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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CC-2012-01-01COMMON COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 10:00 a.m. January 1, 2012 PRESENT: Mayor Peterson Mayor Elect Myrick Alderpersons (9) McGonigal, Dotson, Rosario, Clairborne, McCollister, Zumoff, Rooker, Cogan, Mohlenhoff Alderpersons Elect (5) Brock, Murtagh, Fleming, Kerslick, Proulx OTHERS PRESENT: City Clerk – Conley Holcomb City Attorney – Hoffman City Controller – Thayer Human Resources Director – Michell-Nunn Fire Chief – Parsons Information Management Specialist – Day Information Management Specialist – Myers SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS: Recognition of Outgoing Common Council Members Common Council members shared their thoughts and memories with the outgoing Council members. Alderperson McGonigal was recognized for his ability to step into a six-month vacancy upon the resignation of Alderperson Maria Coles, and working hard to bring himself up to speed on a number of pressing issues including the 2012 budget. He will be remembered for how deeply he cares about the issues concerning the First Ward, his sense of humor, and his thoughtful questions on complex issues. Alderperson McGonigal extended his thanks and appreciation to former Alderperson Maria Coles for her many faithful years of service to the 1st Ward of the City of Ithaca. He stated that although he only served on Common Council for six months, he felt treated as an equal from the very first day, and that he learned something of value from everyone. Alderperson Rosario was thanked for always “answering the call to duty”. He led initiatives on difficult topics such as contamination and outdoor smoking, and served the Mayor and the City well during his term as Acting Mayor. He will be remembered for his integrity, grace, calmness, patience, eloquence, and deliberate decision making abilities. Alderperson Rosario stated that he had no greater honor than to be elected by his fellow Ithacans to represent the 2nd Ward. He considered it a great honor to work with the other Common Council members and the outstanding city staff. He also expressed his thanks to Mayor Peterson for the opportunity to serve as Acting Mayor. Alderperson Zumoff was recognized for his dedication to the City, his meeting preparation traits, and his excellent attendance at city meetings and community events. He will also be remembered for bringing different opinions and perspectives to the table during challenging discussions, his stellar proof-reading skills, and his enjoyment of food. Alderperson Zumoff noted that he served 8 years on Common Council and has been the senior person in terms of age. He remarked on how quickly time went by and what an honor it was to serve the 3rd Ward of the City of Ithaca. Alderperson Cogan, the longest serving member on this Common Council, was referred to as the Council member that everyone wants to be. He was recognized for being a January 1, 2012 2 very talented and patient role model. He will be remembered for his understated sense of humor, calm demeanor under pressure, and analytical decision making skills. Alderperson Cogan served as Acting Mayor for 5 years and has taken the lead on numerous high profile initiatives during his years on Council. Alderperson Cogan stated that his 10 years of service to the City of Ithaca was extremely rewarding, and he does not regret a single day of it. He expressed his thanks to all the wonderful and dedicated people who serve the community, and wished the new Administration luck in their future endeavors. Alderperson Mohlenhoff announced that there would be a public/community thank you/farewell party for the outgoing Mayor, Mayor Elect, outgoing Council members, and incoming Council members on January 20, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. at Corks & More. She encouraged everyone to attend. Concluding Remarks: Mayor Carolyn K. Peterson Mayor Peterson provided the following remarks as she ended her eight years as Mayor of the City of Ithaca: “Good morning and welcome to everyone; friends, family, City Hall staff. This is an exciting and wonderful way to greet the New Year! It’s often hard to know how to begin any speech, especially one that may be looked at as a last speech. I’m not looking at it that way at all. At first I thought of November and December of 2011 as a month of lasts—the last Council meeting, the last review of minutes, the last worried look at the 2012/13 budget issues. But it really isn’t that way. It is a time of firsts—a new mayor, a new Council configuration, new faces on committees, new ways to communicate, a new year albeit connected to what has come before. As most of you know, I start each New Year by asking department heads to reflect on the prior year and to look forward to key goals for 2012. 2011 accomplishments include: the launch of our new website, the maturing of the Youth Council, formal kickoffs of the comprehensive plan and Commons plan, maintaining our bond rating, achieving “Safest City In the US”, successfully concluding negotiating 5 year contracts with the Firefighters, Lieutenants, and Chief Officers just this last 10 days, and an additional 33 employees participated in the Undoing Racism Workshops. Additionally and significantly, as this topic is often not one that comes to mind for the public, the background tools have been laid in this past year to provide an excellent base of data and information to continue work on performance measures and organizational structures in the city.