2026-09-23 - Common Council Study Session

05:29It is now 12:00. Thank you for joining

05:31us at our study session. Let's see. Uh

05:38the uh item number five, there will be a

05:40public meeting relative to the agenda

05:42item number 40 uh to adopt a citywide uh

05:47month's moratorum on battery energy

05:50storage systems.

05:52Moving on, council.

05:55Thank you, Madam President. Lesson to

05:57all today. Um, I have item A

06:05and 11

06:08council. Hey, Cory, you know, I need

06:10that um before Monday. Going to need the

06:13signed contract

06:14>> because we haven't gotten that.

06:15>> Need the sign TA?

06:17>> Yeah, okay. Before you all come,

06:19>> it wasn't submitted with the

06:20legislation. Okay.

06:21>> Not the sign.

06:22>> Okay.

06:25>> Y Thank you.

06:26>> Thank you. So, that's it. That's just

06:28about this. We're all set for this

06:30agreement.

06:30>> Yes. Yes. This is just um the local law

06:33because it's going to reflect the prior

06:35fiscal year. So that's why there needs

06:36to be a local law associated with the

06:38agreement.

06:40>> Okay.

06:41>> Okay. Yeah.

06:44>> All right.

06:44>> Thank you, counselor.

06:46>> Okay. Uh number 10. Uh we'll wait until

06:49Monday.

06:50>> Yep. We know Monday.

06:51>> All right. Uh and councelor Catwell

06:53again. So it's the same

06:55>> it's the same thing with the labor

06:56agreement. wage increase.

06:58>> Any questions from anyone? No.

07:01>> Thanks.

07:02>> I don't have any questions. All right.

07:04Thank you.

07:04>> Thank you. Thank you, Rashid. Councelor

07:07Monto for Councelor Majoke.

07:08>> Thank you, President Piaga. Councelor

07:10Majoke has items 12 through 23.

07:15>> Hello, Commissioner.

07:17>> Good afternoon, counselors. Uh 12 is a

07:20uh an agreement with the state to help

07:22out with uh uh our snow removal. Um this

07:27is during emergency uh situations where

07:31we have all hands on deck and we need

07:32help. So this doesn't mean that they're

07:35going to give us drivers or anything.

07:37They're just going to take over some of

07:39their routes like West Tennessee, Erie

07:41Boulevard, UAE,

07:44those state routes. And if we need salt.

07:49>> So, Commissioner, how many cloud drivers

07:51do we have on hand right now?

07:53>> I can tell you how many we don't have.

07:55>> Well, I know how many we don't have.

07:58[laughter]

08:00>> Um, I'll get that number to you. I'm not

08:02sure off the top of my head,

08:03>> but

08:06>> questions on that one. Okay. Well, for

08:08sure. If we do take over the state

08:10routes during these emergency events,

08:14are we compensated for for clearing

08:16them?

08:17>> No, they're going to help us out.

08:18>> They help us.

08:23[laughter]

08:27>> Help us.

08:29>> We need to have much better agreement

08:31now.

08:32[laughter]

08:34>> Okay. Anything else?

08:36>> 13.

08:36>> All right. 13. Uh this is to amend this

08:39ordinance here. Uh we we just forgot a

08:41vendor on the last time when we came and

08:44it was Fairbanks. We forgot.

08:46>> So we're just adding one more.

08:47>> Just adding another vendor. Yeah.

08:50>> 14.

08:57>> Hi Mary.

08:58>> Good afternoon councilors. Mary

09:00Robinson, city engineer. Item 14,

09:03requesting an amendment with an

09:04agreement with Barton and Ljudis for um

09:07some additional survey work needed for

09:09the Outer Eastwood sanitary sewer rehab

09:12project. This is a project where we're

09:14going to be uh lining sewers, doing some

09:18sewer separation, and um improving the

09:21sewers in that area.

09:24>> Have we started the project yet?

09:26uh we're in the design phase and we

09:28found some um

09:31existing conditions that we didn't have

09:33records of. So that's why we want to do

09:35additional survey work so that we have

09:37accurate information to put in our

09:39design documents

09:41um and don't have unanticip unfor as

09:44many unforeseen conditions.

09:48So we're asking to amend the contract by

09:51$72,850

09:53for a total not to exceed cost of

09:561,147850

10:01>> 15. Thanks Mary.

10:12>> Good afternoon counselors. Uh the first

10:14item we got number 15, we're looking to

10:17amend the contract with GHD for an

10:20additional 55,283

10:24um to close up these uh Brookford,

10:26Guilford, and Westminster pump station

10:28project um they're at the final end.

10:31We've had some extra cost due to doing

10:34additional lead service lines in the

10:36area with the leftover funding we had.

10:38So we have some additional costs for

10:41that project.

10:42Um,

10:44anything on that?

10:45>> We haven't expected and when it'll be

10:47completely done. What's the dream

10:49scenario?

10:50>> November 1st.

10:51>> Okay.

10:51>> That's my dream scenario. I was just up

10:53there today. Um, Guilford's complete.

