2 tons of
material there we all know that that is
wrong in terms of the fee
structure how do we separate that and
where do we draw the lines uh for it the
uh you have to go back to the size of
the containers and so if we have certain
amount is there and if you're putting
out extra material what is it do we give
people
uh thing been talked about is this
certain amount of stickers so they're
mailing out with the tax biller once a
year there would be stickers that would
be given to homeowners so if you had an
additional item that wouldn't fit in the
can uh wouldn't go in a bag you could
put one of the stickers on it if you use
those stickers up then you would have to
buy them either here at City Hall or we
work a an arrangement with some local
real EST
retailers and whether that would be $5
for a sticker uh $10 for a sticker
depending on the size and quantity of uh
the material or item that's being
disposed of uh and so there's a number
of variables that are going to have to
come back to the council for uh final
decision uh one asking for is to change
the
penalties uh as we go through this is to
look at
the size and type of
containers and then we look at the fee
structure which is you know the simpler
thing is okay we just raised the base
fee be done with it you want to build
some discounts in it for people who are
more compliant and then do we do a
sticker system do we do some other
method to uh appropriately allocate the
cost to uh individual or property owners
that are driving our
cost and there uh number of variables
there and
so don't want to talk too long open up
for any discussion or comments that Mr
lefant
has that we uh move through this now in
a process so that hopefully this will
also start some public discussion where
we've had uh primarily internal meetings
looking at this there's been some public
narrative but to look at it and again
build on a
uh collection system that again is still
highly efficient delivers a great
service to the city of SKC but to do it
in a manner that covers our costs and
enables us to go forward in a manner not
only picking up the garbage but
hopefully message for General litter and
image control or Improvement throughout
the city as a
whole with that I would open up to
questions or comments and any questions
any so the current practice residents
have their um garbage cans and right now
they can bring c a couch all place of
yep and just put it on the out on
garbage day and it'll be picked up so
your suggestion we change that practice
correct that and manage that in a
different way that people will pay for
those larger items or get it like a
certain
quota I'm a sticker for cuz again most
of the residents within the city are
compliant in do what I will call a
normal uh amount of msws generator
normal amount of
recyclables but there are ones that
drive our costs that people are taking
advantage of the system where they're
putting out huge amounts of material or
what I believe is material is generated
outside of the city of SKC and then
brought into the city of SKC for
disposal Mr Williams uh so I just wanted
to thank uh the team for putting this
Collective data for us or Collective
information I thing it' be important for
me to as reference I had the opportunity
a few weeks ago to Shadow one of our
waste collection fees and I just want at
this point just thank Sammy and Jerome
uh who M Leon knows they were an
excellent Tandem and true gave me a
first person uh overview of what trash
collection is like in our city uh and
I'd be uh lying if I didn't say that my
body was aching a few days probably two
weeks afterwards and it is an experience
I look forward to only doing once um but
to your point Mr Mayor that education is
absolutely a uh U an understatement of
the issue we have to address growing up
in the city it was always understood in
my household if you just get it to the
curb it will not be there when you get
back home and very much it is a resource
that is taken advantage of uh to your
point um Mr manini truly I I I think we
picked up maybe half a dozen couches uh
chairs and as long as it fits within the
truck uh when it's full you go back out
and you continue your route and the
caveat I wanted to add on to us
identifying a better means to kind of
fee and then better manage this better
manage this also there is a component
that we need to look at is improving the
work life conditions for our workers uh
truly that is a Str ous job and it is
not the easiest one to uh staff uh and I
very much think that this uh department
is taking advantage of not just from our
own expectations as residents um but
also as individuals who uh are are meant
to keep the streets cleaned when they
are set up to fail uh there are plenty
of times where trash are just dumped in
bends or loose bags and if that bag
breaks correct me if I'm wrong Mr leond
if they make the mess they have to clean
it and that takes time and and there
were often times where my expectation
was they would be Fuller teams that is
not often the case and truly the
expectation is for two individuals One
driver and one um Packer excuse me if
I'm wrong with the definitions to to
take on whole streets uh so when they're
addressing these jackpots the residents
are then um frustrated when the truck is
stuck in traffic for so long and then if
they make a mess so so truly they are uh
set up to fail and I think it is
important for us to get this right um
but my only fear is I want to caution
against us making is too complicated uh
just from the standpoint of of with
every additional layer we add in is then
an additional layer of Education we have
to make sure everyone is properly
informed because I also know that our
contians are very opinionated and God
forbid we add in more fees without
properly um rolling out to the community
uh but definitely I look forward to
taking a deeper dive into this and then
getting it right for for not only the
residents but also Al for the employees
of that
department Mr Farland so yeah I'd like
to Echo some some of Mr Williams has
stated um not only with added layer is
the added layer of like kind of
educational piece which I to your point
Mr Mayor I think is probably the most
important piece I think most people when
they know better they do better they'll
be in compliant compliance with what
were our expectations I guess there's
also something that we have to consider
and I'm sure that the committee um took
this in consideration is that if we're
increasing you know um enforcement um
and like something like stickers or
there's a cost that comes with that as
well right like so like so I was just
thinking about you know like you know
and I think that really that' be
something I think that you know I really
would defer to uh Mr lefon around like
you know cuz I guess the the solution um
should be proportionate to the problem
so I don't know cuz you know I I see it
you know the ja TOS here and there and
it's like w um and I think they kind of
stick out of my mind because there's so much so I guess I'm wondering
like
I don't want to end up
overcorrecting if you will like putting
something in P in place that can end up
being a cost to the city um so I so it's
just kind of trying that trying to find
that balance and I think that there's a
lot of difference that needs to be uh
given to uh Mr lefan as far as guiding
that that part of the conversation so I
just welcome if you have any like
thoughts around
that yeah mayor yeah either way just
like with regards to the cost of
enforcement well so Mr Leon if you're
yeah cuz we want to be able to see
you if we print stickers or bags or
whatever there's a cost of that you're
absolutely right yeah so I was just
wondering like how does that
and again part of that is this
discussion to put out and you know we
all get calls tomorrow saying no we
don't want to back so we know that's off
the table but maybe they would like
stickers right right well since it's in
the discussion phase yes you know the
stickers would be a cost to the city but
the to you know recoup that cost we
would add that to the price of the
stickers as part of the cost of you know
doing away with the trash or disposing
of the trash so that all has to be built
into it um yeah you know if you go some
auroras where they use transfer stations
they do a sticker system sometimes it's
$3 you know for a bag of garbage and you
buy them at local stores you know the
town halls same thing but all that cost
is all factored in then again you know
if people aren't compliant there there's
the enforcement factor and you know we
have to break that in small that's you
know there's going to be a transition
where we're not there to just you know
write a fine uh maybe there's a you know
a reminder note you know um but again
when we do a violation there's a cost
