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[0:28] Heat. Heat.
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[1:18] Heat. Heat.
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[2:28] Hey, hey, hey.
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[2:50] Hey, Hey, hey,
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[3:21] hey. Heat. Heat.
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[4:52] Oh, thank you.
[5:22] something else.
[5:35] I'm not casual.
[5:43] [Music]
[5:51] Yeah.
[6:07] I'd like to call orders connecting city
[6:09] council committee meeting for Monday,
[6:10] June 2nd,
[6:11] 2025. The first committee is finance.
[6:14] Mr. Matarin. Thank you. I would like to
[6:16] call the finance committee to order and
[6:18] the first item is the annual exterior
[6:21] permit application fee
[6:26] waiver. Since 2018, we have been um
[6:30] doing this program to give back to
[6:33] our neighborhoods in terms of encourage
[6:36] them to revitalize um the neighborhood
[6:40] and to participate in the
[6:43] exterior work.
[6:45] and to enhance their building. Since
[6:48] 2018, we have seen a lot of success in
[6:50] this
[6:51] program. And I have attached uh some
[6:54] backup documents here. Um during last
[6:57] budget, we have increased the
[6:58] application fee from
[7:01] $56 to $75. So, that's a change there.
[7:06] And we're asking for the same um same
[7:07] program to roll into 2025.
[7:13] And I'm asking for this program to be
[7:15] from June 16th to September 14th. The
[7:19] reason why because I missed the last
[7:21] cycle to bring this to the council. And
[7:24] in 2024, we were able to um give back to
[7:27] our
[7:28] neighborhood homeowner/home at
[7:31] $13,410. That report is attached to your
[7:35] documents here. So once again, I'm
[7:37] asking for the council favorable
[7:39] consideration so that we continue this
[7:41] program.
[7:45] So you mentioned earlier that those
[7:48] program was a success. I would say how
[7:49] would you define success? Well, in terms
[7:52] of the the amount of dollars that people
[7:54] are buying into the program, we look at
[7:56] the dollar amount. Last year was a small
[7:59] year in terms of rolling out and some
[8:02] that we had last year. But overall, you
[8:03] look at the program, they're upward of
[8:06] $20,000 plus each year. So that that's
[8:09] the factor as people are actually
[8:11] planning the program and doing a full
[8:13] permits and taking advantage of this
[8:16] u this incentive that we have to
[8:20] offer.
[8:22] So the one change I would like to make
[8:25] on this area on the back of that. Oh,
[8:28] sorry. Uh, so I don't know if we can
[8:31] recall our conversation last year. A few
[8:33] of my reservations were behind whether
[8:35] this program was an accommodation or is
[8:38] it becoming an expectation and then if
[8:40] it is something that you plan to outline
[8:42] on an annual basis, my point was uh in
[8:45] 2024 to build into the budget. Um, I
[8:49] definitely want to hear more of your
[8:50] continued conversation, but I think
[8:52] taking this into consideration with our
[8:54] recent fee increases, I think it sends a
[8:57] mixed message to code enforcement if
[8:59] we're going to raise the fees, but then
[9:00] in our busiest season
[9:02] provide fee reductions. Um, I would be
[9:06] more in tune with hearing this be done
[9:09] in a portion of the year where work
[9:11] isn't traditionally done, but to me it
[9:13] seems as though we are providing
[9:15] incentives for work that needs to get
[9:17] done. Um, and I was sending sending the
[9:19] wrong message to the residents, but then
[9:21] also in your spreadsheet who was
[9:24] benefiting from this program because I
[9:26] saw a number of blanks, there were
[9:29] people that were from outside of our
[9:31] community. Um, so again, to make sure
[9:35] that Scantadians were fit for the bill
[9:38] and every year we say that it is a
[9:40] budget crisis, uh, I think this is going
[9:42] to be a a challenging year that conflict
[9:45] will be able to overcome. Um, but
[9:47] sincerely, I know $32,000 to some people
[9:50] might not seem like a lot, but when we
[9:52] get to those budget meetings, everything
[9:54] adds up and
[9:55] starts. Well, I I wouldn't say outside
[9:58] of this, anybody own property is
[10:00] connected on occupy or rental unit up to
[10:03] four units. We had increased up to four
[10:06] units, I think, in the last two years, I
[10:08] think. So, because of No, I think what
[10:11] we did said was four units was then
[10:13] commercial, so we kept brought it down
[10:14] to three units. Yeah, I think so. Yeah.
[10:16] So we keep that's how we end up with
[10:18] four units. It's three units and less.
[10:21] Yes.
[10:24] Okay.
[10:26] Oh, I mean people who are buying into
[10:28] this program is own occupy and rental
[10:30] unit. So you own a property in equity.
[10:33] Here's an incentive for you to do
[10:35] something to the especially your rental
[10:37] property to make sure that those those
[10:40] property are in good standard so that
[10:43] renter can um you know live in a in good
[10:48] accommodation I think on your okay so so
[10:53] definitely in support of it and my I
[10:55] guess my only question would be cuz you
[10:57] were saying like the home these are own
[10:59] owner occupied so are we looking to
[11:01] maybe uh change this to where people
[11:05] have primary residence here in the city
[11:07] take advantage of it or because listen
[11:09] to your point kind of like people that
[11:11] live outside of the city of Skenkity um
[11:13] like so if I live in New York City but I
[11:15] own property here then I'm getting to
[11:18] take advantage of this program or is
[11:19] that are we looking to make sure that's
[11:22] just people primary residents here?
[11:24] Well, we we did look at that back then.
[11:26] We we we want to leave out rental
[11:28] property because we want to encourage
[11:29] landlord to bring their property up to
[11:32] code not only in the interior but also
[11:34] the exterior the property so that when
[11:36] tenants are living there they're not
[11:37] living in you know in a deplorable
[11:40] condition you know buildings you know
[11:41] that is not the standard. So that's
[11:43] where we kind of put our own occupied
[11:46] and rental
[11:48] property look at like how the tenants
[11:51] the tent impact I feel like how that can
[11:53] look like as far as
[11:55] like the parameters of it being just if
[11:58] you have this property and you are quote
[12:01] unquote acting as a slum lord. This
[12:04] would be an incentive for you to try to
[12:06] get your property up to so the people
[12:08] that you're renting to don't aren't
[12:10] living in subpar conditions. Yeah, kind
[12:12] of. And is encourage people to enable
[12:14] the revitalization to come. Okay, here
[12:16] is our incentive. You know, we have $75.
[12:18] We have this fun to go through um you
[12:20] know into the next 3 months. This is our
[12:22] incentive giving back to the so the
[12:24] homeowners so that they can beautify
[12:26] their
[12:27] property. You skip that please. Yeah, I
[12:30] think um the time period of June to
[12:32] September is um appropriate because
[12:34] that's when most people because of our
[12:36] seasons here in the Northeast. I mean,
[12:38] that's really the time that people
[12:39] really get to do a lot of work. Um and I
[12:42] think that the program is a really good
[12:44] one because we want to continue to
[12:46] encourage homeowners uh and landlords uh
[12:49] to be keeping their properties in good
[12:51] shape. Um I think it all adds to uh the
[12:55] quality of life in the neighborhoods um
[12:57] across the city. So I definitely support
[12:59] the support the program. Yeah. And we
[13:01] only waving the $75 application fee.
[13:03] They still have to pay for the cost over
[13:05] that whatever that percentage of
[13:07] increase 1% or fixed number and then
[13:11] they have 12 months. So if they were
[13:13] sometime something happened and they're
[13:15] not completing the work within 12
[13:16] months, they will have to to pull the
[13:18] you know renew the permit and they will
[13:20] have to pay the full fee. So it's not
[13:22] like they roll over no fee application
[13:24] at that point in
[13:26] time but just case in point there's
[13:29] still uh impacts to staffing um so the
[13:32] work in no way is subsidized and so uh
[13:35] that higher volume of work is being
[13:38] processed at a portion of what fee is
[13:40] designated for that line. So again I
[13:43] just think it sends a nice message.
[13:47] So going back to the four units, I just
[13:49] want to touch base on that. I think it's
[13:51] three. I can't recall. I think this was
[13:53] changed a couple years ago by somebody
[13:55] else. Originally, we said four, but then
[13:57] we discussed it four if I uh is
[14:00] commercial. It's what we consider
[14:01] commercial at this point. So I see what
[14:03] this says here, but I distinctly
[14:04] remember us moving it down to three
[14:06] because then it's not commercial unit. I
[14:09] don't have a problem doing that.
[14:15] It's not my
[14:17] So I think maybe I don't know maybe
[14:19] corporation council can tell us but
[14:21] should it say one to up to four instead
[14:23] of one to Oh I guess 1 to four is the
[14:25] same as one to three. 1 to three.
[14:29] So we need to change that. Yes.
[14:34] Any other questions? Go ahead please. So
[14:36] because we increased the speed this
[14:38] year, did you uh have an opportunity to
[14:40] calculate the budgetary impact um in
[14:43] terms of what we've done in years past?
[14:45] Yeah, we tried to do that but we don't
[14:47] know how many people going to buy into
[14:48] it. Last year we had 13,000. The year
[14:50] before we had 24,000. It's all about
[14:52] buying in because we don't want to say
[14:53] well we're going to we are looking at
[14:56] $25,000. It might not happen. Mhm. You
[14:58] know the numbers fluctuate years after
[15:01] years. And because there's a a fee
[15:04] increase, is there uh any thought
[15:06] towards maybe shortening the length of
[15:08] time? So what was said is that you know
[15:11] this is the building period from June to
[15:13] September. Uh however, we're giving them
[15:15] 12 months. So really extends out past
[15:18] September. So we want to consider giving
[15:20] them 6 months and that really makes sure
[15:22] that they have to get the work done
[15:24] because I know our standard process is
[15:26] when they have to pay they get 12 months
[15:28] but in this case there's no payment.
[15:30] Interesting. And so can we, you know,
[15:32] shorten that time frame in consideration
[15:34] of our entries and deeds? Yeah, we did
[15:36] have 6 months prior there, but change
[15:39] recently because the city codes clearly
[15:41] say that permit is valid for 12 months
[15:43] and not 6 months. So even though this is
[15:46] a specialized program, you still have to
[15:47] stick with that. Yes, I had to change it
[15:49] back to change it to 12 months.
[15:53] Mr. Ryan, is there no way we can go
[15:55] outside of that?
[15:57] [Music]
[16:00] The trouble is that if this is an
[16:01] ordinance, the only way to amend an
[16:03] ordinance is to go through a public
[16:04] hearing and amend all. Okay? And this is
[16:06] just a a short-term program. So you're
[16:08] doing it by resolution. You're not
[16:11] changing the the framework of the
[16:13] parameters. So we have to go with 12
[16:15] months.
[16:17] Yeah. Prior years we had it 6 months and
[16:19] then we were told by corporation council
[16:21] we can't I'm just trying to figure out
[16:23] the budgetary impact because we did
[16:25] increase the fees.
[16:28] Go ahead please. So my last comment is
[16:30] again the intent is to have this be
[16:32] ongoing. I would actually want to
[16:34] identify like metrics and ensure that we
[16:36] are advertising this to the community.
[16:38] This is truly a a benefit. Um but then
[16:41] also I recommend maybe having a rolling
[16:43] average and then we anticipate that. I
[16:45] wouldn't agree with not budgeting
[16:47] because we don't know how much it'll be.
[16:48] I think it's better to have something
[16:51] that we have designated just so as we're
[16:53] making these considerations in November,
[16:55] it is a better better discussion. I I
[16:59] I've taken notes here. So we'll we'll
[17:00] discuss that in our budget and just talk
[17:03] to the mayor and the finance staff to
[17:05] incorporate a line and we can just
[17:08] attach a
[17:09] number an
[17:11] estimate based on this
[17:16] year's gift. Any other
[17:20] question? So, a couple changes we're
[17:23] going to bring back down to three
[17:25] units and we have to stick with the um
[17:29] the 12 months. So, I have a motion to
[17:31] move this forward. So, move second.
[17:35] I'm going to second it. All in favor?
[17:38] Thank
[17:39] you. The ne the next item
[17:43] is funding support for Belmont Pop
[17:46] Warner program. Mr. Par. Thank you, Mr.