10:56The only thing we'll have left on

10:57Guilford we'll do in the spring is plant

10:58some trees, decorate it up a little bit.

11:00Um, Brookford's in ready, you know, to

11:03be put online. Same with that. They just

11:05got to do a little paving up there. And

11:08um spring we'll do some tree planting,

11:11you know, decorated up and West Minister

11:13is being dug right now to be for the new

11:16pump station to be set underground. So

11:18that that project will be complete, too.

11:20I gave them to November 1st to have

11:21these all completed.

11:24>> Commissioner, while you're standing

11:25here, can I just ask a quick question?

11:27Are we doing a better job staying on top

11:28of the contractors? because I'm just get

11:30complaints all the time about how

11:32people's lawns are being left, how the

11:34streets

11:34>> being I know I know I know they pulled

11:36some crews from doing the drilling that

11:38tackle all the restoration. Um, we've

11:40been on top of them. I've been calling

11:42them every day. I've been going out to

11:44the job sites. My team have been going

11:45out to the job sites. Um, what happened

11:48was we kind of

11:50to keep moving forward with the lead

11:52service line replacements. We did a lot

11:53of service line on replacements during

11:55the winter months and I think they lost

11:57track of what they did during the winter

11:58months to go back and do the

12:00restoration. So areas have got got lost

12:03and then they're like working on you

12:05know completing the ones they were

12:06completing right away but forgetting

12:08about the ones that they did in say

12:10February. So, we've been going back over

12:13all them areas and sending them back to

12:15redo all the registration.

12:16>> So, there's no like there's

12:18[clears throat] not a like a written

12:20plan of what they did to where they're

12:21going and going back.

12:23I think they're they were trying to get

12:25so much done in a time frame because we

12:28gave them a time frame and they were

12:30trying to get so many service lines

12:31complete because we were required to get

12:33a certain amount requ [clears throat]

12:34complete through the you know our

12:36regulators that they were just moving

12:38forward replacing them and kind of got

12:40lost on the restoration but we're

12:42focusing more on the restoration now

12:44getting back into these neighborhoods

12:45and cleaning them up.

12:47on some um on some streets we have

12:50National Grid work and leadline

12:52replacement work and spectrum work. Is

12:55there any way that we can partner? So

12:57like National Grid is doing half of the

12:59you know they're repairing their

13:00sidewalks that they tore up but the

13:02leadline replacement folks haven't done

13:04theirs. Is there any way that we can

13:05partner just since somebody's there with

13:07asphalt or cement?

13:09>> So I believe we do road recon meetings

13:12>> on Wednesday mornings. I could speak to

13:15my team to try to coordinate with them

13:17on these meetings. Um it's hard to get

13:19everyone in the same area, right?

13:20National Grid kind of likes taking their

13:22property and doing their own thing and

13:25kind of

13:26>> so it's hard to work simultaneously

13:28together

13:30>> because we have such large scale

13:31construction going on in the same area.

13:33>> We pre didn't the city previously have a

13:35committee that facilitated that kind of

13:38inter agency collaboration?

13:40>> So we just

13:42the dig ones committee. Yes,

13:44>> we just got that back going. Okay.

13:45>> So, we they just picked that back up.

13:48>> All right. So, we senior staff just got

13:49more of that and and just um

13:52>> making sure the city line complaints are

13:54reaching you, right? When people are

13:56reporting that contractors are doing or

13:58not doing work

13:59>> and we have a direct line for them,

14:00right?

14:01>> Um we're building some, you know,

14:03moreformational packets to get to the

14:05residents so they can call direct so

14:07city line's not taking the load of the

14:08calls. Great.

14:09>> So, we're working on that right now.

14:11>> Okay. Thank you. So, I have off of the

14:13agenda, but um which I hate doing, but

14:15since you're there, one more thing, the

14:18JJ lane, you know, where they're

14:20dumping, you know,

14:22>> that's cleaned up. That's

14:24>> So, what I hear is that they spread it

14:25out instead of taking it out.

14:28>> I I know they showed me the receipts.

14:31They took out like 170 loads of

14:33material.

14:35>> Are you talking about burn?

14:36>> Burn it a

14:37>> Yeah, it's the material's gone, but they

14:39graded it and seated the whole thing.

14:41Did Did the property owner ask them to

14:43do that?

14:43>> I believe so. I I believe they said that

14:45was a contract they had with the

14:47property owner after their use that they

14:49had to grade it and seed it and turning

14:50into green space.

14:51>> Could that be a health issue because of

14:52what's in there?

14:54>> What? Excuse me.

14:54>> Could it be a health issue because of

14:57what we're dumping?

14:59>> Um to be quite honest, that's a private

15:02entity. They lease the property. The

15:04city has nothing to do with their

15:06contract with the property owner. That's

15:08something they negotiate. That's not

15:11anything we get involved in. I only got

15:13involved with it because you guys wanted

15:15it cleaned up and yeah,

15:16>> I pushed him to clean it up.

15:18>> Does the property owner understand that

15:19he can't lease that property to him to

15:22just dump material all over it or

15:25>> apparently he must not have or didn't

15:27care.

