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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CA-2022-08-24CITY ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 6:00 p.m. August 24, 2022 PRESENT: Alderperson Cantelmo – Chair Alderpersons (4): Barken, Defendini, McGonigal, Nguyen OTHERS PRESENT: Acting Mayor – Lewis Director of Parking & Transportation – Hathaway Deputy Director of Economic Development – Knipe Sustainability Planner – Evans Civil Engineer – Licitra Director of Sustainability – Aguirre-Torres City Attorney – Lavine Police Sergeant – Orsaio FLOCK Staff – Thomas, Holland Chief of Staff – Vavra HR Director – Michell-Nunn Controller – Thayer Deputy Controller – Andrew 1. Call to Order 1.1 Agenda Review: Item 4.1 – PBZ&ED – Amendment to Personnel Roster was removed from the agenda. 1.2 Review/Approval of Minutes: Alderperson Defendini made a motion to approve the minutes from the City Administration Committee meeting held on June 22, 2022. Seconded by Alderperson Barken. Motion carried unanimously. 2. Petitions and Hearings of Persons Before Council 2.1 Statements from the Public Margaret Johnson, Town of Ithaca resident, expressed her thoughts about the snow removal on sidewalks and crosswalks. John Monkovic, City resident, spoke on the proposed edits to TCAT Transit Services Agreement. Sabrina Leddy, City resident, expressed her support for fare-free and expanded TCAT funded by additional contributions from Cornell. She urged the Committee to advocate for a one-year renewal of the TSA allowing adjustments to be made after TCAT’s fare-free logistics study is completed a year from now. 2.2 Council Response City Administration Committee Meeting August 24, 2022 Page 2 Alderperson McGonigal thanked everyone for their comments. He asked the speakers if they have reached out and expressed their concerns to Cornell University or Ithaca College. Mr. McGonigal acknowledged the problems with the snow removal on sidewalks and curb corners. He made suggestions about what could be done and the need for more enforcement of rule breakers. Alderperson Defendini thanked the speakers for their comments. He expressed his thoughts about the accessibility of and waiting time for buses, adequate staffing at TCAT and the lack of funding. Alderperson Nguyen expressed his thoughts about letting down the community as it relates to the bus services. 3. Public Hearing 3.1 DPW – 2023 Sidewalk Improvement District Assessment Alderperson Defendini made a motion to open the public hearing for the 2023 Sidewalk Improvement District Assessment. Seconded by Alderperson McGonigal. Motion carried unanimously. Alderperson Defendini made a motion to close the public hearing for the 2023 Sidewalk Improvement District Assessment. Seconded by Alderperson Nguyen. Motion carried unanimously. 4. Government Administration, Human Resources, and Policy 4.1 PBZ&ED – Amendment to Personnel Roster This item was removed from the agenda. 4.2 Renewal of TCAT Transportation Agreement Moved by Alderperson Defendini. Seconded by Alderperson Nguyen. WHEREAS, on November 7, 1990, the City of Ithaca, Tompkins County, and Cornell University entered into an agreement for the design of a regional transit facility, and WHEREAS, on October 9, 1991, the City, County and Cornell entered into a 20-year construction and operation agreement for the new transit facility, and WHEREAS, on April 1, 1998, the City, County and Cornell entered into an agreement to create a TCAT joint venture to provide public transportation services, and WHEREAS, on January 1, 2005, a Transportation Agreement was signed among the three parties and TCAT to end the TCAT joint venture and have the operations assumed by a single employer, TCAT, Inc., with the agreement running through October 9, 2021, and was thereafter extended for one additional year through October 9, 2022, and WHEREAS, on February 12, 2018, an agreement was signed between the City and County regarding the ownership of the transit facility, and City Administration Committee Meeting August 24, 2022 Page 3 WHEREAS, the Transportation Agreement is set to expire in October of this year, and WHEREAS, the City, County and Cornell would like to renew the Transportation Agreement; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council authorizes the Mayor to sign a renewal of the current Transportation Agreement, as amended in a manner substantially similar to the amendments included herewith. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 5. Finance, Budget, and Appropriations 5.1 DPW – Approval of Sidewalk Improvement District Assessments Moved by Alderperson McGonigal. Seconded by Alderperson Nguyen. WHEREAS, Section C-73 of the City Charter creates five Sidewalk Improvement Districts (each a “SID”) for the construction and repair of sidewalk, and provides for an assessment against each property located in each SID for the benefits received by the property from such construction and repair; and WHEREAS, typically the Board of Public Works would recommend SID assessment, work plan, and budget to Common Council; however, the BPW is not able to make quorum at this time and in accordance with the City Charter, Common Council has oversight powers over BPW; and WHEREAS Common Council can approve a budget and schedule of work for each SID district for each fiscal year, following a public hearing; and WHEREAS, Common Council has received a proposed SID assessment roll, budget, and schedule of work for Fiscal Year 2023; and WHEREAS, public notice of the SID assessment roll, budget, and schedule of work in July 2022 was provided; and WHEREAS, owners of assessed properties were provided an opportunity to file written objections with the City Clerk, and present evidence to the Council at a public