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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CA-2020-10-28CITY ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 5:30 p.m. October 28, 2020 PRESENT: Alderperson Mohlenhoff – Chair Alderpersons (4): Gearhart, Kerslick, McGonigal, Nguyen OTHERS PRESENT: Alderpersons (1) – Lewis Fire Chief – Parsons City Attorney – Lavine IURA Executive Director – Bohn Chief of Staff – Cogan HR Director – Michell-Nunn Controller – Thayer 1. Call to Order 1.1 Agenda Review. None. 1.2 Review/Approval of Minutes: Alderperson Kerslick made a motion to approve the minutes from the September 23, 2020 meeting of the City Administration Committee. Seconded by Alderperson Gearhart. Motion carried unanimously. 1.3 Statements from the Public. None. 1.4 Statements from Employees. None. 1.5 Council Response. None. 2. Consent Agenda Items 2.1 Finance – Approval of 2020-2021 Civil Service Agreement with the Ithaca City School District Moved by Alderperson Gearhart. Seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. RESOLVED, That the Mayor and City Controller be authorized and directed to execute an agreement between the City of Ithaca and the Ithaca City School District for performance by the City for services in connection with Civil Service matters for the period July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, in an amount of $63,698 payable to the City of Ithaca on or before December 1, 2020. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 2.2 IFD – Award of Bid for Extrication Equipment Moved by Alderperson Gearhart. Seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. WHEREAS, on September 28, 2020, the City of Ithaca posted a Notice to Bidders with specifications for Extrication Equipment; and City Administration Committee Meeting October 28, 2020 Page 2 WHEREAS, on October 13, 2020, the City of Ithaca Controller’s Office received sealed bids from four vendors; and WHEREAS, Fire Chief Parsons and Deputy City Controller Andrew have reviewed the bids, specifications, options, and proposals made by each vendor; and WHEREAS, after review, Chief Parsons recommends the award of the bid be made to Holmatro Inc.; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, The Common Council of the City of Ithaca, approves the award of a bid and contract between the City of Ithaca and Holmatro, Inc., 505 McCormick Drive, Glen Burnie, Maryland, per the pricing and bid specifications for Extrication Tools received on October 13, 2020. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 2.3 Chemical Bulk Storage Tank Replacement Project - Ithaca Area Wastewater Facility Moved by Alderperson Gearhart. Seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. WHEREAS, the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant (Plant) requires periodic inspections of its chemical bulk storage tank systems by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC); and WHEREAS, during the last Plant inspection, the DEC reported that the Plant ferrous and ferric chloride tank system(s), #002 and #003, has failing wall linings; and WHEREAS, Tanks #002 and #003 were installed during the original plant construction in the mid 1980’s; and WHEREAS, given their age and poor condition, DEC and staff are of the opinion that the tanks are past their useful service life; and WHEREAS, failure to replace said tanks could lead to DEC penalties of up to $37,500 per day; and WHEREAS, staff advertised a Chemical Bulk Storage Tank Replacement Project bid package, which included provisions for the demolition of the old facilities, preparation and painting of secondary containment systems, tank replacement, and reconnection; and WHEREAS, two bids were received in the amount of $415,000 and $876,461; and WHEREAS, the original approved budget for this project is $200,000; and WHEREAS, due to the inconsistency in amounts and the limited number of proposals, staff has rejected the current bids and will re-advertise the project, hoping to obtain interest from a wider competitive audience; and City Administration Committee Meeting October 28, 2020 Page 3 WHEREAS, the Special Joint Committee (SJC) approved the amended project in the amount of $450,000 at their regular meeting on October 14, 2020; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby establish IAWWTF Capital Project #425J in an amount not to exceed $457,000 for costs, including financing, required to replace the IAWWTF Chemical Bulk Storage Tanks #002 and #003, and be it further RESOLVED, That funds needed for said Capital Project shall be derived from the Capital Reserve J-1 $100,000 and $357,000 from the issuance of Serial Bonds, and be it further RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby recommends authorization of this project contingent upon action by all wastewater partners’ committing their percentage shares to the Joint Activity Fund allocated per the Joint Sewer Agreement as follows: Municipality Percentage Project Cost City of Ithaca 57.14 $203,989.80 Town of Ithaca 40.88 $145,941.60 Town of Dryden 1.98 $7,068.60 A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 2.4 IPD – Acceptance of Donation for Improvements to Buildings at the Range Moved by Alderperson Gearhart. Seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. WHEREAS, The Ithaca Police Department (IPD) was recently notified that they will receive a $5,000 anonymous donation for 2020; and WHEREAS, the IPD has recommended the funds be used to finish insulating and heating a newer building at the Department’s range so that the building can be used as a training classroom for defensive tactics, de-escalation and reality-based training exercises; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby accept the $5,000 anonymous donation to the Ithaca Police Department to help finish improvements to the newer building at the range as stated above, and be it further RESOLVED, That the Common Council thanks the anonymous donor for their generous donation to the City’s Police Department. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 2.5 A Resolution to Adopt the LGS-1 Record Retention Schedule Moved by Alderperson Gearhart. Seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. City Administration Committee Meeting October 28, 2020 Page 4 WHEREAS, New York State has issued a new Retention and Disposition Schedule for Local Government Records, and municipalities are required to adopt it before it can be used; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Common Council of the City of Ithaca hereby adopts the Retention and Disposition Schedule for New York Local Government Records (LGS-1), issued pursuant to Article 57-A of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, and containing legal minimum retention periods for local government records, for use by all city employees in legally disposing of valueless records listed therein, and, be it further RESOLVED, That in accordance with Article 57-A: (a) only those records will be disposed of that are described in Retention and Disposition Schedule for New York Local Government Records (LGS-1), after they have met the minimum retention periods described therein; (b) only those records will be disposed of that do not have sufficient administrative, fiscal, legal, or historical value to merit retention beyond established legal minimum periods. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 3. Finance, Budget and Appropriations 3.1 Amendments to the 2015 MOU to Increase Resources for the Community Housing Development Fund Moved by Alderperson Gearhart. Seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. WHEREAS, the Common Council for the City of Ithaca (City) authorized funding for the Community Housing Affordability Program and the Community Housing Trust Program, jointly known as the Housing Fund, and approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among the City, County of Tompkins (County), and Cornell University (Cornell) that established the Housing Fund for the period of time spanning 2009 to 2015; and WHEREAS, the program was renamed as the “Community Housing Development Fund” (CHDF) when the signatories approved a second 6-year MOU to extend the program to 2021; and WHEREAS, the CHDF provides financial assistance to developers to construct or preserve the supply of affordable housing in Tompkins County and is governed by a Program Oversight Committee made up of appointees from each of the signatories; and WHEREAS, City members of the Program Oversight Committee are: Chris Proulx, Seph Murtagh, Ducson Nguyen and George McGonigal (alternative); and WHEREAS, both the County and Cornell have agreed to increase their annual contribution to the program in Years #5 and #6 by $100,000, bringing the County’s annual contribution to $200,000 and Cornell’s annual contribution to $300,000; and WHEREAS, the City increased its annual contribution by $100,000 in 2020 bringing its contribution to City Administration Committee Meeting October 28, 2020 Page 5 the CHDF to $200,000 for Year #5 of the program; and WHEREAS, the Mayor’s proposed 2021 budget includes a contribution of $200,000 to the CHDF, thereby matching increased funding from Tompkins County and Cornell University for Year #6 of the program; and WHEREAS, the 2015 MOU specifies that other organizations can join as associate members with a contribution of $50,000 or more, and the Program Oversight Committee seeks to clarify that an associate member’s voting privileges extend to project approvals and funding recommendations but not to matters of program governance; and WHEREAS, the Town of Dryden has committed $50,000 towards the CHDF Housing Development Fund in 2020, which is sufficient for the Town to have associate membership status; and WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (TCIDA) adopted a workforce housing policy on July 8, 2020 that requires certain developers to make payments to the CHDF as a condition of receiving tax abatements; and WHEREAS, the Program Oversight Committee of the CHDF unanimously recommended approval of the following amendments to the MOU; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Common Council for the City of Ithaca hereby approves amendments to the 2015 Memorandum of Understanding among the County of Tompkins, the City of Ithaca, and Cornell University with regard to the Community Housing Development Fund to increase resources for affordable housing projects and clarify associated policies, including but not limited to: • Increase the City’s Year #6 funding to $200,000 as recommended in the Mayor’s proposed 2021 City budget to match increased funding committed by Tompkins County and Cornell University • Accept the Town of Dryden as an associate member, with limited voting rights, in recognition of their $50,000 contribution to the CHDF • Accept contributions from developers pursuant to the TCIDA’s Workforce Housing Policy, and be it further RESOLVED, The Mayor, subject to review by the City Attorney, is hereby authorized to execute the attached amendment to the above referenced 2015 MOU. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 4. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy 4.1 HR – Authorization of Additional Vacation to be Carried Forward Moved by Alderperson Gearhart. Seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. WHEREAS managerial employees and confidential employees face the forfeiture or loss of vacation days and/or annual leave at the end of 2020 due to (1) the suspension of buyback as a cost-savings City Administration Committee Meeting October 28, 2020 Page 6 measure for the City, and (2) the difficulties that many employees have experienced in taking leave time during the pandemic, and (3) the standard limit on carry forward of vacation days and/or annual leave from one year to the next; and WHEREAS, the City desires to address the above described circumstances by allowing these employees to carry forward ten (10) days of vacation and/or annual leave above the maximums otherwise allowed from 2020 into 2021, provided that these additional days must be used by March 31, 2021 or forfeited; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the policies of the City applicable to carry forward of vacation days and/or annual leave by managerial and confidential employees are hereby amended to allow employees to carry forward ten (10) additional days of vacation and/or annual leave from 2020 into 2021 above the maximums otherwise allowed, provided that these additional days must be used by March 31, 2021, and if not used by that date, will be forfeited. 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: Monday – November 23, 2020. 6.3 Review, Agenda Items for Next Meeting. None. 6.4 Adjourn: With no further business and on a motion by Alderperson Gearhart, the meeting was adjourned at 5:49 p.m.