Common Council - Regular Meeting

Just a thumbs up whenever we're streaming, Deputy Clerk. Good evening and welcome to the June 3rd meeting of the Ithaca Common Council. We'll go ahead and call this meeting to order. I will note that Alderperson Fabrizio is absent and excused this evening. Since we have a full house, I will just say that in case of an emergency, you were to take one of two exits, the door that almost all of you came through or the door that is over my left shoulder. We are to wait on the same side of the street on Keuka and Green and we do not cross Green Street unless it is absolutely necessary. Those with restricted mobility in the event of an emergency it is best to move to one of the stairwells and first responders will arrive to aid you. We want everyone to be aware of their surroundings and offer help when it is not to your own detriment as you were your own best advocate. Agenda review. One, I seek unanimous consent to add resolution requesting the New York State legislature to enact legislation authorizing a speed safety camera demonstration program in the city of Ithaca. This is, of course, something we have already voted on at least once. There was a... typographical error and so the state requires us to pass a new resolution and to ensure that they vote on this and pass it before the end of session i will be driving to albany tomorrow morning to hand deliver it to the speaker's office any objection to this being added to the agenda seeing not even funny joe Um, uh, any further additions, deletions to the agenda all the person mottos. I understand you have an amendment by substitution.

Yes. Um, I would like to change the address in the, uh, resolution that authorizes convenient conveyance of title of title to properties. Um, from 312 Monroe street to 812 Madison, uh, South Matt. Wow. South Meadow street.

Thank you. All the person, all the person did communicate this to council via email. Seek unanimous consent. Any objections? Seeing none. Any further additions or deletions to the agenda? Mr. Trumbull?

County legislator Vincent just wanted to inform me that he's not going to be able to make it for today's report, but that he wanted to do further thank you for driving to Albany tomorrow, which is, I believe, also on behalf of the Tompkins County. That is true.

They also had their home rule requests screwed up, and so I will also be delivering our county colleagues. Those are going to the Senate, though. Also, if I could just impose upon the deputy clerk before we get started, once public comment is completed, if the deputy clerk would just contact Natalie Model for her agenda item, she has informed me she is solo parenting tonight and will be Zooming in. And so we are just going to try to fit her agenda item into the schedule in a way that is the least disruptive to family life. Thank you, Mr. Trumbull. There is no report from municipal officials. So now it is my distinct pleasure to share a few proclamations. And the first, whereas, The City of Ithaca takes great pride in honoring individuals in our community of great esteem and stellar leadership, and in so doing has established a tradition of recognizing outstanding local leaders who have demonstrated courage against unspeakable odds and an unwavering commitment to civic leadership and public service. And whereas the late Dr. Dorothy Foreman Cotton was an outstanding educator and civil rights leader and the only woman to serve on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s executive committee at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, where she directed the Transformative Citizenship Education Program, And whereas from 1983 to 2018, Dorothy Cotton was a cherished resident of the greater Ithaca area, serving as director of student activities at Cornell University for eight years and as a public servant and dynamic voice for justice throughout the United States and abroad. And whereas Dorothy Cotton co-founded the Dorothy Cotton Institute in 2008, offering human rights education, civic engagement workshops, and leadership development to our community. And whereas Common Council and former mayor Carolyn Peterson proclaimed December 10th, 2010 as Dorothy Cotton Day in the city of Ithaca in recognition of her receipt of the National Freedom Award, from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. And Dr. Baruch Whitehead named his renowned choir the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers in her honor. And whereas in 2012, Dorothy Cotton helped assemble an interracial, interfaith, delegation of 23 scholars, rabbis, ministers, peace and human rights activists to the West Bank, meeting with Palestinians and their Israeli allies working nonviolently for freedom, justice, dignity, and to end the occupation. And whereas Dorothy Cotton and colleague Dr. Vincent G. Harding received the 2013 Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Award from the International Fellowship of Reconciliation. And whereas Dorothy Cotton published her memoir, If Your Back's Not Bent, the role of the citizenship education program in the civil rights movement, inspiring readers with her journey from childhood in a shotgun house on a dirt road in Goldsboro, North Carolina, to national and international leadership, And whereas Dorothy Cotton's courage as an organizer and devotion to educating African Americans about their civil rights inspired thousands of citizens throughout the southern and border states to register and exercise their voting rights, demonstrate nonviolently against segregation in public accommodations and schools, gain political power, and stand for office and public service. And whereas Dorothy Cotton for several years accompanied US senators, congressional and national leaders on their annual commemoration of the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. And whereas the documentary Move When the Spirit Says Move, the legacy of Dorothy Foreman Cotton was produced in Ithaca by Photosynthesis Productions and the Dorothy Cotton Institute and premiered in 2023 at the Pan-African Film and Arts Festival in Los Angeles, California, and the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival at Cinemapolis in Ithaca, New York. and has been viewed locally by hundreds of students, teachers, and community. And whereas this film has received acclaim in the United States and abroad, including the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival, the Women in Film and Television Best Documentary, the Andrew Young Cinema and Social Justice Award, the best documentary at the Detroit Trinity International Film Festival, a top 10 favorite at the African Diaspora International Film Festival, the Toronto International Women's Film Festival, and awards in Germany and Belgium. And whereas Dorothy Cotton practically and philosophically committed her life to nonviolence, studying how it is that survivors of war and genocide have sometimes chosen reconciliation across their differences, and work together in mutual cooperation, building safety and trust in our shared humanity. And whereas Dorothy Cotton urged us to stop waiting for the real leaders to show up and instead to see ourselves as someone who can change a situation, Now, therefore, I, Robert G. Cantelmo, Mayor of the City of Ithaca, do hereby proclaim June 9th as Dorothy Cotton Day of Peace and Cooperation in the City of Ithaca, and I urge all citizens to join me in celebrating the life of this extraordinary woman by committing ourselves to the work of justice, education, and nonviolent change. In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand and cause the seal of Ithaca to be affixed this third day of June, 2026. Laura, would you like to come up? Welcome.

Thank you, Mayor Telmo and hello, Common Council. This is a wonderful moment. for us at the Dorothy Cotton Institute in particular, and I really want to thank you for taking the opportunity to do this. I also see it as a moment of opportunity. One of the things that Dorothy always said was we needed to really see ourselves as someone who can change a situation, as the proclamation says, and to speak truth to power. And so one of the things I really hear her saying is this is an opportunity to ask for something important to the community. During the Reimagining Public Safety process, which went on for two, almost three years, there were many community members who were asked to engage in the process to share their lived experience and expertise with those on Common Council, with the city staff. and with the officers of the police department to try to find the spaces where public safety was really not being protected adequately and completely, and to make suggestions about how to improve that system. people volunteered their time, and unfortunately, at that time, one of the members of Common Council suggested that there was a violation of ethics going on, the city's ethics code, that engaged in, that involved a very long, what I would call a witch hunt, to investigate the ethics of the people who are involved and including the Dorothy Cotton Institute, the Center for Transformative Action who are fiscal sponsors and the Park Foundation. So organizations that have really been stalwart friends of the city providing training, education, funding for many city projects. So it was particularly painful to be accused that we were somehow funneling dark money to influence the minds of the people from the community who could think quite well for themselves and they did so brilliantly. um i also think that this would be a moment where common council might consider drafting a public apology to the people who were involved in that process whose reputations were besmirched whose integrity was devalued and disparaged and it caused severe trauma in the community and a big injury to our faith that the city would fairly conduct this process of reimagining public safety. I know that there have been changes and I know that many of you on Common Council were not present at that time, that this is a new body. but I still think that you represent the city and that there is an injury and trauma in the community that you could take this wonderful opportunity to heal by just recognizing that that investigation cost over $70,000 of public funds, but not only that, many of us had to lawyer up in order to defend ourselves. And so I wish that you would take that into consideration. I don't expect anything to happen tonight about it, but it would be a terrific step in the right direction towards community healing in the process of reimagining public safety. So thank you so much. This is a wonderful thing. We will treasure this. And I know that there are other people here who loved and cherished Dorothy Cotton who may speak about her as well. Thank you for listening.

