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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CA-2007-12-01CITY ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Regular Meeting December 20, 2007 Members Present: Alderperson Tomlan, Alderperson Coles, Alderperson Zumoff, Alderperson Townsend, Mayor Peterson Members Excused: Alderperson Gelinas Council Members Present: Alderperson Clairborne Staff Present: Thys Van Cort (Director of Planning & Development), Jim UAlterio (Recreation Facilities Director), Brian Wilbur (Fire Chief), Marcia Fort (GIAC Director), Rick Ferrel (Asst Superintendent of Public Works - S &F), Leslie Chatterton (Historic Preservation & Neighborhood Planner), Steve Thayer (Controller), Schelley Michell - Nunn (HR Director), Denise Malone (HR Executive Assistant) Others Present: Eric Rosario (new Common Council Elect), Members of the Public, Members of the Media Chairperson Coles called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. 1. Chairperson Greeting & Opening Statement Chairperson Coles welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained the evacuation procedures. 2. Announcements. None. 3. Agenda Review and Amendments Chairperson Coles stated that Item 14.2 - Planning & Development - Authorization of Additional Funds for Capital Project #721 Collegetown Urban Plan and Design Guidelines was added to the agenda. City Administration Committee Meeting December 20, 2007 Page 2 4. Approval of Minutes Chairperson Coles reported that the minutes from the November 28, 2007 City Administration Committee meeting will be approved after some questions can be answered by the City Attorney regarding the Re- authorization of Bicycle Plan Capital Project #325 Resolution. 5. Statements from the Public. None. 6. Employee Comments. None. 7. Common Council Response. None. 8. Workforce Diversity (WFD) Committee Update WFD Chairperson Marcia Fort reported that the Committee spent time at their last meeting reviewing work that they are doing. The Committee listened to presentations by departments on their communication and diversity plans. There are two departments who still need to present their plans to the WFD Committee. One department will report at the January 2008 meeting. The second department recently went through a turnover in terms of leadership. WFD Chairperson Fort will meet with the interim department head to update him on the process. After all departments have presented their plans, they will be scheduled on a regular basis to give updates to the WFD Committee. The diversity and communication plans are works in progress. After the department achieves one goal or objective, they would continue to add to it. The WFD Committee discussed that it would be helpful and informative if department heads, on some schedule to be determined, had an opportunity to discuss what they have been working on with the City Administration Committee. The WFD Committee will talk with department heads about this recommendation. So, starting in 2008, there will be updates and new information presented at the WFD Committee and the City Administration Committee. The WFD Committee reviewed and finalized the proposed Hiring Process that was drafted by the HR Director. The work of looking and ensuring that we are reaching out to as diverse populations as possible for City positions, there is work needing to be done in the beginning as opposed to waiting until recruitment has been done, applicants picked and staff coming before City Administration Committee Meeting December 20, 2007 Page 3 the Affirmative Action Sub- Committee. The final draft of the Hiring Process will be presented to the Mayor and Common Council. The WFD Committee discussed work that City employees have been engaged in such as the Talking Circles. Members of Senior Staff spent five 2 -hour sessions with facilitators. Talking Circles are opportunities for people to talk about their experience and perspectives about race, racism and race relations. The Talking Circles had a balanced mix of white staff and staff of color. Participants agreed that it has been a positive experience - one that has deepened relationships and created some networks. They are recommending that other Senior Staff members participate in the Talking Circles. City employees have participated in a series called Undoing Racism, which is facilitated by David Billings of People Institute for Survival. There will be an introductory session on Undoing Racism on January 17, 2008 at GIAC from 9 :00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Employees from the Youth Bureau, GIAC, the HR Department and Senior Staff are scheduled to attend. The WFD Committee is pleased about the commitment to continuing to work on issues of diversification that are supported by department heads, the Mayor and Common Council members. 