15:27>> Does he know now not to do it again or

15:29>> JJ loan JJ knows property owner?

15:33>> I haven't spoke with the property owner.

15:35I I don't know who the property owner

15:37is. I just know it was a lease contract

15:39between the contractor and them for a

15:41staging area. And normally staging areas

15:43are, you know, putting clean fill,

15:46putting, you know, pipe shoring

15:48materials and then when you're done,

15:50you're done, not a landfill.

15:52>> They're not cleaning them up. I got a

15:53call.

15:54>> Not a landfill. I I agree. They're using

15:56it as a landfill.

15:57>> Yeah, they're not cleaning it. But I

15:59want to ask another question in another

16:00vein. Um, and maybe Vinnie can help with

16:02that because when we talk about

16:04modernization and you're talking about

16:06not being able to keep track of what

16:07they did in the winter to now, is that

16:10any way we can, you know, correlate that

16:14in our modernization?

16:16>> Well, we kept track of what they did.

16:17So, we knew what they did for service

16:19line materials because they have to

16:20submit for payment apps. So, we know how

16:23homes they did and all that. That on

16:26their side of going back and doing the

16:28restoration is something they lost track

16:30of. We

16:31>> they lost track of it. The ones that get

16:33the complaints about it

16:35>> they and I'm working with them and

16:36enforcing them to keep better track of

16:38what they do and we're setting

16:40guidelines. So the new contracts going

16:42out are having more stringent guidelines

16:44of if you do a service line you have you

16:47know 20 days to have a full restoration.

16:51So same with like what we're looking to

16:53do with the procurement method. We're

16:54looking to eventually try to work with

16:56the state and change the way we do

16:58things. So when you come in, we give you

17:00a hundred service lines to do. You go

17:02out do a 100 service lines from start to

17:04finish. When they're complete, we'll

17:05give you 100 instead of giving 2,000

17:08service lines and saying here you go.

17:10>> So we don't we can't put any of that

17:12through our system that we can just push

17:14a button and see who's done what where.

17:17>> We we do have a update on our new

17:21construction map of where they've been

17:23and where they're working and what

17:24they're doing. It doesn't have like if

17:27it was complete restoration on it. This

17:29is just service. We only update that for

17:31service line replacements. So when they

17:33notify us and give us a list saying the

17:36service line's been replaced, that is no

17:38no longer it's a lead free home. So we

17:40update our inventory and our mapping as

17:44far as the sidewalk being poured, the

17:46grass seed putting down. We don't have

17:48that. You know what I mean? We we

17:50[clears throat] they don't bill us they

17:51don't bill us for it until it's complete

17:54restoration but

17:56>> we we don't implement that in the system

17:59which I get it needs to be something

18:00>> it needs to be because we need to have a

18:02final uh resolution on what happened

18:05instead of us getting the calls every

18:08week I totally agree all

18:09>> I think that we should we should have a

18:11some a committee meeting or something to

18:13discuss this a little bit more in detail

18:15because that's pretty irresponsible

18:17>> and this is and this is you know stuff

18:18like I that we're building out into

18:20accountability our new contracts giving

18:23them more stringent rules to they have

18:25to meet you know at the time when we

18:27first gave these contracts out we were

18:29under an EPA guideline to do this many

18:31homes in this amount of time and they

18:33were the biders they were the lowest

18:34biders to come in we gave them the

18:36project and we were looking just to be

18:38able to present

18:401100 lead free homes say here we've done

18:42you know we reached our goal we've done

18:44this many homes and the the mandate we

18:46were given you know getting quite a bit

18:49of money to do this work.

18:51>> We need to really think about how we're

18:54doing business before we release these

18:57things to how we're inspecting too.

18:59>> Every single day we sit down and come up

19:01with new plans, how to give these jobs

19:03out, how to bring in more contractors,

19:05how to divide them up equally among

19:07smaller businesses.

19:09>> So, so unfortunately for now because we

19:11need to move on in the agenda. I I I get

19:13you, but we need to move on, but we will

19:16then call a committee meeting so we can

19:18get in the deep of this.

19:19>> Okay.

19:20>> Okay. Thank you so much.

19:21>> Yep. Our next one is our um soil and

19:24water agreement, which is a you know um

19:28kind of a mandate for us to keep our

19:30filteration avoidance. Um it expired in

19:33July of this year, kind of fell through

19:35the cracks. We forgot about it. Um we

19:38just have to present it. Total cost,

19:40something we do every single year. It's

19:41to keep the waterershed protected for,

19:43you know, for our clean drinking water.

19:45Um, we're in contract with And County

19:47Soil and Water. Um, the next one is for

19:51special um, highaxes, repair couplings

19:55for large scale water manes. So, the

19:57city, we have a we have a lot of broken

19:59valves, broken manes in this city that

20:02require special couplings. Um, 16 and

20:05larger, 24 and larger. So, we're

20:08starting to tackle these larger scale

20:10projects to get some of these valves

20:12that have been broken in the ground for

20:14multiple years. We have a few on the

20:16conduit we're replacing right now. These

20:18couplings are needed to do that because

20:20of the different diameter and pipe.