for that right now I think certified $7
an envelope violations whether the it's
the administrative fee of $50 you know
right off the top $7 is going to the you
know to the to the mail um and you've
got the nuisance officers that's taking
his time to write it the paper
everything else to guess go to that so
the other thing we have to look at is
whether or not you know our
administrative fees are covering the
cost of the work we're actually goinging
in house and then factor in anything for
the printing of the stickers um so all
those costs are going to be have
factored in and then they come up like
the mayor said with a scale that is
appropriate to what's being left on the
curve um and it's more of a pay as you
go um system um like the mayor said the
bulk of our you know um homeowners here
are compliant they're not going to see
any changes maybe once in a while if the
stickers go out as a courtesy so many go
out at the uh when the tax bills go out
they have that one couch ear it's not
this for their couch every year you know
they'll have a couple stickers to put on
there it'll go away um it's really
repeat offenders that we're seeing all
the time um you know landlords that are
emptying whole house fulls of everything
there um rather than you know hiring a
dumpster and paying the cost of the
dumpster the disposal if we put it on
the curb the C comes and takes it for
free so you know what are we going to do
they're going to put it on the curb or
we're going to take it for free so all
those costs have to be factored in to
the sticker price um you know and when
we do a violation if it comes to that
you know what is the you know what is
the cost of the administrative fee for
that violation you know is $50 going to
cover it or should it be you know $70
it's all stuff we're going to have to
look into I would also imagine that when
you look at like so like that's a good
example of like landlords or whoever was
like empting out an entire apartment you
know maybe the dumpster is you know a
couple hundred bucks to get the dumpster
well then the fee has to be relatively
you know has to incentivize them doing
the right thing a small 15year dumpster
is probably costing somebody a couple
hundred at least to get rid of that
where we're not charging right now it's
free if you got seven couches from a
seven unit there right now the way the
code is written we're going to take all
seven there's no charge if we have to
send three trucks back and forth it's not going to change anything so um
yeah and the true costs has to be looked
at with regards to um you know like we talked about the E-Waste you we may
break even in the sense that it's not
costing us nothing to get rid of it but
there is a cost there because that truck
that's getting about 4 miles to the
gallon is on the road um the gentleman
who's run you know on that truck we're
paying his benefits his salary when it
comes back you know the pallets the
shrink w we have to buy to wrap them the
time it takes for us to put that
together so there is a true cost even to
get rid of something that we think you
know we're not paying a lot but if you
look at it there's a cost yeah thank
you anybody else
okay so um when we started
this I'm sorry did you have I didn't see
your hand I'm sorry I just put it oh you
just put it well not just now but few
seconds ago so um May can you explain
why we're kind of revisiting this whole
trash
um uh Financial s you know situation or
the current
structure does not cover the full cost
of waste collection
so my thought process last year in the
budget and as we're going forward
is waste collection should pretty much
pay for itself that it shouldn't be
subsidized
by other Revenue there's a mechanism
where we can
uh account for what our actual costs are
and let people know that and in this
whole thing again in terms of stay
ability you want people to recycle you
want people to be more cognizant of what
they're doing with waste garbage uh yard
clippings and so if there's a fee
structure so if they can save money if
we build some incentives in this also so
that they're thinking uh a little bit
different in terms of how they're going
to dispose of
items I think everybody benefits from
that and so the goal is to have it more
Revenue neut neutral but to cover the
expenses we gave uh you know pay raises
to the 1037 Crews it was just a reality
in the market CDL Drivers and other
things to be able to get them here in
the market
and I think that's appropriate but at
the same time it drives up our costs and
how do we Now cover that through uh
Revenue that's directly related to waste
collection so so um what I was going to
say is that when we started this
discussion during budget season we
talked about um our our goal was like to
look at the
jackpots well I don't know if that's
anyway that's the name they've been
given so
um I I think we should definitely do
that and there was some saying that we
couldn't focus on like we couldn't like
focus on certain people but if there are
people are putting out tremendous
amounts of garbage I don't see why we
cannot specifically say you know this is
the amount of garbage that you it's just
way too much and especially on regular
basis so our our nuisance officers would
definitely come in there and I
understand they're out already I've been
uh receiving phone calls and emails that
they've been out to uh people have been
putting things from their commercial to
their home they've been putting out
their garbage too early all that those
things already exist in the code well
they already exist in the code so if you
um put out your garbage before 2:00 the
day before trash day then you know you
can you can be fine for that we weren't enforcing that and a large
part of this is is going to be
enforcement but now that's happening so
that has started as we look at this um
Mr O'Brien has provided for us the
Amendments and then I asked Miss Miku to
print out the code as it stands so we
want to take a look at you know what we
have versus what's being proposed before
us um and it's kind of been said here
but I think one of the other things we
need is is a cost benefit analysis to
actually look at what it's costing us
and um what what we're getting from that
so I think that's that's really really
important and also to pay attention to
the fact that we're talking about are we
suggesting cans versus bags cans and
bags I don't know if we if we like if we
really nail down on that particular um
nothing's been decided but the reality
is will probably be cans and bags some
standard right we had a long discussion
about bags the size of bags cans the
size of cans there's a lot of discussion
about that um and also um the sticker
system which um which was has been
mentioned here and and so anything that
we do or as we're doing this and moving
forward just I want the council to keep
in mind that this is going to take a
public hearing because we're going to be
making the suggestion is that we make
changes to the code um and then also
that's also been discussed there needs
to be a transition period where we're
telling people this is what's going to
happen this is what we're considering
and and know this is not carved in stone
from the from the um waste committee but
the suggestions that that have come
forward based on weeks of conversation
um the other thing I want to add because
people have been paying attention to
that that we're paying attention to this
is there's communities that are asking
for trash cans like there are um some
communities already have been like the
north side did theirs Hamilton Hill did
theirs and then uh one other community
actually had uh public trash cans we
have them downtown so that's another
thing we may want to consider because
people are saying we you know we would
like some public trash cans within our
city but then we would have to figure
out um how we cover the cost of
that so
um oh and the other the other part of
this I just want to you know bring
forward for discussion a lot of this is
going to be a lot of we have a lot of
renters in the city so this just won't
be homeowners so as we're thinking this
through we have to think about um
renters and um behavior of of renters
versus homeowners because sometimes it's
not quite the same and also as we think
about this will um any increase we do in
cost to to Property Owners they don't I
don't mean just people that living in
their homes that own properties because
we have people that own multiple
properties throughout the city how that
cost if any will be passed on to renters
so those are um other costs and things
that we would want to be able to take
into consideration as we're um
continuing to discuss this m f yeah I
was just saying what I what I think is
really important is that if we look at
it in the way of like kind of the
