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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-C&NS-2006-12-13 a COMMUNITY and NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES DECEMBER 13, 2006 Committee members present- Chairperson Robin Holtham Korherr, Alderpersons Michelle Courtney Berry(7:05 PM), Shane Seger, J.R. Clairborne (7:20 PM), Gayraud Townsend;Acting Mayor Dan Cogan. 1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. Chairperson Korherr welcomed all to the meeting. 2. The minutes of the September 2006 meeting were not available for review; Shane Seger made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 8, 2006 meeting as written. Seconded by Gayraud Townsend. Carried unanimously. (Committee members Berry and Clairborne had not yet arrived at the meeting for this vote). 3. Agenda Review/Introductions - Chairperson Korherr introduced Christine Wilbur, Executive Assistant at the Ithaca Fire Department, who will be taking the minutes of this meeting. Robin announced that there will be a permanent staff person assigned to take the minutes of this meeting beginning in January 2007- Lana Milton of GIAC. 4. Public Comment- None. 5. Response to the Public/Privilege of the Floor- - Gayraud Townsend reported he received complaints from constituents about the odd/even parking that is being enforced while we are still having nice weather. Chair Korherr reported she has as well, and the matter should be taken up with the Department of Public Works. -Chair Korherr also reported she is concerned about the report that recommends closing the Lakeside Nursing Home. A resolution regarding the effect on the community might be in order; however, since the decision was announced today, it may be too late. 6. GIAC Staff Parking Program - Discussion Michael Thomas and Travis Brooks defined the scope of the situation and gave the history of the parking situation for GIAC employees. Highlights of their discussion are as follows: - Many years ago, the mini pool was removed and a small parking lot was made and shared with ICSD employees (land and whole block is owned by the ICSD); -At some point, the lot was surfaced and restructured, which gave the ICSD more spaces, and GIAC less spaces; then finally in 2003-2004- no parking by GIAC staff was allowed at all -due to a stated need for employees of the Beverly J. Martin elementary school; - Street parking was changed from 2 hr. limit to 4 hr. limit(by DPW)to help alleviate some of the problem; -2004-2005 school district redistricting generated more students at BJM, thus more school staff who need more parking, so the problem got bigger; parking for GIAC employees got farther and farther away; - GIAC staff are on different schedules than the beginning of the school day, so by the time they are scheduled to work, the spaces are already taken. Also there are program participants Community&Neighborhood Services Committee—Minutes 2 December 13, 2006 (adults)who need to park to get to programs; staff need to come and go for supplies, etc. - park, leave, come back, and have to find a different place to park; -School District changed the hours of the school day and also how and where parents can drop off and pick up their kids -with no communication with GIAC or the City- negatively impacted parking once again. - Marcia Fort appealed to City Department heads; and Michael Thomas filed a grievance through the CSEA as their contract states the City would make every attempt to provide parking for employees; they also reported that when City Hall employees were displaced from parking, extraordinary measures were taken to provide parking and shuttle service. As a result of this, parking was changed from the south side of Court St. to the north side of Court St. which does add a few more spaces -but without any sort of communication about it. -As a result, employees (and possibly program participants)feel frustrated and less valued, and would like to be treated the same as other City employees. - Marcia Fort offered two solutions: a short term solution would be to contact the Cavalry Baptist Church to possibly rent spaces in their parking lot on N. Albany St.; a long term solution would be to lease or obtain ICSD space in the block of W. Court St. that is currently being remediated of coal tar on the old NYSEG property. This site is currently being used by ICSD buildings and grounds for storage and will likely be relocated once the remediation is finished. -Shane Seger thanked the group for bringing the problem to the attention of the committee, and offered another possible, temporary solution - pursue the concept of"neighborhood parking permits". -Gayraud Townsend also thanked the group for coming, and suggested taking the matter to the Board of Public Works; Audrey Cooper, Chair of the GIAC Facilities Committee is concerned that the issue gets delayed and deeper with each step that is taken -would like some assurance that action will be taken. Gayraud said the item would be considered a priority. - Discussion followed regarding neighborhood or residential-type parking permits. Apparently this is a legal issue that would need more than just local approval -would have to be considered at the State level, and is not a popular item amongst legislators. -Acting Mayor Cogan supported taking the issue to the Board of Public works, pursuing State legislation and the idea of obtaining space on W. Court St. when the NYSEG remediation project is complete. - GIAC staff will get assistance from the City Traffic Engineer to determine how many parking spaces are needed -to take into consideration program participants as well as permanent and seasonal staff. - In the meantime, parking tickets are being voided by the City and the staff may look into some kind of parking tag identifier that would indicate to the police department that the car belongs to a GIAC employee, to avoid ticketing. -Chair Korherr reported she will attend the BPW meeting next Wednesday at 4:45 PM to address this issue. She thanked all for coming. 7. 