Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CA-2023-05-24CITY ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 6:00 p.m. May 24, 2023 PRESENT: Alderperson Cantelmo – Chair Alderpersons (4): Barken [arrived at 6:03 p.m.], Defendini, Haines-Sharp, McGonigal OTHERS PRESENT: Acting Director of PIT – Karasin Watershed Coordinator – Johnston Chief of Staff – Mohlenhoff 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 Haines-Sharp made a motion to approve the minutes from the City Administration Committee meeting held on April 26, 2023. Seconded by Alderperson Defendini. Motion carried 4-0. Alderperson Barken was absent from the vote. Alderperson Barken arrived at 6:03 p.m. 2. Petitions and Hearings of Persons Before Council 2.1 Statements from the Public. None. 2.2 Council Response. None. 3. Consent Agenda 3.1 Amend 2023 Authorized Budget for Equipment GIAC Moved by Alderperson Defendini. Seconded by Alderperson Haines-Sharp. WHEREAS, GIAC has received a grant from the IURA to purchase 10 computers and monitors for GIAC programming, and WHEREAS, the cost for said computer equipment for GIAC is $13,816, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2023 Authorized GIAC Budget in an amount not to exceed of $13,816 as follow: Increase Appropriation Account A7311-5210-01100 Office Equipment $13,816 Increase Revenue Account City Administration Committee Meeting May 24, 2023 Page 2 A7311-4989 Federal Aid $13,816 A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 3.2 DPW – Amend 2023 Authorized DPW Parking Budget for Insurance Recovery Moved by Alderperson Defendini. Seconded by Alderperson Haines-Sharp. WHEREAS, on January 25, 2023, damage was done to one of the City’s Parking Pay Station at the Green Street parking Garage producing an insurance recovery of $22,310, and WHEREAS, the city parking staff have decided that the city would be better served if the insurance recovery funds went toward the purpose of other parking related expenses including new and improved parking equipment in the parking garages instead of a replacement of the Parking Pay Station, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2023 Authorized DPW Parking Budget by an amount not to exceed $22,310 as follows: Increase Appropriation Account A5651-5225 Other Equipment $22,310 Increase Revenue Account A5651-2680 Insurance Recovery $22,310 A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 4. Administration, Human Resources, & Policy. None. 5. Finance, Budget, & Appropriations 5.1 BHU Resolution Moved by Alderperson Defendini. Seconded by Alderperson Haines-Sharp. WHEREAS, Common Council as part of the 2023 Authorized Budget placed $50,000 for Black Hands Universal, Inc. into the Restricted Contingency Account, and WHEREAS, we have now received sufficient information to release the funds for 2023 programming, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby releases an amount not to exceed $50,000 in funding from the 2023 Restricted Contingency Account A1990 and transfers those funds to account A1012-5435 Community Service Contracts for the purposes of funding 2023 Black Hands Universal programming, and be it further City Administration Committee Meeting May 24, 2023 Page 3 RESOLVED, Common Council hereby authorizes the Mayor, on advice of the City Attorney, to execute the contract for Black Hands Universal. After discussion, Alderperson McGonigal made a motion to table this resolution until more information could be provided. Seconded by Alderperson Barken. After more discussion, Alderperson McGonigal withdrew his motion to table. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Yes (4): Barken, Cantelmo, Defendini, Haines-Sharp No (1): McGonigal Passed 4-1. 5.2 UPI Resolution Moved by Alderperson Defendini. Seconded by Alderperson Haines-Sharp. WHEREAS, Common Council as part of the 2023 Authorized Budget placed $50,000 for the Unbroken Promise Initiative into the Restricted Contingency Account, and WHEREAS, we have now received sufficient information to release the funds for 2023 programming, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby releases an amount not to exceed $50,000 in funding from the 2023 Restricted Contingency Account A1990 and transfers those funds to account A1012-5435 Community Service Contracts for the purposes of funding 2023 Unbroken Promise Initiative programming, and be it further RESOLVED, Common Council hereby authorizes the Mayor, on advice of the City Attorney, to execute the contract for the Unbroken Promise Initiative. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 5.3 Approval of AOC Recommended Budget for 2023 Moved by Alderperson Defendini. Seconded by Alderperson Haines-Sharp. WHEREAS, Section 15.12 of the Franchise Agreement of January 2003 between the City of Ithaca and the franchisee Time Warner Entertainment-Advance/Newhouse Partnership (TWC), subsequently assigned to Charter Communications, Inc. (d/b/a Spectrum Networks) after Charter's 2016 acquisition of TWC, requires the participating municipalities (City of Ithaca, Town of Ithaca, Village of Cayuga Heights) to provide the franchisee with an annual written budget for Public, Educational and Governmental access operations (PEG) by June 30 of each calendar year, and WHEREAS, the Franchise Agreement authorizes Charter Communications to collect $0.15 per subscriber per month to be used for the purchase of equipment for the