jackpot po or I think that that's a
really good model to have because what
that's saying is that if I'm the person
who's putting out so much trash then my
neighbor doesn't end up bearing the cost
for what I'm doing so it's like I could
see that that might I imagine that could
complicate things a little bit but I
think uh to and kind of based on what Mr
lean was saying that that makes sense to
make that extra investment in the way so
we're not spreading that cross across
the community cuz I know that that was
kind of like what what some of the
discussions that we were having during
um our budget process so I think that
this is kind of a really healthy medium
if you will that that addresses the
issue specifically with any residents
that's struggling with this and then it
doesn't become a larger cost for those
who are in
compliance so I'm not really sure how we
get there but there you know we want to
bring it to the council there's um you
know for more discussion so we can come
up with something
and um and we do see a lot of couches
unquestionably and mattresses I think
those are the two favorite things that people get rid of on a regular
basis so um to to charge additionally
for that and let me just also add we
looked at
municipalities um there was information
brought from Other M municipalities in
terms of what they do and um even very
local where they actually change charge
if you put out a couch or you put out a
refrigerator or anything above and ab
Beyond on what's considered normal trash
so this isn't outside the realm of of
possibility um it's just a matter of
getting people ACC custom to it
and and again making sure that because
any money that we receive from waste
only goes into the waste department to
cover those those fees it doesn't go to
the general fund so we have to look at
um all those
things so is there any further input
that we need to bring back to the waste
committee do we have a timeline do we
have a timeline for when we'll um have
the larger discussion and do the public
hearing I mean um just so we don't Mr
O'Brien uh yes Madam president I would
just uh would suggest that let the
council members digest what they've been
given here tonight and then uh send
emails to the uh City Clerk and then the
city clerk can give it to the the was C
waste collection task force and then in
start incorporating those comments in
and then uh as we get further along then
we're going to have to amend the
ordinance and then prior to that have
that public hearing but then the
ordinance will be in draft form ready to
uh put before you and uh have the public
hearing so uh maybe just at this point
everybody go through what they've got
any experiences they have and then send
emails to the city clerk and then City
Clerk and uh then distribute it to uh
point point person for the task force um
so to answer your question there is no
timeline at this point it is one thing
that I asked for and um so we will now
the next time we have a a waste meeting
I will bring that up that we do you know
want to put this on a timeline so we
kind of know where we're going to go
with this and how we'll if we Implement
in stages or because I don't personally
think that based on everything that we
want to change we're going to be able to
do this all at once it's definitely
going to take some transition and you
know it's going to be challenging for
people to figure out all the changes
that we made so we will probably um in a
way that makes sense transition it in
and again when it comes to the fees and
stuff that's those things we're going to
have to um have a public hearing to any
part of that changing the code it's
going to require that so as Mr O'Brien
say you can submit all of your any
comments and suggestions Etc to Miss
Michael and she will then um will pour
them on to the waste Committee just
following up on your comments M
president maybe if the council members
can say how they would like to have it
phased in you know what aspects that
they want phased in first okay let's out
of town drop offs one the other whatever
prioritize what they what they would
like to see phased in first second and
third as we do this and we can we
haven't done this but we could um I'm
not sure when we get get to the point of
like uh at one time the mayor said that
we would have different different
communities like neighborhood
associations kind of give input and that
has not happened yet and um because
right now it's just the people on the
waste committee so I do think we need
more eyes and more voices around this
because it's it's a major change within
the city so that hasn't happen yet but
in terms of
um getting the information out there and
having more um more PSA we could that's
something maybe we could do around that
a so we can bring that back to the
committee is how we how do we start
having these discussions within the
neighborhoods yes Miss Patrick because I
think um and thank you I want to thank
everybody as well that has been doing
this work on the waste committee and and
all um but I do think as part of the
educational aspect it would be good to
you know for example see if we can
partner with the Gazette see if there's
any businesses that want to partner with
us the neighborhood associations in the
school district but in terms of you know
um even having like little competitions
among the neighborhood associations or
something like have something where you
know the whole goal is beautifying
skincity um and and make it you know try
to build some positive energy and and
some fun um around some of this and
speaking of which we should have a slos
I know we have it starts with me um that
may work but maybe there's something
that um that other people would um or
may we can have a slogan contest how
there's that and then you have to pay a
fee to be in it that was a deal that was
a
joke all right so um mayor did you have
more on this anything further all right
um as you said if you can send anything
back we'll just bring it back to the
next B committee meeting and have more
discussion about that thank you U mayor
for
that okay I'll turn it over to Mr
Williams so I'd like to call the Public
Safety Committee order we have two items
on the agenda tonight both of which will
be spoken to First of which is the grant
award Community Trust building
conversation and that will be presented
[Music]
bye hi good evening I'm here
representative the police department and
we are asking the council to accept the
first is uh Grant award in the amount of
$3,588 was for the Community Trust
building
conversation um ultimately the this is
re urement to the city as the funds have
been spent
already thank you any questions or
comments so I know that the um this is
already taking place do you know at what
point in time we hear a report about how
it
went yep there is uh a report has been
completed I understand but I've not had
a chance to look at it yet okay but the
council would be able to hear about that
definitely
okay question thank you any other
questions response hear none we have a
motion
so Mo I'll second second all those in
favor uh the next item on the agenda is
the speed sign
purchase thank you uh the police
department is looking looking to enter
into agreement with PA Systems
Incorporated we are we have Capital
funds available of the amount of
$13,000 we would like to purchase 25 of
these signs for total of 78,2
um if we have funds left over depending
on how much it's going to cost to
install them we would like to purchase
more until the funds are depleted at a
cost of
$3,130 per
unit any questions or comments M pck um
so can you just uh tell us a little bit
about you know the placement of of these
and and making the determination of
where the 25 will go sure it's going be
predominantly school zones and some of
the features that these signs have built
into them um are of course getting the
driver's attention uh we also have what
we can call stealth mode where uh it
appears that they're not working but
what they're actually doing is they're
collecting data and that's important
because we want real numbers we don't
want to um artificially impact how
drivers uh would normally Drive
especially if we're looking at some of
these zones uh school zones again for
dominant
any M Patrick M sorry um thank you do we
have any currently this type in the city
yes we have been downloading one for
probably 6 months maybe more and it's on
eie Boulevard right near alltown fresh
okay so um right now we're going to 25
so do we know what the maximum or
depends on the cost what number we'll
get up to that's right depending on what
the installation costs are I I have a
rough estimate we look at around 350
sign M um but we won't know until we get
a little further into
it and how soon would we be talking
about um having the signs actually