Thank you. I have one more proclamation this evening. Whereas... Tim Logue began his service to the city of Ithaca in 2000 as a neighborhood planner, bringing a strong background in city and regional planning and dispute resolution that shaped his approach to public service. And whereas in 2005, Tim joined the engineering division as a traffic systems engineer, applying his skills to a field that often requires patience, clarity, and steady communication with residents. And whereas Tim completed traffic engineering coursework at Cornell University, gaining the technical expertise needed to address the city's growing and evolving transportation needs. And whereas TIM broadened the scope of the city's traffic engineering program by elevating accessibility pedestrian safety multi use trail development and bicycling improvements as core priorities and by supporting staff whose interests and knowledge strengthen this work. And whereas TIM represented the city on the Ithaca tompkins county transportation Council working closely with state and local partners to secure important state and federal funding for construction renovation and repair projects across our Community. And whereas Tim's leadership, beginning with his appointment as Director of Engineering Services in 2015, supported the successful delivery of major public projects, including road and bridge construction, safety upgrades, and enhancements to recreational areas. And whereas Tim's uncommon intelligence, openness, wit, lightness of spirit, collaborative approach, and unwavering focus on creating positive outcomes for all concerned, if not also his love of philosophy, jazz, and outdoor adventure, has earned him many loyal friends, admirers, and colleagues, And whereas Tim Logue's work has left a lasting mark on the city of Ithaca, improving daily life for residents and strengthening the systems that support safe travel and well-maintained public spaces. Now, therefore, I, Robert G. Cantelmo, Mayor of the City of Ithaca, do hereby recognize and honor Tim Logue for his 25 years of dedicated service, his commitment to the public, his steady leadership, and his contributions to the city that will benefit Ithacans for many years to come. Thank you. Mr. Kerrison, we don't have, okay, thank you. Well, I will make sure that this gets to him. Transitioning from those high notes to the most exciting part of the agenda, may I have someone move the minutes? Mr. Shapiro, seconded by Mr. Keel, all those in favor of approving the May minutes as drafted. That carries unanimously. Thank you very much. We have a couple of speakers this evening, a total of seven. As many of you know, if not all of you, you have three minutes once you begin. Please respect the deputy clerk's timekeeping. And with that, Faye Gugakis, you are our first speaker. On deck is I'm going to try real hard to read this handwriting. Millie Carla Maynard? Clerk. OK. Well, if I, yeah. I get too caught up in the weeds actually reading the, yeah. That's right. I'm not judging. You should see mine. But, Faye, thank you for joining us. You have three minutes once you begin.

I just want to make sure. Could people hear me? Yes, ma'am.

Wait, wait. No, no. Can you start the clock? I was just doing a mic test. Yes. Fegugakis, city of Ithaca. I haven't been here for a while. I still see that the city meeting is not on cable, on television. So it's something I still want to happen. But I'm not here to talk about that right now. But I want you to know that that's still on my agenda. I'm here to talk about the Astera building. I live next door to it. Um, it's been very hard for me to come publicly to talk about it because I'm afraid of retaliation and it could come from many places and I won't go into that. Um, i am very upset with with just the whole idea the the whole i mean i am astounded at at that this has happened it is a bad idea from the get-go and i'm here today to ask for accountability of the city the planning department the downtown partnership all the people that were involved with putting this where it is okay this is not just the verano group okay okay they have their own accountability but they didn't they you the city brought them here the city made the decision for that to happen OK, I want to know who made that decision, because Gary Ferguson, when he was at the downtown park, said, oh, you move next door. And I and I told him I couldn't because I'm chemically sensitive and I can't move into a new building right away. So but the horror, the horror of finding out what. ended up happening you put 40 homeless people so many variant conditions of those individuals with regular tenants first of all that in itself is a nightmare it should have never even been thought of happening you have special needs people mixing them with regular people if i had moved in there okay i would be homeless because i would have i i would i couldn't tolerate that situation We're talking about serious stuff here. We're talking about roaches that are coming out of the building. We're talking about dog poop, urine. It is so disgusting. And I'm sorry, I'm saying it very bluntly because I don't I have 19 minutes now, 19 minutes to talk about the disaster. This is a disaster. This is not going to be fixed with more regulation or more people managing the building. It has to be totally torn apart. You can't have 40 homeless people in this.

That is your time. Thank you very much. That is your time. That was your time. Thank you. Millie Clark Maynard. On deck, Dr. Nathan Sitaraman.

Good evening.

You have three minutes once you begin. If you could just turn that microphone so we can hear you and that my dad who's watching on YouTube can hear. Yep.

Okay. I already said good evening there, right? Yes, ma'am. Council members, my sorority sisters who I asked to stand, community partners and friends. and online community people. On behalf of the Omicron New Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, I am honored to stand here as we recognize Dorothy Forman Cotton Day of Peace and Reconciliation. Dorothy Cotton's life reminded us that justice is not only proclaimed in historical moments, but also practiced through daily acts of courage, compassion, education, and service. As a charter member of Omicron New Omega Chapter, her legacy woven in the foundations of our chapter continues to inspire what we do in the Ithaca community. We carry her spirit forward through the O&O Scholarship, supporting local high school students who are college bound through donations to the Minstrel Equity Center to support local women in need, through the collection of prom dresses to remove financial barriers, to a meaningful high school milestone hosting book discussions or issues pertinent to our community and through the donation of 15 trees to support the beauty, the health, and the sustainability of our local environment. Dorothy Cotton helped teach us a nation how to move forward towards freedom with dignity and purpose. And today, Omicron New Omega remains committed to honoring her legacy through sisterhood, service, scholarship, peace, and reconciliation. Thank you.

Thank you. My next speaker is Nathan Sitaraman, followed by Emily Thuja. Welcome, Nathan. You have three minutes once you begin. All right. Thanks. Yeah.

Nathan Sitaraman of board one. Uh, yeah, I'm going to speak today as a pointed member of the city charter revision commission. I want to be clear speaking, uh, purely for myself and not behalf of the commission in any way or on behalf of anyone else. Um, so we're approaching the end of our timeline for this, uh, charter revision commission. And I think we've been able to do a lot of good work and I think I personally am committed to wrapping this up on the prescribed timeline by the end of the summer. I think this charter revision commission has looked at a lot of important issues which affect the city and city governance. The vast majority of these issues in fact do not require going to a referendum and on those issues hope to produce a report which will hopefully provide useful guidance to council to potentially take up some of these things by local law an additional subset of things i think were very complicated issues which we made some progress on and can provide useful advice for future commissions to take action on and then there's sort of another subset of things which may be quite limited where These are not complex issues, but for one reason or another, either legally or otherwise, it may be appropriate to bring them to referendum. And I'll talk briefly about one of those now, and that is the provision around fluoridation of the water supply in the city of Ithaca. As some of you may know, the city of Ithaca does not fluoridate its water. And it's in fact in the charter that Common Council is not allowed to fluoridate the water supply. was the subject of a referendum a generation ago in which ithacans narrowly decided against fluoridating the water supply uh in the charter commission there was near unanimous support that the city of ithaca should perhaps reconsider personally i'm motivated by the fact that rf K at the federal level is, among other things, pushing cities to stop fluoridating water, among other anti public health initiatives that he has decided to undertake. Personally, I think it would be really great to see this go to ballot in the fall. In lieu of that, if the city wishes to, on a faster timeline, have a public hearing on this and try to accomplish something by local law, that would also be satisfactory to me. But definitely hope to have the support of city council on this matter either way. And with the remainder of my time, I'll say go Knicks.