[17:48] Chairman. I brought this uh to us in our
[17:51] last committee meeting. Um the Belmont
[17:53] Pop winner uh football reached out um
[17:56] looking for support for funding for
[17:58] their youth programs. Um obviously a
[18:01] strong uh supporter of all that Belmont
[18:04] has to offer. Uh especially um you know
[18:07] now I'm hearing about their new steps to
[18:10] be even more inclusive around flag
[18:12] football including girls. Um Belmont
[18:15] isn't just a a football program. is
[18:18] definitely a youth mentorship program
[18:20] that serves our community um and serves
[18:23] some of our youth that are at the most
[18:25] high risk youth um and really has been
[18:29] doing this making this great impact with
[18:31] little to no institutional support. Um
[18:35] as we were here at the committee meeting
[18:36] there were some questions to me posing
[18:38] me around like if has Belmont went to
[18:40] the school district. um they're here to
[18:43] elaborate a little bit more on that, but
[18:45] um to my understanding after speaking
[18:47] with the representative Belmont that
[18:49] they do partner with the school
[18:50] district, but the partnership with the
[18:52] school district um is the school
[18:54] district has
[18:55] uh I think renovated the field of $8
[18:58] million into renovations of the field
[19:00] and they allow Belmont to uh the use of
[19:03] that field as well as when Belmont are
[19:06] doing some other fundraisers, the school
[19:07] district will use their network to uh
[19:10] get that information out to the larger
[19:11] community. Um however um uh that's been
[19:15] the contribution of the school district.
[19:17] The other question was again how they
[19:19] have been uh surviving thus far and I
[19:22] think that that's the right word to use
[19:24] to survive. um hopefully we can help
[19:25] them thrive um through our actions, but
[19:27] it's really been through grassroots
[19:29] efforts um fundraising, even coaches,
[19:32] volunteers, people coming out of their
[19:34] own pocket um to make sure that uh youth
[19:36] have the opportunity to take advantage
[19:38] of this program and all the protective
[19:39] factors that it has to offer. Um so I do
[19:42] have uh you can see both my
[19:44] representatives are in the room today.
[19:45] Um uh Councilwoman Duro said that she'd
[19:48] like to hear um directly from them. So,
[19:50] I thought that that was a great idea and
[19:51] they're here to speak to uh any
[19:53] questions that that council has. Is
[19:56] there a representative that's here to
[19:57] speak?
[19:59] Mr. K. Can you
[20:04] please hold it or
[20:10] any questions?
[20:13] Well, those questions.
[20:16] Um the way we've been receiving funding
[20:19] as uh 2017 when I took over as vice
[20:24] president, it's just community
[20:28] um
[20:30] Moakonda. They they've been a a great
[20:33] len over the years. other than that
[20:36] people, families,
[20:39] um not a lot of huge sponsorships from
[20:42] the corporations. Stos was and still
[20:47] does um give us hot dogs, ice cream,
[20:50] juices for our hot dog day, which is our
[20:53] last sign up of the season usually. Um
[20:57] other than
[20:58] that, we're making it through. when I
[21:00] first took over in um 2017, I sat in a
[21:04] meeting with um coach Carpalo and Mr.
[21:08] George Rose and my question to them was
[21:11] after they asked me to be president. I
[21:14] said, "How much would it be for the
[21:15] season?" Um at the time, Mr. M uh Mr.
[21:18] Paulo looked at me and said probably
[21:19] about
[21:21] 40,000. In that moment, we were $7,000
[21:24] in the hole as well. We owe for jerseys
[21:27] um the year before banquet. So coming in
[21:30] it was like,
[21:31] uhoh, I don't know how we're going to do
[21:33] it, but if we just put one foot in front
[21:34] of the other, we'll make it happen. So
[21:37] 2025, you know, I'm standing here in
[21:39] front of you guys. If you'd like to
[21:41] help, we're here. If not, we're going to
[21:43] make it
[21:44] happen. My question is, so I appreciate
[21:47] the fact that you guys survived and I
[21:49] think that that's a testament to how
[21:52] strong the strength program. nothing
[21:54] lasts this long without institutional
[21:55] support without having a real impact and
[21:57] people recognizing that. Um, but can you
[22:00] speak to a little bit to like what does,
[22:02] you know, Belmont mean to the to the
[22:04] large community and especially some of
[22:06] the youth that you guys are serving?
[22:08] If he's okay with speaking, I would like
[22:10] to hand the mic off to somebody that can
[22:12] tell you exactly how this has affected
[22:15] their life. I'm good.
[22:20] Yeah. So, I'm Norman Booth. Uh I grew up
[22:22] through Pop Warner and I've lived in
[22:24] Mount Pleasant uh my whole life. Um I'm
[22:26] 21 years old and I just graduated uh
[22:29] Utica University. Um and that's something that I feel like
[22:40] I can truly say that I would not be
[22:42] where I am today without Belmont Paborn.
[22:45] So as you all know, you know, this is our future. Uh, these young men
[22:49] are our future and and they always told
[22:52] me time flies and I never thought that
[22:54] I'd be thinking about rent and all of
[22:57] this stuff, you know, and and these are
[22:59] things that I told from he's he's been
[23:02] like there around my whole life and with
[23:04] his children, you know, and and Belma
[23:06] Puna gave me something to look forward
[23:08] to after school. gave me a reason to
[23:10] progress in school because not only was
[23:12] I held to a standard because of my
[23:14] professors, my teachers, I was held to a
[23:16] higher standard because my coaches
[23:18] depend on. And you know these this gives
[23:20] our our youth a purpose. It gives our
[23:23] youth something to to keep going. You
[23:25] know, and there's so many things that
[23:27] you can get into that are not positive.
[23:29] Especially in this world, there are so
[23:30] many things that divide us. And football
[23:32] is the one thing that brings us all
[23:33] together. And you know, these
[23:35] children one day they'll be running the
[23:37] world. and what will they have to look
[23:39] back on in their in their childhood, you
[23:41] know, and and who would they be able to
[23:42] call their brothers and and football and
[23:45] Belmont Warner gives them that? And you
[23:47] know, this is like my greatest memories
[23:49] are from, you know, traveling and and
[23:52] doing all this with my team and and just
[23:55] all of the stuff that Belmont brings uh
[23:57] to to a young man and and now young
[23:59] women's life, you know, and and I'm just
[24:02] extremely grateful that I I got to meet
[24:03] some of the greatest people ever, you
[24:05] know, and that doesn't always mean
[24:07] money. That means spirit. And so, and
[24:10] that's what Belmont has always taught.
[24:11] And and that's the foundation of of this
[24:14] city. I I believe in my heart that B my
[24:17] paw is one of the greatest things to
[24:19] ever happen in in my life. Um you know
[24:23] I'm very thankful for you guys giving us
[24:25] the opportunity to have a voice. Um
[24:27] because it's something that we really
[24:29] need in in a world like this today is is
[24:31] we need representation and and build my
[24:34] pap got us to a place where the city is
[24:36] hearing us and and and I think that this
[24:41] uh is very important for us to really
[24:44] not overlook because when this when when this is all said and done what will
[24:49] we have you know and and these this is
[24:52] our answer. This is our answer. These
[24:53] youth is our answer. So, you know, this
[24:55] is very important for us to to to invest
[24:58] in it now before it's too late.
[25:01] And that's that's all I got. Thank you
[25:03] guys.
[25:14] I um I had the pleasure of watching him
[25:16] grow up, watching him lose family
[25:19] members and having just this program to
[25:21] depend on um family members being his
[25:24] mother.
[25:29] So any other question? Go ahead, please.
[25:32] You mentioned before that you had
[25:33] corporate sponsors. You mentioned one
[25:35] name in particular. So, um, how is that
[25:37] going this year in terms of your
[25:38] corporate sponsors? Uh, the ask, as I
[25:40] understand it, was 47,000. Yes. So, the ask is 47,000. Um, which would cover
[25:46] the entire program. Does that include uh
[25:49] adding young women to it? Young girls as
[25:51] well. All right. So, um, are you again
[25:54] seeking corporate sponsors this year?
[25:57] that I if you guys were to sponsor us, I
[26:00] would say we would hold off on that
[26:02] until playoff time cuz so past two years
[26:06] um all padded level teams have made the
[26:09] Super
[26:10] Bowl. Three out of five and then five
[26:13] out of seven have won the Super Bowls
[26:15] locally. After that, we got to go to
[26:17] regionals, which is anywhere from
[26:19] Maryland to Jersey to or traveling.
[26:23] after regionals is nationals, which is
[26:27] Florida. Now, they just moved into North
[26:29] Carolina, so getting a team of 35 kids
[26:33] in North Carolina should be fun um to
[26:36] say the least. So, it seems like the
[26:40] well, it is the ask itself is to fully
[26:43] fund the program to get uh all the all
[26:45] of the participants through the season
[26:47] through the through the local the
[26:49] capital district, right? Capital
[26:50] district season. If you guys keep
[26:52] winning and doing the things that you're
[26:53] doing, then that there's more cost that
[26:57] can come after that. So, seeking
[26:59] corporate sponsorships and still doing
[27:01] the things that you guys are doing to
[27:03] sustain will still be something that you
[27:05] need to do in order to sustain in case
[27:07] that you guys go on past the season.
[27:09] Absolutely. Okay. And
[27:11] um president,
[27:13] so um first of all, I just want to
[27:15] apologize for being late. I got out of
[27:16] work and then I had an issue on stuff
[27:18] like that. So, I was doing a lot. Um,
[27:20] but I just want to say that like yes,
[27:21] for corporate sponsorships, we are
[27:23] always seeking funding from any sources
[27:25] that are available. Whether it's
[27:27] business sponsorships, whether it's
[27:28] local entities, whether it's
[27:30] fundraising, like we'll get out and
[27:31] we'll do things like we're working on
[27:33] car washes, we've done fishing
[27:34] tournaments, we've done everything you
[27:36] name it. Concession stands, we do
[27:37] raffles, like you name it. And we're
[27:39] always looking for different things. The
[27:40] main thing that we're always trying to
[27:42] help as far as funding is concerned is
[27:43] kids that are less fortunate, that are
[27:45] having a hard time, families that aren't
[27:46] able to actually pay the registration
[27:48] fee. The registration fee is only $200,
[27:50] but it doesn't even cover a fraction of
[27:51] what's really the cost for each child to
[27:54] participate. Helmets alone are $250 a
[27:57] piece. Shoulder pads are about $75.
[27:59] Uniform set is $100. So, that's well
[28:02] exceeding what the cost of registration
[28:03] is, which we're intentionally keeping
[28:05] lower than a lot of the other part a lot
[28:06] of the programs in the area and outside
[28:08] of the area in order to accommodate our
[28:10] families. But also, there's a lot of
[28:12] like um financial insecurity around
[28:16] coming through and asking for that type
[28:17] of thing. So, if we can open the gates
[28:19] and let people know that we can actually
[28:20] step up and provide that for them, then
[28:22] it's going to allow more kids to come
[28:24] through. And then there's also a lot of
[28:25] kids that come by and then we let them
[28:27] know like, hey, listen, this is what the
[28:28] registration fee is. And then there's
[28:29] some hesitancy. And then when we try to
[28:30] reach out, but people get weary about
[28:32] asking for things too. And like we want
[28:34] to be able to provide that for our
[28:36] community. Like we're serving over 200
[28:38] kids every single season. Somebody said
[28:39] something about young ladies. We have
[28:41] girls flag football. We have two girls
[28:43] flag football teams. We spearheaded it
[28:44] when we first popped off girls flag
[28:46] football in the capital region. We had
[28:48] the first teams. We also just won
[28:49] championship games. Both of our girls
[28:51] just won it this year, too. Very
[28:53] successful. Uh we have a whole
[28:55] cheerleading program that's been very
[28:56] successful over the years, too. So,
[28:58] we're serving over 60 girls, too,
[29:00] between flag football and cheerleading.
[29:02] So, it's not just a boy sport. We have
[29:04] um over 200 football players. Like,
[29:07] we're we're doing a lot with a lot of
[29:09] kids. I see a lot of other youth
[29:10] programs in the city as well, but I
[29:13] challenge any program to say that they
[29:15] have as many kids as we do within the
[29:17] community. And we have a lot more that
[29:18] want to participate, but due to those
[29:20] financial insecurities usually don't.
[29:22] So, I just want to be able to present
[29:24] them with the opportunity to do that.