20:22We're going from old to new. So, we need

20:24these specialized couplings and we'll

20:26still bidding them out, you know, put

20:27them out to three different vendors to

20:29see who can get them, you know, at a

20:30more costefficient price.

20:33Um the next is transfer our funds from

20:36our cash c cash capital amount in the

20:38amount of 500,000 for our capital

20:41equipment. Um as you know our equipment

20:43is getting older, things are getting

20:44outdated. You know we we have a lot of

20:46equipment we have to get. Um next one is

20:50transfer from our cash capital amount

20:52for our for 30,000 for our facility

20:55securities. You know we're we're putting

20:57new cameras in. We're doing new new

20:59things all through our system to to put

21:02some extra security measures.

21:05Um, ne number 20, transfer capital fund,

21:09a re rehabilitation of our gate houses,

21:12pump stations, and vaults. Um, so we had

21:15a sanitary survey. A lot of our vaults

21:16are old. A lot of the drains aren't

21:18working in our vaults, so we're just

21:19looking to go in and modernize them and

21:22repair them.

21:23Um 21 transfer funds from our cash cash

21:27capital amount for 30,000 for

21:30rehabilitation of our Skinny Atlas

21:31facility. So we have a lot of stuff

21:33going on out there with you know as you

21:35know the chlorine is going to be

21:36changing and we need a lot of updates

21:41>> 22 [clears throat]

21:43>> transfer uh number 22 transfer um 80,000

21:47to our cash capital amount for valve

21:50repair and replacement. they they kind

21:52of go with the highaxes, you know, as

21:55we're replacing the the valves. That's

21:56why

21:57>> I was gonna ask that question. So, is

21:59that amount included into the highaxes

22:02or that's added on?

22:03>> This is additional. This is for the

22:05valves themselves. So, the larger the

22:07valve, the more costly they are. I mean,

22:10eventually this project's going to be

22:11way more than that. We have about an

22:13estimate about 70 broken valves in the

22:16city, 16 and larger, that have been

22:18broken closed for years. Um, and as we

22:20are, we are a gravity system. So, we're

22:22looking to tackle these valves and

22:24replace them to make sure the flow

22:26directional flow is going in the right

22:27direction. Definitely with the 81

22:29project, you know, doing a lot of moving

22:32our mains and water mains. We got to

22:34make sure our systems flowing in the

22:35right direction.

22:38Um, the 23 is transfer um from our

22:42capital amount for 275,000 and that's

22:46for fire hydrant replacement, updating

22:48our hydrants. Quick question on that.

22:50Um, do we have any hydrants that are out

22:52of service right now? And if so, how

22:53many?

22:55>> I can get you that number, but we

22:56definitely have out of service hydrants

22:58right now.

22:58>> Okay. Yeah, I would love to know

23:00>> how many and where.

23:01>> The problem right now we're having is

23:02trying to keep them. You know, the the

23:05stockpiling of them. We're replacing

23:07them every day. We're repairing them

23:09every day. A lot of the projects are

23:12are, you know, going on in the city need

23:14hydrants. You know, just Brighton

23:15Avalone, they're doing that project. We

23:17just supplied them with a bunch of

23:18hydrants. So, it's all as all the things

23:20are developing and we're putting new

23:22mains in, new hydrants are going in,

23:24too.

23:24>> Okay. Didn't mean to steal that mic from

23:27I got excited.

23:28>> Um I believe I'd asked the chief about

23:31this before, but as we are replacing new

23:33hydrants, my understanding is that we

23:35have a different um

23:37>> right

23:38>> right on our hydrants in the city of

23:40Syracuse than they do in suburban

23:42locations. Is now the time to talk about

23:45changing that out? So we are on one

23:46system as opposed to having I know that

23:49it's not a problem that we carry both

23:53connectors and so do the suburban

23:55systems. But in the interest of

23:57efficiency is this the time to start

23:59thinking about changing out to one

24:01standardized system. The the only thing

24:04I could say about that on for the water

24:06department would be is

24:09for the next 30 years we'd have two

24:10systems then because

24:12>> at the end of that 30 years we would

24:13have one system and that seems like that

24:16might be a better situation.

24:21>> Michael Monza fire chief um those

24:23hydrants are all of our connections all

24:26of our fittings to change everything out

24:28would be extremely expensive. the other

24:30hydrants that are in the county, we

24:32could replace them and we could adapt to

24:34them, but our whole operation is built

24:36off of the hydrants that we do have. So,

24:38it would be very costly to change. We

24:41have, you know, 16 frontline state uh

24:44fire trucks. They have multiple

24:46couplings that go onto the hydrants. So,

24:49it would be very costly to change over

24:50our whole operation. And it's not a

24:52problem right now at all.

24:55And you don't believe that there's any

24:56impairment in terms of first response

24:58across again like your fire trucks get

25:00called if there's a big tower fire in

25:02Udica, right? Why are we not

25:04standardizing?