Yes, we will not be entertaining any motions to extend tonight so that certain council members who might already be decked out in Nick's gear can get to the game. Emily Thuja, you're next, followed by Zachary Nguyen. Welcome. You have three minutes once you begin.

So congratulations again on the hire of Carissa Raubowski. Having a permanent controller is an important step toward getting the city caught up on its audits. Last year for context I shared the most recent financial statements completed by some of our neighboring municipalities and it seemed like a good time to share an updated list again for context for. The catching up that the new controller has a head over with any luck within the year Ithaca can go from the bottom of the list to somewhere in the middle. Um, so here are the, uh, the local cities, most recent financials completed, uh, Syracuse June, 2025. Auburn, also June 2025. Binghamton has their December 2024 audit done, so does Tompkins County. Elmira has their December 2024 audit complete. Cortland is behind them, December 2023. Seneca Falls, their last one is 2022. The town of Ithaca, 2022. And we are last at December 2021. So hoping to get caught up on that. And we'll watch next year and keep fingers crossed.

Thank you. My next speaker is Zachary Wynn, followed by Ruth Yarrow. You can speak to the deputy clerk. I have all the cards that were submitted here. I'm not going to engage in a back and forth. You can speak to the deputy clerk.

You have three minutes. Thank you. Briefly, on the issue of the ethics investigation into reimagining public safety, all due respect to the Dorothy Cotton Institute, it found a violation of both the city and county procurement policies, a violation by former Mayor Svante Merrick, and a conflict of interest policy violation, violation of the requirement to disclose conflict of interest with an outside organization, appearance of a violation of a prohibition against compensation and other benefits. received by Svante Merrick from an outside organization, periods of a conflict of interest of the city of Ithaca prohibition against using the position of mayor for purposes for a career advancement. It goes on and it resulted in a change to city procurement policy.

Mr. Wynn, please hold on. I'm going to stop your time. Sir, I need you to respect the rules that everyone else in this chamber are respecting. Sir, I'm not going to engage in a back and Step out to the hallway and have a conversation with staff if you need to. This gentleman has the floor.

He has the floor, but still.

I can see what's going on here, bro. I have no idea what you're talking about.

I agree with him. Mr. Wynn, you have... Mr. Wynn, you have two minutes and five seconds remaining.

Fair enough. I am speaking in opposition to the appointment of Joshua Dolan to the Ithaca Community Police Board. I sent you all an email earlier today that includes several of Josh's own Facebook live streams. You can see his participation in legal roadblocks on several different occasions, many of which occurred at Ithaca Police Department headquarters. He is objectively an antagonist of the Ithaca Police Department. I personally doubt his ability to remain unbiased and objective in matters involving the department. expecting Ithaca police officers who are subject of a complaint to believe he is unbiased and objective is similarly unreasonable. Additionally, these videos show him acting as a blocker for Masia Saunders during an assault and theft of a flag during the 10-16-20 attack at the Route 13 GOP office, followed by a roadblock. He was removed from the Cornell Pathways to Peace for Event for disrupting it with other activists. has also accosted me personally on several occasions with one incident included as part of his live streams i have sent to you uh this was while i was documenting yet another roadblock of the east clinton street ipd headquarters i brought several complaints to the board including one this year about roadblocks downtown should i expect a fair hearing from mr dolan if i file a future complaint how is josh to remain objective about future police response to roadblocks when he engages in that police response to roadblocks when he engages in that conduct himself Do you expect Ithaca police officers to take interactions with the board seriously if he is appointed? I believe appointing Mr. Dolan to the board would fundamentally undermine its true purpose as a forum for fact-based assessments free from the influence of bias and ideology. I request you to take the time to review the materials I sent you before deciding on if you should appoint Mr. Dolan to the board until 2028. I ultimately hope you decline to do so. Thank you. Thank you very much. Oh, I still have time? Technically, no. Okay. I know several of you have personally participated in roadblocks, and I think it might be a conflict of interest, also owing to the fact that you know Mr. Dolan socially and are part of political organizations with which he is also participating. So just throwing that out there. Please watch what I sent you.

That is your time. Next is Ruth Yarrow, followed by Kathy Simpson. Welcome Ruth you have three minutes, once you begin.

Thank you i'll be brief, I just want to appreciate that you have passed this commemoration of Dorothy cotton I can't think of a time in my eight and a half. 80 and a half, 85, six years that we need peace and reconciliation more than we need it now. And I hope that the proclamation will be the basis for when issues come up for funding Southside, funding GIAC, funding efforts to increase equity in this country. City that the proclamation will be in your minds and you will take the appropriate action that Dorothy cotton would have approved of Thank you very much, thank you and our last speaker this evening is Kathy Simpson.

Good evening welcome, you have three minutes, once you begin.

I'm Kathy Simpson. I live on the corner of East Court and Lynn Streets in a three-story brick house. It's a small, it's a tiny apartment house. I live there. I would like you to reconsider the short-term rental ordinance to exclude tiny apartment buildings. And here's a new wrinkle. I think it was 2019, my building was uh incorporated into I think it's the DeWitt historical section of town so it's an historical building which means I think that the city wants me to take really good care of it with long-term rentals that's really hard to do somebody moved out last month oh my goodness what a mess If it had been short term people, we would have noticed that the refrigerator door handle was broken that the pipes under the kitchen sink were dripping into where the cleaning products were but since she never cleaned she didn't notice till it came down through my part. Mark's on the floor. I don't know what they're from. I don't know how to get rid of them and on and on and on. I would like to take really good care of this building. I love this building. So I urge you to reconsider the short term rental ordinance to exclude tiny apartment buildings.

Thank you.

Thank you. That concludes public comment. We'll turn to privilege of the floor. In no particular order, thank you to the folks who came to speak about the Dorothy Cotton commemoration. I just echo your sentiments. You put it in better words than I. About the Esteri situation, for those who may not know, we continue to monitor that situation very closely, including administration and I having meetings on a weekly basis with senior leadership at the New York State Department of Homes Community Renewal, which was a large grant funder for that project. I will remind folks that this is not a public project. The city, they operate just like a private landlord, even when that operation is, in my estimation, bad. If I had more tools to hold bad landlords to account, You can bet that I would do that. With respect to the audits, yes, we are working to get those caught up. I know that the acting city manager provided a timeline for their review in the last couple of months. I think perhaps to the member of the public who is here to speak on that issue, it might have been the only meeting that you've missed this year. I think your neighbor can confirm that for you. And to everyone else, thank you. And I'll just as a general reminder state, please remember, if you are coming to public comment, you may turn in a card to the deputy clerk. And as long as you do that, before public comment begins, you will be heard. Just for everybody's edification. um with that oh i guess the last thing i will say is respectfully i personally will not support any revision uh going backward on short-term rentals um i have actually had three different individuals over the last four months approach me and tell me that they are homeowners in the city of ithaca now because the homes that were previously short-term rentals were returned to the long-term ownership and and long-term rental market and that is admittedly anecdotal, but absolutely the type of outcome that I personally hope for in supporting that law. And I am not going to go backwards. Thank you. Ms. Matos, you're next.