[29:25] And we will continue to seek sources of
[29:27] funding wherever wherever we can. I
[29:29] mean, we've been operating since the
[29:31] 1970s on a shoestring budget. Like I
[29:34] mean when I tell you like I I know
[29:36] coaches that have personally come out of
[29:37] their pocket to pay registration fees
[29:39] for kids. And it's not that we don't
[29:40] care to do that cuz we will and we'll
[29:42] continue to do that and we'll continue
[29:43] to do whatever we need to do year in and
[29:45] year out with or without you know
[29:47] financial support from whatever places
[29:49] we need to get it from. But I'm just you
[29:51] know it would mean a lot to us and it
[29:53] would mean a lot to the kids and to the
[29:54] community for you all to you know really
[29:57] take this into consideration and do what
[29:58] you can to help our kids out. So we
[30:00] appreciate that.
[30:03] Go ahead, please. So, this is a question
[30:04] I asked when you weren't here. Someone
[30:06] asked whether you are here. Uh, it was
[30:08] spoken to by Mr. Farley, but I'd like to
[30:10] hear it from you. Um, so I firmly
[30:12] believe that we invest in ourselves.
[30:14] Just believe in that. And, um, you ask
[30:16] what you need, but you also give your
[30:18] own personal investment because people
[30:19] say, "Hey, we're investing ourselves."
[30:21] So, I just want to know the level of the
[30:22] investment from um, parents, guardians,
[30:24] or whatever in in terms of this program.
[30:27] Yeah. So, um, our parents are the the
[30:29] heart of the program. I mean, you'll see
[30:31] some of our parents are here right now.
[30:33] Not everybody can make it. We have a lot
[30:34] going on cuz our kids are also involved
[30:36] in different sports and extracurricular
[30:37] activities and we try to keep them as
[30:38] busy as possible. But like we're all
[30:41] even when we're not, we're uncles and
[30:42] we're aunts and we're family members to
[30:44] kids that are not our kids, right? Like
[30:46] every kid in this room, we all have all
[30:48] the adults have attachments to them and
[30:50] every adult that's within our program
[30:51] has attachments. They're car pooling.
[30:53] They're covering food and snacks and
[30:55] things like that or they're getting
[30:56] hotel rooms when we have to go out of
[30:57] town to be able to do that and give kids
[30:59] experiences that they're not normally
[31:00] getting whether it's in sports or
[31:02] outside of sports. And not only sports,
[31:04] we're encouraging academic success.
[31:05] We're encouraging behavioral success.
[31:07] We're encouraging doing the right thing
[31:09] and being a good person first and
[31:10] foremost and a part of your community.
[31:11] And we try to model those things as
[31:13] well. Like we try to show each other,
[31:15] you know, love and support. And we work
[31:16] through our differences and things like
[31:17] that. And we try to model those
[31:19] consistencies in front of the kids. So,
[31:21] um, yeah, with the parents and the and
[31:22] the families and the adults that are
[31:24] within the program. They're the heart of
[31:25] the program. They're the reason that
[31:26] we're able to continue. And it's
[31:27] literally been like that since we were
[31:29] kids. Most of the adults that you see in
[31:31] here are part of this program since we
[31:32] were kids. And there were adults that
[31:34] did those things for us. And that's why
[31:36] we're on the front lines now doing the
[31:38] same things for the kids that we have in
[31:39] our community because that's what's
[31:40] important to us. So, somebody did it for
[31:42] us. We're trying to do it again. Thank
[31:44] you.
[31:46] Any other
[31:48] questions? two ideas. U Mr. Farmer
[31:51] states that um he just said he says, you
[31:54] know, Belmont popcorner is high-risisk
[31:57] youth. Um what makes them like to know
[32:02] exactly what makes them more high-risisk
[32:04] than any other youth organization maybe
[32:05] here in our city or any city. Um
[32:09] you know, I could speak to that. Yes,
[32:10] sir. Well, I'm asking him at this
[32:12] moment. Well, I can I can ask why I said
[32:15] that. So, if you ask why I said Yeah.
[32:17] Um, well, so I can tell you I work in
[32:19] the school district as well. I work at
[32:20] Mount Pleasant Middle School and I've
[32:22] worked in a number of different schools
[32:23] and I've worked with these kids directly
[32:25] for years now and I I am aware of most
[32:28] of the other programs, but I'm also not
[32:29] entirely aware of what their dynamics
[32:31] are. So, I can mostly just speak to our
[32:34] program, but what I can speak to is kids
[32:36] that I know that have been a part of
[32:37] this program that have either stopped
[32:39] being a part of it or moved away or were
[32:42] no longer a part of it. I've seen have
[32:44] issues with end up getting in trouble
[32:46] with the law. Some of our children have
[32:48] gone out and been murdered, things of
[32:50] that nature. And also, they're
[32:52] constantly in dire need. As I work as a
[32:55] community school member or community
[32:56] school coordinator for Mount Pleasant, I
[32:58] provide resources and connect resources
[33:00] to families and needs and things like
[33:01] that. And our families are always on the
[33:03] list always. They're struggling with
[33:06] housing, they're struggling with food,
[33:07] they're struggling with a number of
[33:09] different things that are going on. So
[33:10] when we're talking about how do I or
[33:12] what makes me know that they're at risk,
[33:13] the data also shows too, we have data
[33:15] that shows what their incomes are in
[33:17] their family households and they're far
[33:18] below the poverty line on average. So
[33:20] like just um there's a number of
[33:22] different things I can speak to and the
[33:24] experiences that we've had with the kids
[33:25] that have been like would would really
[33:27] tug on your heartstrings if I was to be
[33:28] honest with you that I don't necessarily
[33:30] have to speak on. You don't have to. I
[33:31] mean I'm just saying I'm sure it's it
[33:33] overlaps into other areas of youth
[33:35] sports as well. And if I could so just
[33:39] to provide a little thank you for that
[33:40] and provide a little more clarity to
[33:42] what I'm saying. One of the reasons why
[33:44] that makes um uh kids that are involved
[33:46] in a program like Belmont higher risk
[33:48] has been the lack of institutional
[33:49] investment in Belmont. So, and so when
[33:52] you say higher risk, that means high not
[33:54] high risk of only you know some of the
[33:56] um you know things that we've talked
[33:58] about like the you know incarceration
[34:00] and literal murder and things like that kids have been experiencing but
[34:03] also they're at a higher risk not to
[34:06] have an exposure to opportunities like
[34:08] traveling and ongoing mentorship and
[34:11] things like that directly because
[34:14] Belmont has had to operate on that shoe
[34:16] budget and the community support. So
[34:18] that's why we have an opportunity here
[34:20] to directly impact that by making sure
[34:22] we surprise them provide some
[34:23] institutional support.
[34:26] Absolutely. And um you know what you're
[34:28] saying to be honest with you like the main thing is um a lot of the kids
[34:33] that are even at the highest level of
[34:34] risk are the ones that we're missing out
[34:36] on right now that would love to
[34:37] participate. Like I said, I've worked in
[34:39] the school. I've worked in elementary
[34:40] school and middle school. Kids are
[34:41] telling me all the time they want to
[34:43] play. And then when I reach out to
[34:44] parents and a conversation is even
[34:46] mentioned about there's a registration
[34:48] or a cost associated with it. The
[34:50] conversation stops and it's not through
[34:52] the desire of the kid falling off. The
[34:54] kid wants to play and often times a
[34:56] parent wants them to play but the means
[34:58] aren't there and and that just makes it
[34:59] difficult and I just for I you know and
[35:02] my board could get frustrated in me at
[35:04] times because I we have these
[35:05] conversations. I never turn a kid away
[35:07] for money. That's 100% I don't I won't
[35:09] we we won't we will do whatever we have
[35:11] to do to make sure that a kid is going
[35:13] to play whether they have the money or
[35:14] not. But there also takes a certain
[35:16] level of parent followrough that was in
[35:18] the the system for us to get them
[35:19] actually registered and get their
[35:20] paperwork in and everything like that.
[35:22] Sometimes that conversation is a stance
[35:23] that when money is brought
[35:27] up I have a question for you. Are you
[35:29] aware of uh we have a CDBG program. Are
[35:32] you aware of that? The yearly CDBG
[35:34] program. said CDBG. CDBG, community
[35:36] development black grant. I'm not
[35:38] familiar with that number. We can um put
[35:41] them in contact with Miss Carver to see
[35:43] next year, you know, something down the
[35:46] line. Certainly, I think to become
[35:47] permanent in the future. Yeah, that
[35:49] Yeah, thank you for that. I think that's
[35:51] important that yes, we can help them
[35:54] moving forward to go through that
[35:55] process. Um I don't think that it will
[35:57] be either or though I want to be clear
[35:59] that you know we still have opportunity
[36:01] to support them now and then looking to
[36:03] the future. Um I think uh Miss Patrick
[36:05] brought up a good point uh in our last
[36:07] committee meeting was like you know in
[36:09] the future how do we uh um
[36:11] operationalize this so much so that it
[36:14] might not just be one or two youth
[36:15] agencies looking out. I think that I
[36:17] welcome us to revisit um that process as
[36:20] a council. However, the ask right now is
[36:22] on the table. Um, and these young people
[36:24] need our support now and then we can
[36:26] look at what, you know, what the future
[36:28] holds as well. Yeah. So, we'll
[36:30] definitely uh put you in contact with
[36:31] Miss Carver to pay, you know, future
[36:33] funding and see if that CDBG can
[36:35] accommodate you in the future.
[36:38] Appreciate that. Andy, you had a
[36:40] question. Go ahead, please. So, not
[36:41] necessarily a question, more of a
[36:42] comment. As I look around the room and
[36:44] see these young men, definitely I remind
[36:46] myself remind myself of me. And then I I
[36:48] think about where would I be if I didn't
[36:50] have that sense of community that you've
[36:52] all provided for them. I look at your
[36:54] shirt right there and it doesn't say
[36:56] Mohawk Belmont. It says connectity
[36:58] Belmont. So I do not think you are here
[37:00] asking for anything. That name on your
[37:02] chest, you are here as a partner. And if
[37:05] you are functioning in this city and you
[37:06] are identifying a need, that is nothing
[37:09] to say that the needs of other youth are
[37:11] any less than or saying it's different.
[37:13] And if you're highlighting that they're
[37:16] less fortunate and I imagine some of
[37:17] your parents aren't here because they're
[37:18] still working or there's child care
[37:20] issues. Um my two young ones are at home
[37:22] right now. Uh and there are there are
[37:26] things that that that certain families
[37:28] have to accommodate that others don't.
[37:30] And I think when we um talk about um
[37:34] like comparing our upbringing and our
[37:36] experiences and I think that gets away
[37:38] from the true point of you presented
[37:40] yourselves with an ask and you shouldn't
[37:42] be penalized because other programs have
[37:44] not. Um so I am here to say we figure
[37:47] out how to meet this ask. Um I recognize
[37:50] that this is a collective discussion and
[37:51] although other individuals around this
[37:53] table might not feel comfortable with
[37:54] that. I think we need to get close.
[37:56] Actually, no. I do not think we need to
[37:58] get close because as we have police
[38:00] officers here in this room, there are
[38:01] other t tangibles that giving these
[38:03] young men and young women something
[38:05] positive to do. It not only uh uh it not
[38:08] only protects their idol time and now
[38:11] you are then providing them that sense
[38:13] of community and ownership in this
[38:15] program where they're the ones coming
[38:16] back investing into this and you give
[38:18] people reason to stay in the city of
[38:19] Snickly and not feel like they have to
[38:21] leave. Um so with that I I I definitely
[38:24] think it is a challenge. It is a
[38:26] difficult conversation whenever we talk
[38:27] about money, but if you expect me to sit
[38:29] in a conversation where we are making
[38:31] considerations for homeowners to a tune
[38:34] of 17,000 in 2022, 23,000 in 2023, and
[38:38] 13,000 in 2024, I see all that as
[38:41] potential money that could have went to
[38:42] this program. And that is not to say
[38:45] that the issues and and needs of
[38:47] homeowners are less than our youth. But
[38:50] as you just heard from this young man,
[38:51] if we do not invest in them now, when
[38:53] you
[38:55] can say something,
[39:01] no problem.
[39:04] I feel like Belmont is a beacon of light
[39:06] for a bunch of the underserved children.
[39:10] They need that help. I'm a father. I'm a
[39:14] family of
[39:15] six. I come out of my own pocket for
[39:18] kids. I don't have it like that. But for
[39:20] them to play, I do that. I feel like we
[39:23] got to take this serious. Last meeting
[39:26] you guys were in here discussing,
[39:28] talking about the Blue Jays. The Blue
[39:29] Jays have three
[39:31] fields. We don't have a
[39:33] field to even practice on, let alone.