25:05>> Well, Syracuse was always like an

25:07innovator of these types of things

25:09decades ago. So, our whole city was

25:11built on these fire hydrants and really

25:14when we go outside the city, all of our

25:16firefighters are trained to when we go

25:18outside the city if we have to, they

25:20just take the Syracuse threads. There's

25:22like a thread and we put on this

25:24national standard thread that everybody

25:25else has and we hook it up to their

25:27hydrant. But it's it's a simple

25:31adjustment in our operations. It's not a

25:33time delay. But I understand your

25:35concern. But

25:36>> god forbid some other fire departments

25:38would need to come to our rescue. Do

25:39they have Syracuse threads?

25:41>> They should have Syracuse threads. Yes,

25:43>> they should have Syracuse threads. But

25:44if they didn't have Syracuse threats,

25:46>> if they didn't, they have adapters that

25:48go on there. they should have an adapter

25:50that goes on to hook up to their their

25:52threads.

25:53>> I understand that this would be a costly

25:55and timeconuming process to move it

25:57over, but if in the event we did it and

25:59had standardized universal threads

26:01across all things, do you think that

26:03that would be a more efficient system?

26:05>> It definitely would be efficient system.

26:08Probably not costefficient right now.

26:10>> Cost effective. Well, inertia

26:11[clears throat] is always less cost

26:12effective or more cost effective, right?

26:14>> Yep. But right now, it's not an issue at

26:16all. But I understand what you're

26:18saying. But the solution, there's not a

26:20problem for that solution. Right now, I

26:22would say that possibly it could happen,

26:24but right now that's not an issue. And

26:26we haven't seen that to be an issue.

26:28>> Will we be need I mean, we're changing

26:29out these hydrants. Are we going to be

26:31need to are we going to need to replace

26:33all the hydrants in the city? Are we

26:35replacing all the hydrants in the city?

26:36What is our time frame for that?

26:39>> Yeah, we're we're not replacing all the

26:40hydrants. We're replacing the

26:42substandard hydrants. So, we have a lot

26:45of substandard hydr hydrants that are

26:48not up the codes anymore. They're just

26:49old. Them are the ones we're tackling.

26:51We have a ton of new hydrants in the

26:52city already, K81s. We use a Kennedy

26:55hydrant. Um, and we're also leaning

26:57towards, you know, because we utilize

26:59them hydrants. We're putting on, they're

27:00called the high hydrant sensors that are

27:02letting us know when there's like leak

27:04detection or pressure loss in

27:06neighborhoods. we get, you know,

27:08firsthand updates on our phones and so

27:10we know something's going on before it

27:12gets out of control.

27:14>> Where are we in terms of the upgrades or

27:16modernization of the hydrants in terms

27:17of percentage?

27:18>> Um, we do these in-house. So, we do

27:20probably

27:24150 a year.

27:27150 a year replacements on hydrant

27:29replacements. And and the one thing

27:30about nice about Syracuse thread too is

27:33we have a lot of contractors that come

27:35into the city and come and and get hydro

27:39adapters from us. And that kind of

27:42mitigates them being able to use

27:44whatever they want. So they have to come

27:45into us to get the hydro permits. So

27:48they just can't screw anything on the

27:50hydrants and take our water. So it kind

27:52of it's awesome through obscurity.

27:54>> It is a little bit works, you know,

27:56because not everyone has Syracuse. My

27:59question, one quick I got one quick

28:01question.

28:02>> Let me ask you this. I know that there

28:03used to be two inspectors that would

28:06look out for like water mane breaks and

28:08things like that. Do we have still have

28:10inspectors that do that?

28:12>> Inspectors?

28:13>> Yeah, that we had on call.

28:16>> We have we have crews on call. We have

28:20um so we used to have a 24-hour

28:22operation of valve operators that were

28:24there 24 hours. We we can't find them

28:27positions. um we reduced and now they're

28:29on a standby basis. So they're on call.

28:32So as someone calls in a leak, dispatch

28:34will call them. They will come in, you

28:37know, check the leak out, shut it down,

28:39call in a crew if they need to for

28:40repair. They'll they'll, you know, see

28:42what's going on with the leak. Um but we

28:44still have them out there. We have, you

28:46know, we have superintendent on call. We

28:49have crew leaders on call. We have crews

28:50on call. We we have it's a 24-hour

28:52operation. just a lot of it's calling in

28:54now instead of just having people

28:56sitting and waiting for something to

28:57happen which has been more cost

28:59>> I have one last question I'm sorry on

29:00item agenda it's relevant to the agenda

29:03>> okay

29:03>> on item number 18 uh commissioner we

29:05have a $50,000 SUV why do we need the

29:08$50,000 SUV

29:13>> I think they just uh

29:18>> what is that purpose

29:20>> we need an SUV I'm not quite sure it's

29:23going to be 50,000. They got some

29:25quotes. I don't see it being $50,000.

