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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1972 Board of Public WorksBD. OF PUBLIC WORIV VICE-CHAIRMAN: Commissioner Putney nominated Commissioner. Michael J. Le ment to the position of `Vice -Chairman of _the Board for the ensuinga and itr appoint - seconded by Commissioner Golder.ootyear 't was Comm. Golder, seconded by Comm. Clynesand carried the nomin aer nominations tionstbe8d closed. by The Clerk castone unanimous ballot.. for Comm. Leary and Mayor Conley declared him duly appointed Vice -Chairman of the Board for the ensuing year. Tr 12- i MICHAEL J. LEARY: By Comm. Putney: seconded by Comm. Clynes RESOLUTION JCLL4L- ?-7 WHEREAS, Michael J. Leary will complete eleven years of exemplary service as Commissioner of Public Works, during which time he has served as Chairman of the Buildings and Grounds Committee and other important committees, and WHEREAS.. Mike has served the community on the Board of Education for nine years; as Red Cross Disaster Chairman for six years; as a member of the Board of Health; as a director and organizer of the C.Y.O., and /; " J WHEREAS, Mike continues to serve the County in the Board of Representatives with over nine years service, and has accepted many duties with the hospital over the years, _ INOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that this Board and the Staff express their formal thanks hand appreciation for Mike's devotion to his City and his Community; for his leadership, always in the interest of the public; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be spread on the minutes of this meeting, and a copy thereof presented to Mike. Richard Putney Arthur Golder William Downing Pat Hannan Howard R. Schlieder THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS Edward J. Conley Mayor December 27,. 1972 Comm.. Leary responded with the following statement: John Ewanicki John C. Clynes Robert 0. Dingman John Dougherty Unanimously Carried It is for me at this last meeting that I have a tinge.of regret in terminating my services on this Board and the City of Ithaca. It was eleven years ago,this month that I was appointed to this Board to fill the unexpired term of Judge James Clynes, who was designated to be City Attorney, and in 1967 I was apjinted by Mayor Johns for a si:r-year term. When I was first appointed, I was new in government and I was desirous of becoming knowledgeable in the machinations of City government. I can say that it was frustrating, challenging but very worthwhile and I prepared myself for the work that was required. It was a long and tedious undertaking but I am of the opinion that I was benefited by what I learned and was able to cope with the many problems that were presented to .the Board for .the best interests of the taxpayers of our city.' During that time I had the advice of our professionals,the four mayors in office, members of the Board and Aldermen. It has been my experience that I found the BPW were and are the most dedicated public spirited citizens of our community. They are bi-partisan who voluntarily, unsalaried give of their time, energy and knowledge to make this a progressive city. It disturbs me that the principles and standards for which this Board has fought for years are being questioned. • However, we have always done our duties as set forth in the Charter, and we have had high respect and praise from our citizenry. In my years on the Board, I can truthfully say that I have never seen a problem solved on political grounds and I am proud of that record. I would like to thank our professionals whose advice I sought and utilized in making any decisions that required expertise. To Bob Dinman, Pat Hannan, Jack Dougherty, Howard Schlieder,Bob Grey and his predecessor George Blean and their staffs, I am deeply grateful and the memories of working with such a fine group will last with me always. I have indeed been honoredand privileged to have worked and shared the warmth and the friendship of their kindness. To the present. members of the Board I have enjoyed our relationship and that goes for the Aldermen. I hope that in the future you both will work in close harse eleven years ony so that wehawille hanaera city ng government that will be a credit to you. For me adventure. • LOCAL LAWS - B. P. W. : Comm. Golder presented and read the following prepared statement: i/z "Mr. Mayor: I have a prepared statement which I hope will have immediate corroboration of your office relative to the criticism leveled at this Board for not appearing before the Common Council in defense of its position in the matter of the "Local Law" passed by Council January 5, 1972. It follows: On the afternoon of January 5th the,Mayor, in conversation with the Superintendent and a Board member, stated that no action would be taken at the evening meeting other than the possibility that if the resolution was offered it would be tabled for 30 days to determine the legality of its presentation. Consequently each Board member was so informed_ Otherwise, they would most certainly have appeared to defend their position. Subsequently, the Mayor explained his action to the satisfaction of the Board and we now suggest that he explain it to the news media so that the general public may know the reason that the non-appearance of Board members was not disinterest but was the result of misinformation." ' I now move that this statement be recorded in the minutes of this meeting together with the Mayor's response and properly reported by the news media. .By Comm. Golder: seconded by Comm. Putney