PEG Access Studio, and City Administration Committee Meeting May 24, 2023 Page 4 WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca's Ordinance #2003-17, Par 18-4-G, requires the Access Oversight Committee (AOC) to provide the Participating Municipalities with a recommended annual budget by May 31 of each calendar year, and WHEREAS, the AOC has reviewed PEG’s current equipment and facilities and anticipates that new or replacement equipment and facilities will likely be needed, including certain playback equipment; and WHEREAS, at their regular meeting on April 4, 2023, the AOC recommended a $29,000.00 contingency to purchase equipment as needed for the functioning of PEG operations, pending receipt and AOC approval of line-item estimates; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Common Council of the City of Ithaca accepts the AOC recommended budget for Spectrum Network’s 2021 annual budget for Public, Educational and Governmental access. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 5.4 Water and Sewer - Request to Amend 2023 Budget Moved by Alderperson McGonigal. Seconded by Alderperson Defendini. WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca adopted their Drinking Water Source Protection Plan for Six Mile Creek in November 2022. The Plan was developed by a broad base of stakeholders from the watershed and with the support of NYS DEC and NYS DOH. It is now a NYS recognized Clean Water Plan; and WHEREAS, a Plan Management Team (PMT) was created and Ithaca's PMT is comprised of members from the City of Ithaca, Towns of Caroline, Danby, and Dryden, Tompkins County Planning and Health Departments, Tompkins County Soil & Water Conservation District, an Agricultural sector representative, and the Finger Lakes Land Trust; and WHEREAS, the PMT submitted a grant application to Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program to conduct a build-out analysis for the following areas as an implementation task of the City of Ithaca Drinking Water Source Protection Program (DWSP2) Plan (September 2022): Route 79 corridor (Towns of Caroline, Dryden, and Ithaca) Coddington Road corridor (Towns of Danby and Ithaca) and is supported by an agreement with Cornell University in partnership with New York Sea Grant under Prime Agreement CM04068 from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; and WHEREAS, the Subaward is wholly reimbursable and did not require a local match; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2023 Authorized Water Fund Budget to account for the said subaward as follows: City Administration Committee Meeting May 24, 2023 Page 5 Increase Revenue Account: F8330-3989 State Aid Home & Community $45,500.00 Increase Appropriations Account: F8330-5435 Contracts $45,500.00 A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 5.5 Water and Sewer - Request to Amend 2023 Budget Moved by Alderperson Defendini. Seconded by Alderperson Haines-Sharp. WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca Water Treatment Plant has requested and been approved for funds from the Park Foundation to test a model developed by Professor Emeritus Dr. Bouldin. He has developed a model of inorganic solution chemistry for Cayuga Lake. It is hoped to advance the work further so that the model can be used to improve our understanding of Cayuga Lake, cyanobacterial blooms, and the impacts of climate change specifically on Cayuga Lake’s inorganic solution chemistry; and WHEREAS, the goal of this project is to complete the testing of this model and to advance the work of Dr. Bouldin by completing the test of his model; and WHEREAS, the Laboratory Director for the City of Ithaca’s Water Treatment Plant (CIWTP) wants to hire a master’s student intern with a good understanding of inorganic water chemistry to complete the testing of the model; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Common Council hereby amends the 2023 Water Fund budget as follows: Increase Revenues: F8330-2705 Gifts and Donations $2,200.00 Increase Expenses: F8330-5120 Part time/Seasonal $1,995.00 F8330-9030 Social Security $155.00 F8330-9040 Workers’ Compensation $50.00 $2,200.00 A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 5.6 Bond Resolution: The Committee moved this resolution on to Common Council. 6. City Manager Transition 6.1 Overview of May 31 COW Agenda: The Committee discussed the information received prior to the meeting from Chief of Staff Mohlenhoff. City Administration Committee Meeting May 24, 2023 Page 6 7. Other Business 7.1 Firearms Safety: Chairperson Cantelmo explained the proposed Ordinance and asked the Committee to review it for more discussion at a future meeting. 