Common Council - Regular Meeting

Okay, 7:15 time for the meeting to begin. Uh uh at this time uh we have public session and uh we have two people signed up. The first person signed up is Adah Heightman. Please come to the podium. And we have very simple simple we have very simple rules here. Okay, we have uh no profanity, no name calling, no personal texts, and please try to keep your remarks to uh five minutes.

All right. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, city council. My name is Ada Heman, and I'm just a resident here in the city of Asiggo for the last two decades who finally made it out to introduce myself to you. I'm here to stir up a little bit of good trouble. I think I'm interested in starting a grassroot initiative that reflects really well on everything we do for our community from birth to the final days. I'm starting something called the first cradle aso or the port city box and it's an idea that I came across that is done in Finland and has been done since the 1940s for newborns for the newborns born only in Finland. So, it occurred to me that this was a pretty cool idea. Um, and I put it on the asiggole, you know, you're from asiggo page to see if people might be interested in helping me maybe pull something like this together. Within 5 hours, we had 90 hearts and likes and comments and I want to donate and how can we help and can we get this together. So, I have a background since 1990 in founding nonprofit organizations in Connecticut. And I thought to myself after all of these years in working in this field, now I'm not working and I have the time to be able to help this community pull something like this together that's going to help our local businesses be the providers of what we put in this baby box. But the most important and different thing about this initiative is that we have a lot of nonprofit options and services for influence. But none of them actually provide that cradle for that family that might go home that day and not have a proper place for that child to sleep. So they'll put them in bed with them or they'll put them on the floor. I think how a pa a baby sleeps saves lives. So this box created by Finland is actually a very sturdy box and it's a

cradle that reflects their community. The box comes um with the mattress, with the fitted sheets, with everything the child's going to need for the first two or three weeks of their life. um a lot of information of the other services available to the families, things for the moms that they usually use after birth. And um it's actually delivered to the hospital the same day that the baby is born or with an anticipation of 7 to 10 days so that the nurse could just hand it over. The design of the box that I'm proposing, I'm hoping to also have done locally and that it would have uh a QR code, for example, to educate parents on what the box is, what it's about, that it's coming from our neighbors, it's from the other residents, from our sponsored businesses, from everyone else to help them get a good start. The difference is that even though it is a box for people who might need a cradle, it's also a box for the young firsttime parents that teach them how to do the following things that they should know and are probably scared to death. I know I was the first time I had my son 24 years ago. So, the reason why I thought I'd come here was just to introduce myself and to let you know that the name Ada Heightman might be floating around with the possibility of this initiative happening with local businesses, community members, neighbors. Um, and my goal is to get like the first 100 boxes out, roll it out just for children born in Swiggo hospital and see how that goes so that we can then open it to children who are then fostered by a Swiggo residence because they certainly do need that emergency kit when suddenly they have a baby that landed in soft in foster care. Um, just quickly, I don't know if I have much time, but I wanted to just let you know a little bit about what is expected of the box. It's custom made first of all. So, I brought a little flyer in case anyone wants to pick up up. This is the one in Finland, but the baby would be laying on its the opposite side and not with all the stuff

in it. Um, our box would be more port city oriented so that it reflects our city and all the things that we're proud of. And, um, it would also have like 30 items, like I said, for the first few weeks. and it would come with a note handwritten by one of the many donors or neighbors that helped made that box possible for that family. It also would have information about sleeping on your back. And I plan on contacting other nonprofits like Wick and other programs so that we can collaborate to make sure that this little gap that we're trying to fill fits in with their goals and we can cross each other and help each other out. Um, I wanted to add that because we are an asagle, there would be a snowsuit in there, the kind that the kid just fits in. It's like a little bag because you you never know, even if they're born in July, they should still grow into their snowsuit. And um, also one of the halo sleepers has been completely approved so that children don't need a cover. So, they're just in their little cradle in their little halo bag and um, can sleep safely throughout the night without getting suffocated in any way. Um, let's see. So, I guess last but not least is again to thank everybody for letting me stand up here today and take a few minutes of your time to let you know that I'm Adah Heightman, just a resident for the last two decades with a long story, but I'm not going to give it tonight, but I'm happy to be on my feet trying to do something to give back to us because it has been amazing to me and my family.