[39:37] You're talking about cricket. I don't
[39:39] know anybody who plays cricket or even
[39:41] at a national level playing cricket
[39:44] respectfully. It has nothing to do with
[39:46] anybody. But if there's a means for them
[39:48] to have this, we came here before when
[39:50] we were going to Florida. We got $100
[39:52] from you guys. No, that was personal
[39:54] donation. That was a personal donation.
[39:57] Okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Sorry, Dad.
[40:00] Appreciate Appreciate you. But if you
[40:02] don't want my help, we appreciate it. I
[40:05] appreciate it. But we got more help
[40:07] outside of the county and outside of the
[40:10] city. And what are we what is the
[40:12] message we're sending to the youth if
[40:14] we're doing
[40:15] that? They mean nothing. I want you all
[40:18] right now to look in their face and tell
[40:19] them they mean nothing. If that's what
[40:20] it
[40:22] is, come on. We got to do better.
[40:24] Skenctity has to do better. I love
[40:26] Skenctity, but I'm eventually going to
[40:28] move out if there's no help.
[40:31] I can't do it all by myself. We can't
[40:33] all do it by ourselves. We can't. We
[40:35] need help. This is the ask right now.
[40:36] That's all I want to say. Sorry about
[40:38] that.
[40:40] Okay. I al I also wanted to say on
[40:44] that besides, you know, what you're
[40:46] hearing from people here today um which
[40:48] are multiple compelling extremely
[40:51] compelling reasons. um as far as uh like
[40:54] what we're looking at this as a cost
[40:57] where we should be looking at this as an
[40:58] investment because the research will it's pretty clear that uh this type
[41:05] of investment um that dollar circuits a
[41:08] community four times more than other
[41:09] dollars before they end up leaving the
[41:11] community. Then you also have to look at
[41:13] that these are protective factors for
[41:15] youth um who otherwise might have that
[41:18] idle time. And then we start to save on
[41:20] our public safety dollars and and and uh our police and fire um our other
[41:29] community agencies that are uh uh
[41:31] service providers. We start to save on
[41:33] that resource because Belmont again is
[41:36] not just about throwing a football back
[41:37] and forth. This is with the most organic
[41:40] um level of youth and mentorship and
[41:42] family and community building. One of
[41:44] the best examples that we have in our
[41:46] community. So just also we should
[41:49] recognize that as well. Thank you, Mr.
[41:50] Chair. Go ahead, please. Um I just have
[41:52] a question for Mr. Farley. Where um
[41:55] would you get the money from the budget?
[41:57] So we have So well we have first I
[42:01] definitely open that up to the council.
[42:02] you know that's not a decision I can
[42:03] make unilaterally but if it was I would
[42:06] certainly uh say that um let's look at
[42:08] you know what is uh left in our ARPA
[42:11] funds and if I would draw the attention
[42:12] back to our committee meetings that we
[42:15] had where I was adamant adamant adamant
[42:19] about let's make sure that we are
[42:21] funding our youth services line more
[42:23] than what it is I it was at the time was
[42:26] $150,000 and I pleaded with the council
[42:30] to make that to to bump that to
[42:33] $300,000. So therefore, things like this
[42:36] when people come come to us with a
[42:38] proven product, a proven track record,
[42:40] build a community um inside of our city
[42:43] and keeping our youth safe that we could
[42:45] provide them with the support we need.
[42:47] So where I would see us uh you know, we
[42:49] have a couple options um I believe um
[42:52] that are on the table now. Um, and I
[42:55] still, and me personally, I wouldn't be
[42:57] uh against even looking at our general
[42:59] fund to uh to make sure that we give the
[43:02] youth what they need. So, did you have
[43:05] any other uh anyone else have any uh
[43:07] options around where we could get this
[43:09] funding from?
[43:11] We did a Sorry. We did talk about the
[43:13] $150,000 line in the budget. And then we
[43:16] talked about 108,000. Mhm. Uh it was um
[43:20] we did an amendment um late last year
[43:23] that is with Koko House and then we have
[43:27] that the budget um available budget from
[43:30] the um the safety foundation in your
[43:34] package areas of the $19,000 each and
[43:36] the police and fire. It is my
[43:38] understanding that these funds are going
[43:40] to be utilized 150 and 108. Is that
[43:42] correct?
[43:45] It's for the youth program this year.
[43:47] which would like the 150,000 in in our
[43:51] budget and the one lady that we set
[43:53] aside under co house correct that uh
[43:58] meeting with uh kids in the school
[44:01] district I think next Monday to do the
[44:03] formal hiring for the summer so that at
[44:06] that point we'll know how many kids that
[44:08] we're going to be able to bring on board
[44:10] and how much of that money would be
[44:13] committed over the summer.
[44:16] the public safety foundation. Those
[44:19] funds, there's uh 37
[44:22] $38,000 that are listed is
[44:25] uncommitted at this point, but that
[44:28] funds the
[44:31] uh 518 uh summer program in the parks.
[44:36] Uh it does the uh Halloween parade
[44:42] through the city. Uh, and if you haven't
[44:44] participated in that, I would encourage
[44:46] you to do it. I'm really surprised the
[44:48] number of people that come
[44:49] out to that. So, that money is largely
[44:53] going to be committed for community
[44:57] engagement through the police and fire
[44:59] department and it's targeted toward
[45:01] youth in terms of existing activities.
[45:05] And the other ones is again I'll know
[45:08] after next Monday what our commitment
[45:11] would be during the summer and what
[45:12] would be possibly left over from that.
[45:15] But uh Mr. Mosaic is trying to staff
[45:18] that up to the budgeted amount. And
[45:22] you're speaking of both lines the
[45:24] 150,000 plus the 108. Yes. Well, now you
[45:27] talk about the ones from Cocoa House,
[45:31] the some in Cocoa House, which I'm not
[45:37] fully aware of what the level of
[45:38] expenditure has been on those. Right.
[45:41] So, Morhead, that was my question about
[45:44] the coal house. Um, and I think we
[45:45] should check with Miss Carver as to
[45:47] where we are with that. The further
[45:49] question really around that is
[45:51] um and I'm not sure if we can do at this
[45:53] point. We would have to because we went
[45:55] to the budget to see what it says. It
[45:56] said youth employment. So we'd have to
[45:58] look to see if we could change that
[45:59] description in order for it to to cover
[46:02] this. Um so as as the mayor said the
[46:06] what's he uh we got an email saying that
[46:08] it's been expended in terms of the
[46:10] police and fire and Mr. Ma in
[46:13] discussions with him uh did say that
[46:15] he's really looking to expend the 150.
[46:18] So at this point in time outside the the
[46:20] general budget looks like the 108 the
[46:23] only place we can look at this moment.
[46:27] So so how can we get that can we get
[46:29] that from this
[46:30] car in terms of spend against the plan?
[46:41] Yeah tomorrow discuss where we sit.
[46:45] Okay.
[46:48] And that's towards the one we
[46:51] correct. Go ahead. I just want to
[46:53] support that the $150,000 u Mr. MC has
[46:56] already done his interviews. I think
[46:58] he's looking at 42 youth who actually
[47:00] then have paid summer employment. Um, so
[47:03] that money is directly going um to
[47:06] support, you know, make sure that those youth are um viably employed,
[47:12] learning job skills, um assisting us
[47:15] with our recreational program for the
[47:17] summer. Um, and it also will keep them
[47:20] um you know, engaged and involved um
[47:22] outside of their school. You know, it's
[47:24] summer, so they'll be working um I think
[47:27] most of the day.
[47:30] But the 108 I do want to say I I would
[47:32] be supportive of using uh money from
[47:35] Yeah. Let's find out what is available
[47:36] against that line and then go ahead. So
[47:39] the the $150,000 that's now marked under
[47:42] our youth employment line um is uh that
[47:46] was the line that I was um again asking
[47:49] the council to increase during our
[47:50] budget for specifically this reason. I
[47:54] know what that that program line is is
[47:56] because you know I was the person who
[47:58] introduced that and when I introduced it
[48:00] then it was supposed to be a a pilot. So
[48:03] we were going to look at you know the
[48:05] success of it and then look to expand
[48:07] it. um the one the first year uh uh well
[48:11] I should not to speak to the first year
[48:12] but last year we didn't use um the
[48:16] entire $150,000 in the budget and that
[48:19] was the justification for not at the
[48:21] time of budget conversations of not
[48:22] adding to the budget and at the time I
[48:26] brought to the council to say that the
[48:28] money though the money not being spent
[48:31] it's not because the need isn't there
[48:33] that was our own internal um thing that
[48:35] we would have to address as far as the
[48:36] processes go and now it seems like that
[48:38] is being addressed and like I said now
[48:41] this is going to be expended. So I don't
[48:43] want it to feel like we are trying to
[48:45] pit one program against another. We
[48:47] amend budgets all the time. We make
[48:50] amendments all the time here. So this is
[48:52] another opportunity. If indeed that
[48:54] money um the line that you're
[48:56] identifying if it's not enough money
[48:58] there to support this then I would urge
[49:00] the council to yeah let's put our heads
[49:01] together and look at like how we might
[49:03] have to amend this budget so we can
[49:04] support our youth and not just say it.
[49:09] Yeah. So my sentiment is exactly Mr.
[49:12] Farley that you did advocate for that
[49:13] last year and that we need to look at
[49:15] that moving forward. Absolutely. I think
[49:18] you had requested from every council
[49:20] member. I was the only one that voted
[49:22] against it. Whatever came back to the uh
[49:25] from ARPA would go to that line and I
[49:28] think uh everyone agreed to that um
[49:31] except me. I wanted to see what would
[49:34] come back and where we might need it as
[49:35] well. But moving forward, we really need
[49:37] to to support our youth uh here in the
[49:40] city. Um I just want to say that when my
[49:42] girls played soccer, I personally
[49:44] couldn't afford the registration fee for
[49:46] all three um on the travel league. So I
[49:50] became the registar and was working with
[49:52] Mr. and uh everyone involved in the
[49:55] league till 11:12 at night registering
[49:58] hundreds of kids to play soccer. So I
[50:00] know what the struggle is. um is just
[50:02] that there are a lot of youth programs
[50:05] in the city um that are struggling and I
[50:07] would like for each one of them uh to
[50:09] have the same opportunity uh to come and
[50:12] present itself. Maybe they didn't know
[50:14] it was possible. I don't even know if
[50:16] there's going to be any money to uh to
[50:18] fund these. Uh but I think uh every
[50:20] organization should have uh be able to
[50:23] come and present themselves to us.
[50:25] Absolutely. I agree and I agree with
[50:28] that point. But I would be really
[50:29] careful how we how we frame that because
[50:32] when you say I would like for other
[50:34] youth programs to have the opportunity,
[50:37] they absolutely do. They did before
[50:40] Belmont did. Right. Right. They they all
[50:42] have. So we just don't want to make it
[50:44] seem like we are are giving any special
[50:46] consideration to this program. This
[50:47] program actually reached out and said
[50:50] this is our situation and we need help.
[50:52] So at that time it's in our our
[50:55] responsibility i.e. our ability to
[50:57] respond that we do.
[51:00] So, go ahead. And just my my final
[51:03] comments, I want to caution us against
[51:05] looking at that public safety foundation
[51:07] money as a funds that we can dictate or
[51:10] determine within this room. Very much
[51:12] the police and fire department have
[51:14] long-term ongoing expectations that they
[51:17] use those funds for. And when we tap
[51:19] into those without their input, I think
[51:22] it can unfortunately put other programs
[51:24] at risk where this is that comparing
[51:26] that Mr. Parley often cautions us
[51:28] against doing. Um, but very much um we
[51:31] often try to find like the the nice way
[51:33] to make things work. I don't imagine
[51:35] this is going to be nice. And to your
[51:36] point, Miss Doro, uh it may feel as if
[51:40] we are not accommodating others, but
[51:43] very much as I think about the language
[51:45] that sits in the front of city hall, the
[51:46] black lives matter, it doesn't mean that
[51:49] only black lives matter. It means that I
[51:52] see you, I hear you, and I'm going to do
[51:54] something to ensure that your living
[51:56] conditions don't reflect now and reflect
[51:58] where they should be. And I think as we
[52:00] take those steps in a calculated effort,
[52:02] um the narrative is important to make
[52:05] sure that we never truly control that.