29:28You know, I I think they're looking at

29:31the fleet management was looking at

29:33another Traverse. I'm not getting

29:34another Traverse. We don't I don't think

29:35we need one. I think we're going to go

29:37more with the Equinox.

29:38>> So, this is a take-home vehicle.

29:40>> This will not be a take-home vehicle.

29:41>> Not a take home vehicle.

29:42>> This is a vehicle in the yard for like

29:45our um sometimes our meter readers will

29:48use it. Sometimes our engineers will use

29:51it. We have shared vehicles in the yard

29:53and our team is growing and we have one

29:55shared vehicle. So, we're looking to get

29:57another shared vehicle for our

29:58engineers. We have a new PIO officer. We

30:01have a bunch of other people that would

30:03utilize the vehicle.

30:04>> Is it actionable to get a hybrid

30:06vehicle?

30:08>> We have no I mean a hybrid we could look

30:11into, but we have no we have no source

30:14of charging vehicles. That's why and

30:16>> we're working on that with fleet

30:17management.

30:18>> Yeah. And I don't know if we have anyone

30:20to work on them vehicles

30:22>> to be quite honest. I'm I'm just being I

30:24don't know if we have the mechanic skill

30:26that has has the knowledge of working on

30:29hybrids or electric vehicles. And that's

30:32why I know at one time I've been here 33

30:34years, we tried to shift to all

30:35different types of vehicles. We've tried

30:37natural gas, we got rid of that. We

30:39tried some electric, we got rid of that.

30:42And it always ends up going back to the

30:44same,

30:45>> you know, vehicles.

30:47>> Okay. Thanks, Commissioner.

30:48>> Thank you.

30:49>> Um, councelor Erin Reg.

30:52>> Thank you, Madam President.

30:54I think we can be relatively quick.

30:58>> Good afternoon, Sisha Bird, Commissioner

31:00Parks. We have 24 is to authorize the

31:04city of Syracuse to adopt a negative

31:06declaration basically saying that deer

31:10calling um in the deer and tick

31:12management program will not affect the

31:15environment. Okay.

31:1825 is an agreement with the United

31:20States Department of Agriculture, Animal

31:21and Plant Health Inspection Services to

31:25conduct um wildlife management um and to

31:28adopt the dare and tick management

31:30program or tick and dare management

31:32program from December um 26 to April

31:3627th not to exceed 90,000.

31:40Number 26 is an agreement with Marshm

31:43Mill Ranch to provide meat processing

31:45services for the deer that's called

31:49as part of our t um tick and dair

31:51management program.

31:5427 is a bond ordinance authorizing um

31:57the selling bond for furniture for 2627

32:02for our youth centers.

32:04>> This is part of the capital plan or not

32:06not part of the capital plan. I believe

32:09it is

32:11150,000. Some of our centers, we haven't

32:13purchased furniture for those centers in

32:15a long time and they they need some

32:17replacement. Um, and 28 is to go along

32:21with that is the authorization for that

32:24150,000.

32:2729

32:29is a application agreement to the New

32:32York State Department of Environmental

32:34Conservation Community Reforestation,

32:36also known as the core grant program,

32:39not to exceed three $3 million to work

32:41on the inner harbor to Anadaga Lake um

32:44along the creek shorelines to clean

32:46those up.

32:49>> No local match is required for that.

32:51>> You're requesting two-way council,

32:53right? You talked to her about it

32:54already. Yeah, we're going to talk after

32:56this. Yeah.

32:59>> Are you okay?

32:59>> Very much. That's it.

33:00>> Thank you.

33:01>> Okay. Thank you,

33:02>> Council Mo.

33:04>> Thank you, Madam President. I have items

33:0530 through 33.

33:10>> Councilors, uh, Rich, Deputy Chief. Good

33:13afternoon. Uh, C, uh, number 30, we're

33:15asking to pull um till the maybe the

33:18next session. We need to get some more

33:19information for you folks on that. Uh

33:2131. We're asking for permission to enter

33:23into an agreement with Forever Friends

33:25Animal Rescue. This is for veterary and

33:27lodging services for all of our animals

33:29involved in animal cruelty cases. This

33:32is companion uh request to the CNY

33:35Humane that I came before you before.

33:37Based on capacity, we need to split that

33:39up between two different vendors and

33:40these are the two vendors that will do

33:42that for us.

33:43And then the uh the second one that we

33:45have is for um a request um for Lewis

33:48uniform and United uniform to um be

33:51allowed to um replace our uh department

33:54uniforms that are damaged in the in the

33:55line of duty. Um they're both in the

33:57city and they both agreed to work on the

33:59voucher program that we have for it and

34:01that's 10 10,000.

34:02>> Keith, how many uniforms does that buy?

34:0410,000. It really depends and I'm sorry

34:06to answer it that way, but it could be

34:08um you know a pair of pants that are

34:10more expensive than you know you know a

34:13long sleeve shirt or a short sleeve

34:14shirt. It really kind of depends on what

34:16the what the damage is. A coat's very

34:18expensive for example. Um that sort of

34:20thing.

34:20>> Okay.

34:21>> Very expensive like $1,000.