All right. Thank you very much. Good luck with uh your project.

Thank you. The second person signed up uh is a familiar name uh here uh by a name by the name of uh John Fitzgibbons, 85 East Mohawk Street. Do I need to repeat the rules, John? I I'll stay well within them. Very good. Thank you very much. I'm I'm here during the public session uh to speak on behalf of Rachel Hendricks who's the executive director of Haven for Hope Auiggo. She hoped to be here and like many of us have through the winter challenged with medical maladies, she's home with a fever. So in in in her absence, I she's shared with me her statement that she'd like to be read. So uh I'll take a minute and do that. This is obviously the voice of Rachel Hendricks and the organization Haven of a Hope Asiggo. We want to take a moment to sincerely thank our local leaders for taking the time to listen, engage, and work through the challenges surrounding Haven of Hope. To our city council members, the mayor, and the zoning board, thank you for your guidance, your willingness to have open conversations, and your commitment to our community. We recognize that these situations are complex, and truly, we truly appreciate the time, effort, and care you have put into helping us navigate the process. As part of this process, we want to share an update on our next steps. After careful con uh consideration, we have decided to forego moving forward with the application for the Trinity Methodist Church location. Instead, we will be proceeding with the applica with the application for the East 3rd Street location.

We are also taking proactive steps to strengthen the safety and collaboration within the community. I've reached out to Chief Conzone and Chief Katie to set up a meeting with Mike Clary from zoning to review the safety plans we currently have in place and to discuss additional ways we can uh continue to improve and implement stronger safety protocols moving forward. In addition, I have connected with China Tucker at the Richard S. Shinnaman Foundation in hopes of applying for grant funding to support startup uh safety startup costs for our new location. Haven of hope was create was created to serve individuals in crisis those experiencing homelessness, substance abuse disorder, and mental health challenges. We remain deeply committed to that mission. We also understand the importance of being good neighbors and working in partnership with the community and the local leadership. We we are continuing to move forward with forward thoughtfully with a goal of finding solutions that allow us to serve uh those in need while respecting the concerns and structure of the city. Thank you for your uh your support, your patience, and your dedication to Asiggo. We are grateful to be part of a community that cares. Rachel Hendricks. So, I think uh good progress is made and I think there's work ahead of us, but I I know that uh together we'll go farther. Thank you. All right, that was the last person that actually signed up uh tonight. Is there anyone uh in the audience that would like to speak that did not sign up? Seeing no one, uh I will close public session and we will begin the meeting.

capital. You didn't say anything to help her get started. But then I said, you know, then we can start to figure out what she needs there and help her. That that could be another conversation. It is 7:30.

It's 7:30. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please call the role. Let's honor the mayor. Here, councelor Kennedy here. Councelor Ashlin here. Councelor Lensac here. Councelor Fitzgibbons here. Councelor Meyer here. Councelor Plunkett here. Councelor Thompson here. All present.

Thank you very much. I have a couple things under the mayor's report uh I would like to share with everybody. On uh Saturday evening, uh my wife and I had the pleasure of attending the Ontario Center for the Performing Arts Music Hall at the McCroy building. The feature performer was an awardwinning singer songwriter Liz Longley from Nashville who made a stop at Asiggo as part of her tour. She was uh prede predecuso whose original music and natural rapport with the audience set a wonderful tone for the evening. For those who may not be familiar with its history, the music hall began in 1976 at a small coffee house on Water Street called the Lowife Cafe. Today, it continues that proud tradition in the historic McCroy building as a tenant of the city of Oswigos, transforming the ballroom in into an intimate candle lit venue every other Saturday from September through May. Led by a 17 member board, a dedicated team of volunteers, and President Ellen Wall and her husband Mark, the Music Hall has brought exceptional local, national, and national talent to Asiggo for 50 years. In addition to enriching our cultural life, the Music Hall is generously donating 60 chairs for the use at city events. Chairs that they used to use at the Music Hall, but now uh they ordered new ones and they have all these extras. So, they're graciously donating to them to us. That item is on the agenda tonight and I hope you do accept that. On behalf of the common council and the residents and myself, I extend sincere appreciation for both this donation and for the decades of contribution to making a Swiggo a vibrant and welcoming community. On to item two. On Friday, March 13th, I attended the Assuro County Opportunity celebration of its 60th