Yep. I also want to just echo the mayor in thanking folks for coming out to speak in favor of the Dorothy Cotton Institute. I'm sorry, Dorothy Cotton Proclamation. I also want to thank Miss Millie for the work that you do in the community and your organization does. Thank you to Miss Ruth for as well for the work that you do in this community. Also, thank you to Miss Laura for calling out the fact that the city has not rectified

um the trauma and harm that they caused to our community of color during reimagining public safety in 2023 and thank you for bringing that to the forefront my next speaker is mr shapiro uh thank you and thanks to all the speakers that came out today i just want to briefly uh reply to uh nathan um who talked about the charter revision committee myself and kayla and robin were invited to speak at the most recent charter committee and i know Some staff members got to speak before the council folks and that's not a big deal. But Kayla and I were certainly rushing through our comments to get because we knew that the end of the meeting was coming and Robin certainly didn't. um or robin then didn't get to give his comments in that meeting so i would just say you know if there are things we can take care of through local law that are easy to do um in this body i would support that but i think if there are things that go need to go to referendum um or if they're like bigger envisioning about like committee structures or some of the you know like some of the other roles that we were talking about i Not that my opinion matters more than anyone else's in this community, but I think as a council member, I just have some insight and I didn't feel like I had enough opportunity to provide all of the insight that I wanted to. So either way, I appreciated the invitation. So thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Shapiro, Mr. Trumbull.

Thank you, Mr Mayor, thank you, Dr Siddharaman for showing up today, I think that for those in the public who aren't following the city charter commission review you totally should there's going to be a lot of changes in the horizon. And I totally share my colleagues comments about it, maybe being a little too rushed, but we're still grateful for the opportunity to provide insight and I think again people watching that haven't tapped in yet this will be a public vote. coming up at some point in the next few months, so you should start to do your homework now. As for Faye, at first I wanted to just kind of reply as the human part, like people are homeless too, but I do hear your concerns. It does suck the situation you're in. I can't speak on behalf of all my colleagues, but I do want to say that we understand how precarious the situation is. And I promise that we are not trying to just leave things to be dealt with themselves. You know, if there's any way we can help, I think we'd love to. It's just a matter of a very complicated situation that's impacting a lot of different people very differently. But thank you for coming anyways.

Mr. Keel. I will speak first on short-term rentals. I, like the mayor, don't want to do any um retroactive changes i don't want to change i think the the intent of the legislation is important um that said you know both robin and i uh represent college town um and we you know starting a week and a half ago uh now have 6 000 units which are completely vacant in college town and won't be reoccupied until august at least i think it's important that we have changes to that legislation with that in mind i think that would bring a huge amount of Tourism in the city, if those were opened up for short-term rentals during the summer, and I think that's a positive step forward rather than reexamining. the policy we already passed. It's more of a proactive measure for increasing tourism. I, again, like Mr. Trumbull, really appreciate you coming out tonight, Fay. It is an incredibly important situation, and I know it's on all of our minds. We discuss it all the time. We're doing everything we can to try to rectify the situation. I can't speak for the colleagues who came before me, but I can speak for myself and say that every time we talk about it, we're think i speak for everybody honestly just thinking about the things people have said but we're all very concerned about the situation and how do we rectify it um because it's not good for for us it's not good for the people of ithaca it's not really good for the people living in the building and it's not good for the broader community so how do we move forward um we can't change the actions that have already been taken by previous council members but we can do what we can uh with the positions we're in currently so thank you as always for coming out tonight um

and then uh the last thing i was going to talk about i'll reserve for a future future session mr dvd uh thank you to most of the folks who came out to speak at public comment uh today uh really appreciate the comments and sentiments shared by those speaking uh to the dorothy cotton proclamation and uh i second all the person matos's sentiments around trying to rectify uh uh wrong uh and that's something i'm certain to look forward to uh exploring more uh what we in the city can do about that uh also happy to take the mayor up on his uh proposition on empowering the city to go after these uh slum lords uh that we have uh who are running amok in our community and i think that's a conversation that i'm looking forward to exploring more with my colleagues as we discuss uh the work of the building division and other means through which the city can make sure that our tenants of all backgrounds are being kept safe and healthy in their housing and on that note i'd just like to mention that as the new york state session is nearing a close here i encourage all folks interested in stability and affordability in our city uh to reach out to our local representative our state representative senator webb and all assembly member kellis who have been doing a great job uh in the legislature to to fight for ithacans um to continue to advocate for the rest act uh to allow upstate municipalities like ours to more easily opt into rent stabilization as we've tried in the past but have dealt with complications That, I think, is it. Oh, the last thing, I'm looking forward to our community review board, hopefully, at the end of this meeting, having quorum.

Thank you very much. With that, we will move on from privilege of the floor. May I have some move consent? Mr. Trumbull, seconded by Mr. Shapiro. All those in favor? That carries unanimously. We are going to defer the Black Diamond Trail connector to give the deputy clerk a little bit of time to contact Natalie so that we can Oh, she's on. Natalie, are you prepared right now? Okay. I'll have someone, Natalie's available for questions on this, so I will have someone summarize and move the resolution as it loads in. Mr. Wynn?

This resolution addresses the extension of Black Diamond Trail, which will cost $2.75 million. A federal TAP grant for $2.2 million will help fund it. It requires a $550,000 local match that the New York State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Reservation is offering $275,000 to assist with, and this resolution accepts that funding.

And that is so moved by all the person, seconded by Mr. Kirby. Any questions on this? Seeing none, all those in favor? That carries unanimously. Go back to your kid, Natalie. Thank you for joining.

All right.

Next item, I will let Mr. Sewell, I believe is the sponsor of this, summarize and move modification of standards of conduct for employee policy.

THANK YOU THIS IS A RESOLUTION IMPROVING A PROPOSED REVISION TO THE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEE POLICY AND ADDITIONALLY IT AUTHORIZES CITY STAFF TO MAKE FUTURE MODIFICATIONS TO THE POLICY WITHOUT FURTHER APPROVAL FROM COMMON COUNCIL THIS COMES THIS STEMS DIRECTLY OUT OF THE TWENTY TWENTY TWO VOTER REFERENDUM TO CREATE A CITY MANAGER POSITION TO SEPARATE TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES BETWEEN council and between the city manager um and the city managers focused on things like public administration management human resources all sorts of stuff uh common council is uh designed to represent our constituents provide vision um budgeting oversight and so on and so forth mr schul if you could just summarize the resolution and then you can yeah i can recognize you later i'll read the result how's that is that i think you've summarized it so i'm gonna look for a second

Yeah, thank you. Seconded by Ms. Matos. I will recognize you now to make substantive comments. Sorry, I did it out of order.

