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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-C&OI-2008-06-17Community and Organizational Issues Regular Meeting June 17, 2008 7:30 p.m. PRESENT: Chair J. R. Clairborne Vice Chair Daniel Cogan Alderpersons (8) Robin Korherr, Svante Myrick, Joel Zumoff, Mary Tomlan, Jennifer Dotson, Maria Coles, Eric Rosario, Nancy Schuler OTHERS PRESENT: Mayor — Carolyn Peterson City Clerk — Julie Conley Holcomb Fire Chief — Brian Wilbur Acting Police Chief — Edward Vallely GIAC Deputy Director — Leslyn McBean- Clairborne City Attorney — Daniel Hoffman Supt. of Public Works — Gray Asst. Supt. — Whitney Information Management Specialist — Myers O'Brien & Gere Consultant — Rick Gell O'Brien & Gere Consultant — Steve Eckler MODIFICATIONS TO THE AGENDA: Chair Clairborne requested the following modifications to the agenda: 1. Addition of Youth Council Update by Alderperson Myrick 2. Public Information Team Update — Move to the first item to be discussed 3. Addition of Upcoming Vacancy of Assistant City Attorney — Update No Committee member objected. PUBLIC COMMENT No one from the public appeared to address the committee. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS; PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR: Alderperson Rosario announced that there would be a public meeting regarding the traffic calming measures proposed for Wood Street on June 24, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. at the Titus Towers I Community Room. Alderperson Korherr reported that the Finger Lakes Independence Center recently celebrated their 20th anniversary and she extended her congratulations to Executive Director Larry Roberts and his staff. She stated that the Disability Advisory Council is working on many different issues and the City Clerk's office is now staffing that meeting so that minutes will be available. She further stated that the Federal government is making efforts to update ADA regulations that will affect State and Local governments and there are very broad changes being proposed. June 17, 2008 Alderperson Myrick extended his condolences to the friends and family of Douglas Lowe, a Cornell University, Industrial and Labor Relations School, student who recently drowned at Ithaca Falls. He was a valued member of the black community at Cornell University and will be missed. Mayor Peterson announced that Assistant City Attorney Patricia Dunn would be retiring on June 30, 2008. She stated that according to City Charter requirements a search committee must be established consisting of three Common Council members, the City Attorney, and the Human Resources Director. Alderpersons Myrick, Korherr, and Coles volunteered to serve on this committee. ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIR: Chair Clairborne stated that since this past Sunday was Father's Day, he wanted to extend his best wishes and congratulations to all of the fathers in the audience. Chair Clairborne reported that he has been working with Tom Frank from the Ithaca City School District to arrange a meeting between Common Council and the Board of Education in the near future. This would be a public meeting of the two bodies and a chance to get to know one another and establish collaborative relationships. UPDATES: Public Information Officer Team: City Clerk Holcomb reported that two interns have been hired to work on the City's public information initiatives. They will start work on Monday, June 23, 2008. Hency Yuen -Eng will be focusing on developing a community newsletter. This project involves establishing a template /formatting; developing an e -mail distribution list; interviewing staff, Common Council members, Committee Chairs regarding legislative actions, agenda items, and upcoming issues of interest to the public; and writing articles. She will be working out of the City Clerk's office until the middle of August. Brian Ireley will be working on updating the City's website. He will be working with our current vendor, Gov Office, to develop a new template /design for the website. He will also be providing updated pictures of Ithaca and City staff, graphics and multi -media work and content revisions. He will be working out of the City Clerk's office through August and may stay on to continue with the newsletter project. City Clerk Holcomb reported that the positions are funded through 2007 Public Information funds. When use of the 2008 funds is needed, Common Council will need to authorize the release of funds from the restricted contingency account. Alderperson Cogan questioned why the City decided to stay with the current web vendor as he as been frustrated with the overuse of "pdf" files and URL's that are too long. He voiced his support for more user friendly formats. City Clerk Holcomb responded that a good website needs to be updated routinely. Gov Office has a user - friendly administrative side that requires less training for staff. New tools will be available once the redesign project is complete and the City will be June 17, 2008 purchasing a number of static URLs to address one of Alderperson Cogan's concerns. The City uses "pdf" format so that everyone is able to open the documents regardless of what operating system or software they have. She further stated that the Information and Technology Department would be responsible for website maintenance once the revision project has been completed. She further stated that a presentation would be given to Senior Staff to preview the web work and the final product would be presented to Common Council in September if the project remains on schedule. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: Water: Regional System Reliability and Implementation Superintendent of Public Works Bill Gray, Acting Director of Planning and Development JoAnn Cornish, and O'Brien & Gere consultants, Steve Eckler and Rick Gell made a presentation to the Committee regarding regional system reliability and implementation for both water source options being considered by the City. Superintendent Gray stated that the purpose and objective of this decision making process is to provide a safe and reliable water system for the next 100 years. He further explained that the two options include purchasing water from Bolton Point or re- building the City's current water plant. The presentation included the following information: Definitions for evaluation criteria — regional water system reliability is the ability to maintain water service to City, while sustaining the loss of a raw water source, or a major component of the treatment plant or distribution system (combined regional ability /City's independent ability). Implementability is the relative ease of implementing the proposed improvements. This criterion considers the potential that regulatory permitting, public acceptance, mitigation, property acquisition, or constructibility issues could cause delay or block the project. System reliability relies on a single source raw water transmission main and treatment plant and an alternate emergency supply cannot support the needs of the South Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Committee (SCLIWC) and the City. Relevant issues with the re -build option include reliance on a 100 - year -old raw water transmission main, less drought resistant supply, and maintenance of three regional sources of water supply. Relevant issues with the purchase option for implementability include requirement of New York State Department of Transportation highway work permit, requires multiple private easements, involves relocation of 7 city staff, and provides an opportunity to reduce activity on Water Street and in the Six Mile Creek Natural Area. Relevant issues with the re -build option for implementability include water purchases during construction, limited space available for construction staging, and the City owns 41 June 17, 2008 and currently uses land for water supply purposes. The timeline for this decision includes some of the following: 2008 — City approval and endorsement from the New York State Department of Health, 2009 — community input on design features and selection of final design, 2010 -2013 construction starts. Extensive discussion followed regarding the status of the environmental reviews, Bolton Point's emergency back -up for water supply, maintenance costs for the Six Mile Creek Natural area if the purchase option is chosen, dam safety, economic aspects for both options, cost of project in light of current volatile fuel pricing, the effect of global warming on this decision, impact and effect of obtaining permanent easements on private property owners, concerns from the Natural Areas Commission about any work in the Six Mile Creek Natural area, concerns regarding providing impartial findings since the City has worked exclusively with O'Brien & Gere for many years on this project, and the ability of the public to provide input on this decision. Chair Clairborne thanked the consultants and staff for the informative presentation. GIAC: GIAC Deputy Director Leslyn McBean- Clairborne and GIAC Program Administrator, Travis Brooks addressed the Committee on the following items: General update regarding facilities and NYSEG: The staff at GIAC was informed by NYSEG that they would be working on their coal tar removal project and that GIAC's pool and basketball court would need to be closed during that work, which was scheduled to take place at the start of summer. This would have greatly impacted the ability to provide summer programming and camps at GIAC which are scheduled to begin July 7, 2008. GIAC staff contacted NYSEG regarding their schedule for this work and how it would affect their programming for the summer and NYSEG has agreed that they will not begin this work until September 2, 2008. The pool and basketball court will be open for summer programming. Creation of Two Program Coordinator Positions: GIAC Program Administrator Brooks stated that in 2000 -2001 the GIAC after - school program was required to become licensed and follow regulations established for after - school programs. He explained the history of different programming offered at GIAC, staffing requirements, the need to implement additional programming, and the need for qualified staff to supervise the programs. He stated that in order to ensure that programs are functioning to their full capacity they need to combine the Teen and Youth Programs to create the GIAC Youth Services Department. Within that program they would have three separate divisions that would provide services to youth and teens: the teen division (middle and high school age), youth division (Pre -K to 5t" grade), and a REC division (Recreation, Education, and Community). In order to make this program work, they need and are requesting two additional Program Coordinators, one for the Youth Program and one for the REC Program. He stated that for the remainder of the calendar year, GIAC could fund one of the additional Program Coordinator positions from approximately August 2008 to December 2008. For the 2009 budget they will be requesting additional funding for an additional Program Coordinator. CI June 17, 2008 GIAC Deputy Director Mc- Bean - Clairborne explained that they would like to request funding to promote four of their five Program Assistants to Program Leaders. She stated that the Program Assistant position was created as an entry -level position to provide the