coming to be installed well as soon as
we place the order and and
um as soon as we have them in our
possession we can install them so do we
have time I know sometimes when we buy
police cars it's like there's an
extended period because of all that and
how about with the signs is this a sh
time frame yeah I'm confident it is I
don't know the answer to that uh
specifically
it is I thought it was like 60 days Days
place the order to we
get any other questions or comments uh
here have a motion so moved I'll second all in favor
I thank you if there are no other items
to recall Public Safety i' ask for
motion to adourn mov second it all those
in favor I we
are so I'd like to call the finance
committee to order we have five items on
the agenda tonight the first of which is
the UN Finance United uh CG allocation
request which will be presented by Miss
car good evening city council mayor the
department of development received a
request from young parents United asking
for emergency funding um to fill in the
Gap they lost a major funer this year
leaving them with a $98,000 gap to
continue their program
the funding with the system and taking
care of salaries and the basic needs for
the young teenagers and the children
that um are benefited from the program I
have invited the executive director Miss
Jenny Ean here to answer any additional
questions in regards to the overview
that was already provided to you on the
services offer for young United parents
my ask of you today is to allow um the
city of SKC to go into contract with
young United parents for 98,000 using
cdbg funds that we have from 2018 that
need to be extended um
immediately this is a one-time act um
the organization have already begin to
take measures um with improving their
fin their fiscal Health they've recently
moved to another location with lower
rent payments um in order to help adjust
their financial situation right now they
are are also working um to identify
additional funding sources for
sustainability moving forward so the
expectation is not to come again um for
this fund it is a one-time um it is a
one-time contract they're currently
already contracted with us through the
youth Coalition so the organization has
been in good standing good reporting um
already so my ask is for you to support
that thank you any questions or comments
no so I think you answered it so they're looking for future funding that
was one of my questions so they're
looking to make sure in the future this
um that they would have be in the place
so this would not be an ask from the
city correct going forward correct they
will continue to be funded through the
youth Coalition okay but the additional
is not expectation
so well I just asked about the cdbg
hunds from 2018 and how we ended up
and it's obviously is enough for what's
being asked but how we kind of ended up
there so H the federal government gives
you 5 years to spend our money we've had
money um allocated in other areas
internally that haven't been able to use
the funding so in an effort to stay in
compliance with the federal government
we went through and was able to find
areas that we could reallocate the money
for for immediate use and in the process
of doing that we received the request
from United parents young United parents
and I did go to the mayor and ask if it
was something that we could do and
change kind of the trajectory on how we
were going to use some of the funding
thank you any Mr F just um how much
other fun how much funding um out of
this uh 2018 of money is available right
now there is none after this after this
okay okay thank you any other questions
or
comments umet just wondering um what
your total budget is well you have to if
you're going to come
over excuse me for lping ier my name oh
no
I um so um it's you know last year we
were operating
$500,000 um this year you know with this
funding you know we're we're mean we
lost we had one
fun just so um we do have other sources
which includes the cdbg funding private
foundations Community you know other
foundations in the community this year
what we're going to do to cover this Gap
um there's a large Federal grant that's
available um for several of them that
apply very specifically to our
population um we had attended previously
to you know make that transition only
now it's just requiring us to do it very
quickly
um but it it's you know it's a good
amount of money that would literally
cover that issue but the RFP doesn't
come out till May um and the awards
wouldn't take place until like septe the
end of
September so we needed you know we we
really do I trust me provide a lot of
services and support to the young
parents in this community they dep
depend on us as a lot of the agencies do
also um so um we're just looking forward
to staying here
sustaining the organization so your
support would be greatly
appreciated any other questions or
comments I I do have a question
um what was the reasoning behind uh the
primary fun pulling out I mean what was
their I mean did they just lack funding
themselves they they supported us
tremendously um from the very beginning
and I'm very grateful because they built
the organization up to a point where we
could really have a huge impact mhm um
it was a decision to do something
different um there's there's nothing
negative to say we're very grateful um
and you know we're grateful that we were
able to get to the point where we
weren't with that particular fun um and
it's just now a transition to move
on I really need the support to
sustain just yeah but first I want to
say I appreciate the work that you're
doing the very very important work that
you're doing on my you know not lost on
any of us in the council at least I
think I can speak for the council say
that um this is a very high priority of
ours as well so I just wanted to say
thank you for the thank you yeah we're
really in the mud with these kids so to
be right and we want to continue to be
We Care a
Lot uh any other questions or comments
uh hearing on and a motion so move
second second all those in favor I I
thank you so much um moving to the next
item uh the 20 2024 budget reallocation
pursu to the agreement between the city
ofcity
and car Carpenters Local 51 of 2024
which will be discussed by
May thank you uh items 2 three and four
are budget amendments to
conform with
the contracts that we've ENT du to
collective bargaining agreements with
the uh
Carpenters the uh electricians and the
painters unit
uh so anybody has any specific
questions on that but these are
contracts already been approved by the
council uh done by the unions and now
it's just to bring the
budget into agreement with that so we
can continue to
pay
um did we need to uh go through these
line by
line you probably do to have to to vote
on it but the message is the same for
all of them apologize Mr chairman get
thee of no no worries uh so uh
returning m p yes so well actually it's
not a question I just um just want to
point out that Mr gamak who couldn't be
here tonight um did provide the um
backup information about how much it's
going to cost scenarios there if anybody
has any
questions and Al answer it or we can get
additional information
it's um you'll notice that there're not
significant increases right um in
clearly things that we if we uh made
those changes we got to we have to amend
the budgets to cover that these we have
small numbers of members Within These
Union that or city
employees uh so any questions or
comments regarding the carpenter local
51 uh hearing N I have a motion so move
I'll second second all in favor hi hi
moving to item number three is the 2024
budget reallocation for the IBEW Local
202
236 any questions or comments I'll move
it I will second second how in favor I
uh item number four is the 2024 budget
reallocation um for the trades Union dc9
painters for glair lu2 and plumber lu7
for 2024 any questions or comments he
anyone so I'll move it I I'll second all those in favor I I and the
fifth and final item is a reminder of a
public hearing for the Restore New York
uh round 8 Grant
application the public hearing will be
held on
April 20
seconds any other questions or comments
the pl comme hearing on we have motion
toour so moved second second all those
in favor I we areour
I wanted to move this so we can let Mr
um Mr Gill sure okay I'd like to call
the order City development and planning
we have seven items on the
agenda is Mr Wallen coming downstairs or
he he usually goes based on uh is he
coming you see him I don't see him he
usually sits upstairs and watches so
taking it out of order might throw him
off so
um so could Mr TT okay so um and while
we're waiting for him I am going to jump
to item number three so uh on of City
development and planning it's a
ceremonial resolution for Arbor Day uh