anniversary and the grand opening of its new office on 10 George Street. This modern facility now serves as a central hub for the wide range of programs and services OCO provides across the county. Since 1966, OCO has been a steadfast partner helping families find stability, empowering individuals to reach their full potential, and ensuring that no one in our community is left without hope or support. As executive director Kevin Dean emphasized during recent discussions at a committee on homelessness here in this chamber, OCO stands ready to collaborate with others to assist our most vulnerable neighbors. We are very, very fortunate to have such a dedicated and compassionate organization serving Asiggo County. My sincere thanks go to everyone at OCO for their continued commitment and service. The next item on my list, I have a five-year capital improvement plan. During my state of the city city address last month, I committed to providing the council with this year's capital improvement plan. Councilors, you'll see they're being passed out currently by the uh deputy clerk. With the expertise and input of our department heads, we have assembled a plan that outlines key projects aimed at strengthening our infrastructure, improving operations, and enhancing quality of life for our residents. The CIP, as we call it, is a living document updated annually as we complete projects and identify new priorities. This year's plan includes initiatives across many areas of city operations. the animal shelter, high dam, Ponzi

building, Gallagher pool, city hall, the Conway building, DPW facilities, the marina, our urban tree canopy, the fire, police and traffic departments, wastewater treatment, lead service line replacement, culvert and sewer upgrades, and freshwater in infrastructure to name a few of the items on the list. As we make progress on these items over the coming year, I will return next year with an updated plan that continues to guide our long-term vision. I want to express my sincere appreciation to each of our department heads for their time, insight, and collaboration. I see uh DPW Commissioner uh Rebior and Fire Chief Conzoner in the uh audience. uh they're uh two of uh the department heads that helped me on this and I appreciate that their institutional knowledge and practical understanding of day-to-day operations were essential in shaping a plan that reflects both our immediate needs and our long range priorities. On to the next item. Last week, I attended the sanctuary advisory council committee for lake for the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary, which as we all know was designated in July of 2024. The council consists of 15 voting members and 15 alternates representing a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives from the four counties encompassed by the sanctuary. Jeff Brown, the interim director, provided an update on current progress and future plans. Additional details will be shared at a public meeting, including time for public comment on Wednesday, April 1st at GST Steamers from 6 to8 6 to 8. In addition, the inaugural Lake Ontario International Film Festival will take place on Thursday, April 2nd at the Lake Ontario

Event and Convention Center from 7 to 9:00. This is a big deal. I don't believe we have ever had an international film festival in the city of Asiggo. So, this is this is a uh certainly a big event for our community. The festival will feature a collection of short films celebrating freshwater and marine environments, maritime heritage, underwater exploration, wildlife, and our shared connection to the water. I encourage everyone interested in the sanctuary to attend both the public meeting and the film festival. Should be pretty cool. The next item on my list, after more than six de six six months of work, the redesigned city website will go live on April 1st. City staff have worked closely with Revise to build a site that is easier to navigate, operate, and to search. Earlier this month, department heads participated in a training session and provided final input on the design of it. I would like to at this time thank all city employees who contributed to this project, especially IT director Steve Coffee and Kristen Slimmer in my office who dedicated many hours to ensuring the site was completed by the end of March, which was the deadline. Their efforts will significantly improve how residents access information and services. The next item is the West First Street re rehabilitation project. The project will resume April 6th with equipment mobilization beginning next week, which is the week before. Weather permitting, the contractor will complete the remaining items necessary to close out the project. As anybody who drives that knows that there's a few items on the list that need to be addressed at this time, I'd like to thank the public for their patience throughout this work. It's not easy to reconstruct