[52:07] But the hope is that the youth do and
[52:09] that as they grow up and aspire to to
[52:12] new heights that they will be that four
[52:15] times fold investment that we will see
[52:17] within the city. Um but sincerely we
[52:19] often talk about the exodus out of New
[52:21] York State. Not to uh uh make this
[52:25] conversation much longer than it is. We
[52:27] need to figure it out. We need to figure
[52:28] it out and I'm on board to figure it
[52:30] out.
[52:32] Go ahead, please. So, my final comment
[52:34] is um as well is that right now what it
[52:38] seems like the conclusion we've come to
[52:39] is $108,000 is the place that we would
[52:42] have to look and um also we should keep
[52:45] in mind we always talk about how much
[52:47] sports develop young people etc and so
[52:49] on. And this is our opportunity to do
[52:52] that.
[52:53] And we definitely also need to look
[52:56] forward to how we do it in years coming
[52:59] and to and for others that that come
[53:01] with an ask. But also, I think there should be ways and I believe
[53:05] there's people within this council who
[53:08] um can
[53:09] actually give advice on how to on how to
[53:12] fund raise and how to get money that um
[53:15] so if you're cuz not you would
[53:17] necessarily always have to come to the
[53:18] city for the entire amount but other
[53:20] ways to fund raise. So I'm not going to
[53:22] say anybody's name but if if the person
[53:23] that knows that has that ability wants
[53:25] to be able to assist um helping your
[53:28] organization to you know figure out ways
[53:30] to fund raise. So, um, you know, having,
[53:34] again, investing in our youth and having
[53:36] them grow up to be like this young man
[53:38] back here, uh, it it makes a difference.
[53:41] in our our
[53:42] community. It makes a difference in our
[53:43] city. It makes a difference in our
[53:45] world. So, um, I know it's it's
[53:48] challenging this year. We all know that.
[53:50] However, I don't think it's a challenge
[53:52] that we cannot meet,
[53:55] Mr. Chairman. So, couldn't uh could
[53:58] being that we still have to see exactly
[54:00] uh what amount of money is in that line,
[54:03] um could we make the motion that if the
[54:05] money is left in that line right now
[54:06] that we could move it forwards cuz I'd
[54:08] hate to have to go do another funding
[54:10] cycle. So if we could So when I was
[54:12] thinking about recess finance to Monday,
[54:14] get the information from the mayor and
[54:16] the finance commissioner and we can meet
[54:19] at 6:00 Monday,
[54:23] recess the committee, meet uh Monday and
[54:25] move forward whatever number we have and
[54:27] move forward with with application.
[54:30] Yeah, that's one way to look
[54:32] at that. That's the way to do it because
[54:35] we don't know what the money is right
[54:37] now to do a resolution. You need a the
[54:39] budget line item and the amount of
[54:41] money. So we couldn't do a resolution in
[54:46] um where the resolution would be
[54:49] dependent upon if the money is there. We
[54:51] couldn't do that. It needs you know the
[54:53] finance needs a line item from where the
[54:55] money is going to be drawn from. So in
[54:58] between then and now there may be other
[55:00] line items in which money may be drawn
[55:02] from. I don't know. So, um I I you would
[55:08] you'd be making a resolution still not
[55:10] knowing what whether or not where the
[55:12] money was going to be coming from. So,
[55:15] this way you can vote in committee on
[55:17] Monday to vote it out. There'll be
[55:19] unanimous consent if there's money
[55:21] available to put it on the agenda if you
[55:23] have unanimous consents to put it on
[55:25] because
[55:27] well, it's been a
[55:29] committee. We wouldn't need I'm going to
[55:31] recess. That's why I'm recessing it so
[55:33] that we don't need unanimous consent.
[55:36] So you just have to move it out your
[55:38] finance and on to the floor. Okay. Cuz
[55:40] if you did something right now, it would
[55:42] be Yeah. You don't be you you'd still be
[55:46] dependent on that report on Monday. Mhm.
[55:48] So let's work on getting a report from
[55:51] the academy and let's miss Cargo and we
[55:54] can meet um which is good 6:00 next
[55:58] Monday. I'll figure out
[56:02] You're good. Monday and
[56:04] 6 month. Monday 6 finance committee.
[56:07] Yes. Friday. Yeah. So, yes. So, we'll
[56:10] recess, we'll be move it out, look at
[56:13] the numbers, what is available and just,
[56:15] you know, from then on we can move
[56:17] forward. Okay. And being that we're just
[56:19] recessing. If if we do look into that in
[56:21] the particular line that we're
[56:22] discussing and the money is not there,
[56:24] um I still want us, you know, to look
[56:26] at, you know, possible other options
[56:28] because where there's a will, there's a
[56:30] way. And I think that we need to and
[56:32] that would also give the mayor the mayor
[56:33] has a meeting next Monday in terms of
[56:35] seeing what is available any
[56:37] availability on that 150 line. So we'll
[56:39] see on that line if any availability I
[56:42] guess at 150. We got tons of money right
[56:45] Mr. Mayor we don't have tons.
[56:49] So I just want to add
[56:53] Go ahead. I just want to add that um we
[56:55] should look at the CDBG as well. Not
[56:57] just that 108 but city. Well 108 was the
[57:02] city. So that was Harperite Harperite.
[57:05] That's what I mean. We we need to look
[57:07] at that as well. Well, we're going to
[57:08] encourage them to meet with Miss Carva
[57:11] and in the future to kind of like submit
[57:13] applications so going forward they can
[57:14] able to tap into that for CDBG. CDBG.
[57:17] Yeah. Go ahead please. I asked an
[57:21] answer all sadly.
[57:22] [Music]
[57:24] So I I'll hold everybody tells the
[57:26] finance committee until Monday. I'm
[57:28] sorry, Mr. Chairman. Just so everybody's
[57:30] on the same page. The committee will be
[57:32] at 6:00 on the time to be determined,
[57:35] but before the council meeting at 7:00
[57:37] at which
[57:38] time line items where money may be
[57:42] available will be presented to the count
[57:44] the committee. Yes. The committee will
[57:46] then vote out a
[57:49] resolution where that money is coming
[57:51] from.
[57:52] And then unanimous consent is placing it
[57:55] on the the agenda because it hasn't it's
[57:58] come out of committee but you're it
[58:00] hasn't come out of the committee before
[58:02] Thursday and that's where the resolution
[58:04] was but um that's where I'm reading the
[58:07] unanimous consent. In other words, it
[58:10] it's has all legislation has to be in
[58:13] the count in the clerk's office by noon
[58:15] on Thursday. This won't be there by noon
[58:18] on Thursday. And therefore, in order for
[58:20] you to consider it, okay, on Monday
[58:22] night, it'll require unanimous consent
[58:24] to be placed on the agenda. So, I mean,
[58:27] but Monday will do holding it till
[58:29] Monday night will be Monday night
[58:33] because it hasn't um cuz we don't have
[58:36] the information yet, but I mean, we're
[58:37] only talking. Do we uh do we not have
[58:40] the capacity to find out what's left in
[58:41] that line within the next day or two?
[58:45] I I mean that's up to the you know staff
[58:47] and and I think what what the mayor
[58:49] indicated earlier he's meeting with some
[58:52] individuals where there may be another
[58:54] pool of money available. So it's not
[58:56] only the ARPA money but there could be
[58:58] another pool and that we don't know that
[59:00] until Monday under the 25 budget. So
[59:04] that's why again factor because of the
[59:06] mayor's meeting Monday. We had a recess
[59:09] Monday at 6 o'clock.
[59:22] Any other question?
[59:25] Recess. We have a second. Recess on
[59:28] Monday.
[59:30] Second. All in favor? I. Thank you. Any
[59:33] other business? I'm sorry.
[59:36] Thank you.
[59:42] I'd like to call over city development
[59:44] and planning and we have five items on
[59:47] the
[59:47] agenda. Uh the first
[59:52] item we'll just wait for
[1:00:10] here.
[1:00:23] [Music]
[1:00:32] All right. So, we're in city development
[1:00:37] planning. We can't close the
[1:00:52] door. development and planning. Uh, and
[1:00:54] the first item on the agenda, as I
[1:00:56] understand, is being removed by Mr.
[1:00:58] Wallen. Okay. Yes. Um, you have you
[1:01:03] found other ways to do that. Is that
[1:01:04] correct? Is you're going to be doing
[1:01:06] something different than on item one.
[1:01:08] Come on
[1:01:11] up. Just want to stand.
[1:01:16] Yes. Well, you don't have to do that.
[1:01:17] You can go like this.
[1:01:20] Okay.
[1:01:24] Uh, you know, we had this on there. We
[1:01:26] talked with uh department heads and our
[1:01:28] architect and we'd like to see if there
[1:01:30] was uh another option that we can do.
[1:01:32] Uh, we do want to preserve the Woodlon
[1:01:34] Park roof. I have gone to the Woodlwan
[1:01:36] Neighborhood Association. They are
[1:01:37] interested in preserving the building,
[1:01:39] but uh that kind of investment in the
[1:01:42] building is something that we're trying
[1:01:43] to to lower just to make sure because
[1:01:45] that's a lot of money uh to make into
[1:01:47] the roof of the building uh for the
[1:01:49] limited use that it does have. So
[1:01:51] there's no huge urgency with it. So
[1:01:54] we're going to try to reevaluate what
[1:01:55] else we can do. Thank you. Uh item
[1:01:57] number two is the Kings Road weight
[1:01:59] limit posting up at 8 tons. I brought
[1:02:02] this before. Yep. Uh to the last
[1:02:04] committee meeting. Mr. Wall has looked
[1:02:05] into it and found figured out how to um
[1:02:09] bring resolution to this. Yeah. So um
[1:02:12] the road was not posted. We all know
[1:02:15] that it was not posted. However, um you
[1:02:17] know, we did some research myself
[1:02:19] calling the county who owns Kings Road
[1:02:22] on the other side of the bridge and the
[1:02:23] town of Roderdam who owns Highbridgeidge
[1:02:24] Road on the other side of the bridge and
[1:02:27] they have it signed on their side for 8
[1:02:29] tons. I believe the article I saw some
[1:02:32] article the names and I didn't recognize
[1:02:33] the names in the article that was
[1:02:34] forwarded about it. So, I believe they
[1:02:36] were either county or town people. But
[1:02:38] regardless, looking at it, um it does
[1:02:41] make sense for me to recommend that we
[1:02:44] uh post Kings Road with an 8 ton limit
[1:02:46] to say local traffic only because if we
[1:02:49] were to not have that and direct the
[1:02:51] vehicle down King's Road, when they get
[1:02:53] into Roderdam, there's literally nowhere
[1:02:55] for them to go because their roads are
[1:02:57] posted the second you get into the into
[1:03:00] Roderdam. You can't use Highbridgeidge
[1:03:01] or you technically can't use Kings. So,
[1:03:03] if we post uh at Albany Street, Kings
[1:03:06] Road, 8 ton weight limit, local traffic
[1:03:08] only, um that would make us kind of in
[1:03:11] cooperation with our neighboring
[1:03:12] municipalities.
[1:03:15] Question. Yes. Um I just was wondering
[1:03:18] uh based on the discussion at the um I
[1:03:21] think it was at the neighborhood
[1:03:22] association that company that um Badger.
[1:03:26] Yeah. Um so with the eight tons um no
[1:03:30] they would be able to that would be they
[1:03:32] would be able to Okay.
[1:03:35] Any other questions? Yes. Madam
[1:03:38] President just and for the city engineer
[1:03:41] this require a public hearing. We're
[1:03:43] going to have to amend the the table of
[1:03:45] uh
[1:03:48] of weight limit roads just like oneway
[1:03:51] roads weight limit roads are in the
[1:03:54] ordinance. So do we do that here? Can we
[1:03:56] change this to a call for public
[1:03:57] hearing? Yeah, we can do that tonight
[1:04:00] and call public hearing for the you know
[1:04:02] for two weeks out and uh maybe um then
[1:04:07] at some after the public hearing then
[1:04:09] there'll be ordinance change that
[1:04:11] portion of the road. Um what portion my
[1:04:14] followup questions what what portion of
[1:04:16] uh of the road from where to where?
[1:04:18] Yeah. So it would be from Albany Street
[1:04:20] to city limit.
[1:04:23] Okay. Thank you. the entire ones. Yes,
[1:04:26] ma'am.
[1:04:28] Any other questions or
[1:04:29] concerns? Right. So, at this point in
[1:04:32] time, I'm going to call for a public
[1:04:33] hearing to change this. So, second.