we've done it the years in the past but
I want to first of all thank Miss Carver
for bringing it to our attention this
year because um part of having the res
part of the what the benefit of having
these resolutions just not to do it but
it's also when there's funding
opportunities it um having a resolution
that proclaiming Arbor Day in the city
is part of what the application is
asking for so again I want to thank M
Carver um for bringing this to to our
attention to make sure that we do it it
is okay it is under my name however it's
just there as a placeholder so if
there's a council member has a burning
desire or loves trees and grass as Miss
Carver said and wants
to and wants to present the resolution
you know what anyone wants to volunteer
to do that
oh Mr Char absolutely okay so there we
are so we will invite people to come um
to do that you know that part will will
take care of the um actually I spoke
some people over the weekend so we'll
have MPS through here and receive it
okay I welome turn on that well you want
to co-present it I said yeah I welcome
Mr T I think we all love trees so if you
don't have any then everybody really be
loving them then so we got to
definitely okay so all right
okay
um Mr wall thank you I know I jumped
ahead and threw you off the little your
sister so can I just say about the Arbor
Day yes that it would be nice to have
something where you know we could always
you know cuz we did this before when I
was working it where you could
ceremoniously you know plant a tree
actually to celebrate I don't know if
maybe you were already thinking about
doing something like that but have some
you know kind of it's not a ribbon
cutting it's a grounding this year we're
partnering with retreat in so there is
going to be event and I will pass it
around to the clerk to um distribute but
um on Friday the 26 will be an activity
that we partner with with some Community
organization great and thank you again
we need a motion I'm
sorry I'll second all in favor great all
right
um so the first item we're going back to
first item the award the bidden contract
for the Gulf Road uh Warner replacement
okay so this is a new water line between
the existing fire training facility on
gol Avenue to our Golf Course
maintenance facility uh down the dead
end of uh Golf Road um as you know we
are installing uh very soon the brand
new golf course irrigation system the
irrigation system is going to be more
centrally located in the existing one is located in a rather
odd easement behind a home off a Consol
Road it makes it difficult to get to and
a little cumbersome for all of us so
we're going to be moving it uh to a new
location that is a little bit easier to
access all the way around and more
Central to the course so this is an 8 in
water made to go we've got several bids
uh the low being Newcastle who we have
worked with numerous times in the past
um and it is within
budget any
questions I'll entertain a motion so
moved second all those in favor
okay item number two change order
approval to okano electric contract for
the Central Park Pool Mr wall uh okano
electric is just backr up the Central
Park Pool was awarded under Wix law
which is four contracts a General
Plumbing an electrical and mechanical um
the electrical contract that we have in
front of you we uh would like to do a
change order for them to install
additional Lighting in the park uh for
Sight paths and lighting between the
pool facility the a diamond and music
Haven um the value of their contract was
such that by approving this as you see
it would raise the value over 25% and
over 25% requires Council approval um
the funding for this project would be
paid for the outside the fence money
that we call it the arpa general fund
Improvement money um we thought that
this was an efficient way to get the
goals of the project accomplished since
we had it a Contractor on site and the
lights that we wanted uh and to schedule
so um they are order ordering the lights
upon you know approval of this they're
ready to go um contractor great the new
lights that we have uh they said they've
been working they are smart uh node
capable and so I would recommend that we
improve this so that we can uh right now
just if you're aware I know Paul's not
here but on every music Haven event um
we actually have to rent light towers
and bring them in and it is an issue
between people from Fair Avenue which is
where the majority Park and the rest of
that and so this is a step to try to
improve that
any questions comments well I'll just
say that I mean having experienced um
the musicated piece of this in
particular I mean it's just so needed so
I'm thrilled that um we're going to move
forward with this um it's it's really an
important safety feature in the park um
for all the people that come in and
enjoy uh those festivities all summer
long so I appreciate it and while this
is the lighting component this is also
designed to work for it's really the
walkway going between music Haven a DI
where the swimming pool is and so it'll
dramatically improve walkability and
visual attractiveness of that whole area
of the
park Mr Toro thank you so having been
there yesterday in the Pavilion for a
baby shower and uh it was wonderful but
um so that they were working on the pool
non stop they had work going on over
there but they had that big round ruler
that they were packing down all the
gravel and the walkway we're talking
about now and um the restrooms are there
so again it was a dreary day and it was
dark and and uh with those lights on
it'll just be very nice the the walkway
the pathway thank you
Chris any other questions or comments
bit I'll second all those in favor I
thank you thank
youate now we just three left again so
um so the next item is is a we did arbit
recognizing John fill for his years of
service uh for those who don't know he
will be retiring at the end of this
month after 35 years of service to the
city and so you know um as we have
recent in the recent past um acknowledge
people who had who were retiring from
the city like to provide um a resolution
hopefully is actually I think on
vacation right now can come and um
receive it but even if he can't I think
it's a it's a good thing after that many
years of Serv to at least be able to uh
acknowledge the service to the city so
without that I move that one with
pleasure all right I will second all
those in favor I thank you uh the next
item is um the reminder of the public
hearing for adding um the addition to
section 26 no 26413 of the city code
regarding the regulation and location of
smoke shops vape shops hooka lounges and
vape consumption businesses and that
public hearing will be h on the 22nd of
April it's just a reminder m u the next
item is item number item number six is
902 MCL Street uh vacant lot U mayor is
this something that we need to do in
executive session or can we do this
public in public session it's the
council's decision I called at this
point fairly forward straightforward and
wouldn't be executive session if you
want there's some specific
question um on the negotiations not in
terms of negotiations I I I I do have
some questions but they're not in terms
of negotiation so um
we yeah I think we should do it in
executive session um Section
105 uh proposed acquisition salary lease
of property I beg you pardon um uh it's
proposed acquisition of the release or
sale of property and also if there's
going to be any
uh looking at any sort of litigation in
this matter is that uh
are we looking at litigation in this
matter or you just looking to transfer
the property
as is subject to the conditions that
are
um litigation I know I'm just I'm just
saying looking for any
litigation okay so just discounting that basis for for there's a
number of different reasons for for
executive sessions and I just want to
make sure that's not one of them but
we're looking at the acquisition sale or
lease of real property the council's
previously approved this sales yes we
did back so there seems to be an issue
post the transaction has not closed so I
would still say it's a
pending a pending sale so it has even
though the resolution's passed and has
not closed I see okay well I was trying
to um get you out of here but it doesn't
look
like so um we're going to have to do
that in executive session same
okay and U an amendment to the land bank
Cooperative agreement same
thing I don't I don't know all the terms
of that that one is if we're just
looking to add properties to that
correct mhm yes um but not for sales we
adding we're not there's not
transactions with that right it's just
adding properties from the inventory
over to that okay that
doesn't simply
adding no we're simply adding properties
to the existing access agreement
allowing them to look through those
sites um and also identify different
