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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CA-2020-06-17CITY ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 6:00 p.m. June 17, 2020 PRESENT: Alderperson Mohlenhoff – Chair Alderpersons (4): Gearhart, Kerslick, McGonigal, Nguyen Mayor (1): Myrick OTHERS PRESENT: Alderpersons (3) – Brock, Fleming, Lewis City Attorney – Lavine Assistant City Attorney – Flaherty Superintendent of Public Works – Thorne Director of Engineering Services – Logue Chief of Staff – Cogan HR Director – Michell-Nunn Controller – Thayer 1. Call to Order 1.1 Comments by Mayor Myrick: Mayor Myrick stated that Governor Cuomo signed an Executive Order for the NYS Police Reform and Reinvention Collaboration. The order requires “local police agencies to develop a plan that reinvents and reimagines police strategies and programs in its community based on community input. The plan must address policies, procedures, practices and deployment, including, but not limited to use of force”. The Mayor stated that he has met with community leaders and college representatives to talk about creating a Taskforce to complete the work of reinventing and reimagining of public safety in the City. He stated that information will follow that provides more details about the taskforce and its responsibilities. 1.2 Agenda Review: Chairperson Mohlenhoff asked to modify the agenda by adding the following as Item 3.1: City of Ithaca – Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant Resolution of Authorization and Project costs for Award Allocations Engineering Planning Grant (EPG) Program. This resolution, which was previously passed by this Committee, had to be revised to replace the City of Ithaca with the Mayor as being the person authorized to execute the grant agreement. 1.3 Review/Approval of Minutes: Alderperson Kerslick made a motion to approve the minutes from the May 20, 2020 meeting of the City Administration Committee. Seconded by Alderperson Gearhart. Motion carried unanimously. 1.4 Statements from the Public. Comments from the following persons were read into the record: • Itai Levin, Ithaca resident, spoke about the twenty-four (24) hour parking limit ordinance. Itai Levin who has no off street parking, is being encouraged to minimize trips outside the house and who is not physically going into work due to the coronavirus continues to get parking tickets for not moving the car for 36-48 hours. Itai Levin asked the City to consider overturning this rule or extend the limit beyond 24 hours. City Administration Committee Meeting June 17, 2020 Page 2 • Ithaca residents Jerome Gagliano, Lisa Bertuzzi, Allison DeSario, Andrew Molnar and Irina Peress spoke against the City moving forward with a 5G infrastructure rollout without getting comments from the public and expressed concerns about the problems that a 5G infrastructure would cause in residential neighborhoods. They asked the Committee not to move forward with this process and to allow the community to be a part of the discussion in deciding what is needed for the City of Ithaca. • A letter was received that asked the City to reduce the Ithaca Police Department budget and to use the funds more effectively for mental health services, affordable housing, living wage, affordable healthcare, etc. Reform is not enough. 1.5 Statements from Employees. None. 1.6 Council Response Alderperson Nguyen thanked the individuals for writing the unique letter about reform not being enough and suggesting that the funds from the Police Department’s budget be redistributed and used for social programs. Chairperson Mohlenhoff stated that work is being done to provide information, by the end of June, to the public about budget funding and allocations. 2. Consent Agenda Items. None. 3. Finance, Budget and Appropriations 3.1 City of Ithaca – Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant Resolution of Authorization and Project costs for Award Allocations Engineering Planning Grant (EPG) Program Moved by Alderperson Kerslick. Seconded by Alderperson McGonigal. WHEREAS, the Ithaca Wastewater Treatment Facility (IAWWTF) receives sanitary sewer flow through a series of piped networks comprised of materials and construction that are of varying age, condition, and integrity; and WHEREAS, defective pipe and component joints, cracks, and inappropriate connections can promote the intrusion of undesirable dilution flow from sources including groundwater and surface runoff, which is known as inflow and infiltration (I/I); and WHEREAS, I/I is the cause of many problematic conditions at the IAWWTF and within collection systems including increases in chemical usage, increases in pumping costs, decreases in plant and system capacity, biological treatment upsets, surcharge conditions, and unnecessary repairs; and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca submitted, and was awarded, an Engineering Planning Grant (EPG) under the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process, to conduct an Inflow and Infiltration Study (I/I Study) which will help identify those areas within the piped network which produce problematic I/I and make recommendations for improvements and; City Administration Committee Meeting June 17, 2020 Page 3 WHEREAS, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation offer competitive statewide reimbursement grant programs for local governments, administered through the New York Clean Water State Revolving Fund; and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca City Council, accepts the EPG program grant award for an I/I Study; and NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that The City of Ithaca is authorized to execute a Grant Agreement the Mayor is authorized to execute a Grant Agreement with the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation and any and all other contracts, documents and instruments necessary to bring about the project and to fulfill the City of Ithaca’s obligations under the Grant Agreement; and be it further RESOLVED, that MRB Group will act as the project contact, and be it further, RESOLVED, that the City of Ithaca authorizes and appropriates a minimum 20% local match as required by the Engineering Planning Grant Program for the City of Ithaca I/I Study. Under the EPG program, this local match must be at least 20% of the EPG grant award of $30,000. The source of the local match, and any amount in excess of the required match, shall be provided through the IAWWTF Capital Project 414J. The maximum local match shall not exceed $6,000 based upon a total estimated maximum project cost of $30,000. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 3.2 Agreement with NYS DOT for Elmira Rd Project Moved by Alderperson Nguyen. Seconded by Alderperson Kerslick. A resolution authorizing implementation and funding in the first instance 100% of the federal aid-eligible costs and State “Marchiselli” program-aid eligible costs, of a transportation federal-aid project, and appropriating funds therefore. WHEREAS, a Project for the Elmira Road Overlay and Signal Replacement, P.I.N. 375592 (the “Project”) is eligible for funding under Title 23 U.S. Code, as amended, that calls for the apportionment of the costs of such program to be borne at the ratio of 80% Federal funds and 20% non-federal funds, and WHEREAS, on September 7, 2016, Common Council approved a Master Agreement with the New York State Department of Transportation for local sponsorship of the Project, and established Capital Project #832 for the Project in the amount of $210,600 for Preliminary Engineering/Design with the understanding that the City’s share would be approximately $24,000, and WHERAS, Common Council authorized an additional $968,500 in the 2018 Adopted Capital Budget and an additional $1,440,000 in the 2020 Adopted Capital Budget, in anticipation of a supplemental agreement for funding in the first instance of construction related phases of the Project, and City Administration Committee Meeting June 17, 2020 Page 4 WHEREAS, the New York State Department of Transportation has provided a Supplemental Agreement for federal and state aid for the Project including an increase state share for Design, and funding for the Construction and Construction Inspection phases of the Project, and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca desires to advance the Project by making a commitment of 100% of the non-federal share of the costs of all Phases of the Project; and WHEREAS, the scope of the Project is a maintenance type project and therefore has been categorized as a Type II action in accordance with City Environmental Quality Review Ordinance (City Code Section 176.5 (c) (2)) and SEQR (6 NYSRR Part 617.5(c)(2)), now, therefore, the Common Council, duly convened does hereby RESOLVE, that the Common Council hereby approves the above-subject Project; and it is hereby further RESOLVED, that the Common Council hereby authorizes the City of Ithaca to pay in the first instance 100% of the federal and non-federal share of the cost of Preliminary Engineering/Design and Construction/Construction Support and Inspection work for the Project or portions thereof, and it is further RESOLVED, in accordance with the funding authorizations detailed above, that the sum of $2,619,100 is hereby appropriated from the issuance of serial bonds and made available to cover the cost of participation in the above phases of the Project, and it is further RESOLVED, that in the event the full federal and non-federal share costs of the project exceeds the amount appropriated above, the Common Council of the City of Ithaca shall convene as soon as possible to appropriate said excess amount immediately upon the notification by the NYSDOT 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 the Superintendent of Public Works is hereby authorized to execute all necessary certifications or reimbursement requests for Federal Aid on behalf of the City of Ithaca with the New York State Department of Transportation 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 state-aid eligible Project costs and all Project costs within appropriations therefore that are not so eligible, and it is further RESOLVED, That this project be undertaken with the understanding that the final cost of the Project to the City of Ithaca will be roughly 5% of said portion, currently estimated at $125,480 of the $2,619,100 authorized for this portion of the project, in monies and in-kind services as managed by the Superintendent of Public Works and monitored by the City Controller, and be it further RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be filed with the New York State Commissioner of Transportation by attaching it to any necessary Agreement in connection with the Project, and it is further City Administration Committee Meeting June 17, 2020 Page 5 RESOLVED, this Resolution shall take effect immediately. A vote on the resolution resulted as follows: Passed unanimously. 3.3 Update on Small Cell (4G and 5G) Facilities City Attorney Lavine gave an update on the status of the contract for Small Cell (4G and 5G) Facilities. 4. City Administration, Human Resources, and Policy 4.1 Possible Dissolution of the Board of Public Works City Attorney Lavine, Assistant City Attorney Flaherty and Superintendent of Public Works Thorne attended the meeting to talk about the possible dissolution of the Board of Public Works (BPW). 5. Discussion 5.1 Reinstatement of Furloughed Employees HR Director Michell-Nunn reported that twelve (12) furloughed employees have been reinstated. She explained the reinstatement process and mentioned that the signed agreements given to furloughed employees end on July 31, 2020. 6 Meeting Wrap-up 6.1 Announcements Juneteenth Holiday: Recently, Governor Cuomo declared Juneteenth as a holiday for all State employees beginning this year. He intends to pass legislation that makes Juneteenth a state holiday beginning in 2021. Juneteenth is celebrated to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, in the aftermath of the Civil War, Blacks were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation. 6.2 Next Meeting Date: July 22, 2020. 6.3 Review, Agenda Items for Next Meeting. None. 6.4 Adjourn: With no further business and on a motion by Alderperson Kerslick, the meeting was adjourned at 7:39 p.m.