hearing on August 24, 2022; and WHEREAS, Common Council has given due consideration to the objections, if any, presented by the property owners in accordance with Section C-73; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Common Council recommends, subject to amendment and approval by the Common Council, the proposed 2023 SID budget, assessments, and schedule of work attached hereto, and be it further City Administration Committee Meeting August 24, 2022 Page 4 RESOLVED, That the Common Council recommends including in the Mayor’s proposed 2023 budget and to adopt this 2023 Sidewalk Improvement District budget, assessments, and work plan by local law in concert with the approval of the City’s 2023 Budget. After discussion, Alderperson McGonigal made a motion to table this item. Seconded by Alderperson Barken. A vote on tabling this resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 5.2 Youth Bureau – Request to Amend the 2022 Budget Moved by Alderperson Defendini. Seconded by Alderperson Nguyen. WHEREAS, the Ithaca City School District has agreed to give the Youth Bureau $5,000 in new funding for the Student Curriculum Review Program (SCRP) and WHEREAS, the goal of this program is to bring middle and high school students together with teachers, so that students can build relationships and community with teachers, as well as ensure that curriculum and lessons are developed to be inclusive and meet the needs of students of diverse backgrounds, income levels, abilities, and identities, and WHEREAS, the Youth Bureau staff will work closely with the SCRP students from the Ithaca City School District to pay students and assist them in this work; therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2022 Youth Bureau budget as follows: Increase Revenues: A7310-2705-1200 Youth Development Administration $ 5,000 $ 5,000 Increase Expenses: A7310-5120-1200 Part time/Seasonal $ 4,050 A7310-5425-1200 Office Supplies $ 203 A7310-5460-1200 Program Supplies $ 202 A7310-9030-1200 FICA/Medicare $ 310 A7310-9060-1200 Workers’ Compensation $ 235 $ 5,000 A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 5.3 PBZ& ED – Accept Congressionally Directed Spending – Downtown Ithaca Conference Center Moved by Alderperson Nguyen. Seconded by Alderperson McGonigal. City Administration Committee Meeting August 24, 2022 Page 5 WHEREAS, Common Council has adopted resolutions committing the City to support the funding of the Downtown Ithaca Conference Center project with City hotel room occupancy tax revenues, and provide a financial assistance agreement to support the bond financing for the project; and WHEREAS, the conference center is currently on track to open in early 2024 and a successful conference center project will be an asset for the City of Ithaca and Tompkins County, resulting in significant increased room tax and sales tax revenues; the addition of new direct and indirect jobs; significant economic impact beyond center operations through the purchase of supplies and services; an estimated 22,000 new room nights county-wide as well as annual visitation of over 63,000; and WHEREAS, the City applied for and was awarded $2,000,000 in federal funding through the Congressionally-Directed Spending process in the 2022 federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, and Congress listed the City of Ithaca as the recipient of these funds in the Joint Explanatory Statement of the Act for the “Downtown Ithaca Conference Center and affordable housing” project; and WHEREAS, only the City of Ithaca is allowed to apply for these funds which have been ‘earmarked’ for this project, but to access this federal grant award, the City must submit a formal grant application to HUD to obligate the federal funds for the project, and documentation of Common Council authorization to apply for and receive these funds is a requirement of the formal application, and WHEREAS, the conference center is currently under construction and is experiencing budget increases due to kitchen electrification, retail space fit-out, and increases in costs for furniture, fixtures and equipment and audio-visual equipment, and these federal funds are needed to pay for these cost increases; and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca has an agreement with the Downtown Ithaca Local Development Corporation, LLC (DILDC) in which the DILDC is responsible for conference center operations, managing certain aspects of the conference center capital project including those aspects that are the subject of this grant funding, and leasing the conference center building from Vecino, the development entity that is constructing and will own the conference center building; and WHEREAS, the City intends to sub-contract with the DILDC to fulfill the terms of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Economic Development Initiative (HUD-EDI) grant; and WHEREAS, delays in the application and execution of a contract between HUD and the City to formally obligate these funds would negatively impact the conference center project, and City and DILDC staff are working to expedite the application, contract, and required federal environmental review processes; and WHEREAS, administration of the contract between the City of Ithaca and HUD and administration of the subcontract between the City of Ithaca and the DILDC will be managed by the City’s Department of Planning and Development with support from DILDC staff; and WHEREAS, no match is required for the grant and no additional City funding beyond room tax funds that have already been committed by the City to the project or are the subject of separate annual room tax budgets, is required as a match for this grant; now, therefore, be it City Administration Committee Meeting August 