projects and things that we may need in
the future okay I I think I I would like
to hear that in ex session I he I have
some questions regarding the value of
those properties okay yes regarding the
values of those properties okay so in this case I'll ask for recess
okay motion to recess
second then you call you the committ
order and then we'll go into the
executive session right after your
discussion okay all right so do we have
to vote on we're recess should we just
oh we don't have to vote on it no no
we're we're not going to discuss we're
do an executive
session okay so I'd like to open health
and Recreation we have one item on the
agenda and that is uh ceremonial
resolution um regarding the uh contract
between St Peter's Health Partners Ellis
medicine and uh newor State Nurses
Association um so I'd like to open that
up see if there's any discussion I have
some questions Mr Cary certainly
so right now uh Ellis medicine and St
Peters are um in negotiations um with a
New York State Association of nurses and
I think that um it's important that you
know this is a situ this is a
very uh consequential um negotiation or
process that's happening and I just want
to um encourage you know all our
Community Partners to uh settle a fater
contract uh with the Nurses Association
so it doesn't impact the um well if it
and if it does impact it impacts um to
the benefit of the people that live in
the city as conc with our limited
medical uh resources that we have I
think that is really um an important
issue to uh weigh in
on um committee M Doro thank you um so I
fully acknowledge the sense of role of
nurses uh in our community and wherever
however I think this negotiation is
between a
private entity and their employees and
should be negotiated as such and I I
really don't feel it's a stance that uh
I feel the the city council should take
a
um a um not take a stance in helping out
or resolving negotiations between um
that fall within kind of like the domain
of of private entities so um I I just
don't think it's again as much as I
fully
acknowledge and uh endorse the role of
nurses I just don't think it's something
that that we should enter
into Mr Williams oh just as a point of
clarification which entity are you
referring to that's private uh the
hospital but it's a merger so which one
cuz to my awareness both are non
for-profits pardon me they're both non
for-profits St Peters and Dallas yes
so by law every Hospital in New York
state has to be not proprof so they're
not private is what he say it's not
private so I would say they're public
good that would make it very much a
public conversation but I'll wait
till do you have other comments or I I
have some comments so sure well I'll
hear you out first well I do want to
comment on that particular question
actually because in fact I'm not really
sure um and I don't know if anyone
around this table knows which gets to my
larger issue of I really don't think we
should be getting involved with contract
negotiations between the hospital and and its uh and its staff or anybody
I mean I would say the same thing um in
terms of getting involved in the school
you know the school district when the
superintendent is negotiating at net um
I wouldn't think that we would want to
get involved with that or or any um
contract negotiation um that isn't ours
um but I do want to say that I'm not
really sure that the nurses are needing
to negotiate with with St Peters um I
don't think that's part of it I think um
you know I don't think St Peters is
involved in it um if anyone else knows
differently um they could they could
tell me that um so that's one of my my
questions I'd like to know where um the
93% i i the idea that Ellis is under
Staffing uh it's its Hospital units up
to 93% um I'd like to know where that
came from and whether anyone sitting at
the table can verify that number um CU
I'm not really sure that that's um it
seems like a very unusual number to me
um so again I don't really feel that we
probably fully understand the parameters
of the contract negotiation it's my
understanding that they do this every 3
years it's kind of a you know standard
negotiation that the hospital undertakes
every every 3 years with the nurses but
I also want to say um as you all are
saying that I certainly support all of
our healthcare workers and I value uh
the fact that we have the hospital here
um I think we need to do everything we
can to support um keeping the hospital
here and and making sure that our health
care stays stays uh fine um but again I
really would have to say that um I just
don't think it's appropriate for city
council to be getting involved in the
contract negotiations of another
organization Miss pfield so I I just
want to point out the fact that um
several years ago when there was a where
we were supporting in terms of safe
Staffing and we did this Council did
pass a resolution when the when the nna
came to us regarding safe Staffing
because they were stating that you know
there was a safe Staffing acting because
there were the Staffing was not um equal
to the number of patients so essentially
nurses were then being overburdened in terms of how many patients per um per
nurse so the N did come to us and we did
pass a resolution to support that safe
Staffing act so I just want to make
folks be aware that um that that did
happen additionally um it's my
understanding that same K isn't very
much involved in this and we can just
confirm that for you if that's a
question for you but um this the
information as I understand it came from
nna so that's uh I know the Trinity is
also involved in it but that St Peters
is a part of this and I know that you um
was stated that we do they do this every
year but this is a little bit different
because there's a this is the merger
they don't do that every 3 years this is
a merger
of facilities and it's going to change
something so it's not just a standard
contract this is about a merger so I
just wanted to um to make that clear and
also um I want I want to ask you about
so are you saying that if we if the
information is concern confirmed in
terms of the you know what they're
saying is that um where your most
concern is no I was just raising those
questions no I absolutely my my major
concern is um city council getting
involved with something that I don't
feel is um appropriate and in it's
outside the purview of city council um
to be passing this resolution so that's my fundamental belief okay the
others were just questions that I was
Raising I guess I was Raising those
questions to say that um to me that adds
to the fact that I think it's a
situation that we are not the best um
experts you know in terms of the
understand understanding of what's
happening in that labor negotiation to
make a stand on on
that mrle it was me so first of all I I want to say um I genuinely appreciate
the concerns that are being raised here
I think that um there is definitely
Merit and the concerns around like what
is the role of a city council and you
know I would I think point where I where
we differ is like the examples around
like the school district um I think that
what we're talking about on this issue
is literally in probably the most
explicit form of something that
consequences can be life or death for
the people that live in our city um so I
think that you know you don't we don't
need to be a medical professional per se
or um someone who knows the ins and outs
of uh what's being negotiated in order
to call for a fair negot to for a fair
negotiation to be reached because that
impacts the material conditions of the
people that live in our city and
probably the one of the most significant
ways of any other institution that's
existing so I think that those are the
compelling reasons why uh we need to get
involved I almost I will go to a point
where I feel obligated to be involved
and even thank you uh Madame President
for uh acknowledging that precedent that
I didn't even know existed um prior to
this so I I do appreciate that um
acknowledging that this is something
that is a area that city council has
action and before I say even if that
wasn't the case um this is a situation
where this impacts the livelihood of the
people that live in the city in a very
uh serious way and I think that any
issue that um Rises to that level of
quality of life implications we are
obligated I feel a strong obligation to
weigh in to do what's best for the
people that live here especially where
it's also something has important has
access to
um uh uh healthcare for for that
matter oh and also one more thing and
the study um a study was done um in 2023
this is where the um information is
coming by the New York State Association
nurses from February to November 23
where they uh did a study against six