[1:04:36] All's in favor. Thank you. Uh item
[1:04:40] number three is just a reminder of this
[1:04:42] public hearing for the redirection of a
[1:04:44] portion of Pricore Avenue from a two-way
[1:04:46] street to a one-way street from the
[1:04:47] intersection of Crane and Crane and Main
[1:04:50] Street to Strander Place. and the public
[1:04:52] hearing will be happening on June
[1:04:56] 9th. Okay.
[1:05:00] Um the item number four was to reassess
[1:05:04] year round alternate street side of
[1:05:05] street parking policy. Mr. Farley. Thank
[1:05:08] you, Madam President. So, I've been
[1:05:10] hearing a lot, I'm sure, um you guys
[1:05:12] have have often um
[1:05:14] uh people have been reaching out talking
[1:05:16] about
[1:05:18] their why they have to change um their
[1:05:21] side of the street when they're parking
[1:05:23] from this time to this time. I know some
[1:05:24] people are working like overnight shifts
[1:05:26] when they get out of work. They're they
[1:05:28] get home at this hour and then, you
[1:05:31] know, they're going to bed, but then
[1:05:32] they'd have to get up an hour or two
[1:05:34] later to switch sides. And I was, you
[1:05:36] know, my initial thought was, you know,
[1:05:39] the alternative side parking. Um, I was
[1:05:43] thinking that the primary function of
[1:05:44] that would be for like winter when we're
[1:05:47] trying to clear streets and things of
[1:05:48] that nature. Um, so I was wondering um I
[1:05:51] don't know if when's the last time we
[1:05:52] looked at that as a city. So, I kind of
[1:05:54] wanted to just look at that and have a
[1:05:56] discussion around like is that something
[1:05:57] that we need to uh maybe reassess to say
[1:06:00] like maybe this only happens during the
[1:06:02] winter months unless there's other um
[1:06:04] functions of it that we need to keep in
[1:06:06] place for all year round. So, that was
[1:06:08] just my thought. That's right. Um so, I
[1:06:10] know that Mr. Mr. Wallen and the police
[1:06:12] department are here as well to to
[1:06:16] come on up.
[1:06:23] I'm short enough so I don't have
[1:06:25] to There we go.
[1:06:28] Um hello. So, uh as you guys probably
[1:06:31] know, I worked in the traffic division
[1:06:33] part of the promotion. Um and so there's
[1:06:35] actually a lot of important reasons that
[1:06:37] alternate side parking exists out
[1:06:39] outside of um office of general
[1:06:41] services. Yes. Uh trash collection makes
[1:06:44] it more convenient. Um street sweeping
[1:06:46] obviously is another benefit. Um really
[1:06:49] when we look at it alternate side
[1:06:50] parking there's a variety of reasons
[1:06:52] that that the police sort of use that to
[1:06:55] our advantage. Um one of one of it
[1:06:58] believe it or not is there's a potential
[1:07:00] for for crash reduction for sure. Um
[1:07:03] that uh when the um parking enforcement
[1:07:07] is is uh we're adhering to way the
[1:07:10] signage we can actually reduce crashes.
[1:07:12] So we know that unconditionally. Um the
[1:07:15] other thing is for emergency services uh
[1:07:17] fire trucks especially it's probably
[1:07:21] very very difficult if not possible to
[1:07:23] get an maybe two apparatus through or an
[1:07:25] apparatus in a police car. Um the other
[1:07:29] thing is that that when we go out there
[1:07:31] and the parking enforcement goes out
[1:07:32] there, not just the parking enforcement,
[1:07:34] but when the patrol officers are
[1:07:36] ticketing uh in the overnight hours, um
[1:07:40] it actually there's a benefit actually
[1:07:42] in reduction crime, if you can believe
[1:07:44] that. uh it's sort of this broken
[1:07:46] windows theory that that we kind of
[1:07:47] adopt where if if we look at the small
[1:07:51] things and the public takes note of
[1:07:53] these small things that we're looking
[1:07:54] at, they're less inclined to commit
[1:07:56] bigger infractions. Um so there's a lot
[1:07:59] of different uh there's a lot of
[1:08:01] different things that that uh go into
[1:08:03] parking other than just parking. Uh let
[1:08:07] me see some other
[1:08:10] things. Yeah, just improves traffic
[1:08:13] flow. Uh we also have um if it were both
[1:08:17] side parking uh there's a likelihood of
[1:08:20] increasing pedestrian uh crashes. The
[1:08:23] trouble is especially for the youth
[1:08:25] they're small and by the time they get
[1:08:27] beyond the beyond the car that's that's
[1:08:30] um already there. They're already into
[1:08:32] the traffic anyways and and perhaps
[1:08:34] um you know a crash may occur that way.
[1:08:37] So uh that's just the perspective from
[1:08:39] the police department. Yep.
[1:08:41] I just want to just clarify that um the
[1:08:43] ask is not to create two-sided parking.
[1:08:46] That's the ask is um does one side park
[1:08:50] alternate parking still make sense in
[1:08:52] the way that it's done this side for
[1:08:53] these hours versus this and then moving
[1:08:56] over there for the other for the
[1:08:57] different hours. That that is the the
[1:09:00] real discussion here. Um so I just
[1:09:02] wanted to clarify that talked about
[1:09:04] emergency vehicles and all that. That's
[1:09:06] the ask is not can we make this two
[1:09:09] parking on both sides. Okay. All right.
[1:09:11] So, yeah. So, what Oh, excuse me.
[1:09:14] I was just wondering um given some of
[1:09:16] the considerations and knowing what it's
[1:09:18] like to drive down streets where there
[1:09:20] is no alternate side of the street
[1:09:22] parking whether we should be considering
[1:09:24] increasing um alternate side of the
[1:09:27] street parking in the city. Is that has
[1:09:29] that ever been come up at all? Well, I
[1:09:31] know it's very difficult to drive on the
[1:09:33] streets where
[1:09:35] um you know there's parking on both
[1:09:37] sides on many of the streets that are
[1:09:39] narrow. Um you know, it's a super
[1:09:42] interesting question. Chief Clifford and
[1:09:43] I spoke about it really if we wanted to
[1:09:45] get a deep dive into it. I think uh I
[1:09:47] think anal, you know, analysis of
[1:09:49] parking in general would be a good idea.
[1:09:51] Um, you know, but it's funny as I'm
[1:09:54] going through this job and and you
[1:09:55] learn, you know, I have great ideas that
[1:09:59] my forefathers employed, but for a
[1:10:01] reason, right? And and so if we look at
[1:10:04] parking around the boulevards, Glenwood
[1:10:05] Parkwood, I think it's 2-hour parking.
[1:10:08] Um, and the reason was, at least as I
[1:10:10] understand it, is is is it gave
[1:10:13] residents a chance to park, but even
[1:10:15] more importantly, I think it prohibited
[1:10:17] uh the staff from Ellis Hospital, the
[1:10:19] school districts from parking there for an extended period of time. So,
[1:10:23] that's why I'm very cautious about
[1:10:25] making any concessions towards the
[1:10:27] parking. I just I don't know if we we
[1:10:29] don't know. We don't know, right? And I
[1:10:31] just I I wouldn't want to make a I want
[1:10:33] to say knee-jerk reaction, but a
[1:10:35] reaction that we don't fully understand
[1:10:37] the implications of um right off the
[1:10:39] bat. Um the other thing about the
[1:10:43] alternate side parking is that it gives
[1:10:45] us an opportunity to sort of identify
[1:10:47] vehicles that have been there for long
[1:10:49] term.
[1:10:50] Um I suspect that they had they could
[1:10:54] potentially abuse the uh on street
[1:10:56] parking if it wasn't alternate signs. In
[1:10:58] other words, they can park their vehicle
[1:11:00] there and leave it there for extended
[1:11:02] periods of time and you know you sort of
[1:11:04] have these abandoned vehicles that
[1:11:05] potentially, you know, could be a
[1:11:08] problem especially in the winter. Uh so
[1:11:10] but the alternate side alleviates that
[1:11:12] for us now because
[1:11:13] obviously it sticks out like a sore
[1:11:15] thumb you it 2 days later if it's still
[1:11:18] there you know you can you can enforce
[1:11:20] the abandoned vehicle. We're not trying
[1:11:22] to do it alternate. It's not trying to
[1:11:23] do away with it. Just trying to see if
[1:11:25] the way it's being done now makes sense.
[1:11:28] the timing of it. So, not trying to say
[1:11:29] because you mentioned the street
[1:11:30] cleaners that that's important when they
[1:11:33] come that that they're able to get
[1:11:34] through. You mentioned the garbage
[1:11:35] trucks. So, not trying to say let's do
[1:11:38] away with it because that would that
[1:11:40] would cause a problem vehicles that stay
[1:11:41] there forever, but just trying to say
[1:11:43] does the timing of when people have to
[1:11:45] move their vehicles still make sense in
[1:11:47] the the way it is? And I guess one my
[1:11:49] question I'll get to you Mr. Carly uh is
[1:11:51] when is the last time that we did
[1:11:53] reassess the the timing of it? Now, this
[1:11:56] is what my understanding of it is that
[1:11:58] part of how we determined the alternate
[1:12:00] parking when General Electric was a
[1:12:01] major employer in the city of Skenctity
[1:12:04] and the shifts that people worked, you
[1:12:06] know, dictated, you know, when they came and went in terms of parking.
[1:12:10] That's, you know, anecdotally that's
[1:12:12] what I was told. I don't know how they
[1:12:13] came, but that's where they came to, but
[1:12:15] that was part of my understanding. Mr.
[1:12:16] Farley. Yeah. Thank you, Madam
[1:12:18] President. You did hit on on some of the points that I wanted to raise. I
[1:12:23] think so to your point, sometimes we
[1:12:25] don't know the wisdom and why decisions
[1:12:27] are made until we kind of like start to
[1:12:29] look into them. So that's kind of like
[1:12:31] what the point is here. I also know
[1:12:33] sometimes um we sometimes we do things
[1:12:36] cuz that's just how they always been
[1:12:37] done. And sometimes that can, you know,
[1:12:39] stifle innovation and and and even
[1:12:42] create, you know, problems that we're
[1:12:44] not recognizing that we'll be to
[1:12:45] alleviate if we if we kind of look took
[1:12:47] a closer look at things. So again, the
[1:12:50] point as far as like the safety point um
[1:12:53] that that you that you bring up um and a
[1:12:56] couple of some of the other reasons
[1:12:58] right now cars are parking on either
[1:13:02] side e they're parking on either side of
[1:13:04] the street. So on this street they're
[1:13:05] either parking on this side or they're
[1:13:07] parking on that side. And so to kind of
[1:13:09] echo what President Porter was saying,
[1:13:11] this isn't about like saying like now
[1:13:12] you can park on both sides cuz there's
[1:13:14] so many streets that you just can't do
[1:13:15] it on. It would just say like you
[1:13:17] wouldn't have to move your car um when
[1:13:20] you get off work Monday night, you don't
[1:13:22] have to uh when you know coming Monday
[1:13:25] morning from work, you don't have to get
[1:13:26] up and then move your car an hour later
[1:13:28] to the other side of the street. Like is
[1:13:30] there another way to do that? So you
[1:13:33] wouldn't prevent you know uh safety
[1:13:36] vehicles from making their way through.
[1:13:38] But it's just the alternative the
[1:13:40] alternate parking place and then is are
[1:13:42] we doing it at the right time? Do we
[1:13:45] need to kind of get some more
[1:13:46] information from people in the community
[1:13:48] as far as what they would like to see
[1:13:50] happen or like that's what we're trying
[1:13:51] to get. Yeah, I I get it. You know, and
[1:13:53] those are I don't know that I would have
[1:13:55] that information again without a study.
[1:13:57] I think we can speak kind of
[1:13:59] anecdotally, but you know, it is an
[1:14:00] interesting time because since co,
[1:14:02] right, a lot of folks aren't going to
[1:14:04] work anymore. So, I don't know should
[1:14:05] say going to work, but they're working. So, um yeah, I don't know. You
[1:14:11] know, I guess I'd like to add that. You
[1:14:13] know, I think about G was in full swing.
[1:14:15] We have 40,000 employees. I think the
[1:14:17] city population close to 100,000, right?
[1:14:20] We're around 70,000 now. I believe we
[1:14:23] can make it work, right? So, um I that's
[1:14:26] my two cents.