RESOLVED, that this statement be recorded in the minutes of this meeting together with the Mayor's response thereto. Carried. Mayor Conley responded by stating he was of the opinion, when he talked with the Supt. and a Board member, that no action would be taken on Jan. 5th as he told them. He stated however that later that same evening the matter had been reviewed with the Office of Local Government in Albany by Alderman Robinson and Attorney Gersh and as a result it had been decided that the proposed laws were in proper form and could be presented to the Council for its action on Jan. 5th. When this determination was made it left insufficient time to notify members of the Board. He indicated he had tried unsuccessfully to have action on the laws postponed until the Council's regular meeting in February. He felt however that the Council should have the final say in policy matters affecting the City and that the local laws adopted on Jan. 5th were not intended to interfere with the Board in its day-to-day operations of city affairs under its control but rather to give the Council control over policy matters and thus place it in a better position for nego- tiating with other units of local governments using services provided by the City. Comm. Downing expressed his opinion that matters of conflict between the Board and Council should be settled by the Council by a two-thirds vote thereof rather than by a mere majority. Comm. Ewanicki felt that passage of the local laws had widened the rift between the Board and Council rather than help increase cooperation between the two bodies. Comm. Leary criticized the Mayor severely for not keeping his promise to the Supt. and Board. He felt the Board had been put on the spot since it relied on his (the Mayor's) word that the laws would not be voted upon on January 5th. He termed this as poor cooperation and felt it was the reason the Board failed to be represented on Jan. 5th to present its side of the story. Alderman Slattery requested Comm. Downing to express his views about a two-thirds vote in a formal resolution. By Comm. Downing: seconded by Comm. Ewanicki RESOLVED, that the Board hereby requests the Council to adopt a resolution, ordinance or local law which will require that a two -third's vote of the Common Council shall be required to override the Board's decisions in matters wherein there lies a difference of opinion between the Board and Council. Carried. 2 LOCAL LAWS: Comm. Ewanicki questioned the status of the Local Laws relating to the Board, deemed to have been adopted by the Council on January 5, 1972, since he felt there remained some doubt as to the effect of abstaining votes cast by two aldermen on this occassion. Attorney Gersh advised that Roberts Rules, under which the Council operates, had.been amended regarding voting procedure to provide that the votes of those who abstained could no longer be counted with the prevailing side. Comm. Ewanicki then suggested that the matter of whether or not the Local Laws in question had been passed by the Council with the proper majority should be determined. T 2a IBy Comm Golder: seconded by Comm. Leary WHEREAS, certain members of the Board have expressed doubt as to the legality of Local Laws #1-1972 and #2-1972, and WHEREAS, no opinion has been rendered by the State Attorney General's office regarding their validity, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Attorney be officially requested to communicate with and obtain such an opinion; and that the City Attorney be instructed to supply the Attorney General with the following information: 1. That Sec,. 123 of the Charter of the City of Ithaca, Sec. 5-17 as codified, provides for Scope and Authority of the Board by stating "The Board shall take charge and have exclusive control of water, sewers, etc." 2. That Sec, 34 of the Charter,, Sec, 3-7 as codified, General Legislative Powers are described . . "not inconsistant with Act L. 1908, CH 503 except such (powers) as are specially conferred by this act upon any separate department or board of the city government." 4b(7z 3. That a decision of the App, Div. 621, 145 NYS 884 titled Modification of Charter Powers in Art. 2-A Sec. 23 states . . . "This article was not intended to empower a municipal corporation to change or modify the express provisions of its charter, as otherwise it would have power to make its charter," 4. AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Attorney be requested to submit to this Board a copy of his request with a copy of the reply immediately upon receipt of same. AYES: 5 NAYS: 1 - Downing i Carried LOCAL LAWS: Attorney Gersh reported he had written to the Attorney General, as requested by the Board, to. seek an opinion as to the legality of Local Laws #1 and #2-1972. Heifile.d a copy of i letter with the Clerk from information of members of the Board f 3 PEETINGS: Action was taken to establish regular meeting dates follows: By Comm. Putney: seconded by Comm. Leary RESOLVED, that regular meetings of the Board shall be held in at City Hall at 4:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the Board for 1972 as the Common Council Chamber of each month. Carried. HEARING OF PERSONS: Walter Schwan, Supervisor of Town of Ithaca, asked for permission to be heard later in the meeting when the subject of water service affecting' the Town of Ithaca came upfor discussion. At this point Mayor Conley announced his intention of recognizing persons at Board meeting as follows: 1) Anyone wishing to address the Board on any subject. 