24, 2022 Page 6 RESOLVED, That Common Council supports the City’s grant application to obligate and access the $2,000,000 in HUD EDI grant funds allocated by Congress to the City of Ithaca for the “Downtown Ithaca Conference Center and affordable housing” project through the 2022 federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, and be it further RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby establishes Capital Project #914 Ithaca Downtown Conference Center HUD-EDI Grant” in the amount of $2,000,000 for implementation of HUD-EDI grant funding for the conference center project and be it further RESOLVED, That funds needed for said Capital Project shall be derived entirely from HUD-EDI grant funding, and be it further RESOLVED, That the Mayor or their designee, subject to review by the City Attorney, is authorized to enter agreements with HUD and with the Downtown Ithaca Local Development Corporation for implementation of this grant funding, and be it further RESOLVED, That the Common Council hereby authorizes appropriation of said HUD-EDI grant funds to support the Ithaca Downtown Conference Center in compliance with executed City agreements with HUD and DILDC. A vote on the resolution as amended resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 5.4 PBZ & ED – Authorization to Receive a Grant from Park Foundation to Support the Ithaca Green New Deal Moved by Alderperson Barken. Seconded by Alderperson Nguyen. WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca has demonstrated its desire and commitment to be a leader in sustainability and social equity, as exemplified by the adoption of the Ithaca Green New Deal (IGND); and WHEREAS, key objectives of the IGND are to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions from economic activity and to address historical inequities, social injustice and economic inequality; and WHEREAS, the IGND currently includes at least twelve different programs necessary to achieve these objectives, with all of them requiring constant interaction with and feedback from the community; and WHEREAS, the IGND requires the development of a web-based platform (website) to increase interaction and gather feedback from the community, and the cost associated with such platform exceeds the funds currently allocated to the IGND; and WHEREAS, the development and implementation of all programs associated with the IGND require support and technical understanding of technology, finance, and climate justice; and City Administration Committee Meeting August 24, 2022 Page 7 WHEREAS, the sustainability staff is currently at a limit in terms of available hours to devote to this effort; and WHEREAS, the results and deliverables of the sustainability spring and summer internship programs, with participation of graduate students from both Cornell University and Ithaca College, demonstrated to yield the necessary results; therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council authorizes staff to receive a $75,000 grant from Park Foundation, with the purpose of funding the following activities: • $25,000 for the development of a new IGND interactive website, to be developed by a third party selected through an open competitive process. • $45,000 for a year-long paid internship program, including 3 to 4 graduate students to support technical aspects of the IGND implementation, committing a combined 48-60 hours per week for the following 12 months. and, be it further RESOLVED, That Common Council authorizes staff to issue an RFP for the selection of an interactive web-based platform, and be it further RESOLVED, That Common Council authorizes a year-long sustainability internship program for the period of September 2022 – August 2023, managed by the Director of Sustainability and supervised by the Director of Planning Building Zoning and Economic Development, and be it further RESOLVED, That staff will periodically report to Common Council progress on both the development of the web-based platform and the internship program, and be it further RESOLVED, That the 2022 Authorized Planning Department Budget be hereby amended as follows to account for said grant: Increase Revenue Account: A8020-2705 Planning Gifts and Donations $ 75,000 Increase Appropriation Accounts: A8020-5120 Planning Hourly P/T $ 45,000 A8020-5435 Planning Contracts $ 25,000 $ 75,000 A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 5.5 Use of Capital Project #868 “Downtown Ithaca Transportation Management Association” to Facilitate Acceptance of the NYSDEC 2022 Climate Smart Communities Grant in Collaboration with Downtown Ithaca Alliance for Expanded Operations and Transportation Management Association Moved by Alderperson Defendini. Seconded by Alderperson Nguyen. City Administration Committee Meeting August 24, 2022 Page 8 WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca Department of Public Works intends to submit an application for the 2022 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation “Climate Smart Communities” grant program (DEC-CSC) to continue facilitating the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA), and/or a future Transportation Management Association (developed by the DIA) in receiving grant funding through this NYS program; WHEREAS, in 2018, the City of Ithaca created capital project number 868 “Downtown Ithaca Transportation Management Association” to successfully apply for the Climate Smart Communities grant in partnership with the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA), to facilitate the DIA in creating a Transportation Management Association (TMA) and providing an ongoing downtown area Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program; and WHEREAS, a MOU dated September 18, 2019, between