9. Safety Committee Update. None. 10. Communication Committee Update Chairperson Coles thanked Alderperson Townsend for a job well -done as a member of this Committee and wished him the best of luck. 11. Fire Department 1. Request to Amend Roster - Temporary Fire Lieutenant Position Moved by Alderperson Tomlan. Seconded by Alderperson Zumoff. WHEREAS, a current Ithaca Fire Department (IFD) Lieutenant is a member of the New York National Guard, and will be ordered to serve on active duty for deployment in Afghanistan during January, 2008; and City Administration Committee Meeting December 20, 2007 Page 4 WHEREAS, it is anticipated the Lieutenant will be on active duty with the military for 15 months; and WHEREAS, Common Council authorized in the 2008 budget the creation of a temporary fire fighter position to address this situation; and WHEREAS, the temporary fire fighter position is intended to bockf ill the vacancy created by a temporary promotion of a fire fighter to the position of lieutenant to fill the vacancy created by the absence of the Lieutenant, and WHEREAS, Common Council must authorize the creation of a temporary fire lieutenant position to allow this process to proceed; now, therefore be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby authorizes the creation of a temporary fire lieutenant position in the Ithaca Fire Department, effective eight days prior to and as needed to cover the absence caused by the training and active duty deployment of the current IFD Lieutenant; and, be it further RESOLVED, That funds necessary to accomplish this in 2008 will be derived from existing appropriations in the 2008 budget; and, be it further RESOLVED, That funds necessary to accomplish this during 2009 will be incorporated in the 2009 operating budget; and, be it further RESOLVED, That authorization for this temporary lieutenant position will expire at such time as the Lieutenant returns to full duty at the Ithaca Fire Department. Full duty in this context means that the Lieutenant has returned to work and has been fully oriented and re- certified as necessary to perform his job. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. City Administration Committee Meeting December 20, 2007 Page 5 12. Youth Bureau 1. Request to Amend Roster - Creation of Recreation Facility Maintainer Moved by Alderperson Zumoff. Seconded by Alderperson Townsend. WHEREAS, the Ithaca Youth Bureau has requested permission to amend the personnel roster in order to complete a planned transition of an employee to a higher level position now that the employee has acquired the skills, experience and certifications (certified pool operator) required, and WHEREAS, the Ithaca Youth Bureau can make the needed changes within the 2008 approved budget without requesting additional funding, and WHEREAS, the Ithaca Youth Bureau has been working closely with the Human Resources Department on this reorganization of the Cass Park Maintenance Division for some time; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2008 Youth Bureau roster, effective January 7, 2008, as follows: Add: One (1) Recreation Facility Maintainer Delete: One (1) Recreation Facility Maintenance Worker A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 13. Common Council 1. GIAC Building Improvement Project - Status Report Chairperson Coles stated that Assistant Superintendent Rick Ferrel and GIAC Director Marcia Fort will update the Committee on the GIAC Building Improvement Project. Mr. Ferrel reported that in October 2007, GIAC had problems with the heating system; the boiler needed to be replaced. The City received quotes to replace the City Administration Committee Meeting December 20, 2007 Page 6 boiler and hired a local contractor. The local contractor replaced the boiler while Johnson Controls replaced thermostats. After the boiler and thermostats were replaced, problems developed with overheating of some rooms and not enough heat in other rooms. The boiler, which was supposed to be equipped with a high /low control, came without this control. Without this control, the boiler worked on high all the time. This produced a lot of steam that pushed through parts of the building. The local contractor found and repaired the problem. Ms. Fort suggested using this situation as a teachable moment. The City should review what occurred and discuss how things could have been different. No one had a realistic or knowledgeable estimate about what could happen with this system. The focus was on the boiler. No one took into account that this is a very old distribution system that would have to handle a brand new boiler or that there are not many people left who work on steam systems, the kind of system that GIAC has. No one took into account that there would be several different contractors or employees working on the GIAC building; people working who were not necessarily communicating with each other. Everyone had their specific task to perform but there was a lack of coordination; someone to see and say what the impact would be with the work of one contractor to that of another contractor or on what City employees were doing or needed to do. Ms. Fort stated that it would have been helpful to contract with someone to be the point person. The point person would ensure that all the tasks are coming together and that the contractors are communicating regularly with each other and City staff. Meetings were held when things were more difficult. But, it would have been more helpful if City staff had met on a more regular basis. It would have been helpful to have had money set aside up front as part of the money that was allocated for the needed repairs to hire a project manager. Alderperson