uh 3/4 of a mile of a road uh when there's traffic uh going up and down it. Uh the easier way would have been to close the whole road, but that was not an option when we have a post office and businesses and and it is a major uh north south uh entrance to the city. So, it wasn't easy, but we got it done. I also want to recognize the engineering department, especially Wesley Moore, who basically was the clerk of the works for this project, for their diligence and professionalism. With a project of this size and scope, unexpected challenges are inev inevitably when happening when working with older infrastructure, and Wesley has done an excellent job navigating those issues. The last item on my list is something that anybody who lives in a swiggle will certainly be aware of, but I think it I need to remind people. Please be aware that the DPW is actively filling potholes in the city of Asiggo. As everybody knows, now that the city now that the weather is sort of changed, uh potholes are going to be out there. And I I hope that uh people understand like most cities in our climate, potholes are a necessary part of spring activities. Residents can report potholes to the DPW at 315 3428180. But keep in mind that since the asphalt plants are not open for probably another month, we are using what they call cold patch. cold patch asphalt is not the best way to permanently fix a p pothole. So uh they will continue to fill with with uh cold patch until the asphalt plants are open. But if uh anybody including the counselors see any potholes that need to be addressed, please report them. The DPW will they're doing it. I know the counselors get a a

list of work every day uh from the DPW and I believe pretty much every day uh there's a listing for pothole filling. So, I want to make sure the residents know that they're doing their best to keep up with the potholes, and I appreciate uh the DPW's efforts on that behalf. That was the last item under the mayor's report. Uh at this time, I'd like uh resolution 70 called. Approve minutes common council meeting held March 9th, 2026. Councelor Plunkett, Councelor Ashine. Any comments? Please call the role. Councelor Thompson, yes. Councelor Kennedy, yes. Councelor Ashline, yes. Councelor Lensac. Yes. Councelor Fitzgiven. Yes. Councelor Meyer. Yes. Councelor Plunkett. Yes. Resolution passes 70.

Call resolution 71. Appoint Commissioner of Deeds. Councelor Lensac. Councelor Meyer. Questions, comments? Please call the role. Councelor Thompson. Yes. Councelor Kennedy. Yes. Councelor Ashlin. Yes. Councelor Lensac. Yes. Councelor Fitz Given. Yes. Councelor Meyer. Yes. Councelor Plunkett. Yes. Resolution passes 70. Call resolution 72. Grant waiver of the noise ordinance to the Broadwell Hospitality Group located at 26 East 1st Street in order to host live music from June 5th through June 7th, 2026. Councelor Thompson. Councelor Lensac. Any comments? Please call the RO. Councelor Thompson. Yes. Councelor Kennedy. Yes. Councelor Ashlin. Yes. Councelor Lensac. Yes. Councelor Fitz Given. Yes. Councelor Meyer. Yes. Councelor Plunkett.

Yes. Resolution passes 70. Call resolution 73. Accept donation of 60 metal folding chairs from the Asiggo Music Hall. Councelor Plunkett. Councelor Kennedy. Comments. Please call the role. Councelor Thompson. Yes. Councelor Kennedy. Yes. Councelor Ashline. Yes. Councelor Lensac. Yes. Councelor Fitzgiven. Yes. Councelor Meyer. Yes. Councelor Plunkett. Yes. Resolution passes 70. Call resolution 74. Accept donation of five historic books from the Asiggo Public Library. Councelor Kennedy. Councelor Thompson. Any comments? Please call the role. Councelor Thompson, yes. Councelor Kennedy, yes. Councelor Ashline, yes. Councelor Lensac, yes. Councelor Fitzgiven, yes. Councelor Meyer, yes. Councelor Plunkett, yes. Resolution passes 70.