the City of Ithaca and DIA laid out the agreement between the two parties to apply for the original (2018) grant; and WHEREAS, the consequence of receiving the 2022 Climate Smart Communities Grant would be to continue the work of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance through their GO ITHACA transportation demand management program to shift a portion of trips to modes other than single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) with their associated downtown parking demand; and WHEREAS, the project team at GO ITHACA will implement the following tasks: ● Gathering and analyzing travel patterns of employees and residents of the urbanized area ● Producing specific, customized commuter/travel plans for both businesses and individuals ● Creating and implementing an effective marketing strategy to support downtown employees and residents in a measurable shift away from SOVs ● Measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of these plans and any associated marketing in achieving transportation mode change (and thus reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and parking demand) ● Providing for ongoing two-way communications with the downtown community (including employees and residents) to evaluate program effectiveness, identify potential gaps in transportation services, and gather other relevant feedback ● Demonstrating the program’s value and effectiveness to both public and private sector stakeholders and securing ongoing community, political and financial resources to sustain ongoing activities; and WHEREAS, the DIA through its GO ITHACA program currently, with the funding from the 2018 grant referenced above, provides a number of valuable transportation-related benefits to its members who live and/or work in the Downtown Ithaca area, such as free and discounted TCAT bus passes, Ithaca Carshare membership discounts, access to carpooling and park and rides, vouchers to active transportation-related businesses such as bike shops and running stores, etc.; and WHEREAS, if awarded the 2022 Climate Smart Communities grant, the GO ITHACA program or a future TMA would be able to expand its offering beyond downtown Ithaca into the adjacent urbanized areas; and City Administration Committee Meeting August 24, 2022 Page 9 WHEREAS, this project aligns with a number of overarching goals for transportation in Plan Ithaca, Ithaca’s comprehensive plan, and will directly implement the following Plan Ithaca recommendation: “Promote participation in public and private transportation demand management (TDM) programs. The City should work in partnership with the private sector to find mutually beneficial solutions to accommodate employee commuting and other transportation needs, including bicycles”; and WHEREAS, the City adopted a Green New Deal policy on June 5, 2019, which included adoption of a goal to achieve a carbon neutral city by 2030, and this project is designed to reduce carbon emissions in Ithaca related to transportation; and WHEREAS, the downtown parking garages are near capacity, and the business and economic development communities have expressed concerns about the potential of parking capacity issues to dampen continued business and investment growth in the downtown; and WHEREAS, the downtown parking garages are already subsidized by City taxpayers, and without reducing the number of single occupancy vehicles parked in the downtown area, the City will either run out of parking or will need to build additional structured parking, increasing the subsidy even further; and WHEREAS, all of the match requirements for the grant will be met by GO ITHACA and its affiliated TDM partners, and no City funding is required as a match for this grant; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby agrees that Capital Project #868 “Downtown Ithaca Transportation Management Association” can be used in the amount of $1,200,000 for implementation of a DEC-CSC contract, if awarded; and be it further RESOLVED, That funds needed for said Capital Project shall be derived entirely from DEC-CSC grant funding and DIA or future TMA funds; and be it further RESOLVED, That the Mayor or his/her designee is authorized to enter into the DEC-CSC grant contract if the 2022 Climate Smart Communities Grant is awarded to the City of Ithaca; and be it further RESOLVED, That the Mayor or his/her designee is authorized to enter into an MOU, as was done before in the MOU dated September 18, 2019, with the Downtown Ithaca Alliance or the future TMA for implementation of this grant-funded project; and be it further RESOLVED, That any payment to the DIA or the future TMA through this grant-funded project will be subsequent to the approval and payment of vouchers from the DEC to the City of Ithaca. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 6. Discussion 6.1 Presentation from FLOCK [IPD] City Administration Committee Meeting August 24, 2022 Page 10 Chief of Staff Vavra thanked Acting Police Chief Joly for reaching out and setting up the presentation with Flock Safety. This company built the public operating system that helps communities, businesses, and law enforcement work together to eliminate crime, protect privacy and mitigate bias. Police Sergeant Orsaio introduced representatives from Flock to give a presentation about the cameras, the cost and to answer questions from the Committee. After the presentation, Chief of Staff Vavra stated that more information would be sent to Common Council regarding this operating system. 7. Meeting Wrap-up 7.1 Announcements. None. 7.2 Next Meeting Date: September 28, 2022. 7.3 Review, Agenda Items for Next Meeting. None. 7.4 Adjourn: With no further business and on a motion by Alderperson Nguyen, the meeting was adjourned at 9:04 p.m.