Clairborne asked who should have been the point person. Should the point person be an external consultant, a DPW employee or an employee from the department experiencing the problems? Mr. Ferrel responded that the Department of Public Works should have found a staff person who could have devoted the time to oversee this project or should have hired someone to oversee the project. In an effort to save money, the City spent more money. A lot can be learned from this situation. In retrospect, the City should have known that given the age of the City Administration Committee Meeting December 20, 2007 Page 7 building and the system, advice should have been sought from someone who could point out the problems that could happen. Ms. Fort expressed appreciation for the leadership of Alderperson Maria Coles for actively and regularly being involved; to Department of Public Works' employees Andy Sleeper, Bill Gray, Rick Ferrel and Bob Mitchell for all their help with the problems at GIAC; Sue Kittel for her support, concern and commitment to GIAC; and to Alderperson Clairborne for his support. Ms. Fort expressed heartfelt appreciation to GIAC staff for their support and desire to continue working and keeping programs going. Ms. Fort spoke about the pride she has in working with individuals who are committed, dedicated and care about the members of the community they serve. The Committee discussed the status report. Concerns were expressed about City employees having to endure such inhumane conditions and about the lack of planning. Alderperson Clairborne mentioned some of the problems GIAC staff experienced and asked: What is considered drastic enough to make a problem a priority? Anytime that life or safety welfare is at risk should be considered a priority. HR Director suggested that an after action review be conducted. Ms. Michell - Nunn will work with Ms. Fort to schedule a meeting. Ms. Fort invited everyone to attend the presentation on January 8, 2008 - GIAC - 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The presentation would be about the building assessment conducted by La Bella Associates and would include a building tour. The Committee thanked Ms. Fort and Mr. Ferrel for the status report on GIAC. 14. Planning & Development 1. Update on Grant Submission to the NY5 Department of State Local Waterfront Revitalization Program - Report Planning Director Van Cort stated that the report updating the grant proposal could be found in the packet distributed to Common Council. City Administration Committee Meeting December 20, 2007 Page 8 2. Authorization of Additional Funds for Capital Project #721 Collegetown Urban Plan and Design Guidelines Moved by Alderperson Tomlan. Seconded by Alderperson Townsend. WHEREAS, on December 7, 2005, the Common Council authorized the establishment of a Collegetown Client Committee, later renamed the Collegetown Vision Task Force, charged with "formulating a vision for Collegetown development that will reflect the interests and concerns of that community and the city as a whole, and with recommending steps to reach that vision," and WHEREAS, on June 6, 2007, the Common Council endorsed the Collegetown Vision Statement as a guide for shaping the growth and form of Collegetown, and established the Collegetown Vision Implementation Committee ( "CVIC "), charged with prioritizing the recommendations of the vision statement and preparing a strategy for their implementation, and WHEREAS, at its meetings on August 14 and 28, 2007, the CVIC determined that the highest priority recommendation of the vision statement was to prepare an urban plan for Collegetown, and WHEREAS, on September 5, 2007, the Common Council approved Capital Project #721 Collegetown Urban Plan and Design Guidelines in an amount not to exceed $75,000 with a commitment from Cornell University to contribute a dollar -for- dollar match up to $75,000, and WHEREAS, on September 5, 2007, the Common Council extended the charge of the CIVIC and expanded its membership, to conduct a search for a firm to work with the City on the preparation of an urban plan and design guidelines, and WHEREAS, in light of the priority recommendation of the vision statement and the anticipated urban plan, on October 3, 2007, the Common Council established a 12- month moratorium on new development in Collegetown intended to allow a reasonable period for the city to prepare the urban plan and design guidelines, and to implement any zoning recommendations of the plan so that new construction conforms to the principles of the vision statement, and City Administration Committee Meeting December 20, 2007 Page 9 WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca Department of Planning & Development issued a Request for Qualifications from urban design firms interested in the Collegetown Urban Plan and Design Guidelines and received seventeen responses from firms nation -wide, and WHEREAS, the selection committee chose to conduct in -depth interviews with four of the seventeen firms, resulting in the selection of Goody Clancy, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and WHEREAS, the Goody Clancy team includes sub - consultants strong in the areas of transportation planning and real estate economics, but the preparation of