Thank you. Yeah. And so essentially the way that this the reason why this is currently in council's control is because we created it back in 2008 prior to having a city manager. Now that we have a city manager, this is fit squarely within the administrative department, and so it should fall into their responsibility and it doesn't make any sense that it should require council's authority to be approved this particular document. If we have concerns with the document that's created what we would do is we'd go and talk to the city manager about it, and then he would talk to. hr and people have background in training and developing these sorts of documents would address any concerns that we have or the broader vision but we simply just don't have the resources and we're not required to we are not hr people we don't have to be we represent the people and this is strictly administrative so i would like to make sure that our administrative body has the opportunity to change it moving forward and they don't have to come back ACM Conference 29th, To common Council to do it again occasionally you know this may make things take longer because they have to get the approval of this diverse body which changes. ACM Conference 29th, which has different backgrounds and different political ambitions and I would really like staff to just have a employee conduct thing that's straightforward that they can run through professional so. Thank you for that.

Thank you. I have myself and then I have Mr. Kiel very succinctly. The older person I have spoken, I oppose this on its merits. I think a proper analogy would be if this used to be approved by the mayor and now was approved by the city manager. But the older person is proposing to take something that is approved by the entire body and then. put down to the chief administrative officer of the city. All of the boards I serve on require the boards to approve revisions to employee handbooks and policies of this nature. I don't see this being particularly contentious. And in the interest of moving this conversation along, I would entertain a conversation about a macro policy change Where I acutely object to this is this is a policy that was brought forward for our approval, and we're trying to change the way in which we do these types of approvals instead of just approving this and having a separate conversation about it. That's the end of my piece on that. Mr. Keel.

I fundamentally disagree with this. We've spoken on the phone. I think that any opportunity to degrade the power of the elected officials in the city government is not acceptable. appropriate. I think I've spoken on the record before that I don't like the transition to the city manager style of government. I think we should have a chief administrator that's overseen by an elected official, not stand alone. I think any opportunity to reduce transparency to the people is wrong. And I think that if an HR professional wants to come and justify the changes that they've made to a governing document to the elected body of the city of Ithaca, that's appropriate. But I don't think they should be able to do it without that approval. So I'll be strongly voting against this. Mr. Trumbull?

Yeah, I agree with my former colleagues, or my colleagues' former comments, rather. Though I do disagree with Patrick, because I do have confidence in Dominic's ability to handle something like this, but he doesn't represent every city manager, right? And I think relegating future policy updates to the city manager without requiring council's direct approval just removes power from elected officials, which I just inherently could see problems arising for. especially with like employee conduct policies. They're not static technical documents. They touch on discipline, things like that. But it's not like a binary number. And I do think that, you know, as much as I appreciate the hard work that a lot of people do here, you know, it was a 10 minute review for the last approval that we did. And I think that, you know, that's what we signed up for. So I will also be voting against it.

With that, I will move to amend by substitution the item as appeared on the May committee meeting where this was initially discussed, May 13th. Yeah. This was the item that was substantively discussed while I was at NICOM. Duxon was chairing. The intent behind this motion, again, I'm happy to entertain a conversation about this, not paired with holding up a piece of legislation that all the person rightly notes doesn't need to unnecessarily be held up and ironically is being done so because we have this substantive disagreement. So I move that. Is there a second? Seconded by Mr. Nguyen. Discussion on the motion? Mr. Nguyen?

yeah I spoke positively in favor of of this um at the last meeting at the meeting that I shared um but I did think that we would have that separately um so I agree with the mayor that we should just pass this now we can have a further conversation later where my opinion may be changed but they should be separated thanks Mr Shapiro

I think this is point of clarification. Are you suggesting we don't even entertain this now and we just approve the policy? Is that what you're saying? What I've moved is yes, Mr. Kessler.

Sorry, this was, we actually didn't have a draft resolution there. So I, I,

we can't do it if anybody's substitution because there's nothing in the packet then that's what happens when i miss a meeting that's what happens when you ask me a question i give you the wrong answer up there mr shapiro still has the floor i'm going to recognize the rest of his question although i think mr keel has a solution to that question but i'm going to just summarize my thoughts i don't i'd like to move you know i don't want to slow down approving a policy but i do support uh the direction that pat was headed

I would suggest motion to divide the question so you can do the substantive policy discussion and also the theoretical conversation.

First thing I'll do is request – I have a slightly more elegant solution. First thing I'll do is request unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment. I love, I love, you know, it like, it like shows me all are listening when people are like, Oh, we gotta vote. There's no opposition. Great. Uh, I request that this item be referred to. I move that this item be referred to the city attorney's office. for revision in keeping with current council approval procedures for our special meeting next week which will still enable this to be voted on this month um but would provide what is substantively uh the existing policy going forward better and just to make sure we're all on the same page effectively if i'm understanding you correctly you would just direct us to prepare a new resolution that would approve this policy but not make the other changes correct

Is there a second on that?

Is there a second on that before we discuss it? We can't debate until it's seconded by Mr. Shapiro. Mr. Sewell, you recognize?

Just a point of clarification. Wasn't there already a proposal on the table?

I thought there was, but apparently there wasn't.

We didn't second it?

There was not a resolution that came when we discussed it earlier. For some reason, that wasn't in the packet. So there's actually nothing to substitute in. The policy was there, but not a resolution.

And I can only move to a rent.

In the agenda? David Quartemont- Again, the only meeting i've missed this year I don't know oh in the original I see what you're saying I see gotcha Okay, we had we had collaborated on yeah i'm following you.

David Quartemont- So that was seconded by Mr spiro any debate on this seeing none all Mr keel.

I just would like to have a substantive apology discussion on all the person's tools. amendments um so whether it's coming up tonight or next week i think that that should be a resolution that's discussed rather than just you know the older person is welcome to bring forward that as a discrete if if um i would invite the older person to put together a resolution that

in their estimation appropriately scopes the amount of authority that one wishes to delegate to the administration. and we can debate that on its merits once it's been filed with the deputy clerk and myself. Mr. Sewell.

I will say one of the reasons it was tied to this is that it's very specific to this thing. I don't see, I think most of this is clear. It's just this particular thing seemed like something would be appropriate for, which is why it did tie it to this in the first place. I will try to do something that sort of lays that out, but it's, yeah, that's it.

The alternative, the option that does exist to council is we could always just put future things like this on the consent agenda.

I'll just say that I echo Alderperson Kiel's sentiments that I'd like to have that discussion with Pat. I don't think I've – similar to Alderperson when I spoke favorably about this when it was introduced by Pat, Alderperson Sewell, but I don't know. I want to have more of a discussion about that before I vote, so yeah. We'll do it at the end of the meeting.

All those in favor? That carries unanimously. You have been directed to do the thing you've already done that we'll add at the end of the meeting. We're going to lightning round these bond resolutions, and Wendy is here to answer questions. So first, I'm going to just look for movers and seconders. I will read what they are. A resolution authorizing the issuance of $851,152 in bonds for the City of Ithaca to pay the cost of Union Field restroom and storage upgrades and related improvements in Cass Park in and for said city. Moved by Mr. DeVendini, seconded by Mr. Trumbull. Questions? Mr. Shapiro.

I just wanted to quickly pause for discussion because last year somebody missed the pause for discussion.

Duly noted, I will pause at every single one before calling for a vote for the rest of this. All those in favor? That carries unanimously. May I have a mover for a bond resolution for Meadow Street Water Main replacement for $600,000? Mr. DeFendini, seconded by Mr. Kirby. Discussion? Mr. Keel?

I mean I know we don't want from engineering here today, but I am interested in the fact that both bond resolutions for water main replacements are exactly the same price and that feels completely uncalculated to me. I understand it's a it's a matter of public safety so we're voting for both of these but I just wish that we have a little more information on the costs associated with a $600,000 project in the future.