34:22>> Oh no, no, no.

34:23>> Okay.

34:24>> Well, more expensive than a pair of

34:26pants.

34:26>> Could you ballpark the number of

34:28uniforms?

34:30>> Depends on jacket. But could anywhere

34:31between 200 to 500 depending on if it's

34:33a leather jacket. uh that sort of thing.

34:36>> Okay.

34:36>> Do they get uh

34:39like uh winter coats and success?

34:43>> We don't uh we don't issue any uh

34:45uniforms. Um they get a certain amount

34:47of money in their check to they're

34:48responsible for the upkeep of the

34:50uniforms.

34:50>> In the summer when you have officers on

34:52bicycles, they wear shorts. You have all

34:54of the head.

34:55>> Yeah. Yeah. They're allowed to wear

34:56those things as well. Yeah. Anything

34:57like a pair of shorts, for example, is

34:58going to be way cheaper to to replace

35:00than another part of a a uniform.

35:02>> Okay. Thank you.

35:03>> All right. Thank you.

35:08>> Anybody for 33?

35:13>> Hi, I'm Michael Monz, fire chief. Again,

35:15um this is the uh request to use

35:18identifier safety. Uh we just got um

35:21we're in the middle of purchasing brand

35:22new self-contained breathing apparatus.

35:25Those apparatus have a face piece and a

35:27hose that plugs into the air. And we

35:30need to just have identifiers on them to

35:32make sure that our name plates of our

35:34firefighters and are on the face piece

35:36and on the hose. So they're identified

35:38in a fire and um when they're storing

35:41their gear. So these they're a single

35:44source company that they're only allowed

35:46to be on these Scott SEBA

35:47[clears throat] packs that we bought.

35:49Does anybody have any questions?

35:52and councelor Anar, I got some more

35:54information with hydrants. I'll talk to

35:55you offline about it, but uh the fire

35:58departments outside the city. Our

36:00hydrants do have a orphice on it that is

36:03national thread. Most of them do. So,

36:05but I'll I'll explain that after

36:07offline. Thank you. Okay.

36:08>> Thank you, Chief.

36:10>> Thank you. Are you all set?

36:11>> It's all set. Thank you.

36:12>> Okay. Uh councelor Williams.

36:14>> Thank you, Madam President. I have items

36:1634 through 38.

36:20>> Good afternoon, counselors. Michael

36:21Layman, deputy commissioner with the

36:23assessment department. Item 34 is

36:25request for legislation to correct tax

36:27roles. This uh includes instances of um

36:31sidewalk uh fee uh improperly charged

36:34and then one uh senior exemption uh that

36:37was removed in error.

36:40>> Okay.

36:42>> Thank you.

36:45>> And then Joe, which items are we going

36:48to speak?

36:52All of them will be executive session.

36:55Okay, great. Thank you. Um, Mike, while

36:56I've got you, can you give us an update

36:58on the appraisal of the property in DIT

37:00that we

37:02authorized a couple months back?

37:05>> Uh, yes, we received the appraisal about

37:07uh a week and a half, two weeks ago.

37:09>> Um, and uh just been discussing with law

37:12uh to determine the next steps that are

37:14appropriate uh strategically.

37:15>> Moving along.

37:16>> It is moving along.

37:17>> Perfect. Thank [clears throat] you.

37:18>> Thank you. Is this executive session

37:19after today or or Monday?

37:24>> Okay.

37:27[clears throat]

37:27>> Um, may I note that Commissioner OJ

37:29isn't here today. If he needs to be for

37:31that present for that. Okay.

37:35>> Thank you.

37:35>> Thank you.

37:38>> So, all set. Thank you.

37:41>> Council Montto.

37:42>> Thank you. I have items 39 through 46.

37:4539.

37:47Thank you, councelor. Um, this is the

37:49city's requesting a license agreement

37:50with uh Penrose in Hanover. This is uh

37:53to do some environmental and structural

37:54testing at uh 57181 East Jennese Street,

37:58also known as the Johnson Center.

38:06>> Any questions? What counselor?

38:08>> I'm saying 138 units going in there

38:11>> possibly. Got to get get the pre-work

38:14done first. See if we can do it.

38:17uh 40. Thank you.

38:28>> Good afternoon, council. Jake Dishaw,

38:30deputy commissioner of code enforcement

38:31and zoning. Item number 40 is to uh

38:36amend our current

38:39uh moratorum to allow for

38:42buildings other than one and two family

38:44residential to have smallcale accessory

38:48uh commercial battery energy storage

38:50systems. Think of this as like a

38:52generator but instead of diesel it's

38:56batteries um smaller than the size of

38:58this table.

39:01The moratorium still will be in place

39:03for the big the large scale ones.

39:05>> Correct. Okay. It's not allowed right

39:07now. And um the moratorum right now goes

39:10through February. Although we've

39:12communicated to you all already. We

39:13expect to have a local law before you in

39:16the next

39:18four to six weeks I'm hoping. Um but you

39:21know there's some projects our our

39:23intent wasn't to regulate these ones

39:25that are connected to like a commercial

39:27building as like a power backup source.

