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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CA-2022-10-26CITY ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 5:35 p.m. October 26, 2022 PRESENT: Alderperson Cantelmo – Chair Alderpersons (4): Barken [arrived at 5:39 pm], Defendini, McGonigal, Nguyen OTHERS PRESENT: Acting Mayor – Lewis Superintendent of Public Works – Thorne WDAC Member – Acree Chief of Staff – Vavra HR Director – Michell-Nunn Controller – Thayer Deputy Controller – Andrew 1. Call to Order 1.1 Agenda Review. None. 1.2 Review/Approval of Minutes: Alderperson Defendini made a motion to approve the minutes from the City Administration Committee meeting held on September 28, 2022. Seconded by Alderperson Nguyen. Motion carried 4-0. [Alderperson Barken was absent from the vote.] 2. Petitions and Hearings of Persons Before Council 2.1 Statements from the Public Zachary Winn, City resident, expressed concerns about emergency services access, roads, tax increases and accountability of funds. [Alderperson Barken arrived at 5:39 p.m.] 2.2 Council Response. None. 3. Government Administration, Human Resources, and Policy 3.1 HR – Resolution for Adoption of Juneteenth as a Paid Employee Holiday Moved by Alderperson Nguyen. Seconded by Alderperson McGonigal. WHEREAS, slavery was a deeply embedded American institution and is a direct contradiction to the nation’s ideals of freedom, and WHEREAS, beginning in the late 15th century African or African Diasporic people were kidnapped and forced into slavery and shipped to the “New World” (South, Central and North America) in what is part of Maafa, a Kiswahili* term for disaster, calamity, or terrible occurrence to describe the history of atrocities inflicted on African peoples, and City Administration Committee Meeting October 26, 2022 Page 2 WHEREAS, the term Black, African American and African diasporic people is used to include people of African descent who were born in the Caribbean, Central and South America who at times were also enslaved in the United States, at some points on the same plantations, and WHEREAS, Black people were victims of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, and WHEREAS, on slave ships Black people were packed by the 100s in inhumane conditions where many contracted diseases like yellow fever, malaria, smallpox, and dysentery; and women/girls were subjected to sexual assault at the hands of European crewmen, and WHEREAS, New Amsterdam and then New York participated actively in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade from 1626 until 1808, and WHEREAS, New York State officially ended legal enslavement in 1827, but self-emancipated New Yorkers remained under threat of re-enslavement until after the Civil War, and WHEREAS, on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation legally ended slavery in the Confederate states, however White enslavers refused to comply with the proclamation which prolonged slavery in these states, and WHEREAS, at least 26 Black men from Tompkins County enlisted and fought for the Union Army in the Civil War which was premised on the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of all people who were still enslaved, and WHEREAS, freedom fighter Harriet Tubman, known as the Black Moses of her people, resided in nearby Auburn, New York, was the first woman in American history to lead a military assault; the successful Combahee Ferry Raid which freed more than 700 people from slavery; Tubman also served in the Union Army as a nurse and spy, and WHEREAS, Ithaca was home to many former enslaved people who escaped bondage in the South, and the City of Ithaca was a known passage way for the underground railroad (most notably the St. James A.M.E. Zion church), and WHEREAS, Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, and Black Independence Day, commemorates the day June 19, 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery, and WHEREAS, Juneteenth honors the history, perseverance, and achievements of Black people and celebrates America’s progress and continuing commitment to realizing the principles of liberty and equality upon which this nation expounds, and City Administration Committee Meeting October 26, 2022 Page 3 WHEREAS, President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. signed legislation on June 17, 2021, making Juneteenth a Federal holiday, enshrining June 19th as a national day to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States, and WHEREAS, as of July 1, 2022, in twenty-one states plus the District of Columbia, Juneteenth is observed as a permanent paid and/or legal holiday, and WHEREAS, the Tompkins County institutions of higher learning including Cornell University, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community College, local school districts, Tompkins County plus many nationally known businesses have joined in the celebration and commemoration and adopted Juneteenth as an official holiday, and WHEREAS, this Juneteenth recognition supports the advancement of City of Ithaca values of integrity, respect, accountability, and equity, and WHEREAS, the Workforce Diversity Advisory Committee recommends that Juneteenth be a paid City employee holiday; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the City of Ithaca Common Council officially declares Juneteenth as a City holiday, and be it RESOLVED, that Common Council authorizes the mayor to negotiate with various bargaining units to honor the observance of Juneteenth as a paid City holiday beginning in 2023, now, therefore, be it further RESOLVED, that the holiday shall be added to the Managerial Fringe Benefits. *Kiswahili means language of the Swahili people. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 3.2 HR - Amendment to Personnel Roster – Deputy City Clerk Moved by Alderperson McGonigal. Seconded by Alderperson Defendini. WHEREAS, the Department of Public Information and Technology was created in 2014, and WHEREAS, the City Clerk was able to assume the management of the new department at that time and has since decided to retire, and WHEREAS, it is anticipated that a new Director of Public Information would bring a different skill set due to the diversity of the position duties and it is necessary to have a dedicated resource to assist the Director on specific city clerk duties, and City Administration Committee Meeting October 26, 2022 Page 4 WHEREAS, Common Council authorized a position to support the four City Commissions and these duties are related to some Deputy City Clerk duties and have therefore, been incorporated into the Deputy City Clerk job description; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the Personnel Roster of the Department of Public Information and Technology be amended as follows: Add: One (1) Deputy City Clerk and be it further RESOLVED, That the position of Deputy City Clerk shall be assigned to the Management Compensation Plan at salary grade 6, and be it further RESOLVED, That for the sole purpose of determining days worked reportable to the New York State and Local Employees Retirement System the standard workday for this position shall be established at eight (8) hours per day (forty (40) hours per week), and be it further RESOLVED, That the funding for this change shall be derived from monies authorized in Restricted Contingency as part of the 2022 Authorized Budget, and be it further RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby directs the Controller to move funds from Restricted Contingency to the Department of Public Information and Technology as necessary to account for said roster amendment. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 4. Finance, Budget, and Appropriations 4.1 Finance - Approval of the 2023 Amended Municipal Cooperative Agreement for the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium Moved by Alderperson Defendini. Seconded by Alderperson Nguyen. Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca is a Participant in the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium (the "Consortium"), a municipal cooperative organized under Article 47 of the New York Insurance Law, and WHEREAS, the municipal participants in the Consortium, have approved and executed a certain Municipal Cooperation Agreement (the "Agreement"; effective date of October 1, 2010) and the 2023 Amendment that provides for the operation and governance of the Consortium, and WHEREAS, the Consortium's Board of Directors has recommended approval of the 2023 amended agreement, and City Administration Committee Meeting October 26, 2022 Page 5 WHEREAS, the Municipal Cooperative Agreement requires that amendments to the agreement be presented to each participant for review and adopted by each municipal board, RESOLVED, that the City of Ithaca approves and authorizes the Chief Executive Officer to sign the 2023 Amendment to the Municipal Cooperative Agreement of the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium, RESOLVED, further, that the Clerk of the City of Ithaca is hereby authorized to execute this Resolution to indicate its approval, transmit a copy thereof to the Board of Directors of the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium, and take any other such actions as may be required by law. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 4.2 Resolution to Authorize a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Application Moved by Alderperson Nguyen. Seconded by Alderperson Defendini. WHEREAS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced a funding opportunity for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant, and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca completed a Local Flood Hazard Analysis (LFHA) in 2020, which identified flood risks from a 100-year (1% probability) event along with specific mitigation measures to reduce those flood risks, and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca recently adopted the FEMA approved Hazard Mitigation Plan update prepared by Tompkins County, which includes the mitigation measures identified in the LFHA, and WHEREAS, FEMA recently issued draft flood maps for the City of Ithaca which are consistent with the flood risks identified in the LFHA, and will eventually replace the 1981 Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), and show a significantly larger flood zone than the 1981 FIRMs which will greatly affect the number of properties requiring flood insurance, and WHEREAS, the proposed mitigation measures will increase flow capacity for Fall, Cascadilla, and Six Mile Creeks, prevent backflow related flooding through the storm system, reduce flood risk for large portions of the City, and reduce the flood zones shown on the proposed FEMA maps, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Mayor of the City of Ithaca, is hereby authorized and directed to submit an application in accordance with the provisions of the BRIC grant, in an amount not to exceed $12,000,000, and upon approval of said request to enter into and execute a project agreement for such financial assistance to the City of Ithaca for design, right-of-way acquisition, construction and construction inspection of a project as described above, and it is hereby further City Administration Committee Meeting October 26, 2022 Page 6 RESOLVED, that contingent upon award of the BRIC funds, the Common Council hereby authorizes the establishment of Capital Project #913 to pay in the first instance 100% of the federal and non-federal share of the cost of all work for the Project; and it is further RESOLVED, that contingent upon award of the BRIC funds, the sum not to exceed $3,000,000 is hereby appropriated from serial bonds and made available to cover the cost of participation in the above Project in the first instance; and it is further RESOLVED, that the total project cost shall not exceed $12,000,000 with the understanding that the breakdown of funds to be approximately $9,000,000 in BRIC funds, and $3,000,000 in City of Ithaca serial bond financing, to be administered by the Superintendent of Public Works, and be it further RESOLVED, that in the event the full federal and non-federal share costs of the project exceed the amount appropriated above, the City of Ithaca Common Council shall convene as soon as possible to appropriate said excess amount immediately upon the notification by FEMA thereof; and it is further RESOLVED, that the Mayor of the City of Ithaca be and is hereby authorized to execute all necessary Agreements, and that the Superintendent of Public Works is hereby authorized to execute all certifications or reimbursement requests for BRIC funding on behalf of the City of Ithaca in connection with the advancement or approval of the Project and providing for the administration of the Project and the municipality's first instance funding of project costs and permanent funding of the local share of federal-aid and all Project costs that are not so eligible; and it is further RESOLVED, that this Resolution shall take effect immediately. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 5. Discussion. None. 6. Meeting Wrap-up 6.1 Announcements. None. 6.2 Next Meeting Date: November 30, 2022. 6.3 Review, Agenda Items for Next Meeting. None. 6.4 Adjourn: With no further business and on a motion by Alderperson Defendini, the meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.