experience required in order to take the civil service exam. The position does not require a high school diploma, GED or experience so it gives applicants a chance to get their "foot in the door" to the civil service system. Once they've gained three years experience they meet the qualifications for the Program Coordinator position. The staff members currently in these positions exceeded expectations and are currently performing duties out of their Civil Service classifications in order to provide maximum quality programming. Alderperson Korherr stated that the Youth Bureau faced a similar situation and was able to partner with the Ithaca City School District and New York State Division for Youth to garner their financial support for these valuable programming needs. She suggested that staff explore the availability of alternate funding sources to help meet this need. Chair Clairborne stated that he wanted to underscore that GIAC is a community resource with excellent staff members who are committed to the children they work with and the programs they run. He further stated that he appreciated staff bringing this to the committee's attention and explained that it would now go on to the City Administration committee for their consideration. Alderperson Coles stated that she appreciates and supports what GIAC means to this community and will continue to express that support in words and in deeds. Her concern however is that she has no idea what the budget for 2009 looks like and Council and staff have been warned that it could be very difficult. Alderperson Rosario stated that he is concerned about the budget for 2009 and has talked with both GIAC Deputy Director McBean- Clairborne and Program Administrator Brooks about those concerns. He asked Council to consider what might happen to staff currently in those positions when considering funding for programs next year. Youth Council Proposal: Alderperson Myrick stated that he has been exploring the possibility of creating a Youth Council that would engage in projects of their own choosing, hold forums on various areas of interest and provide an opportunity for civic engagement by the youth in our community. The Youth Council would also promote better understanding of relations with youth, and would be made up of representatives of all the school districts and municipalities in Tompkins County. This program would require a staff member to oversee, manage meetings, establish recruitment ideas, facilitate meetings and discussions in the community and provide advice and direction to the youth. He stated that he estimates the cost to start up the program would be in the range of $28,000 to $30,000, but he would not proceed with the program unless the Ithaca City School District provides matching funding, along with funding from other municipalities, and the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce. He reported that he, Alderpersons Schuler and Clairborne, members of the Youth Bureau staff and Acting Director for Planning and Development Cornish have met and '67 June 17, 2008 extended their support for the program. He will provide a concept memo for this proposal for the July Committee meeting. Smoke -free Zone Legislation Subcommittee: Alderperson Rosario reported that the sub - committee is continuing its thoughtful meeting process, and the next meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 23, 2008 at 1:00 p.m. He stated that a recommendation from the sub - committee probably wouldn't be ready until the August meeting because this is a complex issue. Chair Clairborne thanked Alderperson Rosario for his leadership with the sub - committee on this topic. University Avenue Proposed Memorandum of Understanding: City Attorney Hoffman distributed a memo to Committee members updating them on the status of the process involving the discontinuance of a portion of University Avenue by the City. He explained that the City is proceeding through the legal steps and has sent notices to Cornell University and nearby property owners. He reported that two public sessions were scheduled, one was an informational meeting that took place earlier today and was sparsely attended and the other one is a public hearing scheduled for Monday, June 23, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. He stated that the Mayor has requested staff to work on adopting a plan for the Fall Creek Natural River Recreational area because that plan will need to be in place when Cornell University applies for a work permit. He further reported that the working group will continue to meet as this proposal moves forward and that the Board of Public Works would be voting on the discontinuance at their regular meeting in August. Common Council would vote on the actual City /Cornell University agreement at the September 3, 2008 meeting. He stated that he would provide another update on this topic at the July meeting. Discussion followed on the floor regarding what detour would be in place for emergency vehicles during the temporary closure for repair work, traffic controls, signage, and making public safety a priority. ADVICE OF COUNSEL: Motion to Enter Into Advice of Council Session to Discuss the City- County Communications MOU - Resolution: By Alderperson Korherr: Seconded by Alderperson Dotson RESOLVED, That the Community & Organizational Issues committee enter into an Advice of Council session to discuss the City- County Communications MOU. Carried Unanimously The Community &Organizational Issues Committee reconvened into regular session with no formal action taken. June 17, 2008 ADJOURNMENT: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.. Sarah L. Myers, J. R. Clairborne Information Management Specialist Chair 7