2) Elected members of other governments using any facilities or services controlled by the Board and any representative whom they choose to be included in pertinent committee meetings 3) Members of Council at anytime during a meeting for direct questions to the Chair 4) Member of the Press at anytime during the meeting who wish to ask fora point .of clarification s COMMITTEE MEETINGS: RESOLVED, that resolutions of "this Board, dated June 24, 1970 and July 14, 1971, dealing with the rules for holding committee meetings be amended to provide that the Chairman of any of the Board's Committees may determine: a. Whether all members of the Board will be notified__of his committee meetings. b. Whether minutes of the meeting shall be kept. c. Whether the committee meeting shall be open to news media. - 2- d. Whether notice of such meeting shall be posted on the bulletin board. AYES: 3 - Leary, Golder, Clynes NAYS: 3 -- Putney, Downing, Ewanicki Due to tie vote, Mayor Conley voted in the negative and declared the motion defeated. f.IMBETING - AUGUST 9th: The Superintendent reported he expected to be on vacation during the first two weeks in August and asked the Board to consider postponing the August 9th meeting. Decision on this matter was reserved until next meeting. 4"0/ 12- J MINUTES: Commissioner Leary reported that the minutes of September 27, 1972 should be corrected to show that Dennis Rumsey was promoted from maintenance man to maintainer. Attorney Gersh asked that the minutes be corrected to show that the Mayor could Grote on every issue with the exception of appointments of officers and employees, pursuant to Section 5-9 of the Charter. ,,��� By Comm. Leary: seconded by Comm. Clynes g2-�/i- lf RESOLVED, that the minutes of the preceding meeting be corrected to reflect these changes; and that the minutes as thus amended be approved. Carried. • SHOPPING CARTS: Alderman Saccucci called attention to the large number of shopping carts being abandoned throughout the city and asked if the Board had any juris- diction or if it could compel the shopping centers to collect their carts. After some discussion it was the consensus of opinion that the Board had no jurisdiction and no action was taken on the matter. DR.. RALPH MALZA: By Commissioner Putney: Seconded by Commissioner Leary. RESOLUTION WHEREAS, Dr. flalph Mazza has since October 17, 1955, and W-Ln,EAS, his service included the administration of physical examinations to meml:ers of the Police and Fire Department, the emergency treatment of policemen and firemen injured in the line of duty, the care of per- sons held in custody, and WHEREAS, his duties have always been faithfully enforced, his service ad- ministered without bias, and he has contributed to the hieh quality of service rendered by the municipal Police and Fire Departments and by the Department of Public Works NUJ, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the undersigned join all the mem- bers of the City government in thanking Dr. Mazza for his service to the City and commend him for his high degree of dedication, and expres- sinc their hopes for his continued health and prosperity in the years to come. served the City of Ithaca as Municipal Surgeon R S. Putne John E'ranicki Jokin G . C�,�me s Vines,_ an_a_n TH2 BOARD OF PUBBLIC WORKS Vice Chairman A. J. Gorr (y� // George A. Blean, City Clerk, • Unimously Carried. i ANNUAL REPORT -- D.P.W.: The Superintendent submitted his annual report for 1971 for the Department of Public Works, including the Water & Sewer Departments. By Commissioner Golder,: Seconded by Commissioner Clynes. • RESOLVED, that the report be accepted and ordered filed. CARRIED. • • 1 PERSONNEL POLICY MATTERS: Commissioner Leary called attention to a recent slanderous criticism of a professional staff member of the Department of Public Works by a member -.of the Common Council. He felt that unless the Council adopted some policy regarding ' such a practice any individual with a hate complex could do irreparable harm to admin- istrative employees thereby affecting the efficient operation for the administrative staff. L 1 z By Commissioner Leary: Seconded by Commissioner Putney. 0. IT IS THEREFORE RESOLVED, that this Board of Public Works does express its implicit confidence in said member of the professional staff, his superior, et al, and in their ability and integrity, SAND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Board of Public Works does herewith recommend to the Common Council that it should adopt a policy resolution re -affirming the accepted :parlimentary procedure relegating personnel matters to executive sessions where decisions can be made as to the need for and advisability of making public exposure of charges and/or slanderous or critical statements or insults concerning actions or statements of official personnel. Unanimously CARRIED. • Mayor Conley referred to a letter, dated April 6, 1972, to Vincent P. Hannan, Asst. Super- intendent from Alderman Michael Robinson which referred to the foregoing matter. He !registered his objections to the letter and stated emphatically that he, in no way, agreed with its contents, and did not authorize the use of his stationery for such a letter. He requested Mr. Hannan that, if he answered the letter, a copy of his reply should be filed with the Clerk as Mr. Robinson had done. • 'STORM DAMAGE: Mr. Alvin Knepper appeared before the Board and commended the Dept. of Public Works for a job well done during the recent storm in keeping Ithaca's water supply clean a>:sd potable. Commissioner Leary concurred with Mr. Knepper and extended his ')a j 2 thanks and appreciation, on