39:29Um it was for the large scale ones that

39:31are connected to the grid.

39:34>> Okay, thanks Jake. Uh 41 will be ready

39:37for Monday.

39:40>> Uh 42 was held uh last time. Um this

39:45councelor Nav, this was the one with the

39:48regional market next door. Um,

39:51>> I think Officer Nav, you're all set with

39:53that one, right?

39:53>> I am fine. Yes, thank you.

39:55>> That one's okay, Jake.

39:56>> Got it. Uh, 43 is a special use permit

39:59to approve a New York State licensed

40:02retail cannabis dispensary at 2671 James

40:06Street. Uh, one person,

40:09>> can you clarify something for us just

40:10for the public's consumption here? So,

40:12something like 43 and also jumping ahead

40:15to 46. So if it's a bar or a cannabis,

40:19this these have been through planning.

40:21In both of these situations, they

40:22already have either a liquor license or

40:24a cannabis license. Correct.

40:27>> Um yes. So New York State Office of

40:30Cannabis Management or OCM has, you

40:33know, conditionally approved this

40:34location. Obviously, they have to go

40:36through um the local process. Uh we do

40:39have them under a special use permit

40:41requirement, which we can do as a local

40:44municipality. Um but we are a community

40:46that did not opt out of um cannabis

40:50sales. So, you know, we're regulating

40:52these with certificate of use, business

40:54certificate of use license and uh

40:56special use permits under the smoking

40:59establishment use. Um which actually

41:02helps us if there are, you know,

41:04problems or issues with the

41:05establishments. But uh all the legal

41:08establishments that exist in the city

41:10limits, we've had no issues with the

41:12legal ones that are approved

41:16uh as far as codes issues or police

41:18issues.

41:18>> So is the is a bar running along the

41:21same line? So as a liquor license, do we

41:23treat those the same way? Like by the

41:24time they get to us, they've already

41:26been through planning, they already have

41:27a liquor license. So if in the case that

41:30this council moves to not approve what

41:32you have are putting in front of us, is

41:34it too late by the time it gets to us,

41:38>> too late to not approve?

41:39>> Right. And Joe, it might be a question

41:41for you. [clears throat] I'm not sure.

41:43>> You guys not approve anything, but the

41:45issue is coming back together.

41:48>> Okay. Okay. Well, we'll deal with that

41:51executive.

41:51>> I I want to make one comment. So the one

41:54on North Salina Street if that's

41:55approved that's going to be the third

41:57one on North Salina Street and within

42:00walking distance of two others.

42:01>> We'll get to that one.

42:03>> Okay. But I just want to

42:04>> So 43 is the cannabis one and they

42:06already have a license to operate there.

42:08So um 44

42:11>> uh 44 is also a special use permit to

42:14approve a use for a contractor yard at

42:162910 Erie Boulevard East. Uh one person

42:20spoke in favor. This is for an energy

42:21savers like window installer uh who was

42:24having some issues with his vans and his

42:27uh material for windows being you know

42:29stolen or broken into. So he's basically

42:31fencing in an area of the property to

42:34secure his work vans, work vehicles and

42:37you know his material

42:41>> 46

42:43>> uh 45

42:44>> 45 um so this also falls under the

42:47definition of smoking establishment but

42:49it is not for cannabis or tobacco. This

42:52proposal is specific to smoking

42:54paraphernalia for hookas and tobacco

42:58tobacco uh in different flavors. Um

43:02shisha um I'm I'm not familiar myself

43:06but uh apparently there is a market for

43:08this. Um our conditions are explicit

43:11that no tobacco, no on-site consumption,

43:15no cannabis. Uh they will also require a

43:18certificate of use. So again, we'll have

43:21oversight with this potentially this uh

43:24land use approval for the special use

43:26permit and a certificate of use um if

43:29there are any issues.

43:31Just my my point was is that it's still

43:35smoking, but we have people on the north

43:38side in my district are very vulnerable

43:41because, you know, we we have areas by

43:43the church

43:45and we have uh

43:49uh a program people get their meals. So,

43:53I'm concerned that people who are on the

43:56borderline budgetwise

43:59that they don't it's like gambling. It

44:02you don't want to see them conveniently

44:04go smoke

44:06and throw away a lot of money which can

44:08be used for other things. And that's

44:10just my opinion because I'll hear from

44:12constituents.

44:15>> Understood.

44:16>> 46.

44:18Uh 46 is also a special use permit to

44:20approve a bar use type at 648 Bernett

44:24Avenue. One person spoke in favor at the

44:26city planning commission meeting. Uh

44:28this was a former bar. I believe it was

44:31known as Remy or Remy 2 in its past

44:34life.

44:34>> Um

44:37across from Noah Fisher.

44:40>> Yeah.

44:41>> Okay. I have

44:43>> questions for that in executive session

44:45for this one. Anybody else have

44:46questions?

44:48>> All right. M motion to go into executive

44:51sessional

44:53>> for legal advice.

44:54>> Second.