units um and that's where um the that
data comes from and you can find that
information on their website and there's
also this is all public information as
well so you can find that on their
website before I go to Mr Williams I
just want to say thank you um and
appreciate what you're saying I guess I
will bring back that again um to me the
same in terms of the contract
negotiations that the mayor and our
Commissioner of Finance you know under
goes with our police department and our
fire department which are also two very
essential services and life or death uh
situations for the residents um again I
would say I wouldn't want to see you
know someone from a different governing
body trying to get involved in those
contract
negotiations um from outside the city as
well I just I just feel like it's um so
that's my that's my uh similar my
similar Point Mr Williams so I'd say in
my response I would say I don't see the
parallels because uh my argument was
going to start with uh since both
Hospital both Hospital systems are non
for-profits I would would categorize
them as public goods and I would say as
City servants within the city of
connecti uh I think advocating on the
functionality of any form that exists
within this municipality as well within
our purview uh with respect to um um
Miss Porterfield referencing that the
council has already made a determination
on on safe Staffing uh I I think it's to Mr um Farley's
point this is a different situation
where we're dealing with a merger
between Trinity or not Trinity uh
between St Peter's Health Partners and
uh Ellis and they function within the
umbrella of Trinity Health System but
sincerely this is a unique circumstance
and that these conversations have been
in a stalled or stagnant uh state for a
prolong number of months so I think in
understanding the context that these
conversations have not continued I think
it is incum it upon us to recognize that
um these nurses who truly are the
Cornerstone of any healthare system are asking for our assistance and
I think in the manner of which they're
requesting it it is truly us
highlighting the importance of getting
this right and with this being the
singular hospital system within our city
and with weight times being at what they
are I I imagine I'm not the only one
hearing of it I've had relatives who sat
in that waiting room and truly uh we've
already identified once that Staffing
safe Staffing saves lives the
expectations that are placed on these
individuals when it is in excess that
has a implication and and again I I
think it is just important for us to
take a moment to recognize where we are
at how we got here and I I do think this
is a decision that we are able to make
um and then partially to to the other
aspect of it I very much think if the
school district was in a stagnant St
stance also however I'm more than
confident that superintendent uh Coto
although very new uh has has well within
his abilities to maintain that
conversation uh uh well I think that
would also be a similar context that I
think I I would also be willing to make
and and um apply the same reasoning to
as well Mr Char so I guess I would just
add on the fact that I think that I
appreciate when you know council members
expressing their recognizing the
importance and support of um you know
our nurses and and all medical uh uh
care providers I just think that we
have an ability to demonstrate our
support through action and I think
that that is really the measure um upon
which not only people will recognize but
the measure of what will impact again
the material conditions of the people
that live in the city so and so I I
would
just welcome our the larger Council to
come into the conversation from that
entry point recognizing
that this isn't something that where we
have to to just recognize and uh and
appreciate in more of a symbolic nature
like we do have literally quite frankly
some skin in the game and and the people
that live here in the city is connected
really have S skin in the game here and
uh so I so I with all due respect and
genuinely appreciating that I think it's
important that we amplify that with all
the respect and really appreciating um
the different perspectives at the table
I just think that we are our position
that we sit and compels us to take
action so again I'm just going to argue
back on that again with respect discuss
back discuss that um but I do think that
we all support nurses I think we all you
know care very much about all of our
healthcare workers I think we
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also support the hospital I mean I think
it's really important that um we have
Ellis here and that we're able to
maintain Ellis here and help them be
stable in whatever ways they can be they
need they need uh that kind of stability
so um I think that you know again um I
just want to really say that not
supporting this resolution doesn't mean
that we're not that I'm I can just speak
for myself that I'm not supporting um
nurses um you know of course love nurses
need nurses um I think you know we need
to do whatever we can to assist anyone
that's trying to you know educate um
people to think about careers in any of
the healthcare um
uh subsets um that that's great you know
a great public message um to be to be
putting forth but again I really uh just
feel like we're stepping outside of our
lane if we get involved with um contract
negotiations at the hospital Mr Mr Mayor
thank you madam chair uh about three
years ago they were in a similar
position uh where both sides I'm
apologize I'm not quite as familiar with
the private sector negotiations I sector
but they were in what I think was a
cooling off period And I had the
opportunity to publicly urge both sides
to take into consideration the other
side's position and uh hopefully come to
a
resolution which surprisingly they did
and it was with a little bit of sarcasm
they gave me credit for bringing them
all together and it was so my public
comments there just asking them to come
together
had tremendous effect hopefully the
council will remember that when I put
messages out to you and ask for
help so any oh Mr fary yeah thank you
for that Mr May and I just I think that
um it's important that we recognize that
this is not a a a a resolution against
Ellis at all in fact it's a resolution
in support of our community and I think
that that is the lens that I'm using um
as I'm looking through this information
and knowing that these you know quality
of life and again in depth issues um is
really is prevent so it's not
necessarily you know I'm not saying
something against um Ellis as more as
what I'm saying something that is for
the community that's for the U material
conditions of the people that live here
and the access to um Quality Healthcare
is is is greatly impacted by their
ability to come to a fair agreement so
that's why I just can you know that's
why I'm looking to urge to do urge him
to do
so Mr T uh thank you I was wondering if any of the other council members
would like to share your feelings on it
yeah I I I just you this is um you know
obviously support nursing my have two
sister-in-laws that are are nurses are
work um and having been an administrator
for nonprofit during sensitive
negotiations um you know I have a
feeling that this for the council is an
overreach into an area that that we
don't know the sensitive Natures of the
negotiations that are what's happening I
mean coming from a place that I was
working there were you know we were
constantly getting um written up from
the state on not having appropriate
Staffing levels for several different
reasons and we were working very hard to
resolve those
issues um and I'm concerned that this
could could kind of sway or or or have a
bad effect I don't know the intricacies
of challenge Alles that that they're
facing in in the Staffing levels and
what's generating that um and I don't
know the nature of the negotiations and
conditions that are are creating a delay
which gives me pause to to support such a a resolution at this time I'm not
a
um it's a yeah I I I don't know what
else we could do to maybe encourage or
find get more information on what the
hold up is um but I just don't feel I
have enough information that that we
would um interfere with with another
organization's labor um
negotiations Mr Williams so if I can
just plainly ask based on your
definition which I appreciate you would
categorize the mayor's action as an
overreach he was I believe he you been
um invited
to I had the opportunity to make public
comments on the status of
it and
listen I appreciate the discussion and
debate we'd like them we'd like peace
and Harmony in community and all this
and
a if the issues on the uh 93% I've also
sat in a number of
negotiations where
sometimes the collective bargaining unit