—the Novak consulting report is complete and ready to be examined, the first ever city wide phone survey results are in, and this new Common Council and the mayor must be poised to tackle these hard questions. All of this as we, like all municipalities in NY, struggle through a weak economy that affects us down to individual employees and purchase of supplies. Our budgets have been carefully constructed but they are tight with virtually no wiggle room. A special work group of senior staff, the CA chair, and the mayor have brainstormed and prioritized ideas for consideration as the city moves forward. The city needs to decide what it will look like in a year or two or five, what services will be provided, and what we may have to do without. Priority ideas include: reviewing all fees, analyzing how we work and how to work smarter, why we do what we do and is it effective and efficient. We need to document each department’s processes, and develop succession planning for each department. This work should be primary immediately in the coming year not only for the 2013 budget but for early guidance from Common Council on the vision of what this city should look like. Looking further back, we have made great strides in housing of all types, from market rate rentals downtown to affordable units on West Hill, we have significantly improved infrastructure in bridges, road repair, sidewalk and ramp repair, and new bike lanes. We work on sustainability, which is not a buzz word here but means a complete approach to January 1, 2012 3 reducing our mark on the environment We’ve seen major changes to our downtown with new housing, a pedestrian crossing and more commercial space, co-named State Street with Martin Luther King Junior Street, decided on a new water plant site, built Phase 3 of the Waterfront Trail, rehabbed GIAC. It is also not news that projects in the City of Ithaca take years to accomplish, at times. I believe that much of the work in the next several years will not be unfamiliar to the community and will likely also form part of your work: dredging, the Commons plan, the comprehensive plan, Collegetown zoning, Ithaca Gun redevelopment, collective bargaining contracts, Inlet Island, and parking-parking-parking. New development is already on the table as well including the Breckenridge development downtown that will bring 50 new housing units to lower income households, new housing on our waterfront, housing in Collegetown, housing adjacent to the Cayuga Garage and businesses such as a new grocery in Northside and Holiday Inn expansion. Emerson is a prime site both for appropriate and complete cleanup and also for a chance for a model project of mixed use and green technologies. The city also continues to make diversity and inclusion a priority through department head work on the 14 attributes from our diversity plan, participating in Undoing Racism and Talking Circle workshops, making the city a work place and community where everyone is able to excel. The IURA works to allocate dollars to innovative programs that help those in need, to support immigrant families, and to create job programs such as the successful CDL program years ago. Department heads have also collectively laid out dozens of goals for 2012 such as - live video streaming and our own TV channel, greening our vehicles and fuel use, GIAC’s 40th anniversary, fostering good relationships with IPD and the community, better customer service and outreach, focus on youth health and wellness, preventing gas drilling and the eradication of hydrilla. Better intermunicipal cooperation and university/college relations will continue to be sought. Common Council and the mayor must ensure that the city receives equitable return in any contractual agreements. I would also add a comprehensive look at our zoning ordinance so that the city stops accepting development by variance. There is an incredible amount of work to do and I salute you all, incoming, outgoing, and staying members, for wanting to do this. This current council and I have been through some extraordinarily difficult times. A police action ended in loss of life, an incident that remains front and center for so many in the community. Shortly thereafter a series of suicides in our gorges occurred, and the economy continued to worsen. At these times, a great deal is required and expected from elected officials. As other city business continues, officials must tend to the needs and safety and security and understanding of the community. It is tremendously difficult and important work. It is where we give the most and best of ourselves. It is the work that eventually makes our community the place we want it to be. I would say I’m moving on but for those of you who know me, and know that I have been involved in city government for over 30 years, since my late 20s, know that I won’t be sitting back for long. I thank this community for its support. I thank those who serve on our boards and committees. I thank our dedicated workforce for all the jobs performed for the benefit of Ithaca. My wish for a Happy and Healthy New Year for the City of Ithaca is simply this: my wishes for continued success in leadership for the city, success in implementing your new visions, and congratulations to Mayor Myrick. Mayor’s Parting Remarks to Common Council Jennifer Dotson gives a broad and needed vision of a sustainable future, and I loved being honored to marry Jennifer and Gail in the state of NY! George McGonigal has given us a fresh perspective as the newcomer to city hall and I am pleased that he liked what he saw. J.R. Clairborne skillfully took the reins from Maria Coles to lead the City Administration Committee and the budget process in these