3. Government Administration, Human Resources, and Policy .1 An Ordinance Establishing Chapter 220 of the City of Ithaca Municipal Code Entitled “Firearm Safety.” WHEREAS the Common Council of the City of Ithaca is charged with the preservation of order, peace, and the health, safety, and welfare of the City and its inhabitants; and WHEREAS firearm-related deaths have increased in the past decade and firearms are the leading cause of death for those aged 19 or younger; and WHEREAS the Code of the City of Ithaca is silent on the storage of firearms and has not been updated with respect to safety since 1974, and WHEREAS on September 1, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law new legislation to make New York State a leader in responsible gun safety, and WHEREAS improperly stored firearms can contribute to their accidental, unauthorized, and illegal use; now, therefore, ORDINANCE 2023-XX BE IT ORDIANED AND ENACTED by the Common Council of the City of Ithaca as follows: Section 1. Legislative findings, intent, and purpose. The Common Council makes the following findings: 1. The unsafe storage of firearms threatens public health and safety in the United States. Unsecured weapons increase the likelihood of accidents, theft, and unauthorized or criminal use. 2. The International Association of Chiefs of Police recommends that state and local governments mandate safe storage of firearms to protect children and youth from gun violence. 3. NYS Consolidated Laws, Penal Law §265.45 states no person who owns or is custodian of a rifle, shotgun, or firearm who resides with an individual who such person knows or has reason to know is prohibited from possessing a firearm pursuant to 18 USC §922(g)(1),(4),(8), or (9) shall store or otherwise leave such rifle, shotgun, or firearm out of his or her immediate possession or control without having first securely locked such rifle, shotgun or firearm in an appropriate safe storage depository or rendered it incapable of being fired by use of a gun locking device appropriate to that weapon. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect, impair, or supersede any special or local act relating to the safe storage of rifles, shotguns, or firearms which impose additional requirements on the owner or custodian of such weapons. City Administration Committee Meeting May 24, 2023 Page 7 4. Public welfare and law enforcement duties in the City of Ithaca would be enhanced by mandated safe storage practices. Section 2. Definitions The following terms shall have the following meanings: A. “Residence.” As used in this Chapter, “residence” is any structure intended or used for human habitation including but not limited to houses, condominiums, rooms, accessory dwelling units, motels, hotels, SROs, time-shares, and recreational and other vehicles where human habitation occurs. The term “residence” also includes the curtilage of those structures or vehicles. B. “Firearm.” As used in this Chapter, “firearm” means a device, designed to be used as a weapon, from which a projectile is expelled through the barrel by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion. It does not include an “antique firearm” as defined by 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(16). C. “Firearm precursor part.” As used in this Chapter, “firearm precursor part” means a component of a firearm that is necessary to build or assemble a firearm and falls within either of the following categories: a. An unfinished receiver, including both a single part receiver and a multiple part receiver, such as a receiver in an AR-10 or AR-15-style firearm. An unfinished receiver includes a receiver tube, a molded or shaped polymer frame or receiver, a metallic casting, a metallic forging, and a receiver flat, such as a Kalashnikov-style weapons system, Kalashnikov-style receiver channel, or a Browning-style receiver side plate. b. An unfinished handgun frame. Section 3. Prohibition A. No person shall keep a firearm or precursor part within a residence unless the firearm or precursor part is stored in a locked container or disabled with a locking device. The firearm must be stored or disabled in a manner that a reasonable person would believe renders it inaccessible to unauthorized users. It is a violation of this prohibition if the key, or mechanism, or code to unlock or disable the locked container or locking device is closed to, or kept in a location accessible to, unauthorized usersnot reasonably accessible to someone other than the owner or custodian. Section 4. Exceptions No violation of this Chapter shall be found in the following circumstances: A. The firearm or precursor is carried on the body of an authorized user who is legally allowed to possess a firearm or precursor part of that type; or B. The firearm or precursor part is kept within close enough proximity and control that the owner or other lawfully authorized user of the firearm or precursor can readily retrieve and use the firearm or precursor part as if carried on the person. Section 5. Penalty A. A violation of §220-3 shall constitute a civil infraction. be punishable by civil fine of $500 for the first offense. Subsequent violations in a one-year period will be punishable by a fine of $1,000. B. If an unauthorized user obtains access to a firearm or precursor part because of a violation of §220-3 and uses the firearm or precursor part to injure or kill themselves or another, the owner or City Administration Committee Meeting May 24, 2023 Page 8 custodian, shall be liable in a civil action for the death or injury. In such an action a prevailing plaintiff shall be entitled to recover attorney’s fees. Section 6. Severability Severability is intended throughout and within the provisions of this Ordinance. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, then that decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. 8. Meeting Wrap-up 8.1 Announcements. None. 8.2 Next Meeting Date: June 28, 2023. 8.3 Review, Agenda Items for Next Meeting. None. 8.4 Adjourn: With no further business and on a motion by Alderperson Defendini, the meeting was adjourned at 6:53 p.m.