Common Council - Regular Meeting

You're all set on my end. All right.

All right.

I'm going to call caucus to order. Majority Leader Hirsch has asked that I step in to run the meeting tonight. We're going to start with an update from the president and we'll probably go into attorney client session and then we'll jump into our legislation list. President Schatz.

Yes, because part of my update is inviting Rebecca to discuss some litigation with us, but because she doesn't need to be here for the rest of it, I'm just switching the order. I'd like to go into an attorney-appointed session to discuss some specific legislation with our attorneys. Bob, can you call us again? Sorry.

All right, we're back.

All right. Thank you. It is now 8.32. We are leaving attorney client session and going into our June 22nd. Excuse me. Good night. It's not as long as I know.

Yes, we see.

All right. Resolution 79 is budget transfer with no financial impact. Everybody good with that? Yep. Yes. All right. Resolution 80 is pass-through money from Empire State Development for the St. Joseph's Law, no cost to the city. Everybody good with that?

Yes.

All right. Resolution one authorizes the mayor to submit an application to New York State Parks for a plays grant in the amount of $600,000 for the block park nature play project to execute any all related documents. There's an estimated financial effect of $150,000. Everybody good with that? Yes.

Yes.

All right, 82 is the authorizing the transfer of 12 Quartz 34 Boulevard and 54 Hunter to the land bank. This will come at a loss to the city of $224,251. Everybody good with that? Okay. Resolution number 83 comes out of public safety. Ben. Yes.

You got this? This is... Line of sight vision, or line of sight issue on Southman where people... So we're just turning a spot. What is that street?

It's between Eliza and the Thomas Street lot.

Yeah. And so that people, when they're pulling in, can see better. And this was brought to us by the engineer, approved by the engineer. And I recollect it's only about one parking space. Only one parking space.

Only one parking space.

Is this the one that is behind the old Tony's?

Behind Tony's. I'm sorry? Behind Tony's.

You wrote an email about this. Yeah.

Everybody good with it?

Yeah.

All right. 84. Removing handicap on Fairview. Pretty straightforward. Everybody okay with that? Yeah. This is adding a handicap spot on Court Street. Everybody okay with that?

Yeah. Yeah.

This is 86 is the adding four-way no right on red on Washington and Lucas. Everybody okay with that? Yes.

No, I said I voted no in the committee meeting, but I have to say this is the, what I love about community interaction is that since I, when I voted no, I had constituents who had urged me to do that, but then I got communications from other constituents who had sent me emails talking about why they thought that it was the right thing to do. And so I spoke to the people who had said, please vote no. I told them that I would vote that they had convinced me that this was the right thing to do, but that I would keep to get a better traffic light so that people wouldn't, to get a controller put in so there could be a lead pedestrian sort of air bull that would help the people who were trying to cross on a green light. So they were satisfied with that.

So you did answer the conference.

It was a very good conversation in public safety and a good email conversation that Sarah and I had about long-term improvements to that intersection. So it was a very good product.

It was a very good process, all in all.

Thank you. Terrell, are you good on this one? Yeah, no, I'm good. Okay.

Yeah.

All right. This resolution number 87 is authorizing the use of community preservation funds of Theta City for the 2026 portion of the debt service used to purchase the Kingston Wilderness property that is off of the Beale Street. Everybody good with that? Yes. Resolution number 88 is the bond ordinance for the wastewater treatment plant. Everybody good with that? Yes. Okay. 89 is the bond ordinance. The resolution 90 is the appointment of Jake Strauss to the Community Preservation Advisory Board. I did not attend the Laws and Laws Committee meeting, so if anybody wants to speak on these.

I mean, we only had one application because of the deputy air position, but he came recommended. He seems like he's qualified according to the application that we sent.

Okay. Okay. Everybody's good with that? Yeah. Yes. Resolution number 90, resolution of the Common Council of the City of Kingston, New York, rejecting the proposed tree ordinance. So I guess you would vote yes if you want to reject.

Yes. Yes.

Everybody good with that? Yes. 92, an ordinance amending an ordinance in relation to the traffic on public streets from having handicapped parking on 3rd Avenue. Everybody good with that?

Yeah.

Resolution number 93 is... The feasibility study for the West Shore passenger rail line, President Shaw.