Please call resolution 75.

Accept sponsorship funding in the total amount of $31,250 for the 2026 summer concert series. Before I ask for a motion, I just wanted to point out that since last week's Monday's um committee meeting. Uh there was an issue brought up there in the 31,250 total, there was four um uh different entities that had contributed and two of them uh according to the state controller doesn't meet the criteria for uh uh sponsorship. So, uh, I'm asking that, uh, if somebody on the council would make a, uh, an amendment so you can vote on it, uh, to reduce, uh, the, uh, accepted amount, uh, from 31,250 to 29,250. Uh, the two donations that, uh, did meet the guidelines was a grant application from Constellation for 25,000 and a grant from Asiggo County Tourism and Planning Office, which is part of the bed tax.

Yes. Councelor, I'll move. I'll second. Second, Thompson. Yep. You want any comment? You want any comments? Yeah, I will. Go ahead.

Uh I I I was the person that brought brought that issue forward. I'm very much appreciative of the philanthropic contributions of the organizations represented in that resolution. So I this is not any uh return of the gratuitity other than the fact that the guidance from the controllers's office indicates uh that outside of established grants we cannot solicit or accept donations in that form. That's their guidance to municipalities. So to be consistent with that either we would have to reconcile uh a a path to accept or have these contributions targeted towards that end that they intended without encumbering the municipality in conflict with that guidance or we would need to ignore the guidance and understand the consequences. But I appreciate the removing them from the resolution and I would want their generosity to be uh acknowledged in a way that we will pursue or the city or the end goal to which they wanted to support be continued to be supported or acknowledged in some way but in a way that's compliant with the guidance the comproller office has given us. So again, for clarity, it was in no way a reflection on the generosity of those organizations. It was just trying to be compliant.

Anybody else have any comments? Seeing 10, seeing none, can you call the rule? Councelor, I'm sorry. I think there there was a call for an amendment, right? So to amend. Should be procedurally amend. Yeah, we're amending. Motion to amend. Yeah. So MO so yeah motion to I saw a motion to amend. Yep. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. Councelor Thompson. Yes. Councelor Kennedy. Yes. Councelor Ashline. Yes. Councelor Lensac. Yes. Councelor Fitzgibbons. Yes. Councelor Meyer. Yes. Councelor Plunkett. Yes. Do we need a motion to So now I need a motion. Now that we've had a motion to amend, now we need a motion to vote on it. Councelor Lensac. Councelor Kennedy.

Uh Councelor Thompson. Yes. Councelor Kennedy. Yes. Councelor Ashline, yes. Councelor Lensac, yes. Councelor Fitzgibbiven, yes. Councelor Meyer, yes. Councelor Plunkett, yes. Resolution passes 70. Call resolution 76. Approve new fee schedule for ambulance services. Councelor Ashine. Councelor Plunkett. Comments. Please call the RO. Councelor Thompson. Yes. Councelor Kennedy. Yes. Councelor Ashline. Yes. Councelor Lensac. Yes. Councelor Fitz Gibbons. Yes. Councelor Meyer. Yes. Councelor Plunkett. Yes. Resolution passes 70. Resolution 77. Authorize mayor to execute a 4-year agreement with the New York State Department of Transportation for shared service emergency assistance.

Councelor Lensac, Councelor Meyer, comments, please call the role. Councelor Thompson, yes. Councelor Kennedy, yes. Councelor Ashlin, yes. Councelor Lensac, yes. Councelor Fitz Gibbons, yes. Councelor Meyer, yes. Councelor Plunkett, yes. Resolution passes 70. Call resolution 78. Authorize destruction of unused and stale checks in the city clerk's office. Councelor Plunkett. Councelor Meyer. Comments. Please call the role. Councelor Thompson. Yes. Councelor Kennedy. Yes. Councelor Ashlin. Yes. Councelor Lensac. Yes. Councelor Fitz Gibbons. Yes. Councelor Meyer. Yes. Councelor Plunkett. Yes. Resolution passes 70. Call resolution 79. Authorize sending unused city equipment to public auction.