behalf of the Board, to the Dept. and its staff for ther performance during the storm. (POST OFFICE: The Clerk read a letter from the Postmaster extending his thanks to the ,City and its officers for the use of the City parking lot on E. Seneca St. during an emergency period caused by flood waters when it became necessary to use the lot to accomodate the many vehicles that were hauling mail in and out of Ithaca from all over; the State. Mayor Conley stated he was very proud of the work crews of th4 De14.7of Public Works for their work and co-operation during the recent floods in the Southern Tier area. i Commissioner Leary conmen ded the Mayor for his work and efforts in helping raise moneys for flood victims in the surrounding areas. • • • • PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL: Alderman Meyer requested that items referred to Council from the Board of Public Works committees would receive better and faster action if the Chairman cf each committee would send in written memo form to the Council committees copies of their request. 1 ? Alderman Meyer asked that the committee chai-an send their request to th4 Clerk, who then would send them en to the proper Council committee chairman. After much more discussion, Alderman Meyer was requested to outline the procedure she was requiring and then present it to the Board and ask for its adoption. MEMOS: Alderman Meyer presented to each committee chairman the memos to be used for communications between Council, Board of Public Works and departments. Alderman Meyer felt that this would speed up communications between all concerned. Comm. Golder did not feel:- that there was a need for this and that the memos pertained mostly to Common Council. Mayor Conley remarked that if a referral was important enough to go to a committee that it should be followed up and this was a method of doing so. -�� By Comm. Downing: seconded by Comm. Ewanicki /_ 2 ) RESOLVED, that the Board of Public Works would endeavor to co -overate with the memo system. Carried 10 MEMOS: Alderman Meyer reported that memos for communication between the Board. of Public Works and the Common Council had been ordered and that a supply would be given to each committee chairman, who would be responsible for the communications as soon as they arrived. , • • 11 MAYORS VOTE: Mayor Conley reported that the City Attorney had ruled that according to the City Charter the Mayor had the right to vote on every issue that came to the Board. He informed them that he ould exercise this privilege in the future to convey his thinking to the Board. ,z7 PROPRIETY OF CITY EMPLOYEES: The Clerk read a letter from Alderman Schmidt questioning the propriety of city employees in speaking against the actions of the Council. He also questioned the right for employees to cross examine the head of the city in public Meetings. Alderman Schmidt felt that the Board of Public Works should clarify the Board's response to any future action or policy decision made by the Common Council in the future. By Comm. Putney: seconded by Comm. Clynes RESOLVED, that the letter received from Alderman Schmidt be referred to the Water and Sewer Committee. 2_7 AYES: 5 Carried. NAYS: 1 - Downing iLQ 13 WEST END BUSINESSMENS CHRISTMAS TREE: Alderman Barber reported thattft had a request for a truck and a man to help the West End Businessmen to put their Christmas tree lights on this year. In the past, the Fire Dept. had furnished a truck and the West End had furnished a man to string the lights but they were unable to get the man this year. By Comm. Putney: seconded by Comm. Golder 7 RESOLVED, that the request of Alderman Barber for the use o t e Fire Department ladder truck and a man be referred to the Common Council as the Board of Public Works did not have jurisdiction over the Fire Department, and that this was a policy matter as there would be other requests coming in from other parts of the city. Carried. 14 DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: The Clerk reported that Agda Osborn had notified the Board of a meeting Wednesday, November 8, 1972, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. This was a closed meeting of the Downtown Development Committee, the Common Council and the Board of Public Works. liio-o , q - • 15 BUS TOURS: Alderman Schmidt thanked the Board for the tour of the Capital Projects and thought it was very educational. Alderman Barber stated that Alderman Schmidt spoke for, the rest of the Aldermen that were present. 6L2 -4L- 13 Vice Chairman Leary appointed; term of office expires at Dec. 1972 meeting 1 Local Laws - Golder presents statement to Mayor 2 Meetings - established 3 Hearing of Persons - rules established 3 Shopping carts - Board has no jurisdiction over collection, no action taken 4 Board presents Citation in appreciation to Dr. Mazza, former City Surgeon 5 Annual Report accepted by the Board and ordered filed 6 Personnel Policy Matters (slanderous criticism) 7 Legality of local laws queationed 2a Department commended for job performance during flood S Alderman Myer to outline procedure for chairmen to send in request to C. Council 9 Alderman Meyer reports that memos for communication between BPW and CC ordered 10 Mayor's vote - City Atty. rules that Charter gives Mayor right to vote at BPW meetings 11 Alderman Schmidt letter in re Board action in permitting City employees to speak 12 Ald. Barber's request for ladder to put up Christmas treetnot under BPW works 13 Minutes corrected 3 Downtown Development Committee to meet with Board and Common Council 14 Bus tour of Capital Projects 15