I can recognize the deputy controller who has comment on this Mister Castle can you share your microphone.

Miss Cole, thank you just to give a little bit of insight and they're not two separate things it's one big project and so it's being paid for by both funds, so it has to be split up as far as the bond goes.

Mr keel so it's actually wait so it's it's a $1.2 million project. Total.

It's actually a much, much larger project. It's that pump station where the bike repair place used to be. So it's part of a bigger project, but we're only borrowing 1.2 million this round. And so, and it's a, it's funded by two separate funds, so it has to be broken up.

Okay. And are we, is any of this grant related? Are we getting any grants back for this?

I can look that up, but I don't believe this was a grant funded project, I believe this was part of. The capital project from prior years and the replacement of that particular pump station and the work associated with it.

Okay, thank you.

Mr. Sewell. Thank you. And in accordance with what you were saying, I did not recognize that it was out of two different funds. If those funds were listed in the resolution, I did not see it. And so it just be good. I mean, if they were, I apologize. If they're not, it would be useful to have that listed out that what funds are coming from. Thank you.

With respect to and I may be wrong in this instance, but with respect Our bond counsel develops our bond resolutions, which is an outside attorney, and they must adhere to specific formats. The pay down of this bond, once serialized, will designate which fund it is coming from. Correct? Thank you. Any further discussion on this item? All those in favor? Those opposed? That carries 9-1 with Mr. Keel against. Oh, we got through the first two already. No, it's okay. It's my fault. I usually remember this. Okay. Real quick. Cass Park. We're going back to that. Defendini. C. Matos. Yes. Kirby. Yep. Nguyen. Sewell. Aye. Shapiro. Yes. Keel. Trumbull. Yes. Fabrizio's absent. Schwetz?

Yes.

Quintelmo votes yes. Also, let's just stick with the yeses because the deputy clerk has to record all of these. With a hat tip to the show, I believe is what we got once last year. water meadow street water replacement defendini yes matos yes herbie yes win sewell yes capiro see keel no crumble yes can tell most yes uh may have a mover and a seconder for the same project for the sewer that is moved by schwartz seconded by kirby Defendini. Yes. Matos. Yes. Kirby. Yes. Wynn. Yes. Sewell. Yeah. Shapiro. Yes. Keel. I'm not sure. No. Trumbull. Yes. Betts. Yes. Quintelmo is yes. And then the central South Hill and West Hill fire stations. I need a mover first. So move by Ms. Matos, seconded by Mr. Sewell. Mr. Trumbull, you're recognized.

yeah um so i'm admittedly not great at city versus township lines um but don't these fall into the town and not city or is the town paying a similar fair share for these efforts i'm gonna invite uh well i'm uh allow miss cole to answer that question and then i'll invite mr kessler to talk a little bit about the arrangement around the ownership and the administration of the stations

So the original project is what the bonding attorney used for the resolution, but as far as the $500,000 that we were borrowing, it will only be directed for the central station.

Mr. Kessler? Any further comments on the financial arrangement? Not right now? Okay.

Okay. Mr. Keel? I'm sorry. Can you just explain that one more time? Deputy Comptroller Cole?

So the stuff that the bond attorney used was from a previous, you know, that was the wording of it and everything. The $500,000 due to legal things is only going to be used for the central station, which is within the city limits. That is what the money is for.

so just maybe may i try yeah this is the title of the capital project right but it is being utilized only for city properties yes yes mr keel i just am confused why the title of the capital project would be for two fire stations that are outside of our district when it's funding a fire station in our district are you sure you don't have anything to add to this

The original project was very broad, and it said fire stations. But since we put together the original project, some legal information has come to light. And so that is why the money that we're borrowing is only for use for the central station.

We can cover that reference in executive session, of which we have five. Control your own destiny, everybody.

well i'm not super comfortable voting on this until after i understand the full uh so this is just this is just half a million dollars for projects for the central fire station i just am confused why it has multiple references to the central south hill and west hill fire stations if it's for the central fire station in the title you're saying well and in the resolution but We can go into executive session now if you'd like. I would appreciate that, yeah. I moved to move into executive session to discuss this.

For the purpose of seeking advice of counsel.

Yes, for the purpose of seeking counsel.

Ms. Duhl, all those in favor?

Unanimous. Let's go into my office.

Any opposed, yell out nay. Okay, that carries unanimously. Mr. DeFedini? Yes. Ms. Matos? Yes. Mr. Kirby? Yes. Mr. Nguyen? Yes. Mr. Sewell?

Yes.

Bureau? Yes. Mr. Keel? Mr. Trumbull? Yes. Mr. Betts? Yes. And the mayor votes yes. That carries nine to one. All right. We are almost out of the public session of the meeting, folks. We have a resolution that I am filing on behalf of our sustainability office requesting an investigation, requesting the New York State Attorney General to investigate NYSEG and Rochester Gas and Electric for its performance and its financial relationship with the Spanish parent company that is named here, which I will not hazard a pronunciation effort toward. Is there a second? Seconded by Mr. DeFedini. Any discussion? Mr. Trumbull?

I just want to speak out in strong support of this. I think I can speak for pretty much all my colleagues when I say that NYSEG rates are shooting through the roof and that NYSEG has been pushing back on people on things as crazy as social media posts looking for arbitration and that we're sending a strong message not just for people here in the city but also just to the broader community as a whole. Tompkins County already pushes through, and I hope that we all can do this very happily because we do not need to be paying this much for electricity costs, especially in the lens of looking towards electrification across the city.

Mr. Sewell.

Thanks for that background, Robin. I was just a little confused about it. This is basically asking the city attorney to investigate.

New York State Attorney General.

Wait. New York State Attorney General. No work on our part. But on behalf of the PSC, but they already have the authority to do this, right?

Sorry, I've got several in front of me. We are urging the New York State Attorney General to initiate an expedite investigation into their financial claims in relationship with their parent company. Right. But the PSC already has that authority, right? We are urging the New York State Attorney General to initiate and expedite a comprehensive investigation. We're not, there's no reference to the PSC in this document.

Yeah, okay. I mean, but they're the body that actually determines rates. That's correct. They set rates. And so, okay. We're asking for an investigation. Just a general investigation, regardless of rates, just a general investigation into Abderral. Okay, yes, okay, thanks all those in favor.

That carries unanimously. Next, I have a resolution requesting the New York State Legislature to enact. I didn't forget your thing, don't worry. Authorizing enact legislation authorizing speed safety camera demonstration programs in the city of Ithaca. I so move seconded by Mr. Defendini. Any discussion on this thing that you've already approved unanimously? Do you have to? Okay, all those in favor? That carries unanimously, Deputy Clerk, for the 900 copies you now have to certify while we're in executive session. Thank you, colleagues. I'll get this into the speaker's hands tomorrow. Resolution authorizing the conveyance of title to properties obtained during tax foreclosure proceedings back to former owners upon payment of delinquent taxes and associated fees. Ms. Matos.

I so move.

Is there a second? Mr. DeFendini. Any discussion on this? What this resolution just does is authorizes

the folks uh who are going into foreclosure to get their property back if they pay their back taxes mr keel i'm just wondering if you give us a little background and for the public too about the situation that you've made amendments to um

I would, I would, if you'd like to, I would welcome phone calls for more clarification, but essentially the reason why I amended the properties is the previous property that I put this resolution forward to, uh, towards had a conversation with the family, um, decided not to go forward with that. Um, this current property is actually Oasis fellowships. Um, and there was just miscommunication around, uh, taxes being paid. Um, and I've been in communication with their pastor, so they plan to pay this by the end of the week.