Councelor Thompson. Councelor Kennedy. Comments. Please call the role. Councelor Thompson, yes. Councelor Kennedy, yes. Councelor Ashlin, yes. Councelor Lensac, yes. Councelor Fitz Gibbons, yes. Councelor Meyer, yes. Councelor Plunkett, yes. Resolution passes 70. Call resolution 80. Authorize economic development director to execute any and all contracts regarding the cruise line concert series. Councelor Plunkett. Councelor Lensac. Any comments? Please call the RO. Councelor Thompson. Yes. Councelor Kennedy. Yes. Councelor Ashine. Yes. Yes. Councelor Lensac. Yes. Councelor Fitz Gibbons. Yes. Councelor Meyer. Yes. Councelor Plunkett. Yes. Resolution passes 70. Call resolution 81.

Accept grant from Senator Christopher Ryan's office Crest project 29419 in the amount of $300,000 to purchase self-contained breathing apparatus equipment and further authorize city Chamberlain to advance funds for the same. Councelor Ashlin. Councelor Meyer. Any comments? Please call the RO. Councelor Thompson. Yes. Councelor Kennedy. Yes. Councelor Ashline. Yes. Councelor Lawens. Yes. Councelor Fitzgiven. Yes. Councelor Meyer. Yes. Councelor Plunkett. Yes. Resolution passes 70. Call resolution 82. Authorize city chamberlain to complete a budget amendment in the amount of $34,000 to the marina personal personnel services account for Wrights Landing Marine Sanctuary Security. Councelor Kennedy. Councelor Thompson. Any comments?

Yes, councelor. So, I do support this resolution for this year. Um, in the future, the city may be able to utilize existing technology and resources to address these needs. Um, I hope I hope we as a city will explore these options for next year and save $34,000. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Any other comments? Please call the RO. Councelor Thompson, yes. Councelor Kennedy, yes. Councelor Ashline, yes. Councelor Lensac, yes. Councelor Fitzgibbons, yes. Councelor Meyer, yes. Councelor Plunkett, yes. Resolution passes 70. Call resolution 83.

Authorize city chamberlain to complete a budget amendment in the amount of $51,712.50 to the garage contracted services account for emergency snow removal services. Councelor might counselor Kennedy. Any comments? Please call the role. Councelor Thompson. Yes. Councelor Kennedy. Yes. Councelor Ashlin. Yes. Councelor Lensac. Yes. Councelor Fitz Gibbons. Yes. Councelor Meyer. Yes. Councelor Plunkett. Yes. Resolution passes 70. Resolution. Resolution 84. Authorize city chamberlain to complete a budget amendment in order to replace and outfit a police vehicle. Councelor Plunkett. Councelor Thompson. Comments. Please call the role. Councelor Thompson. Yes. Councelor Kennedy. Yes. Councelor Ashline. Yes. Councelor Lensac.

Yes. Councelor Fitz Gibbons. Yes. Councelor Meyer. Yes. Councelor Plunkett. Yes. Resolution passes 70. Call resolution 85. Authorize the modification of Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems LLC's wireless telecommunications antenna located at 300 East Albany Street. Councelor Thompson. Councelor Kennedy comments, please call the role. Councelor Thompson, yes. Councelor Kennedy, yes. Councelor Ashine, yes. Councelor Lensac, yes. Councelor Fitz Gibbons, yes. Councelor Meyer, yes. Councelor Plunkett, yes. Resolution passes 70. That was the last item on the agenda. Is there any other finished any other unfinished business? Seeing none, can I have a motion to adjurnn? Councelor Ashlin. Councelor Plunkett, please call the role. Councelor Thompson, yes. Councelor Kennedy, yes. Councelor Ashlin, yes. Councelor Lensac,

yes. Councelor Fitzgiven, yes. Councelor Meyer, yes. Councelor Plunkett, yes. Resolution passes 70. Thank you everyone. Good night. Stay out here.