[1:14:28] Um did you want to speak to it all at
[1:14:31] all? I mean on the OS
[1:14:36] side a little um in the alternate side
[1:14:39] parking um we do get to schedule our
[1:14:42] street sweepers alter catch basins on
[1:14:45] one side of the road vehicles never move
[1:14:47] everything gets trapped there trash gets
[1:14:49] there the leaves get there we can't get
[1:14:51] in there a sweep until there's a
[1:14:53] complaint that well the catch basins
[1:14:54] aren't taking the storm water no longer
[1:14:57] have a hold or posted to move your car
[1:14:59] so you can sweep so what we do is we
[1:15:01] plan sweeping based on alternate side
[1:15:03] parking. One one day we're doing it, the
[1:15:05] other they were doing it a different
[1:15:06] way. Um so there is an advantage. We do
[1:15:09] schedule work cuz we know the streets
[1:15:11] that are alternate. So if we're going to
[1:15:12] do curve work for pothole work, we know
[1:15:14] we can go down this street and do the
[1:15:16] right side today. Um and we do the left
[1:15:19] side. If it's always one side, then we
[1:15:21] got to have resources go out and post
[1:15:23] that street and have everybody move. And
[1:15:25] hopefully some don't move over and the
[1:15:27] other ones stay in one place because now
[1:15:29] you're trying to get to buy two cars.
[1:15:30] So, there are some advantages when we're
[1:15:32] looking at how we're doing our
[1:15:33] maintenance on our streets um with
[1:15:35] regards to street sweeping or repairs or
[1:15:37] curb work or even tree work. Um we know
[1:15:40] the streets that we can go in and do
[1:15:41] some work on because nobody's on our
[1:15:42] side and and again the exception would
[1:15:45] be winter where, you know, there should
[1:15:46] be open parking all time, you know, from
[1:15:50] November 15th to April 1st because it
[1:15:53] just makes our work easier to be able to
[1:15:55] do parking. So, you know, again, we're
[1:16:00] not trying to do away with that. Just
[1:16:01] trying to figure out if the timing
[1:16:04] works.
[1:16:06] Trying to accommodate people's work
[1:16:07] schedules and that's different for
[1:16:09] everybody. So, you know, not not and not
[1:16:12] necessarily just like individual's work
[1:16:14] schedule. Obviously, we couldn't do
[1:16:16] that. It it's just one of those things
[1:16:17] that when people are bringing to the
[1:16:19] council saying like like this, you know,
[1:16:20] this doesn't make sense. So, my question
[1:16:21] then goes, okay, well, is there a better
[1:16:23] way to do it? you know like in in in a
[1:16:26] better time the data. Yeah. Is there a
[1:16:28] better time? Is there a better pretty
[1:16:30] much a better time to move it? Is is
[1:16:32] there a a different uh mechanism we use
[1:16:35] to decide on what side people are on on
[1:16:38] what side or is it currently isn't it
[1:16:41] 9:00 a.m. I think 9 a.m. I think it's
[1:16:44] Yeah. probably coming back you know when
[1:16:47] our forefather was doing it. We started
[1:16:49] working around 7:30. So 9:00 a.m. crews
[1:16:51] were out working. Um, you know, so you
[1:16:54] know, that side of the street was
[1:16:56] vacant. You know, if you did it at I
[1:16:59] mean there's always one side of the
[1:17:00] street or the other might be open, but
[1:17:01] on the OS side, that's what we look at,
[1:17:03] you know, street sweeping, different
[1:17:05] things like that. So with other study,
[1:17:07] we say what's the best time of day to do
[1:17:09] it, you know, is it at night? Is it
[1:17:13] noon? I don't know.
[1:17:17] So what would it take to re-evaluate
[1:17:21] study?
[1:17:30] So Mr. Wallen, could you give us a
[1:17:33] little bit of insight into that? What it
[1:17:36] would take for us to try to to reassess
[1:17:38] this? Hire another engineer.
[1:17:42] So could you come up? So um outside of
[1:17:45] hiring another engineer I know that
[1:17:47] sometimes you use consultants to do this
[1:17:49] work. The consultants are managed by
[1:17:51] myself and myself does not have enough
[1:17:52] time to do this. Mhm. So do we have
[1:17:55] another alternative? This is just
[1:17:57] another request made by the council that
[1:17:58] I
[1:17:59] just do. We have a list of these
[1:18:02] requests that I can like this is just
[1:18:03] adding up a lot of requests. Hold on.
[1:18:05] Mr. W. Let's let me be very
[1:18:08] clear. This is not just another thing
[1:18:10] that the council's adding on. What we're
[1:18:13] doing is is is listening to what people
[1:18:16] are saying to us and being responsive
[1:18:17] and we're asking the question. The
[1:18:19] answer might hold on please for a
[1:18:20] second. The answer might be hey this
[1:18:22] doesn't work for the reasons that you're
[1:18:24] saying or the answer might be oh wow we
[1:18:26] didn't think about it like that. Maybe
[1:18:27] this work but it is our job to ask these
[1:18:30] questions. So I just don't I appreciate
[1:18:31] your frustration. You know, I'm a very
[1:18:32] big fan of the work you do, but I
[1:18:34] wouldn't want you to characterize me
[1:18:36] bringing this up as something just
[1:18:37] another thing from the council. I don't
[1:18:39] think that's fair.
[1:18:43] So, um Oh, okay.
[1:18:46] Oh, mayor. Okay. Why don't you just take
[1:18:48] the individuals who've contacted you,
[1:18:50] forward that to Chief Noiki. You can do
[1:18:53] the initial
[1:18:55] evaluation and see if there is some
[1:18:57] scenario that
[1:18:58] would compensate for what their
[1:19:03] uh awkwardness is, the inefficiency
[1:19:07] uh the timing of it. Yeah, I definitely
[1:19:10] could do so and start that is the and he
[1:19:14] can you know usually what prompts this
[1:19:18] also is not the timing, it's when
[1:19:20] somebody gets a ticket.
[1:19:24] And
[1:19:26] so the reality is there's a little bit
[1:19:29] of soft enforcement at first hour, hour
[1:19:33] and a half and usually the enforcement
[1:19:36] doesn't take place till the time is
[1:19:38] clearly changed or the cars are creating
[1:19:42] a hazard. the street becomes too narrow
[1:19:46] and they haven't moved back and forth or
[1:19:48] you get blocked, excuse me, black
[1:19:50] driveways that are too close to a fire
[1:19:52] hydrant or something else. So, mayor,
[1:19:55] should he say the names of the
[1:19:57] individuals or the streets that are
[1:19:59] involved as opposed to an individual?
[1:20:02] Well, the
[1:20:04] individual, do they need it? Do they
[1:20:07] want it changed an extra hour? Do they
[1:20:09] want it a certain day of the week?
[1:20:11] uh you know it's just without dealing
[1:20:13] with the specifics it's hard to
[1:20:16] [Music]
[1:20:17] say how it is and you get when you do
[1:20:20] the alternate side parking too the use
[1:20:23] of the side of the street that has fire
[1:20:26] hydrants on
[1:20:28] it creates more angst when parking's on
[1:20:33] that side because there aren't as many
[1:20:34] parking spots on that side and so people
[1:20:37] park they're happier on the other side
[1:20:40] and when you move it to the side with
[1:20:42] the fire
[1:20:43] hydrants. Somebody doesn't have a space
[1:20:46] to park. And when the city had 100,000
[1:20:49] people, some of the modes of
[1:20:51] transportation were still by
[1:20:53] horse. And so we didn't quite have as
[1:20:56] many cars. And so
[1:20:59] the whole dynamic has shifted. We've got
[1:21:02] less people, but we have a lot more
[1:21:04] cars. We sure do. M. It was I'm sorry.
[1:21:07] It was Mr. Williams, Miss Patrick, Mr.
[1:21:09] Toro. and we'll come back to you. So go
[1:21:11] ahead, Mr. Williams. So definitely I
[1:21:14] think our next step is the parking
[1:21:15] analysis. I hear and I had the
[1:21:17] opportunity to shadow Mr. Wallen
[1:21:19] definitely raised another question of
[1:21:20] staffing levels in the city. Truly if
[1:21:23] there are struggles with maintaining
[1:21:25] what is adding on has an impact and I
[1:21:28] can respectfully hear everything you
[1:21:29] said and I appreciate Mr. Farley for
[1:21:31] adding his context. Um I do want to add
[1:21:34] that a part of it is just being
[1:21:36] responsive to the driver's concerns.
[1:21:37] additional impacts that I've heard is
[1:21:39] how does parking read out in reality to
[1:21:41] members of our community where people
[1:21:44] are taking public spaces and saying this
[1:21:47] is mine we cannot park in front of our
[1:21:48] house and you can't make that claim on
[1:21:50] public road so as we are dealing with
[1:21:52] all these questions and comments uh I I
[1:21:55] do think it is our requirement to be
[1:21:56] responsive how we respond to that is
[1:21:58] important um and sincerely Mr.
[1:22:01] I don't I don't think justifying the
[1:22:03] street sweeping and the potholes is a
[1:22:04] strong argument just because there are
[1:22:06] people like I move my car every week
[1:22:07] potholes still there and that is a
[1:22:09] anecdotal comment but sincerely I think
[1:22:12] we need to take into consideration its
[1:22:13] impacts in 2025 and how that looks like
[1:22:17] I don't know it's a conversation um but
[1:22:19] I think we do have to start with this
[1:22:20] discussion Patrick I I think I just want
[1:22:24] to reply to that I think that we really
[1:22:26] have to take into consideration the
[1:22:28] street sweeping the garbage etc I Those
[1:22:30] things are really important as as well
[1:22:32] as the public safety pieces.
[1:22:35] So I you know I think it's important to
[1:22:39] Oh without doubt. So so I just want to
[1:22:42] be clear Mr. Leon that street sweeping
[1:22:44] is based on the alternate parking. Well
[1:22:47] we know what these we can go on that
[1:22:49] street and do that side of the road or
[1:22:50] not do that side of the road. Correct.
[1:22:52] after storms right after right after a
[1:22:54] storm um to clear catch basins we'll
[1:22:57] know if you know street X we can do the
[1:23:00] right side the catch basins are on that
[1:23:01] side some streets only have catch bas on
[1:23:03] one side sometimes on both so it does
[1:23:06] work to our families sometimes okay and
[1:23:08] so um in terms of the street sweep it
[1:23:11] doesn't have anything to do with the
[1:23:12] garbage collection schedule then no
[1:23:14] street sweepers as is a separate
[1:23:15] schedule okay thank you
[1:23:18] I think the bigger issue is the amount
[1:23:20] of as the mayor said the amount of uh
[1:23:23] limited parking and the amount of um as
[1:23:25] I I've said plenty of times the skinnity
[1:23:28] 2 family which is now the skinnity 4
[1:23:30] plus family. Um so at time you know
[1:23:33] years ago you know each family may have
[1:23:36] had one car so you're talking about two
[1:23:38] cars on the street. Now you're talking
[1:23:40] about one one unit that has four units
[1:23:42] in it and everybody's got a car and
[1:23:44] maybe their kids. and others. I mean,
[1:23:46] there's just I don't believe enough
[1:23:48] parking on our roadways for the amount
[1:23:51] of cars and the amount of people living
[1:23:53] on their street. Um, I live on Wendell
[1:23:55] Avenue. There's no parking on my side of
[1:23:57] the street between Union Street and
[1:24:01] Union Avenue, and it's a constant battle
[1:24:05] for um placement of individuals. So
[1:24:09] again, I you know, whether it's uh
[1:24:11] alternate parking or not, there's just
[1:24:13] not enough room for people to park
[1:24:14] anymore on any street. So, especially in
[1:24:17] our neighborhoods. And as far as
[1:24:18] alternate sides, yeah, we get a couple
[1:24:21] of complaints here and there. We have to
[1:24:23] get up and move our car. Um but most of
[1:24:25] the time the what I hear is, uh I like
[1:24:28] when it's on my side of the street
[1:24:29] because then I go shopping and it's in
[1:24:31] front of my house versus, you know,
[1:24:33] other side of the street I have to worry
[1:24:34] about crossing the street to my house.
[1:24:36] So, um, again, I think there's just a
[1:24:38] lot of cars in our city now, which is a
[1:24:41] good thing.
[1:24:43] It's back. We have lots of cars. Y,
[1:24:46] that's true. Um, so,
[1:24:51] if I may, I just like to add just one
[1:24:52] bit of information for you guys. Sure.