2007 Community and Neighborhood Services Committee Work Plan - After a lengthy discussion of each item, Michelle Berry made a motion that the following items were discussed as priorities for the Community and Neighborhood Services Committee as a work Community&Neighborhood Services Committee—Minutes 3 December 13, 2006 plan for 2007, and that the formalized work plan will be submitted to the entire Common Council. Seconded by J.R. Clairborne. a. Evaluation of Temporary Dog Park Site and Environmental Review for Possible Permanent Locations; b. Neighborhood Policing - Evaluate Successful Implementation in other Cities, Evaluating Possible Benefits: This committee will request a written status report from the Police Dept. to be received as soon as possible and this item is a high priority; c. Ithaca Fire Department Staffing Levels - a sub-committee of this group as well as reps. from other stakeholders will be put together to report by May 2007; d. Taxi Ordinance—work in progress; e. Ithaca fire Department Volunteer and Bunker Program -committee agreed to explore feasibility; f. Pedestrian Awareness Committee Recommendations-waiting for feedback from the Mayor; g. Race and racism - noted as a high priority- David Billings will present findings of workshops conducted for ICSD staff at the Jan. 10, 2007 meeting; h. City Funding Commitment to Recreation Partnership and Review of Tompkins County Recommendations for 2007 - 12011; i. Public Information Planning- Internal, External, Emergency Based -see communication resolution later in the meeting; j. Bridging the Gap between the Ithaca City School district and City of Ithaca- it was decided that a representative of this committee will attend ICSD Board meetings to provide input and feedback. The schedule for attendance initially will be: -January- Michelle Berry - February- Robin Korherr - March -Shane Seger k. Annual Review of Memorandum of Understanding with Tompkins County for Dispatch Services - Robin reports that prior to high payments that come due soon, she would like a review of the operation that is plagued with problems; I. GIAC Facility Needs-continue to explore funding for necessary repairs/renovations; m. Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety-waiting for report; n. Crime and Emergency Response Status - Identifying Sources- need more statistical information - use for public information and notification -could be on website- useful information for the public; o. Youth Council - Gayraud Townsend will begin to formalize the formation of the group; p. Reality Check; q. Stronger Neighborhood Beautification Effort- Citywide, adopt-a-park program, neighborhood groups, block captain, etc., to include repairs to Conway Park; r. Redefine odd/even parking to make more flexible during inclement weather. Acting Mayor Cogan inquired why it was necessary to present a formal work plan to Council. Chair Korherr and others feel it is appropriate as some items are of a sensitive nature and the whole Council should be aware of the issues so they won't be surprised. The motion carried unanimously. 8. Integrated Internal Communication and Protocol for Elected Officials (Relating to Emergency Response and Crime Prevention)- - Michelle Berry made a motion to approve the following resolution: WHEREAS: Cities around the United States and world are using technology to improve interaction with the public, streamline internal operations, enhance productivity of city staff, and improve internal communications as well as external communications, it is only fitting and right that we support the City of Ithaca in the development of such a plan for both its internal and external communications functions; and; Community&Neighborhood Services Committee—Minutes 4 December 13, 2006 WHEREAS: The Mayor's Office, Human Resources, Information Technology, Ithaca Fire Department, Ithaca Police Department, City Clerk/Emergency Public Information Officer, and other key departments have been meeting and discussing internal and external communication protocol over several years; and WHEREAS: the City of Ithaca has also looked at a variety of models and plans for establishing such a protocol, particularly for internal notification as it relates to a plan for appropriately advising elected officials at the City and all staff; and WHEREAS: Over the past few years, Common Council members have been working diligently to uphold their sworn duties to inform their many publics and constituents of the various threats to public health, safety, and any increase in criminal offenses within the City; and; WHEREAS: In the past few months, Ithaca has witnessed an increase of violent crime and emergency situations that alarm our constituents and increase their desire for information from their elected leaders prior to the release of this information to the news media; and; WHEREAS: Unfortunately, some members of Common Council find out this information by either reading a newspaper or listening to the radio and in numerous cases, both recently and over the past few years, Common Council members are often"not in the information loop", and this is a cause for serious concern and; WHEREAS, Common Council members will work in partnership with the Mayor and other key city officials to ensure that Common Council members are identified as critical components in the notification process as soon as events unfold that key emergency personnel and other crisis responders are privy to; and NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: Common Council hereby requests that such a plan for Internal Communication and Protocol for Elected Officials Relating to Emergency Response and Crime Prevention be made public and official by February 2007 and that whatever protocols that the Mayor and staff decide are most appropriate for the city of Ithaca, that no matter what, Common Council members are notified by telephone via their cell phones (or home phones if a cell phone is not in the possession of said Council Member)within the hour of those threats to human life or other incidents which would cause alarm, worry, or fear in those constituents served. Seconded by Shane Seger. After a lengthy discussion, Chair Korherr made a motion to amend the final resolve to designate the Mayor to allocate to the appropriate staff person to notify Common Council within one hour of the incident. Seconded by Jr. R. Clairborne. After further discussion, J. R. Clairborne offered a friendly amendment that the Mayor direct the department head to designate the appropriate staff person to make the notification. Seconded by Gayraud Townsend. The motion to approve the resolution as amended carried unanimously. The schedule for processing of the resolution is present the resolution to Common Council at the January 3rd, 2007 meeting; back to committee on January 10, 2007; back to committee again on February 14, 2007 and final Council approval at their meeting in March. Michelle Berry would like the notification piece to be implemented now until the formal process is finalized. Community&Neighborhood Services Committee—Minutes 5 December 13, 2006 9. Old Business/Updates: -Chair Korherr inquired if any committee members were interested in changing the starting time of these meetings in 2007. It was decided to leave the meeting time the same. 10. Hearing no further business, Gayraud Townsend made a motion to adjourn. Seconded by J.R. Clairborne. Carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Christine M. Wilbur, Executive Assistant Ithaca Fire Department