will Advocate positions that might be
some distorted or a little bit
Amplified and so that the issue was the
93% which seems high to me uh council
could some generic wording to
encourage both sides to consider the
other side and to move toward a
resolution that reflects the high
quality of service that Ellis and its
staff delivered to this
community uh
I would hope you could all come together
on that and move it forward we're
working with Ellis on a number of things
you know that
the time today to transfer a patient
we're having trouble getting ambulances
sometimes to take somebody from the
scene to the emergency room Ellis has
been extremely Cooperative in terms of
looking at other ways of how to deliver
that highquality care in the most
appropriate manner sometimes taking
people to the emergency room is not the
optimal treatment and city of connecties
is leading in that in terms of some of
the things that we're doing with tele
medicine partnership with the delivery
of Emergency Medical Care our smart
cities
program and that only happening because
of the nurses it's only happening
because of the staff and management
Allis and so don't get in the Quagmire
here of favoring Management on too much
n is too much we'd like them to come to
some
agreement and again
allow again the high quality of
healthare to be delivered within this
community this P so um so I I will some
of the things I've already been stated
but sometimes when you go to the
emergency room there are 10hour weights
and um mayor and you spoke about um
having making sure that we have nurses
so I think in terms of this resolution
that is what they ask is that to make
sure that we have safe Staffing and we
have enough nurses and and that they're
not um not understaffed and if it means
that we need to to verify those things
um I'm of the opinion that people aren't
you know people do stretch it or you
know but I I'm of the opinion that
there's not going to be an a major
exaggeration of what's going on here so
I I frankly as I said we've done the
State Staffing before because we thought
it was concern and I know that I'm
looking around see if anybody was here
at the time um I so I don't know if any
council members are currently here but
you know the nurses came and said hey
there's a safe Staffing and and would
you support us in that and we did
because we all recognize the importance
of making sure because Healthcare is is
um important for the entire community
and whether you or I get the same
illness we're still always at the mercy
of of of the Health Care system that we
have currently here
so I I'm not opposed to in um asking for
a fair because this resolution says
we're asking for it to settle a fair
contract it's not in my opinion the
title is not accusatory it's simply an
ask so I'm I'm very much um you know in
support of that and um and and and
hospitals are required to have a safe
Staffing act so I'm safe Staffing
standards so I I I would I support this
and um without getting into the nitt
gritty of what their negotiations are
I'm certainly supportive of making sure
that we have the adequate Staffing so
the patients are seeing on a timely
basis and right now that's really not
happening and I think that all of us
have heard it from or most of us have
heard it from people who have visited
the emergency room and actually left our
facility to go to other um facilities I can remember 3 years back where
somebody told me and so it's only gotten
worse where they came to they lived in
SKC came to a hospital here but for so
long that they actually um went to
another hospital to receive care so I'm
not opposed to um asking that the RTI
the uh patient to staff ratio be
something that um be put in place not
opposed to that at all Mr Farley yeah I
think
as we don't need to uh understand like
the how all of the the Nuance in the
negotiation process to take a position
that aligns with the the good of the
larger Community I don't think that you
need to understand that in order to take
a take such a position and I think you
know quite frankly if the if I don't
care who it is if the if the if their
interest is aligned with um the the good
of accessing health care for our
community well then that's who I will
certainly take a choose a side with it I
don't have any problem doing that and I
think that the way that we demonstr
um what we value is to what we support
and I don't want to abdicate leadership
roles right now because there might be
some um other calculations or other um
political implications around this
because this is people's lives so I
don't think that this resolution is is
calling um for that but I'm see for
myself and say if it was I'm still going
to support it and Ellis and whoever else
will understand or won't that
I'm going to you know align with what's
going to be best for the larger health
of the larger Community this isn't just
about this isn't just about
um a negotiation this is about again
life and death for people that live in
the city is connecti so um I think that
Ellis is doing wonderful things in
certain places and I think that there's
places that um that that that they could
be doing better so as I'll be the first
one to sing their praises when things
are happening well um um I think that
encouraging them to come to a fair
agreement that impacts the uh
livelihoods of the people that live here
you got to do it I mean you got to take
a position I think not taking a position
is still taking a position if we're
going to be honest about it so that's
just how I feel about yeah I guess I
really will disagree with that um I
again um I'm glad that we're able to
have these kinds of conversations but I
guess I do feel like beyond the fact
that I feel like this is not in our
purview I also feel like it's almost
it is almost making an assumption that
they're that they aren't being fair with
one another um in their negotiations so
I don't want to go down that path either
um I I would certainly support a
resolution by city council supporting
all the healthcare workers and and
thanking Ellis um and all of its
healthcare workers for the Quality
Health Care that they provide to all of
our residents um and not you know
anything to do with the contract
negotiations so I certainly would
support something like that I also would
support um you
know having a presentation by by uh Paul
Milton um coming in to answer some of
the questions but my bottom line is that
um you know I I won't be supporting this resolution but so let me try to are
there other comments or
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questions yeah I got one more comment
okay I just think and I again I
appreciate the fact that we can have
these conversations um and I just think
that you
know when we when we say as council
members you
know sometimes we
can understand that two things can be
true right that you can support um
someone
something
um and still have a different
perspective on some uh I think that that
is doable and and and understandable but
I think that when there's to speak to
like the general resol or general
resolution of supporting all healthare
that would be great because I and I
think that if we look not too far back
in our recent past when covid hit you
know and these people were literally the
lifeline of the community putting their
lives on the line every single day we
would share things on social media and
share and clap for them and in way but
now it's time for us to take some action
I think that we need to do that because
if not in my opinion it becomes
performative
and really inadequate way of
demonstrating that we support um not
just our healthcare workers but again
the overall health of our larger
Community cuz that's the implications of of the conversations that are
happening
now so I guess um we would need a motion
in a
second I'm
mooving is there a
second okay so what happens is if there
it fails in committee the uh sponsor can
get a a co-sponsor to bring it on to the
floor up to the rules thank
you so what is my next at this point
it's the motion is failed but the
sponsor can get a co-sponsor we going on
to build so I would like a motion to
adjourn he and Recreation so and a
second okay all in favor I thank you
so I'd like to call the claims committee
to order U we have two items on the
agenda tonight both of which will
require executive session I have a
motion executive
session have second second all in
favor ex
session oh yes so members of the public
will have to leave and then when we um
just for the council what I'm going to
do is reconvene um
City development planning so we can Mr
yeah you want res we get there and Mr
Gillan can then
say all right so oh no members of the
public but you we're going have wait
till we shut it down
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