code language necessary to implement the plan's design guidelines and zoning recommendations through adoption as part of the Municipal Code was included as an "add -on," and WHEREAS, the preparation of new legislation appropriate for inclusion in the Municipal Code is a project component deemed especially important by the selection committee and the Department of Planning & Development in light of the time constraint of the moratorium, and WHEREAS, Department of Planning & Development staff have interviewed firms on the basis of information contained in the RFQ responses, and recommend Code Studio as the most highly qualified to prepare the legal code for the Collegetown design guidelines and zoning amendments, and WHEREAS, the cost of this addition to the project scope is $30,000, toward which it is hoped that Cornell University will increase its dollar- for - dollar match by up to $15,000; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Common Council approves an addition to Capital Project #721 in an amount not to exceed $15,000 for a total project authorization of $90,000, contingent upon an equal match from Cornell University, for the purpose of engaging Code Studio to prepare the code amendments necessary to implement the urban plan and design guidelines for Collegetown, in a format ready for consideration by the Common Council for adoption as part of the Municipal Code, and be it further City Administration Committee Meeting December 20, 2007 Page 10 RESOLVED, That funds necessary for said project amendment shall be financed by a General Fund Advance with later repayment by the issuance of serial Bonds if applicable. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Ayes (3): Coles, Tomlan, Townsend Nays (1): Zumoff Motion carried 3 -1. 15. Human Resources (HR) Department 1. Director's Report. HR Director Michell -Nunn reported on the following: HR Office Assistant Position: The filling of this vacancy will be announced at the next meeting. Department Head Searches: There will be two (2) major searches in 2008. Classification Study: The HR Department hopes to wrap up the classification study in 2008. Contract Negotiations: The City will be in contract negotiations with three (3) unions in 2008. 16. Finance /Controller 1. Controller's Report. Controller Thayer reported on the following: Annual Items to Approve: In addition to the resolutions passed tonight, Common Council packets will include annual items that Council has to approve such as the designation of the official newspaper and depositories, meeting designation for Council, collateral to secure deposits and some insurance items. City Administration Committee Meeting December 20, 2007 Page 11 Year End Activity: The year end is very active for the Controller's Office. The Controller's Office is putting together year end activities, transfers, covering red accounts that are over or under drawn and looking at the 2008 budget. Parking Revenues: By year end, the City will be at the budgeted amount of $1,500,000. Sales Tax Revenue: The City is currently on pace to be about $61,000 under the budgeted amount of $10,550,000. The overall increase is 6.3 %. The City has five (5) more payments due for 2007. Overtime Cost: The overtime cost has increased in the last month. Overtime cost will be about $300,000 over budget. Health Insurance Cost: The City budgeted $6,100,000. With the actual payments for claims, the City will be over about $193,000. However, employee contributions should cause the health insurance cost to be within budget. SPCA: SPCA obtained a grant that helped cover their overall need for funding from municipalities. The City entered into a 3 month extension contract with SPCA to allow the City to continue discussions with SPCA for their services and to further develop the request for proposals for further activity. The City budgeted $85,000 for this service; with the reduction, it will be about $64,000. State Pension: On December 15, 2007, the City paid $2,600,000 for the pension bill. By paying before the actual due date of February 1St, the City saved $25,000. Snow Removal Cost: The City is doing well with snow removal cost. Unused funds will be encumbered. Insurances: Ithaca Agency was selected to continue with the City's insurance packages (property, liability and workers' comp). Labor Management Health Insurance Committee ( LMHIC): The LMHIC is looking at claims processed by Excellus BC /B5 and at health insurance cost. City Administration Committee Meeting December 20, 2007 Page 12 Financial Reports: The City secured additional funding from New York State. With the additional funding, the City now has several new requirements to account for the funds. The reports are due in January 2008. State Aid: The City received the 2007 State payment for general revenue sharing in the amount of $2,589,000, which was up 9.5% over 2006. 17. Reports 1. Mayor's Report. The Mayor reported on the following: 2008 Committees: The Mayor will e -mail Common Council members the makeup of the Committees for 2008. 2. Sub- Committee Updates: None. 3. Council Members' Announcements: None. 4. Next Month's Meeting: January 30, 2008 18. Adjournment With no further business and on a motion by Alderperson Zumoff the meeting was adjourned at 9:26 p.m.