So we did get an email about the digital language added. I'm just pulling it up right now. I said I would make sure that these get brought to the attention of everybody. Did you all see it? Yeah, I did. So could anybody not see it? an email from rebecca rebecca morning kingston yeah um so it would just add in section one and further request the city of kingston and other affected west of cutson communities be represented in the studies development and stakeholder in the acre process the grand windows that look good to me uh marissa there was something i would say offline about uh taking it back to me back to committee to allow the ulster county legislature to have their information session about it

and then bring it back to council where it opens. Maybe we might even better think that might get incorporated into our resolution. But it is a memorial, I think, resolution, so whatever.

Is there a time for one of these? I mean, it's now until the end of time is probably when we go past the rail line.

But feasibility study is something that would be initiated, right?

No. Have you ever received a feasibility study? It's also part of a New York State feasibility study. So is somebody going to make a motion to send it back to public safety?

You want to do that? How do we feel as the council body doing that? Are we comfortable just passing it with the amended language as is?

So personally, I'm fine passing it as it was passed out of the Public Safety Committee. This is the same resolution that other municipalities and counties have passed. I'm sure that's what the advocates of this want, is the same resolution for each municipality and not needlessly complicate things because we're Dominican special. So I think it's a memorializing resolution about a dream that I certainly support, but I think we should be realistic that this is a memorializing resolution for... Well, so there's nothing...

There's no problem with us standing this line to move it back?

I would certainly vote in favor of it if somebody wanted to make a motion to amend it, but I just don't see it's, like, actual necessity. I...

Okay, so somebody will make the motion to amend?

We make that addition to the list. Well, we have to do that on the floor. You can't. Yeah, yeah.

So Dara will make the motion to amend.

I'll make the motion and Ruth will second.

Okay, super. All right, everybody.

Do you still have the language? I have the language. Well, it's that language there. Great. Do you know how to do it? I think I know how to do it. I just say I'd like to move that we add this. And the production one, section one, the end of section one. Yes. Perfect. Okay.

All right. Resolution number, everybody's good with that, don't they? Yes. Resolution number 94 is the resolution declaring itself as lead, the city declaring itself as lead agency for safe and accessible Flatbush and Foxhall streetscape project and classifying under secret as employment listed action. We took a hard look at this in the public safety meeting. Does anybody have any other questions about it? Everybody good?

Yeah.

Okay. We'll also have resolution 95. Yes, thank you. So resolution number 95 is the transfer of 32 and 33 of Beale Street as we just passed. I would assume that everybody could with the exception of Walton Museum. Thank you. Of course. And then we have the first reading of local law number three, amending the residency requirements. Chapter 110, Section 2, we are not voting on it. I wasn't there at the meeting, but I eventually will be voting no on this FYI. Any other updates? Anybody?

Oh, sure. Go ahead. For those who weren't there, so this is, I guess we're calling it a quick fix because we still want to go back and reconsider this. But another of us felt like the 10 miles in Ulster County was too limiting, but we weren't really sure what we wanted to do with the language overall. So this takes out Ulster County, makes it 40 miles, but with the goal of actually going back and considering what we want out of this. So this is our end goal. Okay. I mean, it may end up being...

It could be three train stops on the West Shore Railroad.

There we go.

It's your voucher. Tara. So what does this really accomplish? Because it's effective as of the residency requirement. It's effective as of the date of the expiry.

So it doesn't go to that. No, part of the resolution that Matt drafted and I looked at is it does go back. Oh, that's not what we got.

That's not what we got. That's not the language we got.

So I could read it if you'd like. So this is proposed local law number three of 2026, amending residency requirements, chapter 110, section two of the code. The section one resolve says the purpose of this local law is to amend section 110-2, restrictions on employment of the code of the city of Kingston by changing section 110-2 to reflect a 40 mile radius externally from the geographical limits of the city of Kingston.

and eliminating the restriction which currently... Can I just, I'm sorry, stop you because it's not the same as that. Sorry, just so you don't have to read all of that. I think that is, there must have been some confusion.

Right, because Tarot, that's the one I saw, the one that you saw that didn't have.

So can I, instead of you reading it, make sure we have the right one. Yes. Not, it will happen right now. It's not the one.

So otherwise, we can make a motion to adjourn when Andrea's ready. Yeah, I'm fine with that.

Okay, can I get a motion to adjourn?

I'll let you know. Motion by Carol, second by Ruth.

All in favor? Aye. Thank you.

Thank you. Well done. By the way, I do have some reports from my vehicle. But no, but I thought Michael, Michael, if there are changes. Oh, okay. Have a good night, Bob.