All those in favor? That carries unanimously. I have an appointment to the Community Police Board, so I will put that forward. As I think I've told colleagues for the CPB, I now have Community Justice Center Director, MonaLita Smiley, interview all applicants on my behalf and make a recommendation. And then the materials associated with this were disseminated through Legislate. Question, Mr. Keel?

I'll just speak briefly. I'm uncomfortable with this appointment, and now I feel like I'm aligning myself with Zach Wynn, which is not the intention. I love you, Zach Wynn, if you're listening. But I was concerned when I read this. I got to this part of the agenda earlier today, and I feel like it's very targeted on flock. I'm very anti-flock, but I also don't think the members of our community police board should be joining the community police board for a specific legislative angle. And there's multiple parts of his application that talk specifically about flock. And I feel like this this application, from my perspective, is more about solving a specific legislative problem than it is about. Addressing a long standing.

Membership of the Community police board so i'll be voting against the site understood, Mr soul did was the second or doesn't need to be an appointment Okay, thank you. I'll also speak as well. I'm a little concerned about this particular individual. I've known him for many years, and he's a very active person in the city on the front lines on a lot of issues and is regularly engages with um the police in ways that i think may be difficult as um zach was saying it could be very difficult for them to feel comfortable working with and to feel like they have a someone who's genuine in trying to resolve uh issues and that makes me um uncomfortable i would like this police board i'm really really really interested in having a police board that works well and does what it's supposed to do. And I want to make sure that all the participants are people who can can do that work. And I am not comfortable with this particular candidate.

Mr. Shapiro.

Yeah, I don't have a lot to add, but I will say that on a day that we're using words like cooperation, from what I know about this individual, He hasn't really been somebody that has demonstrated cooperation in his activities with people. So I won't be voting for him as well. Mr. Trumbull.

I'll push back on my colleagues comments there. I've known Josh for quite a while, not just in, you know, community senses, but also in those same protests that some people are talking about. I've always seen him as someone who brings a very good sense of calm to crowds. He's not an agitator. He looks out for safety, he looks out for community. And I think that's the exact kind of person I want in this kind of role. I don't see him as being adversarial towards police. I think he looks at them as needing accountability. And that to me is the exact idea of the community police board. So I will be voting in favor of this.

also be voting in favor of this i as the liaison to the community review board uh this board has lacked quorum and so the ability to actually obtain it would be really valuable uh this is the community review board and i think it isn't it's the community police board but yes community police board um what i think is really important in that board's task is uh IS MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE REVIEW AND COLLABORATION WITH OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT SO THAT WE HAVE BETTER ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE SENTIMENTS THAT WE'VE HEARD. THERE WERE A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC SAFETY AS PERTAINS TO THE POLICE BOARD THAT CAME OUT OF THAT PROCESS THAT I'D HOPE TO SEE REALIZED AND MAYBE WITH A NEW REVIEW POLICE BOARD WILL BE ABLE TO DO THAT. AND THEN LASTLY I'LL SAY IF THERE ARE CONCERNS AROUND how people may engage in their broader community. I think we want to encourage civic engagement and going through the democratic means as a way to resolve these issues as opposed to anything outside of the system. And so I think this is a great mechanism for doing that. And I'd encourage more folks to apply that way.

Mr. Keel.

I guess as the liaison, I want you to correct me if I'm wrong. I guess I'm just confused about the role of the community police board in the overall structure of governance in the city of Ithaca. And my understanding is that their task is to review specific cases brought before them and not to review specific policy of the police department or the city of Ithaca. And so I guess my concern is rooted in the fact that we have an individual who specifically stated that their goal in joining this organization is to push back on specific policy instances with the police department. And I want somebody who is going to, even if it's not neutral, to review specific cases, not from a policy standpoint, but be someone who's going to be longstanding on that board and be evaluating case by case and not looking for specific policy instances. Because we've had a a history in the city of Ithaca of people joining for specific instances or specific policy position and then falling off the radar. I think we've seen that. with the fact we don't have quorum of the community police board right now. And so I want people who are going to be longstanding and are there for the right reasons and are there to do the job, whether it's now or in five years or in 10 years. And I'm worried about the longevity of this individual after the current policies are accomplished or denied one way or another. I'll recognize Ms. Schwetz and then myself.

Yeah.

I recognize those concerns, but also this is somebody who has been involved in community action long before there were flock cameras and has just demonstrated in general a belief in community review, which is exactly what the community police board is for. So I think someone who is active in the community and is at these things and engaged in democracy should be the person that we have, whether or not they have specific policy ideas in mind. I don't think that will be reflected in his serving on this board.

I will just speak to address the relative incomplete scope with which the community police board has operated in previous years when it did have a quorum and I will just commend to your attention section 16 of the city charter subsection be the community police board may recommend rules bylaws and regulations for the government of the police department of the city. Not inconsistent with the laws of the state, which may be promulgated through the chief of police to the whole force. The chief of police shall have the immediate direction and control of the police in the administration of the rules, bylaws and regulations of the department. In my reading of that, this is a completely appropriate exercise of that body's authority to make recommendations to the department on how they should conduct themselves. Seeing no further discussion, Mr. DuFendini. Yes. Ms. Matos?

Yes.

Mr. Kirby?

Yep.

Ms. Nguyen?

Yes.

Ms. Sewell? No. Mr. Shapiro? No. Mr. Keel? Yes. Mr. Trumbull? Yes. Ms. Schvetz?

Yes.

And the mayor votes yes. That carries eight to two. Thank you, colleagues. I have On an expedited timeline, the city attorney has provided us with a draft resolution that we charged him to do earlier this evening. So I request unanimous consent to add resolution approving proposed revisions to the standards of conduct for employee policy. Any dissent? Dissent?

I haven't had a chance to review the resolution. I was going to read it in whole. Okay, read it in whole. I'll draw the drama.

You'll with what oh okay um so any any any dissent to add this to the agenda okay now I so move the aforementioned resolution, whereas on may thirteenth twenty six city staff presented to the common Council proposed revisions to the city's standards of conduct for employees policy policy. And whereas Common Council approval of revisions to the policy is required because the policy was first approved by resolution of the Common Council on December 3rd, 2008. And whereas the Common Council wishes to approve the proposed revisions, now therefore be it resolved that the revised standards of conduct for employees policy accompanying this resolution is hereby approved. I so move. Is there a second? Seconded by Mr. Nguyen. All those in favor? That carries unanimously. All right. that can oh nope no it doesn't uh i will turn it over briefly to the city manager and controller robuski enormous apologies for pronouncing your name wrong on the radio 50 times i know i've said that to you already but now we're in a public session so i can do it more appropriately um there is a city manager report with a specific focus that uh mr reccio would like to come into our attention so i will turn it over to them

I'm going to add two additional small focuses at the beginning that are relevant to the conversation today. One is that I mentioned this in a previous meeting, but I'm pleased to announce the name of the firm for the city's auditor that we have hired, Drescher and Malecki. Some of the local neighboring municipalities are clients of that firm, so I think that is relevant. They come very highly recommended, and I'm very excited for our team to be working with them. THE SECOND UPDATE IS RELATED TO REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE ROOTS TEAM COMMUNITY RESPONDER JOB DESCRIPTIONS. THOSE ARE GOING TO THE JOB DESCRIPTIONS HAVE BEEN DRAFTED, RECEIVED APPROPRIATE FEEDBACK. THOSE ARE GOING TO BE BROUGHT FORTH TO THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION ON JUNE 10TH FOR APPROVAL. AND THEN MY EXPECTATION IS THAT THEY'LL BE BROUGHT FORTH TO COMMON COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION IN THE JUNE 17TH COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING FOR ADOPTION IN JULY AND THEN NEAR IMMEDIATE POSTING Uh, afterwards for those positions, so that we can get them on the city roster. Um, and we've we've developed quite a bit of the of the work around that. So I'm very pleased, um, to report that the last piece, um, is around a specific, um, memo as an addendum to the finance report that the mayor mentioned. This has been put together by, um, controller, Carissa and Wendy, related to our debt pay down. And I'll turn it over to Carissa for a high level update on what we've been able to accomplish recently.