[1:24:54] So, I know you guys get tons of
[1:24:56] complaints. I know I've spoke to you
[1:24:57] about sort of parking complaints that
[1:24:59] come with increased enforcement, but
[1:25:00] what we probably don't hear about, you
[1:25:02] know, I get calls all day every day with
[1:25:04] the traffic division and we actually get
[1:25:06] a lot of calls people saying, "Thank you
[1:25:08] for finally doing this. Thank you for
[1:25:10] being here." And they're actually
[1:25:12] appreciating that we're enforcing it in
[1:25:14] the alternate uh side parking and the
[1:25:17] hours and I haven't asked them, but it's
[1:25:20] a benefit to them in some way enough
[1:25:22] that they actually call us and say thank
[1:25:23] you. So that's useful information.
[1:25:29] First, I'd like to say honestly, Officer
[1:25:31] Dolan and I never disagreed in parking
[1:25:33] ever. That's never a good thing. Um, so
[1:25:35] that's that's a good thing. But to the
[1:25:37] mayor's point around like um, you know,
[1:25:40] at one time, you know, we were there
[1:25:43] were more horses than there were cars.
[1:25:46] In this and that's in the spirit of what
[1:25:48] this conversation is being brought up is
[1:25:50] that we look at our city code. some of
[1:25:52] those things are outdated so much I
[1:25:55] think that they probably were when we
[1:25:56] did have horses. And I think that what
[1:25:58] we want to do is again is to look at
[1:26:01] what we have um is it working and not be
[1:26:04] afraid to say could it be working more
[1:26:06] effective you know um and just not be so
[1:26:09] committed to things just because the way
[1:26:10] and we often might find that there's a
[1:26:12] lot of good reasons and and there's a
[1:26:14] lot of wisdom into how decisions were
[1:26:16] made in the past but to the mayor's
[1:26:19] point and in and mine is that as things
[1:26:21] change we do need to revisit these
[1:26:23] things to ensure that we're being
[1:26:24] responsible and maybe having the best
[1:26:26] for that's what the point of the
[1:26:27] conversation is. So I'm thinking um uh
[1:26:30] you know I welcome you know ideas around
[1:26:33] maybe we'd start with those with with
[1:26:36] the streets that people have been vocal
[1:26:38] about
[1:26:39] and get their feedback on that and go
[1:26:42] from there.
[1:26:43] Um I think that's reasonable since um
[1:26:46] our city engineer said that doesn't have
[1:26:48] the capacity to do a citywide um
[1:26:52] reassessment. So just just to be clear
[1:26:55] though too, I think the easiest thing to
[1:26:57] do is I I think we're misunderstanding
[1:26:58] what a citywide asses is. It's a very
[1:27:01] large desk. You would go through the
[1:27:03] streets and I think uh you know Chief
[1:27:05] Wicki said it that the way that the
[1:27:07] streets are situated, right? The way
[1:27:09] that the parking is was mostly made by
[1:27:12] people around this table prior to us,
[1:27:14] our forefathers. Maybe it didn't make
[1:27:16] sense. Maybe it was done because someone
[1:27:17] got a ticket. So then when we hire a
[1:27:20] consultant to look at the map and try to
[1:27:22] make sense of it, they're going to have
[1:27:24] a lot of questions and they're going to
[1:27:25] wonder why any. So what they're going to
[1:27:27] look at, right, is they're going to look
[1:27:28] at all the streets in the city, 171
[1:27:30] miles. Then they're going to look at
[1:27:31] widths. Then they're going to look at
[1:27:33] the type of street. Then they're going
[1:27:34] to look at what's on the street. Is
[1:27:36] there a school? Is there a hospital? Is
[1:27:39] there something that takes up parking?
[1:27:41] So I think that if the council would
[1:27:43] like to do that, I could get some costs
[1:27:46] for what this would cost. people are out
[1:27:48] there that do things like this and then
[1:27:50] you would put it in the budget because
[1:27:53] this is something that I don't know
[1:27:55] where I would, you know, pull 20, 30,
[1:27:58] 40, $50,000 out of to study the citywide
[1:28:01] parking. I mean, they would have
[1:28:03] meetings with the police, we'd have
[1:28:05] meetings with the fire department, we'd
[1:28:06] have meetings with the mayor, OS, uh,
[1:28:09] you know, this isn't something that you
[1:28:10] just do. Now, to the mayor's point, if
[1:28:12] we're looking at two streets and that's
[1:28:14] all we want to focus on, then that's a
[1:28:16] completely different thing. But, uh,
[1:28:18] that was my frustration was to just say,
[1:28:21] you know, would be great right now is if
[1:28:23] Chris could do a parking
[1:28:24] study. You know, that that means that
[1:28:27] it's a big task. It's something that we
[1:28:29] have to do and it's something that I
[1:28:30] don't have in my budget to to do a
[1:28:32] citywide assessment of parking. So, and
[1:28:35] just to be you said 71 miles, but not
[1:28:37] every street in the city is alternate
[1:28:39] parking. So, it would be a little And I
[1:28:41] see, but that's where you're going to
[1:28:42] get into a little gray area, though. I
[1:28:43] mean, because are you really looking at
[1:28:45] only alternate side parking areas? Would
[1:28:48] you look at all the parking areas? I
[1:28:49] would think that you want to look at all
[1:28:51] parking areas because, you know, what we
[1:28:53] just heard was it would be better if
[1:28:54] some streets were alternate side parking
[1:28:56] that are one side parking cuz it would
[1:28:58] be more beneficial. So once again, if
[1:29:00] you're focused and you just want to say
[1:29:02] those streets, but I think that those
[1:29:03] streets were most likely deemed
[1:29:06] alternate side parking for
[1:29:09] a political reason more than an
[1:29:11] engineering reason. So then we're
[1:29:12] singling out streets based off of
[1:29:15] non-engineering decisions. We're asking
[1:29:17] an engineer to make a justification on
[1:29:20] it. Engineers don't like things that
[1:29:22] don't make sense. I've talked about the
[1:29:24] weight limit map. The weight limit map
[1:29:25] makes no sense. that chart that we have
[1:29:27] in the city it makes no sense. So with
[1:29:30] me to look at it and then come to you
[1:29:32] and say why does his map there it you
[1:29:34] know it doesn't make any sense and the
[1:29:35] engineering predecessor said this was
[1:29:37] more of a complaints of trucks
[1:29:39] complaints of this. So we you know
[1:29:41] change things. So I would I would say if
[1:29:43] we're going to do it you you do it. uh
[1:29:46] you know 171 miles they don't all have
[1:29:48] all parking but we want to maybe focus
[1:29:50] on certain areas and do it more
[1:29:52] holistically because if you're going to
[1:29:54] do a parking study and not look at the
[1:29:55] area around Ellis hospital
[1:29:58] I don't you know I think that were the
[1:30:00] area around the high school or some of
[1:30:01] the other schools I think that would be
[1:30:03] a
[1:30:04] mistake if I just add one last thing too
[1:30:07] I think is important that we hear from
[1:30:08] those individuals because I think we
[1:30:11] perhaps can do a better job of maybe
[1:30:13] either updating the signage report
[1:30:15] increasing the signage if it's one
[1:30:18] street in particular. I know one street
[1:30:19] there are signs out there that say no
[1:30:21] parking this side from 1:00 a.m. to 6:00
[1:30:23] a.m. If that's the problem and we're not
[1:30:26] street sweeping there and I'm not big
[1:30:27] rem, but if that's the case in point,
[1:30:30] it's a simple sign change and
[1:30:31] everybody's happy. So I guess to the
[1:30:33] point I'm trying to make is I I can feel
[1:30:36] these phone calls and I encourage them
[1:30:37] to call reach out or email me and tell
[1:30:40] me specifically what the street is and
[1:30:42] what their concern is. you know, this may be an easy this may be an easy
[1:30:46] fix, I guess, is what I'm saying.
[1:30:50] Um, and I'd like to believe that
[1:30:51] decisions are made on engineering things
[1:30:53] and not politically, that we're doing it
[1:30:56] based on what's good enough.
[1:30:58] Oh, that's right. We're not talking
[1:30:59] about us.
[1:31:01] Um, so as the mayor has stated that um
[1:31:05] and
[1:31:06] Sergeant, can you
[1:31:10] say you got that promotion? I have to
[1:31:12] get that right. Has stated we should
[1:31:14] look at the streets cuz I I also have um
[1:31:16] you know, someone reach out to me um
[1:31:19] regarding where they live. So, you know,
[1:31:21] we can should look at those streets and
[1:31:22] start there. And I just want to really
[1:31:26] quickly say that I'm I'm not sorry. I'm
[1:31:29] sorry, Mr. T. Did you want to add
[1:31:30] something? No. Oh, okay. Good. So, what
[1:31:33] I was saying is that what I wanted to
[1:31:34] say was that I'm not uh in any way
[1:31:36] suggesting that we change, you know,
[1:31:38] everything around for an individual
[1:31:40] person. I just want to be clear about
[1:31:42] that. But what we can if if we do look
[1:31:44] at the individual streets and there is a
[1:31:46] theme here that oh this works here, then
[1:31:48] it might be a practice that we look to
[1:31:50] move and expand. I think that that's a fair way to start. Okay. Thank
[1:31:55] you.
[1:31:56] So, at this point in time, and this is
[1:31:59] for everyone, then if you're getting
[1:32:01] concerns from individuals regarding
[1:32:03] alternate um side parking, and I'm not
[1:32:06] whether it's being enforced or observed,
[1:32:09] I'm not really sure cuz I see signs.
[1:32:11] Sometimes I'm driving down the street
[1:32:12] and I see signs on both sides, but I
[1:32:14] also see cars on both sides. So, I'm
[1:32:16] like, okay, people aren't really
[1:32:18] observing that. And but there's still
[1:32:19] room to move forward. So, at this point
[1:32:21] in time, you would um provide to the
[1:32:22] mayor's office and to assistant chief
[1:32:25] miliki this brief that you're speaking
[1:32:27] about. And that that goes for everyone
[1:32:29] and I will do that as well. And um we'll
[1:32:32] take it from there. Is there more that
[1:32:34] you would like to see us move forward
[1:32:35] on, Mr. Farley? I think that that's a
[1:32:37] pretty good place to
[1:32:38] start just with the budget coming up.
[1:32:42] Would or would life like me to get what
[1:32:44] parking would cost?
[1:32:47] So that's ask question. I think the more
[1:32:50] information we have the better the more
[1:32:51] the cost but I don't know what the
[1:32:53] entails. So I think getting the cost
[1:32:56] would be great. Doesn't mean we have to
[1:32:57] do it.
[1:32:59] I just getting the cost would be
[1:33:02] contact engineers probably done this
[1:33:05] before and ask them what an approximate
[1:33:06] cost would be just so I can have that
[1:33:08] for our budget time. Right. Including
[1:33:11] the concerns that were voiced by uh his
[1:33:14] farm. Chris and I will be in contact
[1:33:16] because what I'll do is as I if I don't
[1:33:18] handle the calls myself traffic division
[1:33:20] but somehow keep a log or record of the
[1:33:24] concern. So it's not anecdotal. It's a time in place for it to Chris and
[1:33:29] we can work it. If after all this we
[1:33:32] only have a single concern. Not sure
[1:33:34] that you know it's worth proceeding but
[1:33:36] that my own.
[1:33:39] Okay. Any other questions? Okay. Well,
[1:33:43] thank you all for your input. Appreciate
[1:33:45] you coming. Thank you.
[1:33:48] Uh the next item is the is a ceremonial
[1:33:51] resolution for Caribbean American
[1:33:53] Heritage Month. Mr. Mu. Thank you. June
[1:33:57] is recognized as a national Caribbean
[1:33:59] American Heritage Month. And I'm asking
[1:34:01] council once again to pass CR to
[1:34:04] recognize um the Caribbean American
[1:34:07] community.
[1:34:10] Oh, thank you.
[1:34:13] All in favor? All right, that was
[1:34:15] interesting. Um, I did one add one other
[1:34:18] thing to the agenda. I apologize, but um
[1:34:22] June 10th is coming up in June as well.
[1:34:25] And um so I'd like to for the council to
[1:34:28] um have a ceremonial resolution for
[1:34:31] observing Junth. So second all's in
[1:34:35] favor. Thank you very much for that. And
[1:34:38] I have nothing else to come for city
[1:34:40] development planning and I'll entertain
[1:34:42] a motion to adjourn. So move second. All
[1:34:45] in favor? I have a good evening
[1:34:58] everyone. Heat. Heat.
[1:35:02] [Music]