extraordinarily difficult times. January 1, 2012 4 Eric Rosario served as Acting Mayor this year, right up until the end of his term with thorny issues and I praise him for that. Ellen McCollister has an eye for details and accuracy and can be relied upon for thorough background research and a great sense of humor. Joel Zumoff has served as liaison to BPW which takes the most time of any liaison positions, and readily stepped in to special events when none of the mayor positions could make it-thank you! Eddie Rooker appears quiet but works diligently at his assignments and is the most asked about when I go to NYCOM meetings! Svante Myrick, who we’ll hear from soon, has made Ithaca his home community practically upon his arrival here and is dedicated to our young people. Deb Mohlenhoff has jumped in magnificently as Chair of the Performance Measures working group including work on the city phone survey. Dan Cogan and I have served together for the last 10 years and I have often relied upon him as a critical sounding board. To thank each of you, I have made a donation in Common Council’s 2011 name to Loaves and Fishes. Ceremonial Exchanging of Gavels: Mayors Peterson and Myrick Mayor Peterson presented Mayor Elect Myrick with his new gavel, and Mayor Elect Myrick presented Mayor Peterson with her gavel engraved with her name and years of service to the City of Ithaca. Dismissal of Outgoing Council Mayor Peterson dismissed herself and the rest of the outgoing Common Council members from the floor of Council. Oath of Office - Mayor Svante L. Myrick City Clerk Julie Conley Holcomb administered the oath of office to Mayor Svante L Myrick. Oath of Office – Alderpersons Elect Mayor Svante L. Myrick administered the oath of office to Alderpersons Elect: Cynthia Brock, 1st Ward Joseph Murtagh, 2nd Ward Donna Fleming, 3rd Ward Graham Kerslick, 4th Ward Christopher Proulx, 5th Ward The new Alderpersons took their seats among Common Council. NEW BUSINESS: Appointment of Acting Mayor and Alternate Acting Mayor – Oath of Office Mayor Myrick appointed Alderperson Jennifer Dotson as Acting Mayor and Alderperson Ellen Mccollister as Alternate Acting Mayor with terms to expire December 31, 2012. He administered the oath and they were sworn into office. Appointment of City Attorney – Oath of Office Mayor Myrick appointed Aaron Lavine as City Attorney and administered the oath of office to him. January 1, 2012 5 Appointment of Marriage Officers – Resolution Alderperson Rooker: Seconded by Alderperson Dotson RESOLVED, That the following Alderpersons be designated as Marriage Officers for the year 2012: Alderperson Dotson Alderperson Brock Alderperson Clairborne Alderperson Murtagh Alderperson McCollister Alderperson Fleming Alderperson Rooker Alderperson Kerslick Alderperson Mohlenhoff Alderperson Proulx Carried Unanimously Inaugural Speech – Mayor Svante L. Myrick Mayor Myrick expressed his thanks to everyone for coming to the meeting to show their support to him and the incoming/outgoing Mayor and Common Council. “I would like to thank everyone for being here, and for sticking it out for those who have had to remain standing. It is just wonderful to see so many friends and family here. I’ve been on the campaign trail since April and I’ve talked to thousands of voters. Campaigning at times can be disheartening. You’re talking all the time about the problems: what needs to be fixed, speaking with people who are being forced out of their homes because they can’t afford the property taxes, people who have to leave the city because they can’t afford their apartments. You’re speaking with people who are worried about contamination, people who are worried about their young people, they’re worried about crime, and they’re worried about their jobs. There is a lot of worry and a lot of concern. After six or seven months you can imagine how someone could lose faith or lose hope, but the truth is that right now I am so optimistic. I’m so full of hope, I’m so full of belief in the things we can achieve because I heard something else from those same people too. I heard how much they love the city. I heard their passion for it. I heard their compassion for their neighbors, and I heard a willingness to get to work on the problems. I know when you have people who are full of passion and compassion, and a willingness to work, nothing’s impossible. I know this because I saw it. I saw it when the greatest team of people I’ve ever known: my Campaign Chairperson Nathan Shinagawa, Campaign Manager Fil Eden, Karen Schillinger, Rob Flaherty, and many of the people in this room turned what seemed to be an impossible dream into a reality last month. I saw it too with my family. They took a young man, born into difficult circumstances, and they conspired to make this possible. They worked, they sacrificed, they supported me, and they still support me. My mom, who I am so happy is here, lifted me up and made this possible. I believe that Mayor Peterson listed the challenges we’re facing. I know because I’ve seen it happen, that when we come together and we will come together – the people in this room and the people outside of it. We will work together to make sure that the City of Ithaca is a wonderful, terrific, magical place to live, as it is now, and it will be for the next four years. I’m looking forward to getting to work with you. Thank you! Mayor Myrick invited everyone to join him for a reception at Madeline’s Restaurant on the Commons. ADJOURNMENT: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m. ______________________________ _______________________________ Julie Conley Holcomb, CMC Svante L. Myrick City Clerk Mayor