All right. Thanks, Dominic. Good evening, everybody. I will attempt to do about a three minute update on this because I don't want to keep anyone from a basketball game. So I did want to provide an update on progress on the debt reduction and conversion plan that was requested by council in November 2025. As Dominic just said, there's a memo attached to the city manager's report, explains our progress in more detail, as well as a plan moving forward to provide more data in the coming months. But just the highlights, quick highlights of what has been requested to date. One was just kind of confirming the total amount of short-term debt that we have at the beginning of the year and where we're estimated to be at the end. The total short-term band debt at the beginning of fiscal 26 was 43.6 million. We are making payments of 10.7 million against that netted out by new loans of 8.3 million. That means we have an estimated short-term debt balance of 41.3 million across 68 loans by the end of the year. The good news is that these summary numbers include $6.75 million of additional principal pay down funds that were not originally included in our debt service calculation for 2027. So that results in a reduction of general fund debt burden for fiscal 27 of $370,000. So we're already kind of starting to chip away at that budget gap that we identified in our budget kickoff. And the better news is that I think that this is really kind of the low hanging fruit of what we were able to identify in time for this meeting and for this kind of update to council into and to the city manager. We know that there's at least 5 additional of these short term loans that were actively working to track down the reimbursements. And I think. And there are also others. So the goal is over the next month is to kind of collect all this data and try to track down a bit more which of these loans we're expecting reimbursement and whether or not those reimbursements are late. And once we can kind of hone in on which loans should be reimbursed by which date, what's the fastest we can identify that funding, then we can kind of focus on what's remaining for us to decide what our conversion versus pay down strategy should be. I also just want to note that for future reporting, I'd like to also try to put together some sort of list that also demonstrates or also lists what debt or what capital projects have been authorized but not yet financed. Because I think that kind of gives us a list of basically our potential debt, which I think we should keep in the back of our minds when we're also thinking about what have we currently authorized. um finally um certainly there was a request to discuss um the conversion strategy and we you know right now we've observed through our most recent financing that we were seeing really comparable interest rates for serial bonds versus um you know short-term debt versus the bands um but you know there could be a possibility that because of our lack of a bond rating right now that could get more expensive so we will certainly provide an analysis show either the cost savings or if there would be additional costs for us to work on these conversions by you know the deadline you know given by council which is to kind of have a plan for how to address each of these loans before the end of the year um and some of all of this memo that is you know in more detail at the end of this city manager's report are going to fold into next week's look at capital planning And all of this will kind of work in concert. So we're really excited to kind of dig into this and get more organized on it. So hopefully that was about three minutes, but that's all I got.

Thank you, Controller Buskey. I think the only other thing I would, and I'm sure you will, but sort of invite to include in that analysis is any forecasting around perceived interest rate volatility. I think that's obviously one of the one large reasons we would want to lock in, even if we had to pay a premium because of our lack of bond rating.

Understood.

Mr. Shapiro.

Sure a great summary of what the finance and advisory committee spent about an hour talking about last Friday. So I just wanted to say that, for the colleagues around the room, because we did go into a lot of detail about. Well, first, of course, welcoming carissa to the team, but then hearing about the bond firm or excuse me, the audit firm hearing about. THE UPDATES WITH THE DEBT AND THE DIFFERENT POLICIES THAT WE'RE WORKING ON. AND I'M NOT SURE IF I HEARD YOU SAY IT TONIGHT. MAYBE I JUST MISSED IT BECAUSE YOU WERE TALKING QUICKLY. BUT ALSO THE IDENTIFYING THINGS THAT WE HAVEN'T YET EVEN TRIED TO GET REIMBURSEMENT FOR THAT ARE GRANT REIMBURSABLE. SO CHRIS HAD CERTAINLY WORKED INTO A LOT OF THE I THINK THE LAST AUDIT FIRM SAID WE HAD A LOT OF LIKE PAPERWORK, A LOT OF GRANTS THAT WERE KIND OF JOTTED DOWN ON PIECES OF PAPER AND And it seems like we're already uncovering some things that we hadn't yet submitted for reimbursement that we're now able to submit for reimbursement. So I'm hopeful to see more progress, and I'm looking forward to when you make it here into Ithaca. But I thought that was a great first meeting, and I appreciate the work you're doing. And also, of course, appreciating Wendy as well. Thank you.

Mr. Trumbull?

Yeah, I'll echo Alderperson Shapiro's comments. Carissa, I think it's insanely awesome how much you've gotten done in a month already. But also, I just wanted to say, Dominic, to your points about the Roots program, how cool it is to hear an update the same day we're celebrating Dorothy Cotton, just how meaningful that is. So thank you for all you do.

All right. With that, that will end our public session. And we will enter into executive Was that not on the agenda session first? Oh, we have, oh, oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Sorry. I'm like so eager to hit the time. I need a motion that we do have one voting item coming out of one of our plethora of executive sessions. So stay tuned. TV land, um, may have a motion to enter into executive session to discuss contract advice of counsel, Mr. Defendini, Ms. Schvetz, all those in favor. Unanimous. May have a motion to exit executive session. Mr. Defendini, seconded by Mr. Nguyen. All those in favor? Unanimous. I have a resolution authorizing the termination of a lease for premises located at 123 South Cayuga Street and appropriating funds thereof. Therefore, Whereas on February 27, 2015, the City entered into a lease agreement for premises located at the aforementioned address for a 20-year term, and whereas the Common Council desires to terminate said lease agreement before the expiration of the term, now therefore, be it resolved, the Common Council determines the premises are no longer needed for municipal purposes. And be it further resolved, the Common Council authorizes the acting City Manager, subject to the advice of the City Attorney, to execute a termination of lease and settlement agreement in substantially the same form. As accompanies this resolution and be it further resolved, the controller shall derive the funds required to be paid under the agreement in 2026 from the account A16205470 in the amount of $88,000 and account A19305700 in the amount of $442,000. The budget adjusted accordingly and the funds required to be paid in 2027 shall be included in the 2027 budget and dispersed as required by the agreement I so move seconded by Mr. Devendini all those in favor that carries unanimously with Mr. Trumbull voting in favor now we will enter into a series of executive sessions where there will be no voting items so we will ask folks to clear the chamber thank you very much and thank you deputy clerk for your work this evening uh may have a motion to enter into executive session to discuss what can we want to do first uh personnel uh related item first personnel related item mr difendini mish vets all those in favor that carries unanimously thanks wendy thanks thank you theresa thanks everybody have a good night